G4 freezes randomly. Have tried everything I could think of.

[andyUKr]

Hi everyone

My powerbook G4 keeps freezing all the time. The original hard drive died so I gave it to my brother who had it "fixed" in the States. The shop replaced the hard drive and installed more memory. ever since the powerbook became an absolute pain to use. It just freezes. Nothing works, the pointer is frozen, nothing happens whatever i try to press/do. There seems to be no patterns to freezes. they just happen. sometimes i get 3-5 freezes within an hour of using it.

I googled the issue, and tried all the things people suggested. I have swapped ram and made sure that it is properly in. I ran memtest on it - 10 runs. I re-installed Tiger (archive and install). I used applejack and ran full tests. I used disk repair through the tiger dvd.

I just do not know what else to do with it other than throw it against the wall and then use it as an excuse to buy a new one.

Here are the specs i have:
CPU Speed: 1.67 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 2 GB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.9.6f0
SODIMM0/J20STANDARD:
Size: 1 GB
Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Speed: PC2-4200S-444
Status: OK
SODIMM1/J23REVERSED:
Size: 1 GB
Type: DDR2 SDRAM
Speed: PC2-4200S-444
Status: OK

Thank you very much in advance for your help.

 

[techound1]

Try resetting the PRAM http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1431

If that doesn't work, replace the RAM with stuff that guaranteed compatible with Macs.

 

[andyUKr]

hey thanks for the reply. I have tried the reset and it does not seem to have done anything.

Also I went to the apple store and they told me that constant freezes are a sign of a corrupted hard drive. It was them who told me to reinstall tiger.

What is the best place to check/buy correct RAM?

Sorry dumb questions but i normally just walk into a store and buy what the sales guys suggest. i have tried applestore and a few others and non of them carried anything for powerbooks.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Pentad]

If that doesn't work, replace the RAM with stuff that guaranteed compatible with Macs.

You could also run a ram tester program on your computer to check the stability of your memory.

I used Memtest OSX a long time ago but it was on an Intel Mac so I don't know if it will work for you. However, I would imagine that there are free ones available for PPC.

Good Luck!
-P

 

[iThinkergoiMac]

I had this problem and it turned out to be a bad RAM slot. This is a common long-term problem with the PowerBook Aluminum line. The fix is a new logic board. It may be difficult to see at first because the computer works while both slots work and will freeze instantly when the lower slot fails. Then the lower slot can easily begin working again upon restart. I found out when, eventually, the slot quit working altogether and the computer was stable again, running on 1 slot.

Or it could easily be your HDD.