Kernel Panic everyday on PowerMac, format and reinstall didn't fix! Should I buy it?

[motulist]

I have a chance to buy a QuickSilver PowerMac for $140 because it's having a kernel panic at least once a day and the current owner doesn't want to bother fixing it. He said he reformatted the drive and reinstalled OS 10.4, but it didn't fix it. He said disk utility doesn't report an error.

He's selling it as is with no refund, so I wouldn't want to buy it unless I could be certain I could fix the problem. He said I can play with it for as long as I like before buying it.

Any ideas what could be wrong with it? I'm especially interested in problems that I can identify by inspection that I could be almost certain is the problem causing the kernel panics.

 

[varmit]

I have a chance to buy a QuickSilver PowerMac for $140 because it's having a kernel panic at least once a day and the current owner doesn't want to bother fixing it. He said he reformatted the drive and reinstalled OS 10.4, but it didn't fix it. He said disk utility doesn't report an error.

He's selling it as is with no refund, so I wouldn't want to buy it unless I could be certain I could fix the problem. He said I can play with it for as long as I like before buying it.

Any ideas what could be wrong with it? I'm especially interested in problems that I can identify by inspection that I could be almost certain is the problem causing the kernel panics.

The kernel panic, after a full reinstall, is because there is most likely a hardware problem. But you can reset the PRAM or PMU, and it can possible fix the issue. Trade out the RAM maybe. But to purchase something that is not working properly, and you only have a minimum chance of getting it to work correctly, not a good idea, even at that low price. The person will probably junk it, that would be the time to pick it up. Or bargin to if you can get it to work then you can get it for $140.

 

[IJ Reilly]

Kernel panics are almost always caused by a hardware problem, and most of them are caused by bad RAM. At a minimum, I would calculate the cost of replacing the RAM into the cost of the Mac. It may not be a bargain, even at $140.