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need help with 1.67 powerbook!

mad jew said:
Hardware tests are notoriously bad at picking out problems. :eek:
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so you think that it could still be bad ram? but why would that just affect 2 programs mainly? yes, it did freeze up a few times, but it hasn't since, and it's been at least 3-4 days. right now i have a 3-day uptime since i've ran the hardware test.

do you think i should reinstall OS X?
 
jblock said:
You seem to have an aversion to taking the RAM out and replacing it with the original RAM as some earlier responses suggested. It can't hurt to try that to once and for all determine that the RAM is not the culprit.
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PLease. Try it. It'll take less time and effort than an OS reinstall.
 
Yeah, I agree that the fact it's only two apps seems to point away from it being bad RAM but I'd take it out all the same. Bad RAM acts in very strange ways.

However, before reinstalling OSX, I'd remove DivX and 3ivX where applicable. These two apps are known to conflict with Office in strange ways when Flip4Mac is installed on the system too. If this doesn't apply, then ignore me and just take the RAM out. :)

There are a few more things we could potentially try before we resort to a reinstall.
 
Just double-check. Aside from the possible RAM issue - have you tried all of the Mad Jew Standard Responses™ to general unexplained weirdness:
mad jew said:
Is there at least 8GB of free space on the hard drive?
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mad jew said:
Maybe give zapping the PRAM a try. :)
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mad jew said:
Have you tried dragging com.apple.appname.plist (in Users > youraccount > Library > Preferences) to the Desktop whilst the app is closed, and restarting? :)
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mad jew said:
have you created a new user account (in the System Preferences > Accounts) to see if the problems carry through? :)
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mad jew said:
You can't repair the disk you start up from so you can either use Disk Utility on the OSX system disks by putting them in the optical drive and pressing C as you boot up, selecting Disk Utility from one of the menus and repairing the disk.
Or even better, you can run fsck. :)
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*I've beeen waiting for ages for a chance to use this... :) *
 
frankblundt said:
Just double-check. Aside from the possible RAM issue - have you tried all of the Mad Jew Standard Responses™ to general unexplained weirdness:

*I've beeen waiting for ages for a chance to use this... :) *
Click to expand...

He should have them copyrighted.:D
 
well i have tried some of the "mad jew things to dew" list. anyways, i found on the microsoft website that you have to reinstall the OS to fix the problem, according to them. i need to do it anyways, just to say i've done it on a mac. (grew up on pcs, so i've never done it on a mac before). so i'll post back after it's done and see if the problem is still there

thanks for all the help
 
twoodcc said:
you think i should test with the standard 512 ram? why? if i test with the 2 gb, it'll tell me if that's the problem, right?
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what in the world is the problem with taking out that dang stick of ram? I mean, taking it out 10 times would take less time than it would for you to test 2 gigs of ram.
 
jessica. said:
what in the world is the problem with taking out that dang stick of ram? I mean, taking it out 10 times would take less time than it would for you to test 2 gigs of ram.
Click to expand...

last time i checked, it's got some pretty small screws, and only a certain screwdriver will fit. the last time i put in the current ram it took forever to get the screws out
 
well, i'm reinstalled now. so my question is: should i try to reinstall office now, or should i update to 10.4.5 first? right now i have 10.4.2.
 
mad jew said:
Install Office first, test, then install 10.4.5 and test again. :)
Click to expand...

ok i'll do that. but in the meantime, since i've reinstalled, my system has been super slow. i've repaired permissions. the weird thing is, after i reinstalled (i did an archive and install), it seemed i have all the programs that i had before.

is there anything else i'm supposed to do after i reinstall?
 
well it appears to be fixed now. i upgraded to 10.4.5 and repaired permissions, then i restarted. then i was able to install office 2004. so it turned out that it wasn't my ram after all. i didn't think it was.

thanks for all the help from everyone. i'm just glad it's fixed. i still have to install quicken again though. hopefully that'll work also.

i just hope my powerbook lasts a long long time
 
well my pb is still not perfect. i left it on all night last night, and this morning it was un-useable. i checked activity monitor, and the CPU was like 100%, and it was doing nothing. any ideas?
 
mad jew said:
Which process was using the CPU the most? Was there a single app using almost 100%? :)
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there was not one app using 100% (that i could find)

but whatever it was, it's not doing it anymore. i left it on all night last night playing itunes, and it's fine now
 
I know you seem aprehensive to take our advice but if you want to be sure, I mean absolutely sure that the system is clean do the following.

BACKUP Everything you need to an external source (DVD's, Firewire/USB Drive, etc..) and make sure it's there before continuing.

>> Turn off the Powerbook and using a correctly sized Screwdriver remove the ram you added and return the original 512mb stick. Do not leave either 1gb stick inside the notebook for that will negate every other step after this. Turn back on the machine and proceed to the next step.

>> Insert the Tiger DVD and start the installer, type your password and make sure its set to boot off this disc. Proceed to reboot the PB and continue on to the next step.

>> Run Disc Utility on the Install DVD and Erase your drive, no if's ands or buts about it this will clean up all the junk on your HDD.

>> Close Disc Utility and start the OS X installation, make sure that you check up on the machine and that the Installer finishes error free (if not check the Disc for scratches or other physical damage). Once Tiger is back on the notebook let it reboot and finalize the installation by filling out all the forms.

>> Install Office and any other software you rely on but do not restore your files yet. Wait a day and see if it craps out during its day to day work.
 
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