Puzzling problems with PB G4 17"

[catzilla]

I bought a PB G4 1.33 on ebay. It was listed "as-is" because it was suffering from kernel panics. First it would lock up, then it started with kernel panics. I tried booting from a Leopard DVD and it locked up. Well, years ago I sent in an PB G4 for warranty repairs and it was returned with a burned AHT CD in the drive. Turns out it is version 2.5 and it works on this machine. I ran it and it passed all tests. This thing has been running for hours with no problems. Could it be a failing HD even though it passed the Apple Module Test OF?

 

[Altemose]

I bought a PB G4 1.33 on ebay. It was listed "as-is" because it was suffering from kernel panics. First it would lock up, then it started with kernel panics. I tried booting from a Leopard DVD and it locked up. Well, years ago I sent in an PB G4 for warranty repairs and it was returned with a burned AHT CD in the drive. Turns out it is version 2.5 and it works on this machine. I ran it and it passed all tests. This thing has been running for hours with no problems. Could it be a failing HD even though it passed the Apple Module Test OF?

If it fails booting from a Leopard disk I would guess RAM but without seeing the message we cannot say.

 

[poiihy]

Anything random would usually be RAM (Random-Access-Memory)

Use Memtest86 on a CD to test your RAM.
http://www.memtest86.com/

It is unlikely that it would be the HD because it even crashed on an optical disk.

And just because AHT ran for hours without a crash doesn't mean RAM is not bad. AHT uses very little ram so the chance of crash is low.

 

[Intell]

Memtest86 doesn't work in PowerPC machines. Apple Hardware Test includes the same rigorous memory tests found in memtest86, but both can still miss bad memory.

 

[poiihy]

Memtest86 doesn't work in PowerPC machines. Apple Hardware Test includes the same rigorous memory tests found in memtest86, but both can still miss bad memory.

oh

well then... if it has more than one ram module you can try one at a time and see if it works.

but i'm sure it is memory, it definitely sounds like it.

 

[catzilla]

Well, I removed the 1G stick and replaced it with two 512MB sticks from a PB G4 1.67. It is still freezing.

 

[weckart]

Try running from an external firewire drive, if you have one. That will narrow it down to the hard drive.

 

[poiihy]

Well, I removed the 1G stick and replaced it with two 512MB sticks from a PB G4 1.67. It is still freezing.

When it crashes does it give you a crash report?

If a window pops up about it after you restart then click Report... and copy the crash report