The Kernel Panic

Discussion in 'Mac Basics and Help' started by rona1dd, Sep 19, 2007.

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  1. rona1dd, Sep 19, 2007

    rona1dd macrumors newbie

    Joined:
    Sep 19, 2007
    #1
    iMac G5 OSX 10.4

    This is my first post here and I have been reading through all your posts and it seems
    to me that the only way to "fix" the Kernel Panic issue is to take out the RAM
    and
    then replace it?

    Here is where things get foggy for me: Can I literally pull out the current RAM,
    for a second, "dust" it off and then place it back in?

    Or Do I need to buy a brand new RAM?


    I have also seen some information about the Kernel Panic from some of the posts that I have not seen on my mac

    Yesterday my mac was fine, I tried turning it own today and it was starting up and then the paniac image was there
    telling me to hold the power button and restart the computer, or hold the restart button.

    Which there is non.

    Any help and guidance in the right direction would be appreciated.

    Thanks

    Rona1dd
     
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  2. bcooper0125, Sep 19, 2007

    bcooper0125 macrumors member

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    Sep 3, 2007
    Location:
    Chandler, AZ
    #2
    Welcome to the boards :)!

    As for dusting off the RAM, you can try it, but it probably won't work. In most cases that I've had with failed RAM, I needed to replace it completely.

    Your iMac (should) have two RAM slots (someone correct me if I'm wrong). Try removing one of them, and letting it run on one...see if the problems persist. Your iMac may go a little slower because it's running with less RAM, but it could help you solve your problem of figuring out if you have to replace both or just one stick. If the problems don't occur with that one stick, replace the other one and remove the one you were just running it with.
     
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  3. rona1dd, Sep 19, 2007

    rona1dd thread starter macrumors newbie

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    Sep 19, 2007
    #3

    Hi bcooper-

    I appreciate your help and I took your advice. When I did this a couple of things happend.
    1) Nothing.

    2) The white light the is in the lower right hand side of the mac telling the user the mac is on was blinking on and off repeatedly.

    I have been alternating RAM, I have three to work with (512, 512, and a 256)

    Also... does it matter which slot I have just one chip of RAM in?

    -The top or the bottom?

    Any help or thoughts would be appreciated.
     
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  4. bcooper0125, Sep 19, 2007

    bcooper0125 macrumors member

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    Location:
    Chandler, AZ
    #4
    I'd stick to using the two 512 sticks you have. Which bay you use should not matter.

    Out of curiosity, what are you doing when these panics happen? Does it happen with one thing in particular, or is it just random? Do you have any external drives or USB/Firewire things attached? Do you have all the latest updates (10.4.10)? Not all Panics are caused by RAM failure, that is just the most common one. The Kernel panicking can be anything from an external drive not functioning right, or a hub that doesn't work right. I had a SanDisk 12-in-1 card reader that would make the OS panic every time I plugged it in. I exchanged it at the place I bought it, and the other one worked perfectly.

    Can you upload your panic.log file to this forum, or copy it's contents? It's in your /Library/Logs/ folder. That might help some of us figure out if it's actually your RAM or something else attached to your computer.
     
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  5. rona1dd, Sep 20, 2007

    rona1dd thread starter macrumors newbie

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    Sep 19, 2007
    #5

    I notice that people had posted there panic contents, when I would turn my computer on I would get a message saying "Turn your computer off or use the restart button".

    That is it, and I havent been able to get anywhere on my computer.

    That being said, since I have been trying to replace and switch out RAM I haven't been able to get back to that screen.

    All that has been happening is a black screen, with the light telling me the computer is on blinking.

    I don't know if this will stimulate any ideas.
     
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  6. cliffjumper68, Sep 20, 2007

    cliffjumper68 macrumors regular

    cliffjumper68

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    #6
    Better to replace/ increase ram than try and salvage a problem module.
     
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  7. bcooper0125, Sep 20, 2007

    bcooper0125 macrumors member

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    Location:
    Chandler, AZ
    #7
    I completely agree, and wasnt trying to salvage a problem module. I was trying to find out if it was the RAM that was causing a problem. It could have been a number of other things, as well.

    Ron, like cliffjumper said, replacing the RAM might be the best choice. You should try that to see if it will work.
     
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  8. rona1dd, Sep 20, 2007

    rona1dd thread starter macrumors newbie

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    Sep 19, 2007
    #8
    Hey Bcooper

    Yeah it was the RAM I have two bad 512mb and I placed in the original 256mb

    into the system and it finally started working again.

    Thanks for the guidance.

    -Ron
     
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  9. bcooper0125, Sep 20, 2007

    bcooper0125 macrumors member

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    Location:
    Chandler, AZ
    #9
    No problem :) glad it worked. You should probably go buy some new RAM for it...256 is pretty low. Shoot for another set of 512 or two sticks of 1gb

     
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