Very Slow Powerbook G4

[hlipson]

Hi! I have a very old computer which is operating very slowly. I've cleaned up my hard drive and am thinking that I just need to upgrade RAM. Below are the specs of my computer. Please let me know if you think that upgrading the RAM is the way to go, and if so, the best way to go about that. Thanks!

Hardware Overview:

Machine Name: PowerBook G4 15"
Machine Model: PowerBook5,6
CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.2)
Number Of CPUs: 1
CPU Speed: 1.67 GHz
L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB
Memory: 512 MB
Bus Speed: 167 MHz
Boot ROM Version: 4.9.1f3
Serial Number: W85192PJRG4
Sudden Motion Sensor:
State: Enabled
Version: 1.0

 

[burnout8488]

Upgrade your ram, report back! Very necessary.

 

[Nameci]

That is not a slow computer. It is currently my travel computer. See my sig. Max out the ram and you are good to go...

 

[hlipson]

Thanks!

Now, how do I go about upgrading my RAM?

 

[Nameci]

There are guides on ifixit.com, it is very easy to replace the RAM on 1.67 powerbook.

 

[zen.state]

Have you ever reinstalled the OS? I reinstall every 6-8 months to prevent what I have named "bitrot". If your OS install is years old you should backup and reformat.

As others have said a RAM upgrade will also help a great deal. Max it out to 2GB which will only cost $50-70 and reinstall the OS. There is a small panel on the bottom in the middle with 4x phillips 0 screws. Just remove that and follow the guides that can be found all over the net. There are also youtube videos.

I just did an upgrade on the same PowerBook in January from 512MB to 2GB and installed OS 10.5 Leopard to upgrade from Tiger for a client. It was like a new machine. She is very happy and it only cost $57 Canadian for the 2x 1GB SODIMM.

A new 7200rpm HD will really help a lot also. I just bought a 500GB WD Scorpio Black 2.5" 7200rpm for my MacBook. Makes the whole system noticeably faster. Apps fly open and it boots in about 35 sec. Got it on sale last week for only $57.99 Canadian.

 

[hlipson]

Thanks to everyone!

I just purchased 1G of RAM (for now) from crucial and will reload OSX. Thanks for all of the suggestions!