Missing RAM in 15″ PowerBooks
A few days ago my 15″ PowerBook G4 suddenly froze. When I rebooted, I saw that it reported only 512MB of RAM instead of 1G as it should. Apple System Profiler showed the lower DIMM slot empty.
Today I opened it to try to check for a bad DIMM and reseat them. To test it, I swapped the two DIMMs. When I put it back together I found that it still showed that the lower slot was empty, even though I had switched DIMMs. Opening it again and swapping them also showed the same results.
Checking Apple’s discussion forums, I found that this is a fairly common problem, requiring a logic board swap. It looks like this may be common enough for Apple to start a logic board exchange program as they’ve done for other widespread problems.
January 11th, 2005 at 7:10 pm
There won’t be a exchange program unless it affects a significant number of computers.
This isn’t even close.
February 4th, 2005 at 6:51 am
I have the same problem. Also my fan doesn’t work and the battery is not seen. All point to a bad logic board. The problem is wide-spread enough in first generation Titaniums. But don’t expect any help from Apple. If you have this problem, buy yourself a new machine and sell your Titanium for parts. Thems the breaks.
February 4th, 2005 at 6:55 am
I bought my Aluminum 15″ G4 less than a year ago so it’s still under warrantee. I brought it into my dealer last week and they replaced the motherboard free of charge after verifying that both DIMMs were good. It now sees the full 1GB of RAM.
July 10th, 2005 at 6:51 pm
So, if I want to get my lower slot working again, I would have to get the freaking board replace? How long does that take?…
GRRR…
July 10th, 2005 at 7:12 pm
It took my dealer a few days to get it and my PowerBook was ready 5 days from the time I brought it in. It depends on how soon they get the motherboard. Unfortunately that dealer (Mac Center) closed a few months ago.
August 9th, 2005 at 2:43 pm
I called today, and Apple said that it would take 10 business days, and to back up my hard drive as it will be erased. I have to order an 80 GB drive to back up onto.