What if it wasRAM ? once again

By Kalomir. Original by Lionel - 28/07/2003 18:08:39 CEST - Category: Peripheral

Here's BM testimony.

Yesterday I installed in a 17"iMac a 512 Mo DDR RAM upgrade.
This didn't take long, the "cap" from under the iMac opens by removing 4 screws, the RAM is clipped, the Mac closed.
And what happens then ? Jaguar still takes notice of 256Mo only ! No crash, nothing, but 256Mo instead of the expected 768Mo. So, what. Boot from Apple Hardware Test CD, which shows that weird result : DIMM 0 : 256/256 MO, DIMM 1 : 0/512Mo, in red letters, saying : boot test failure. Our upgrade was ignored though, during that same test, exactly the same technical features (PC2100, CL2.5) that Apple's initial RAM are identified ! As a matter of fact, though the RAM was "seen", it's as if it wasn't declared to the system, allocating 0 from the 512Mo it contained. One could believe it was an incompatibility problem, as I'd used plain ordinary RAM, with no trademark, very cheap.
So I start again, unscrew this beautiful "cap" (I didn't object to this, as it's such a wonderfully crafted item), and plugs in the RAM again. To my surprise, it goes deeper in the dedicated hole than on my first try ! Hence everything went well, 768Mo RAM for Jaguar, Apple Hardware Test CD perfectly happy from this add-on didn't get red with anger any more, system was very responsive.
Conclusion : even if the RAM seems to clip perfectly, don't forget to insist so that no golden contact part is seen any more.
Quite simple, but you'll avoid useless come and go with your favorite reseller.