Upgrade my memory on IMac G4 17"

I've got a question:
I understand that the memory specs for the 15" iMac flat panel (USB 2.0) -M9285LL/A- were written before 1gb cards were available so the real max memory for this model is 2gb. I'd like to start with the factory (internal) memory slot. Everyone (memory suppliers) is saying to use PC2700 DDR333 cards, but there is one memory source (memoryX.net) that only offers memory in PC3200 DDR400 cards for this slot. They guarantee this card will work in this model. Won't this conflict with the user memory slot that I currently have with a PC2700 DDR333 SODIMM card?

Also, the last discussion I read here on the forum in August mentioned being real careful to reapply thermal paste to the heat conducting contacts before final reassembly. However, this memory supplier's instructions and pictures don't mention this and only caution to allign the 2 sockets near the ribbon cable.

Do I trust them? What's the real scoop?

My iMacG4 17" 1.25GHz USB2.0 'last model' computer of that series
has a 512MB PC3200/DDR400 chip in the factory slot and a PC2700/
DDR333 laptop-type 512MB chip in the user accessed slot. It works fine.
That PC3200/DDR400 replaces a defective CompUSA installed PC2700.

The use of thermo paste and following established maintenance procedures
for the iMacG4 series (700.800,1.0, 1.25, etc) is recommended, if not out-
right required in an authorized service environment; as overheating may result.

According to MacTracker (free download of info from mactracker.ca) the spec
for aftermarket RAM are higher than original specification at time of manufacture.
If you are going with 1024MB chips in both slots, it may be wise to see if one
in the internal hard to get into slot causes any overheating. Also, while the iMac
is apart, be sure the dust is cleaned out from inside. That clock battery on the
logic board is a candidate for replacement with a known new one, while inside it.

Best regards & happy computing! 🙂

Hi,

I'm confused and unsure as to what maximum amount of RAM my iMac can actually take.

I've got a iMac 15" G4 Flat Screen, 700Mhz and would like to know if it's safe to install more than 1GB on that machine.

At the moment I've got 384MB on it - I guess there's 128MB on the factory slot and 256MB on the user one.

I've read a fair bit of discussion about this, but I'd really like to be reassured before buying this memory.

Thanks for any help.

alienontherun

Hi, thanks for your help.

However, I'm feeling a bit disappointed, as I'd really like to install a little more that 1GB RAM on that machine...

Hi,

My iMac G4 is slow and hanging a lot. Should I upgrade the memory?

It's showing 512 MB in the DIMM0/J22 and 256 MB in the DIMMO1/J20. The Diagnostics Power On Self Test is showing that the factory installed memory in the DIMMO1/J20 slot has failed.

Question: Which slot should I purchase a memory upgrade for and how much more memory can I add? If I upgrade the memory in the factory slot I will have to pay a tech guy about $80 plus the cost of the memory. Since this is my "old back up computer" I don't want to spend much.

Thanks.

Your iMac currently has 768 MB of RAM. The maximum RAM you can install is 1 GB which isn't much more than you currently have.

Therefore adding RAM won't have any significant impact to your experience.

More than likely the hard drive is becoming full and that is causing your iMac to operate slower. OS X has to swap information to/from the hard drive. When the hard drive is nearly full this takes more time because free space is harder to find.

I just purchased and installed a DDR 512MB PC2100 SO-DIMM 266 MHz 200 Pin memory module for the user accessible slot in my iMac. (I already have a 512 MB module in the J20 slot.)
When I look in System Profiler, it shows the DIMM0/J22 Slot as Empty. This is the second memory module I have purchased and attempted to install, but with no success. Any ideas on what I'm doing wrong?

Hi Duane,

Thanks for your reply.

It looks like there's 768 MB but the Power On Self Test says that the factory installed memory has failed. So, in fact, it's only got 512 MB and I can double the Ram.

There's a lot of discussion on this board about installing more memory than the specs advise. Since I've got to crack it open anyway - does anyone know if I can add more than 512?

JBBabcock, Welcome to the discussion area!

Either you are not installing the memory correctly, the motherboard is defective and not recognizing that RAM slot, or both of the memory modules you have received are defective.

The most likely is that you are not installing the memory correctly.

There's a lot of discussion on this board about installing more memory than the specs advise. Since I've got to crack it open anyway - does anyone know if I can add more than 512?

Your iMac can only handle 1 GB of RAM. You can replace the failed RAM with another 512 MB module.