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sopranojam851

Q: 3400c Ram Card Upgrade via Soldering?

Hello everyone,

I have a PowerBook 3400c with a 64 MB RAM card installed, for a whopping total of 80 MB of ram. I'd like to get the 128 MB Ram card, but they are a rarity and are expensive when they do come around on Ebay and the like.

The card has memory chips soldered on to it, and there's a bunch of blank pads on the card, clearly the same size as the pads that have chips on them. It would make sense that in theory, I could find identical chips (if they're cheap) and solder them on to the blank areas of the RAM card. (Let's assume that I am good at surface mount soldering... I know, I need to practice before I even think about doing this

Would this in theory work? Also I see several tiny unmarked resistors around these chips, that look like jumpers. I'd have to figure out which ones (if any) need to be moved in order for the ram card to recognize the additional chips.

Anyone have any experience or thoughts on this matter?

PowerBook 3400c, Mac OS 9.1.x

Posted on Apr 24, 2010 7:36 AM

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Q: 3400c Ram Card Upgrade via Soldering?

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  • by Texas Mac Man,

    Texas Mac Man Texas Mac Man Apr 24, 2010 8:21 AM in response to sopranojam851
    Level 8 (46,611 points)
    Apr 24, 2010 8:21 AM in response to sopranojam851
    In theory it would be possible, but I doubt you would be successful.

    Suggest you join LEM-Swap for buying & selling Mac stuff. http://groups.google.com/group/lemswap
    After you join, post a WTB (want to buy). You will probably get a lower price than eBay.

     Cheers, Tom

  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Apr 24, 2010 11:46 AM in response to sopranojam851
    Level 9 (60,667 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 24, 2010 11:46 AM in response to sopranojam851
    The rule #1 of old car repair, is never take apart your only car, 'cause then you can't run to the store to buy the parts you need to finish the repair.

    If you want to do this project, buy another board and do the surgery on that one. Do not take out the one that works and solder on it. It may never work again.

    Small components near every memory chip are much more likely to be capacitors (used to reduce transient electrical noise on the power leads) than resistors.

    Consider buying a newer old Mac instead. How about a WallStreet G3 or a Pismo G3 with USB.
  • by sopranojam851,

    sopranojam851 sopranojam851 Apr 24, 2010 10:35 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Apr 24, 2010 10:35 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Hehe, yeah the Pismos are pretty nice. Fact is, this machine was given to me so I have very little invested into it out-of-pocket. I enjoy seeing it do things that you'd never expect to see a 13-year-old portable do

    I'm enjoying Ubuntu on it, but I'd like to experiment with OS X via xpostfacto. I know the drawbacks and limitations.... The ram is my only physical barrier from starting the process.
  • by Grant Bennet-Alder,

    Grant Bennet-Alder Grant Bennet-Alder Apr 25, 2010 9:14 AM in response to sopranojam851
    Level 9 (60,667 points)
    Desktops
    Apr 25, 2010 9:14 AM in response to sopranojam851
    Ryan Rempel, the author of XPostfacto, once reported that Mac OS X (I think he was referring to 10.2) could install in as little as 96 MB, but would not run well in that little memory. I think you may have to move up the old-Mac line to do the experiments you want. It appears 80 MB won't cut it.
  • by sopranojam851,

    sopranojam851 sopranojam851 Apr 25, 2010 12:04 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Level 1 (10 points)
    Apr 25, 2010 12:04 PM in response to Grant Bennet-Alder
    Yeah, allegedly once the 3400c is up to 144 megs of ram, it's possible to get up to 10.2.8 with XPostFacto. However, I found a method that someone used to install 10.4 on a powermac 7600 running the 604e processor. Here's his site on how he did it:

    http://jump-ing.de/index.php?Lang=en&Menu=3&SubMenu=2

    Essentially the key was modifying the kernel in such a way as to take out the "emergency exit" after the kernel validates the cpu and pmu. I am very curious if the same kernel mod will work with the 603e processor since the 3400c does have the pci architecure. There - I've laid it on the table. My sick twisted goal

    Practical? Probably not.... Usable? Who knows? Fun to try? Of course!