Bondi Blue iMac locking up/start-up issues

Hi there,
I have just seem your discussion topic and I am amazed at how similar my problem is to yours. I was wandering if you got your sons iMac working and if so - what did you do? My email addrsss is nikandckl@dreamnet.co.nz

I have a 333Mhz Blueberry iMac adn I had upgraded it with a nice 80GB HD and 320MB RAM and installed OS10.3 Things were cruising along beautifully until one morning I went to turn it on and just got a red light - No chime and no green light.

Days later I tried to put in an old (working) 4 GB Hd from an old 233 MHZ and it started up fine! I then decided to put back in my 80-GB HD and VOILA - started fine! I was so excited! The next morning I went to start it again and ...nothing but a red light and fan. Now even the 4 GB HD wont work in it!

What solution did you come to?

Much appreciate any help!

Carol-Lynn

Christine, glad you're up and running. Carol-Lyn, I hope you're running by now. If not, note the following. It may or may not be your problem.

The memory controller in early Bondi iMacs can only address low density SODIMM chips. Using high density chip SODIMMs on these Bondi iMacs cause the usual RAM start up problems. Not certain if the problem is specific to "Rev. A" or "Rev. A" and subsequent revisions.

"Rev. A" is limited to 384 Mb, 256 Mb in slot one and 128 Mb in slot two. Subsequent revisions are limited to 512 Mb, 256 Mb in each slots.

iMac Intel Core Duo, Powerbook G4, PowerPC 6100 Mac OS X 10.4.6, Mac OS X 10.3.8/Mac OS 9.2.2, and Mac OS 9.1

Christine-

About five years ago I bought a Bondi Blue Rev. A for $50 from a friend who couldn't get it to boot after upgrading the RAM. (The new RAM he had in it was worth much more.) I couldn't either, at first. After researching the problem occasionally on and off for ±six months I discovered that the problem resulted from the high-density RAM upgrades my friend bought. Why? No one seemed(s) to know. I bought two low-density (composite or T) modules, 256 Mb for slot one and 128 Mb for slot two. It worked. I gave it to my son. I found out later I didn't need the 128 Mb stick. Supposedly only RAM with memory higher than 128 Mb requires low-density chips.

Low-density RAM has chips on both sides. I don't think Apple's so "hot" about low-density RAM in the Bondi Blue iMac but my aunt is still running AppleWorks WP and SS on the one I owned.

Low-density 144 pin SO-DIMMs larger than 64 Mb may be hard to find. pc 66, pc100, and pc133 will work. The specs state pc66 but one of the modules I bought was pc100 or pc133. You just won't be able to use them to their fullest capabilities since the Rev. A's bus is 66 MHz. Used low-density 128 Mb modules are very inexpensive, If they can be found. I have no idea where to look.

A Google search is probably the best idea, maybe a repair shop. I strongly recommend a brand name. Use words such as pc66 (or 100 or 133), 144 pin, 128 Mb, SO-DIMM (or SODIMM or SO DIMM), low-density, T, 16 chip low-density, composite.

You might want to note the following (You may already know the following. You seem quite proficient "getting around" inside your iMac):
• If you do install low-density RAM, don't leave the computer on for a long period when not in use.
• Apple often understates RAM limit. The Bondi Blue Rev. A's actual limit is 384 Mb.
• To boot OS X on a hard drive larger than 8 Gb, no larger than 128 Mb, the drive must be partitioned. Partition the first part to 7 Gb. OS X must be installed there.
• If you need more than 7 Gb for OS X, make another partition for the apps and files separate from the first and Classic partitions. I'd make it the second part.
• Is all firmware up to date?
• Reinstall 10.3.8. 10.3.9 doesn't seem as stable as 10.3.8. I wouldn't think you'd need the upgraded features of 10.3.9. In a lot of ways it seems to act like 10.4.0 which was not impressive. This is my opinion. I've never seen any documentation supporting it.
• Are any USB peripherals incompatible with OS X?
• Graphics memory can be upgraded on the Rev.A.

Good luck. I hope this will be helpful. Don't hesitate to inquire further if needed.

Fred

PS
If you decide to go this route, balance the cost of the RAM against another iMac. I replaced my son's with a Graphite 600 MHz (Summer 2001). It's very fast, faster than my Powerbook G4. They are available for as low $75-$100 with 256 Mb of RAM. I wouldn't get anything older.

iMac Intel Core Duo, Powerbook G4, PowerPC 6100 Mac OS X 10.4.7 Mac OS X 10.3.8/Mac OS 9.2.2 Mac OS 9.1

Christine,
Carol-Lyn,

Please note corrections. Don't know where my head was.

Paragraph 1: ... (composite or T) ... - delete;
Paragraph 2: I don't think Apple's so "hot" about low-density RAM in the Bondi Blue iMac but ... - delete;
Paragraph 3: Used low-density 128 Mb ... should read Used low-density 256 Mb ...;
Paragraph 4: ... T, 16 chip low-density, composite. -delete.

Sorry 'bout this,
Fred

iMac Intel Core Duo, Powerbook G4, PowerPC 6100 Mac OS X 10.4.7, Mac OS X 10.3.8/Mac OS 9.2.2, and Mac OS 9.1

Christine,
Carol-Lyn,

Before I confuse you (and me) even more, check out this article:

http://lowendmac.com/macdan/03/0307ek.html

After a slightly frustrating search, I found it again. This is the article that solved my problem.

Fred

iMac Intel Core Duo - Powerbook G4 - PowerPC 6100 Mac OS X 10.4.7 - Mac OS X 10.3.8/Mac OS 9.2.2 - Mac OS 9.1

Christine-

Sorry for any vagueness and inaccuracies. The whole issue was a complicated nightmare for me. I'm not a professional. But I did get mine to work. Looking at my posts I've been very confusing, and sometimes inaccurate. I checked this response out in detail before posting.

The article really doesn't give solutions, just the problems.

Info from others who have solved some or all of the problems is that several RAM quirks occur randomly on Rev. A through Rev. D. A few users, very few, have no problem, some do. No reason has ever been found. The problems occurs initially or there can be no problem. Then for no known reason a problem(s) occurs. There are three known problems that arise. Sometimes all occur, sometimes one or two, sometimes none.

Low-density RAM will solve a start up/freezing problem. The easiest way to identify low-density RAM is to look at the specs of the module. Low-density RAM specs will show the chips on the module as something like 16Mb x "X" or 8Mb x "X". High-density specs will be 32Mb x "X". "X" is a number but not that important for identification in this situation. The Mb number, the first, is the important one. High-density will have chips on both sides.

A second problem that sometimes occurs is the use of RAM with different speeds. Some will run a pc100 (or 133) 256MB SODIMM in bank one and a pc66 module in bank two with no problem. Others with a pc100 (or 133) 256MB SODIMM installed in bank one will only use 1/2 the memory, i.e., pc100 (or 133) 256MB SODIMM will only see and use 128Mb, 1/2, if bank two is pc66. This is the same for 128MB. Only pc66 modules larger than 64Mb seem not to have this problem. I'm not certain because I don't remember, but bank two may be limited to 128Mb, pc66.

A third problem is, again depending on the unit, the total RAM limit can be anywhere from 192Mb to 384Mb. After installing the low-density 256Mb I was lucky. I was able to run 384Mb with no problems.

Low density pc100/pc133 128MB/256Mb sticks can be found. Any pc66 is rare. In a recent search I found: <http://www.memorystock.com> and more specific, the link at <http://www.memorystock.com/144pin_sodimm.htm>. No pc66 256Mb or 128Mb but pc100s are there.

Also, you might want to Google 10.3.9. There are several sites describing problems with 10.3.9, especially with older machines.

Essentially, as I stated above, an iMac Rev. A through Rev. D RAM upgrade can be a nightmare.

Or, as you suspect, it may only be a RAM module gone bad.

Fred

iMac Intel Core Duo - Powerbook G4 - PowerPC 6100 Mac OS X 10.4.7 - Mac OS X 10.3.8/Mac OS 9.2.2 - Mac OS 9.1