Q: 1.42 GHz model with only 256 Mb on board RAM?

There likely is a defect on the board, perhaps in the factory RAM soldered in.

What does the iBook (14" mid-2005) 1.42GHz computer do, when the 1024MB

SO-DIMM PC2700 DDR333 chip is removed from the computer? Does the

internal chip appear as a 256MB (perhaps in SafeBoot mode) then?

Do you have a different, known good PC2700 DDR333 1024MB RAM chip w/

proper specs for iBookG4/PowerBookG4/+iMacG4 1.25GHz(USB2.0) on hand?

Does System Profiler show the two RAM chips separately?

They appear as separate pieces in my iBook G4 12" 1.33GHz (mid-2005) for 1.5GB total.

Not sure how you could proceed; if the solder has gone bad, you could try a heat gun

and learn how to re-flow on other items before attempting to fix an iBook, if needed.

Or see about getting a replacement spec chip to fix the logic board. Or make a call to

wegenermedia.com* and ask about the part, the prospect, and of their service to fix it.

{I see you're in UK, so you still could email the *company; they may reply. A similar

full-service company like that may exist over there. They do world-wide business}

Good luck & happy computing!

There is a fair chance the RAM on the logic board is defective

yet reports it still is a 512MB capacity piece(s) of RAM. And the

items you see on the logic board likely is the factory RAM.

The 'gray box' instructions to restart the computer would be

a Kernel Panic notice; and bad RAM is one of a few causes

of that kind of notice. The other, closely related, indicates a

bad logic board; however the suspect RAM lives there, too.

Whether or not the iBook could still chime, with primary RAM

on the logic board somehow disabled, is not something I am

equipped to answer. But it could be contributing to this issue.

And I am not sure how difficult or practical it may be to attempt

to find out what kind of replacement chips could take the place

of the failed? part(s) on the logic board. Some top-notch repair

companies offer re-soldering services and have modern work-

stations that do multiple solders on logic boards; so one of them

may be worth contacting, in regard to this kind of repair. They

could want to see the computer intact, to try & diagnose it.

However some would put this kind of fee into a quote to repair;

while some may choose to test the unit and get back to you on

the quote. So if it seemed too high, you're not out money. I'd

contact a few repair professionals to see what their story is.

{Too bad you're far away from South Carolina, as wegenermedia

.com there has the modern facilities to fix logic boards, & Macs.}

The default soldered-in RAM likely has to work before the second

slot registers to be considered enough RAM to boot the iBook. Yet

there may be something else also amiss in this old iBook.

So, I don't think I have much more to say about this...

Good luck & happy computing!

Troubleshooting involves certain things to be consistant, otherwise the results change.

{To not harm the prospective patient is part of troubleshooting. A neighbor down the

road has a shooting range in his back yard, so he has been known to troubleshoot a

few PCs. Maybe even a tidy yet unused iMac I gave them, which sat some years.}

Had you indicated your source for a RAM chip was an early Intel-based MacBook, I

would have been rather terse on my reply. Although my assessment of the status

of the iBook G4 1.42GHz 14" portable is likely correct. Logic board may have failed.

And with correct parts, all being equal to the task, troubleshooting is possible.

This was a startling relevation, to discover your

PPC iBook was trying to eat some Intel RAM.

•How do I check the speed of onboard RAM?

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/6033962?tstart=0

However a PowerPC-based architecture made for one kind/type of RAM, it does not

work with non-specified RAM, especially when it was intended for Intel-based Macs.

Surprised iBook it was able to register at all; and this could also damage a logic board.

And I covered iBook upgrade RAM specs in my first reply to your question, above.

A good source of information is the download from http://mactracker.ca as well as

the web site http://everymac.com - they cover many model specs & upgrade stats.

Good luck & happy computing!