Lower RAM Slot Repair

I have been looking for recall info. I am having the same issue. Is this a UK only thing?

Does anyone else have a Powerbook 1.25GHz G4 and having a problem with his/her RAM slot?

I had the same problem with my 1.25GHz.
Check "About this Mac" to see if your Memory shows an empty RAM slot.
Also, do Apple Hardware test from the startup disk. If your AppleCare is current, take it/send it in for repair!

Same problem on my 1.67GHz PB G4. I've actually had the problem a few times. Sending it in tomorrow.. I think this is the third time I've had this repaired. A little frustrating, but it's worth the trouble for the otherwise superior dependability of the PB.

It is frustrating when notebooks have problems, but thankfully Apple is pretty good about correcting such issues. I just recently acquired a 15" PowerBook that does not match the serial number series listed in the replacement program, but the notebook has AppleCare, so I'll be taking it in.

hi
same problem: the slower slot isnt working any more on my PB 15" 1.25 Ghz... first didn't notice it, 'cause have two 512M cards, but checking why my PB was slow, notice that it didn't read the slower memory card; tried to change it but without any result. Unfortunatly, my PB isn't covered neither by Apple's PowerBook G4 (15-inch 1.67/1.5GHz) Memory Slot Repair Extension Program a then by AppleCare (anymore)... is there anything else i can do?

It is frustrating when notebooks have problems, but
thankfully Apple is pretty good about correcting such
issues.

ya, but Apple will only cover the 1.5/1.67GHz...what about the 1.25GHz? No coverage for that unless you have AppleCare. =(

I guess we (us with 1.25GHz) are out of luck if the lower dimm slot goes out. I wonder if we all complained to Apple (many of us with 1.25GHz having this same problem), if Apple would consider creating a "recall" on these. What do you guys/gals think?

Just noticed the same thing with my Powerbook; unfortunately, mine isn't in the serial number range listed as qualifying for the program. Startup problems, odd sleep behavior, and I just got another stick of RAM and put it in the lower slot (turned out there was already another stick of 512 in there that wasn't showing up) and all those intermittent problems accelerated. Did the hardware test, and it said "error code post/0/2048 SODIMM0/J25LOWER", so I switched the sticks and redid the test, and the same result came up. I figure that means it's the slot, not the RAM.

Sadly, my serial starts W8540xxxxxx, so looks like I'm SOL.

There is no repair, per se. It's a logic board replacement.
For those with non-covered machines, the best you can do is put a 1 Gb module in the upper socket and run it that way.

Anecdotally, the problem seemed to crop up after 10.3.7 came out. It may be associated with a Firmeare update at that time which may have changed either sleep or fan control, however I have never seen conclusibe evidence.

There is a repair available for $250 from this link http://www.wegenermedia.com/alumramslot.html. They are an Apple Authorized repair center and I had mine slot repaired in Oct/06 and I am very pleased with the results. The issue is a design flaw that Apple is aware of but chooses to ignore. It affects several components of these Powerbooks, however a logic board replacement doesn't fix it permanently. Wegener does a board level repair which is permanent and they guarantee it for 6 months - which is twice what apple does on a LB replacement.

I'm having the same problem. I just got off the phone with Apple and they were not willing to do anything. My Applecare warranty ended a few weeks ago. It's obvious to anyone that it's a widespread problem. I've found thousands of complaints by people outside of the "serial number range" that Apple claims as a problem and are supposedly covering repairs yet do not cover it on other ranges yet apparently those ranges are having the same problem.

I paid over $3,000 for this laptop plus Apple care warranty, I would think Apple would step up to a manufacturer defect and take care of it for their customers? Quite disappointing on the part of Apple not to acknowledge such a defect and cover it for long time customers!

... Gary

I've recently noticed that my lower slot ram wasn't being recognized. I initially thought it was the ram chip itself, tried swapping the chips and realized it's the lower slot.
Has anyone had any success getting this repaired on a Powerbook that's not in the range of serial numbers given in the repair program? Who is the best to contact at Apple in hopes of getting a repair done?
If anyone remembers the logic board problems on the old iBooks, they eventually expanded the serial number range. Perhaps once they realize enough people have this problem, they'll expand this one as well.

My PB exhibited the beeping/flashing/not starting up symptom for the first time yesterday but the serial number does not fall within the requirement. I do however have Applecare so should I just take it in for a repair anyway? And is the repair a new logicboard? I still have about 18 months of Applecare to go but I certainly wouldn't want this problem to get worse and then have to do that work out of warranty when it finally goes kaput! BTW after taking the RAM out and reinserting it a few times my PB eventually came back to life, phew!

Yeah.

I have 1.25 GHz and the same problem. Started noticeing last year when started getting a broken glass sound on startup, but this went away eventually. Posted at the time but obviously this was a newish problem then as did not get any responses.

Now checked as per everyone else and the lower slot is u/s.

Pretty p'd with apple about this, compounding the battery life problems.