Resolved PowerBook G4 12" 1.5 Mac OS X 10.3.7

[ExclusiveMac]

Howdy!

I want to install Mac OS X 10.3.7 on a PowerBook G4 12" 1.5Ghz, it runs from the DVD disc, I formated the drive and install, after 1 min of installing I receive a blue screen and a circle that loading, why is not going further?

Also, I test on Apple Hardware Test, and it gives me an error on Memory, here can be the issue of loading the installing?

 

[Doq]

Mmmm.... looks like your G4 has Dead Bottom Slot Syndrome. Try removing the DIMM from your RAM slot and see how far that'll take you.

It could also be the DIMM itself; try a different one as well.

 

[ExclusiveMac]

What is more exactly this syndrome?

 

[Doq]

Aluminum PowerBook G4s can be susceptible to a problem where the lower RAM slot (the one closest to the logic board) will malfunction, making it unusable. It's most common on 15" models, but the other two models (afaik) can be susceptible to the problem as well. As the 12" models have only one slot, it's the lower slot, and it may fail. If it did fail and it's not an issue with the module itself, you'd be limited to only the 256 MB of memory onboard.

 

[ExclusiveMac]

I tried to remove the module and clean it a little bit on both sides, the installation was longer but it gets stuck on Processing Base System Part 1 at 45% and after 4 min blue screen and beach ball loading. Any suggestions?

 

[Doq]

• Do you get no chime?
• Does AHT still report an error?
  • If yes, do you have another module to swap in and test with?

If all of the above still doesn't work, try running the installer with no module installed.

 

[ExclusiveMac]

There is a chime every time I turn it on, don't have another module, but I tried to install it without the module, and was installed without issues, so after full installation, I tried to turn it off insert the 1GB module, and turn on, everything works properly and I can see the module via about.

Now if I try to reinstall the module, the installation will be smooth?

 

[Doq]

It may be unstable with the module installed.

 

[ExclusiveMac]

I think there is something with the module, i remember that last week was fallen on the floor by mistake, and is an issue when i open Garage Band, it crashes, without the module, the app opens normally.

So it can be because the module fell on the floor? I hope is not the slot an issue.

 

[Doq]

Without another module to test with, I can't say definitively whether or not it's the slot or the module. Though, this new information does sway me in the direction of it being the module.

 

[Macbookprodude]

Aluminum PowerBook G4s can be susceptible to a problem where the lower RAM slot (the one closest to the logic board) will malfunction, making it unusable. It's most common on 15" models, but the other two models (afaik) can be susceptible to the problem as well. As the 12" models have only one slot, it's the lower slot, and it may fail. If it did fail and it's not an issue with the module itself, you'd be limited to only the 256 MB of memory onboard.

This was fixed in later models - I don’t know if any DLSD which had this problem.

 

[Macbookprodude]

Sounds like a bad module - this is similar with my 2012 MacBook Pro non-retina due to bad memory, the system fails to install Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur.. but I got Mavericks to install.

 

[Doq]

This was fixed in later models - I don’t know if any DLSD which had this problem.

I'm not aware of any DLSD firsthand with it either. But there also wasn't ever a 12" DLSD either.

<ot/rant>
Which really disappoints me, because while the 17 and the 15 got an upgrade in with the late 2005 DLSDs, the 12 didn't; and honestly, I feel like the 12 needed a DLSD model the most. The DLSDs brought three major updates to PowerBook G4 (among a swath of other smaller changes): Higher-resolution display, Dual-Layer Superdrive, and DDR2. Since the 12 never got a late 2005 model, it never got these benefits-- especially the higher resolution display. Imagine a 12 with, say, a 1280x960 display and a full 2GB of RAM. The legacy of the 12" PowerBook G4 may have been much greater with this hypothetical model. But it never happened.

There is a display mod out there for the 12 that gives it a higher resolution panel. I might explore making a '12" DLSD' in the future. Without the DDR2, of course.
<ot/rant>

 

[Macbookprodude]

True, but 12 inch isn’t good on my eyes either. I agree though, the 12 inch should have had a hi-res display.

 

[ExclusiveMac]

Issue solved by replacing the module. Now everything is working properly!