I've Got RAM Problems

thuh freakthuh freak
Posted:
in Genius Bar edited January 2014
rather than try to infect CosmoNut's thread, i figured i'd make my own. A long time ago (several months) a friend gave me some ram. so i now have 2 64MB strips and 2 128MB strips. Recently though, I suspect not all of it is being used. I have MenuMeters and it shows my RAM (used and free) as well as the pageouts and proc use percentage in the menubar (its a cool menu dealie, for those who dont have it i recommend it).



Up until a couple of weeks ago, my RAM would be regularly used up (i tend to run many apps concurrently) but about 5MB. This didn't bother me, because I figure the OS probably either misreports 5MB, or needs at least that much to deal with the swap. But recently, about 180MB are constantly not in use. (i also checked the ram usage with top, and it shows the same amount used/unused and pageins/outs as the menumeter.) It didn't alarm me until I investigated it. I close all my apps, and just run the finder, and get a large chunk of free ram (to be expected). But when I run, ProjectBuilder, InterfaceBuilder, iTunes, Safari, Terminal, iChat, SysPrefs and more, I can't use up that last 180MB or so, and i pageout large amounts, and often. I cant think of anything i've done to trigger this (though my comp has been acting fishy in general for a while). i haven't even opened my comp in several months, so its unlikely that the ram chips have gotten loose or something physical happening to them. does ram die of old age? anyone have any clue as to how i can fix it (short of paying money to get new ram)? its not that big of a deal, cuz i intend to get a g5 and get sick amoutns of ram in it, but for the next month or whatever this is gonna bug me.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 4
    cosmonutcosmonut Posts: 4,872member
    Don't hold me to this, but from what I understand:
    • Because RAM has no moving parts, it theoretically could last forever without problems.

    • *If* some weird shock went through your system, that could damage it.

    • Bad RAM would cause your system to use up memory too quickly instead of never enough. In this case, it almost sounds like your MoBo *could* be the culprit.

    • Goofy RAM issues can be a real pain in the ass.

  • Reply 2 of 4
    gargoylegargoyle Posts: 660member
    Errrm, try cleaning your computer inside. DO NOT use a regular hoover!!



    I used to work in a helpdesk during a rollout a few years back and we were getting machines that had sat under desks for 3 years! We had a special hoover (anti static) and you would not believe the crap that came out of the RAM/PCI slots.... YES, the ones WITH cards in them.



    Worth a try before you blow some cash anyway,
  • Reply 3 of 4
    altivec_2.0altivec_2.0 Posts: 995member
    Compressed Air, 2 simple words. 4.95 at staples
  • Reply 4 of 4
    thuh freakthuh freak Posts: 2,664member
    I tried cleaning out the comp (and by the way, the inside was unusually non-dusty). I also checked the RAM connections, and they were all fine. So I un/re-plugged all those chips. Now theres the comp refuses to use up 115MB, so i got back about like a 64MB chip. I may have rearranged the order of the ram, does that matter? I seem to remember something about the OS or openfirmware or something requiring some kind of chip in a certain spot, but I'm not sure if I made that up or what the order is supposed to be anyway.
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