olga Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 My PowerBook G4 (15") is really slowing down. I see a lot of the spinning beach ball of death as I wait for pages to load, or even when I close applications like iPhoto. In June it will be 5 years old, but I don't do anything like play games on it or have it loaded up with music. I try to trim back the photos in iPhoto now and then (there are about 2800) but that's the only big thing I have on it. Here's what I've done to help. Suggestions for other operations are welcome: 1) I empty the trash every day. Every time I close my browser, I empty the cache, delete downloads, clear out the cookies, etc. 2) I repair the disk permissions often 3) I run MacJanitor every day to get rid of old log files 4) I got rid of iMovie and Garage Band, as well as all the foreign languages and all the drivers for printers. 5) Today I used my software Install and Restore disk to perform the hardware test. It said all the hardware is fine. 6) I re-set the PARM. (Got that from a bulletin board on the Mac support site). I clean out my e-mail regularly and don't have more than a few hundred. I'm really stumped. I know I should take it to the Apple store and let the nice young people at the Genius Bar do something, but that's an hour's drive each way and I thought I might get some suggestions from the Mac people here, first. Here are the specs if that helps: Machine Model: PowerBook G4 15" CPU Type: PowerPC G4 (1.1) Number Of CPUs: 1 CPU Speed: 1.33 GHz L2 Cache (per CPU): 512 KB Memory: 256 MB Bus Speed: 167 MHz Boot ROM Version: 4.8.6f0 OSX 10.3.9 Should I buy more memory? Would I be capable of installing it? olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bluelikejazz Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I have an ibook G4 and i'm starting to see a lot of the same problems. I'll try some of those suggestions, but i'm thinking of buying an external hard drive to store my itunes folder on, so I have 25 Gig or so free (right now I only have 1 gig, and thats with deleting things) I don't think you have to install it, you just plug it into the usb slot. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grousemouse Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Hiya Olga, i'm not a mac person i'm linusian, but I know that installations degrade over time regardless of which operating system is being used. installing crappy software (like most shareware) tends to accelerate the process, as do lots of system crashes. which means that after a while it really helps to BACK UP ALL YOUR DATA and then format the harddrive and reinstall your os and software. and your system does sound kind of old. more memory is very often an improvement for a system, but if you have enough for your os and the software you use then i don't think you'd notice a huge difference. i'm thinking a new install might be something you'd ask the genius bar people to do. you could also ask them if they think you might need more ram. installing ram is not at all difficult but ram is very sensitive to static electricity so it is rather easy to fry if you're not careful. if it's not something that you particularly want to learn how to do, i'd let them do it. good luck, grouse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Dear sweet Jebus, you run OS X with only 256MB of RAM? That's a fantastic way to make it unusably slow. OS X really, really likes having more RAM to work with, and in my opinion 256MB has been too little for it since way back when your computer was new, and probably even a bit before that. I have no idea what memory for that particular model runs these days, but it's old enough that it's past the point where it was getting progressively cheaper and has gotten more expensive again (because newer computers don't use the same kind anymore). From what I remember, it's not too bad adding more if you can follow directions and can work a screwdriver (I'm pretty sure there's just one small panel covering it, but I haven't seen the inside of one of those in a while). I honestly think that might be the thing that would make the biggest improvement, even more than reinstalling stuff from scratch (although that would probably come in second). Definitely worth looking into, at least, assuming it otherwise is in good shape. Edit: I also don't know why people think it's so easy to fry stuff with static. I never in my life have managed to do that, and I'm not especially careful about it. Unplug it from the power adapter, take the battery out, and ground yourself by touching a pipe or radiator or something, and you should be fine as long as you don't take a break in the middle of it to shuffle across the carpet in your socks or something. Heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 Hey, everyone, thanks for the input. Grousie, it's not crashing at all. Part of the reason why I bought a Mac in the first place was because i got tired of the PC we used to have crashing and freezing and just being a general PITA. This laptop has been great. A couple of years ago, they had to put in a new motherboard and they didn't charge me for it, even though my warranty was over. So I think RAM is the answer. (I also haven't installed any shareware except MacJanitor). Nal, this is the way it came, with the 256MB of RAM. I never thought it was slow during these past 4 1/2 years, but remember that I'm not doing the things on it that you do on your computer. I don't play any games, I don't use it for music---I'm the classic "e-mail and web-surfing" kind of user. I think I'll go back to the Mac support site and ask them about adding more RAM. I've never taken a screwdriver to this thing, but if I can give a dinner party for 10 people without breaking a sweat, I think I can take this apart without electrocuting myself. Or I could drive east for 3 hours and you could help me. *bats eyelashes* olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
celestia Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Olga, I've never broken into a Mac, but I did my PC laptop. Geek Squad wanted an unreasonable amount of monies to fix my problem and necessity is the mother of invention, so... You can do it too. Somewhere online you'll find a step by step "how to" either in your Mac support groups or elsewhere. Keep looking. Or get Nal's phone number and have him be your tech guy for a 1/2 hour. Ram is super, super easy to install in PCs, I can't imagine it could be more difficult in a Mac. But I'm not a Mac person. (well, actually, I am...but lack of funds dictates I go with the inferior product). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
N&P Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I consulted with my husband and Nalgas is right- You need more RAM. And you can do it yourself. iTunes and iPhoto also take up a lot so I'd suggest a external hard drive for those apps. You don't have to but I would- Your photos and music would then be protected. FYI- If you are ever thinking about upgrading OS, don't try to put Leopard on the G4. It can only be installed on the new Intel-Macs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Nal, this is the way it came, with the 256MB of RAM. I never thought it was slow during these past 4 1/2 years, but remember that I'm not doing the things on it that you do on your computer. I don't play any games, I don't use it for music---I'm the classic "e-mail and web-surfing" kind of user. Just because that's how much they sold it with doesn't mean that's how much it needs/needed (in my opinion, they should've gone up to 512MB default in all computers they sold way sooner than they did, just because of how big a difference it makes). My dad doesn't do much more with his computers than you, and I almost always make him buy more than the default amount when he gets a new computer (except on the rare occasions when they include enough), and he always ends up being glad he did. OS X really, really likes having as much memory as you can throw at it, and also newer versions of things tend to use more, so as you upgrade over time, it becomes even more important. That's true with the OS itself, along with various programs. iTunes is particularly notorious for that, but it's generally true with other things, too. Anyway, like I said, it shouldn't be too hard to do. If you have the junk that came with it in the box when you got it, it should have illustrated instructions for it right there. If not, the Apple site should have the equivalent, along with dozens of other places having similar guides. I can dig some stuff up if you're not sure what you're looking for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Elvis Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 Go ahead and get an estimate for how much it costs to get them to put it in. Laptops aren't PCs. My brother who is pretty good at this kind of stuff managed to kill his ibook adding ram. I think for that particular model you had to pull out the whole logic board and he managed to knock something off that was supposed to stay in place. Look at the howto on the Internet before deciding. If it involves sliding stuff out of the case to get to to where you add the RAM, pay someone else to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted February 17, 2009 Author Share Posted February 17, 2009 VE, I was wondering the same thing. I would hate to take it apart and ruin it. I'll examine this issue from all sides before I do it. And I'll also talk to the people at the Apple store. Nal, it may have needed more when I bought it, but who knew? I never owned a Mac or a laptop before, so I was kinda flying blind when I bought it. Thanks for all the input, gang. olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
liveoak Posted February 17, 2009 Share Posted February 17, 2009 I don't know much about computers at all, but I do know that 512 RAM is pretty standard for lowballing it. That's what I have on this machine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nalgas Posted February 18, 2009 Share Posted February 18, 2009 Go ahead and get an estimate for how much it costs to get them to put it in. Laptops aren't PCs. My brother who is pretty good at this kind of stuff managed to kill his ibook adding ram. I think for that particular model you had to pull out the whole logic board and he managed to knock something off that was supposed to stay in place. Look at the howto on the Internet before deciding. If it involves sliding stuff out of the case to get to to where you add the RAM, pay someone else to do it. This thing is no iBook. The 12" iBooks were basically designed to not be serviceable, even by people who know what they're doing, much less regular users. I sure am glad I had one, my sister had one, and probably a couple other people's I've had to take apart over the years, because I really do enjoy putting up with having to dismantle the entire thing and put it back together every time something goes wrong. I did it so many times I got it down to about 20 minutes max to replace any part in it, which kind of scares me. Luckily hers finally died after giving it to her boyfriend, so I (hopefully) never have to touch one again. Go look up a guide for how to replace a hard drive in one if you want something to make you cry. The PowerBooks were much, much more friendly. From what I remember, there's a little panel on it that unscrews and gives you direct access to the RAM slots, without exposing you to/forcing you to deal with anything else. I still say it's not too scary if it comes down to that. If they'll do it for you for a reasonable price, go for it, but if they want to charge some stupid amount just to look at the thing, that part of it at least is user serviceable, in my opinion. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
olga Posted March 5, 2009 Author Share Posted March 5, 2009 Well, as it turned out, finding memory for my poor old girl wasn't as easy as I thought it would be. However, I found a guy who is a certified Mac repair guy and he ordered the chip for me. I went there today and watched his wife put it in. It was really difficult. NOT! She turned off the laptop. Flipped it over. Removed 4 screws that were holding a plate in place. Removed the chip from its cellophane envelope. Dropped it into the slot. Put the cover back on and replaced the four screws. Took her maybe 3 minutes, tops. Then we turned the laptop on to make sure the GB of new memory was showing up. I paid for it and was out of there in no time. (They charge for the memory, not for the installation) Old Ethel is doing much better now, and it only takes 20 seconds for iPhoto to load when I open it. No more spinning beachball of death. heh Thanks for all the advice! olga Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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