Re: Someone gave me an iMac

In article <slrngjt29c.16ru.foo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>,
Ian Gregory <foo@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

On 2008-12-09, Jolly Roger <jollyroger@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:

Grab the serial number from Apple System Profiler. Then head over to
this web page and paste in the serial number where in the "Search Tech
Specs" field to get the official specifications for the machine:

<http://support.apple.com/specs/>

I'm betting you'll end up here:

<http://support.apple.com/kb/SP93>

You were right, thanks for the tip.

Look in the memory section of System Profiler to see how many RAM slots
it has and what type of RAM is installed in them. It'll either be PC133
??, PC2100, or PC2700.

System Profiler does not say how many slots there are

I think you're just not looking in the right place. Here's what System
Profiler shows for my Mac Pro's memory slots right now:

<http://jollyroger.kicks-ass.org/sysprefs-ramslots.png>

but the specs
website says "128MB or 256MB of SDRAM expandable to 1GB; one 168-pin
DIMM and one open user-accessible SO-DIMM slot".

System profiler describes the current memory as:

Built-in memory 128 MB PC100-222S
Location: DIMM1/J13
Size 128 MB
Memory type: SDRAM

So slot J13 (above) is likely the built-in RAM, and the other
user-accessible slot is likely free for expansion. This is good.

Unfortunately, the RAM type isn't PC2100 or PC2700 DDR, but the slower,
smaller, and more expensive PC100-222S SODIMM:

<http://www.ramseeker.com/memory/iMac_Flat_Panel_(PC133)/>

So it looks like your best option is to grab a 512 MB stick of PC133
(currently selling for $35 from 1.800.4.memory.com), which will bring
you up to a total of 640 MB of RAM.

While not ideal (1 GB or more is best), this will allow Mac OS X to run
much more efficiently without having to resort to swapping to disk
nearly as much. It will drastically improve overall performance.

Unless I just give the machine to my friend "as is" then I guess the
first thing to do is order some memory. I have never opened up a Mac
before but I have installed memory in dozens of Sun workstations and
servers so it shouldn't be beyond my abilities:-)

It's pretty easy, really. See page 32 of the iMac (Flat Panel) User's
Guide:

<http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=50015>

Then I have to decide whether to install 10.4 or try out the trick to
install 10.5.

Personally, I'd go with 10.5. There are so many improvements and bug
fixes in 10.5 that it's well worth the additional effort, IMO. I
installed 10.5 on a 800 MHz Powerbook Titanium, and it's better than
10.4 on the same machine.

--
Send responses to the relevant news group rather than email to me.
E-mail sent to this address may be devoured by my very hungry SPAM
filter. Due to Google's refusal to prevent spammers from posting
messages through their servers, I often ignore posts from Google
Groups. Use a real news client if you want me to see your posts.

JR
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: HOW TO: optimal Windows XP Paging File size
    ... "Change the size of the virtual memory paging file" ... My advice to those genuinely interested in setting an optimum Windows XP ... Lastly, download, install and run Sysinternal PageDefrag ... For example, on a 32 bit WinXP Pro computer with 4 gig of RAM, any ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.perform_maintain)
  • Re: regretting upgrade from ME to XP Home
    ... Their ValueRAM is the best bargain among their memory types. ... Crucial sells direct....they are a subsidiary of the company that manufactures their RAM. ... How To Install Internal & External Hard Drives ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.newusers)
  • Re: 3GB in 2 DIMM slots!
    ... The best answer is to install a second IDENTICAL 2GB stick. ... RAM, so the extra RAM should not be wasted. ... And if I do go to 4GB, can't Vista allocate the video memory from the ...
    (microsoft.public.windows.vista.performance_maintenance)
  • Re: Computer wont boot up after installing new RAM
    ... I even took a look at an old Gigabyte motherboard ... DDR2 memory stick, the notch does not line up. ... "To install the memory module, ... into the motherboard RAM slots. ...
    (microsoft.public.windowsxp.hardware)
  • Re: Brand new Imac suffering frightening kernel panic attacks
    ... You don't have phoney Apple stickers to hide, ... You have room to install more hard drives and components can breathe, ... A real PC is what Mac users call The Missing Link, ... your RAM is not to specifications you may get a kernel panic. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.system)