troubleshooting/tutorials/security
10/10/2005, 3:45pm, EDT
Monday, October 10th
Adding RAM causes problems for iBook owners
Several owners of new iBooks complain that installing extra ram causes problems with Airport. Dozens of iBook owners have reported the issue for over a month without a response from Apple. Users also report system lag after installing RAM. Although the majority of affected users report problems with Airport, a small number say their wireless networking continues to function, display overall system slowness. One user writes, "I've got a new ibook 12" (refurbished, by the way) with recent airport problems. It shipped with 512mb ram and was just fine. Immediately after new 1gb stick of Crucial memory airport has become buggy. I can only get airport to go down when using a super high bandwidth networking task - running torrents seems to make airport quit within minutes."
Another user writes, "After spending time on the phone with AppleCare, to no avail, I took it into my local Apple Store. As soon as the guy fired up the iBook, he said there was a problem because (1) the signal was not 100% (which it should be in the store) and (2) my iBook could not see all of the available networks (the mall has about 5 or 6 available). They sent it off on Friday and it was back in the store on Tuesday. I picked it up Wednesday and found that the 'cure' was to 'reconnect antenna to airport'. I am not convinced it was that simple, but that is what the ticket said - perhaps the entire antenna was replaced, perhaps it was the card."
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Anyway, perhaps Apple forgot to roll the legacy patch into Tiger?
Yes, the antenna wire DOES have to be pushed in fairly hard (until you feel it snap into place) on the Airport card or it will not perform well.
We wouldn't want to get in the way of his illegal downloads...
I wonder if the problem is also the case with memory that is added by Apple or just third party memory?
http://episteme.arstechnica.com/groupee/forums?a=tpc&s=50009562&f=8300945231&m=524009175731&r=254006575731#254006575731
The consensus is that the problem only affects new iBooks with maxed-out RAM. It can also be caused by any Airport activity.
Airport connectivity stops completely without explanation after minutes, hours or days. Also, trackpad movement becomes choppy and kernel_task process starts consuming large amount of CPU, pinning CPU usage at 100%. (Mid-2005 iBooks only.) Also, it looks like it only happens when: 1. plugged into wall (problem doesn't happen running on batt. power) 2. heavy airport usage (via internet downloads or moving files on a network) 3. having 1.5 gb ram installed. (1 gb doesn't seem to be a problem)
When the problem occurs, the airport signal indicator in the menu bar turns all gray and clicking on it reveals that there are no airport signals in range. Again, the trackpad behavior becomes choppy and the kernel_task process runs away with the CPU. Simply restarting the iBook restores normal functionality.
This issue has been driving me nuts. I have called AppleCare twice now and they say they haven't heard of the problem.
Dave Burbank