My guess is that your processor card is going bad, and that the techs you took it to were incompetent and didn't have anyone who was certified in the last 5 years as an Apple tech. For them to claim it was a software error like that just reeks of ignorance and inexperience. Fortunately, processor cache going bad is a known problem, and relatively easy to fix: replace the processor card. A 333Mhz processor card is relatively cheap on eBay, since Lombard owners want the 400Mhz processor, and I have a good feeling that getting one and replacing it would fix your problems. My Lombard started to show similar symptoms (after being problem free for a year after buying it used) as you are describing which I could only see as processor cache related. I never got the chance to actually see the later stages of the failure myself, because the screen cracked and I have been using another laptop since.
Regards, Adam Thayer
On Aug 26, 2004, at 8:56 PM, D. G. Bowie wrote:
Here's my Drive Setup question: When you initialize and divide a drive into two partitions with Drive Setup, does one of the partitions take priority as the "first" or "top" partition? I recently took my Macintosh Powerbook G3 (Lombard, 333 MHz, with 384 RAM and 40 GB hard drive) in for repair after seeing this message for the first time and experiencing random crashes and freezes:
"The built-in memory test has detected a problem with cache memory. Please contact a service technician for assistance."
The fix-it shop ran various diagnostic texts, but didn't find a memory or hardware problem. They told me that I had installed OSX (Panther) on the wrong partition. (By way of explanation, most of the time I still use 9.2.2, since all my music software is pre-Panther, but I've had OSX installed on a second partition for some time now, anticipating a future move up to it.)
So, I paid their standard $50 servicing charge, grateful for the advice, and brought my Mac home. Now, after backing up all my files onto another computer, I'm surprised to discover that the partitioning scheme I had been using appears fine. In other words, in the Drive Setup "custom setup" screen, the "Panther" partition (7939 MB) sits on top of the "9.2.2 Powerbook" partition (29,958 MB). I wonder if perhaps the partition on the bottom is really the one I need to re-install Panther on? If not, I wonder if I've received dubious or random advice? In looking through the Drive Setup documentation, I find no mention of any partition taking priority as the "first" or the "top" partition; I've always assumed that the "Startup Disk" control panel in 9.2.2 dictates priority.
I do intend to give the Panther partition more space than the 8 GB it's had up until now, but I still don't know whether to install Panther on the bottom or top partition. I've been told it matters, but I'm confused. I'll need to ask the service folks more about this, but also wanted to post my question here in the meantime. Thanks for any wisdom on this matter.
Regards,
Greenfield Bowie
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