The Mini: maximum frustration, redux

Posted on September 18, 2006
Filed Under All, Technology, Apple |

So tonight marked someting like the 10th time I’ve had to crack the Mini to upgrade its RAM. Remember that one of the SODIMMs we ordered a couple weeks ago from Other World Computing just would not work.

At their advice, I re-opened and re-installed the RAM multiple times, to try every possible combination of DIMM and slot, before they issued a RMA. Tonight I installed the replacement RAM, in the process of reassembling the machine, a very small plastic guard, that holds the ribbon cable onto the DVD drive shattered and popped off.

Scotch tape now holds the ribbon cable, but the reassembled Mini still doesn’t see both DIMMs. After 10 cycles with putty knives, tweezers and jeweler’s screw drivers, I’ve had it. One wonders if the culprit is the Techworks RAM from Other World (which they claim is no different from other RAM), or the Mini.  The 2 256 MB DIMMs that came with the Mini worked just fine in either slot. 2 out of 3 Techworks DIMMs from OWC have not. Small RAM savings now completely overwhelmed by massive waste of time and damage to the Mini…

Comments

4 Responses to “The Mini: maximum frustration, redux”

  1. Roger on September 20th, 2006 5:49 am

    I recommend Crucial for memory upgrades.
    http://www.crucial.com/

  2. cg on September 21st, 2006 7:44 am

    Thanks Mr. R… this is really annoying.

  3. www.gulker.com beta » Blog Archive » A quiet evening with the new iTunes 7 on September 23rd, 2006 9:17 pm

    […] So, we’re ready for some down time. I didn’t even want to think about fixing the Mini, so I’m veging out in the new iTunes. First effort, buying Los Lobos’ The Town and The City resulted in a Windows-like Cascade of 14 useless error messages. After a restart, and patience while the iTunes site sorted itself out, our favorite East L.A. band’s (and my vote for the all time masters of Tejano) latest album showed up. So we’re happily listening to the mellow but driven rhythms as we blog away… heh, bliss… […]

  4. www.gulker.com beta » Blog Archive » The Mini, finally sees all 2 GB of its new RAM on September 24th, 2006 7:34 pm

    […] It was a struggle, and the Mini almost didn’t make it through the process, but the Intel Mini now sees al 2 GB of its new Techworks RAM from Other World Computing. The problem may not have been bad RAM: the problem may well have been a very small metal tab on the retaining clip on the bottom RAM slot. It had popped out of its small receptacle, which meant one side of the SO DIMM wasn’t being held quite as firmly as the other side. […]

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