# invalid memory access!



## Gezis (Jul 8, 2006)

Well, I shut my computer down last night for once in a week or two. When i turn it on this morning i get the open firmware screen which ive never seen. 

It read : invalid memory access at %SRR0:01c0ca0a     %SRR1: 00003030
then it just gives me the option to "mac-boot" or "shut-down" and when i try to boot the screen goes to what looks like a gray pin stripped suit. 

I then was able to boot from the apple hardware disk and it "said" everything was good. I also opened her up and cleaned out the dust and reset the pram. Ive never seen a problem like this before so im just assuming its hardware please let me know if im wrong and need to repost in the correct forum. Like i said im lost so any help would be great. 

Almost forgot : powermac g4 dual 1ghz (mirrored drive doors) 1.75ghz ram
 osx 10.2.8


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## nixgeek (Jul 8, 2006)

Have you tried reseating the RAM?  Hopefully that should do the trick.  Also, how old is the RAM....is it the RAM that shipped with that computer?  If so, it might be time to replace the memory.  Try the first solution first though before anything.


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## Gezis (Jul 8, 2006)

I forgot to say i did that when i cleaned out the dust bunnies.
And yes it is some of the original ram along with three 512s. So i guess since hardware test didnt find the problem i have to restart the comp with each stick of ram??


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## nixgeek (Jul 8, 2006)

Yeah, you might have to pull the RAM and test it individually if possible.


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## Gezis (Jul 8, 2006)

Damn trial and error. Thanks a TON for the help! Ill let you know if this doesnt work.


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## Gezis (Jul 9, 2006)

Well, i took all the memory out and restarted with each piece one at a time and nothing! Takes me to the same screen each time. Any clues??


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## Satcomer (Jul 9, 2006)

Did you open the Mac back up and make sure all the cables are plugged in good? Cleaning the dust out may have loosened a cable somewhere.


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## Gezis (Jul 9, 2006)

I am assuming everthing is hooked up right as i just got the same error screen for each piece of ram.


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## DeltaMac (Jul 9, 2006)

If the problem were bad enough, and caused by a disconnected cable, etc. Then the Apple Hardware test should also either not boot, or find a failure of some kind. The Apple Hardware test doesn't really give a definitive test of the memory, but the fact that it passes (and even boots at all) may mean that the problem may be with the hard drive. You should boot to your OS X installer disk, and run the Disk Utility from the menus. Try a 'Repair Disk' and see what that finds, if anything.


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## Gezis (Jul 10, 2006)

I ran the disk utility and it found a problem and said it repaired it. Now instead of the open firmware screen it sticks on the gray apple screen. Iam running diskwarrior at the moment. Any other help would be great. thanks!


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## MrNivit1 (Jul 10, 2006)

if you haven't made a backup of your hard drive, now would be a very good time.  If the apple hardware test boots and the OSX installer disk boots then this may be a hard drive issue (i.e. everything else about your computer is working).  A re-install of OS X after formatting may help, but if you were ending up in Open Firmware, this may be a serious hard drive issue.  Make a backup of the exsiting drive, if possible, and replace the drive with a new one.


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## Gezis (Jul 11, 2006)

It is prolly a serious problem like you suggest because disk warrior seems to have gotten stuck at about 50%. Is diskwarrior even the best program to use?How do i go about backing up the HD? And will that even help in the chance to save the info on the drive? I can care less about the HD I just want the data.


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## Mobius Rex (Jul 11, 2006)

Techtool Pro: http://www.micromat.com/index.php?option=content&task=view&id=31 is another diagnostic utility that's a "must have", along with Disk Warrior.  It ain't cheap, but it's quite good.
Backing up your hard drive is something you really should do.  All hard drives fail, sooner or later.  Other World Computing: http://eshop.macsales.com/  is a good source for hard drive replacements, as well as external hard drives.
Regularly backing up your data onto an external HD is wise practice.  It can save your ass, as well as your sanity, in the event that your computer's HD goes wonky or dies.


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## Gezis (Jul 11, 2006)

Thanks, I think ill get Tech Tool no matter what i do since it looks like a good thing to have around. 
How do i backup the hd now that i can only boot from cd? Even if i do copy it over to a new hd will the problem just be transfered over?


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## Gezis (Jul 11, 2006)

Looking more closely at techtool its requirements has just 10.3 listed, am i screwed with 10.2.8 or will it still boot from disk and be able to fix the hd?


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## dodousa (May 14, 2010)

me too i have the same and i do all things  but nothing is work so what i must do now plz help me i cant pay other mac .
i think coz hdd or what ?
thx


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