cube transition issue

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zoranb

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When changing a user and moving to the next, the cube transition isnt smooth, it gets stuck and after 10sec it continues. What might be the reason?
 
zoranb said:
When changing a user and moving to the next, the cube transition isnt smooth, it gets stuck and after 10sec it continues. What might be the reason?
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Cube transition? Are you talking about changing users? Are you on a domain or are you just using multiple users on OS X?
 
The graphics while doing fast user switching could look sketchy if you don't have enough memory. If there are a lot of apps open and processing something for one user, and then the second one has e.g. 10,000 user installed fonts and 6000 files on their desktop and 20 apps launching at login... you'd probably feel a lag while switching.
 
Thanx but none of the above are happening, i only have Skype and Safari open, not are there many fonts installed!
 
What are the specs of this Mac where it happens? Which Mac/year, OS details + amount of RAM and HD/free HD?
 
512 MB of RAM memory is really low, and is likely the reason your system response is so slow. Your PowerBook can be upgraded to as much as 2 GB (4 times what you have now), and would help tremendously.
 
That will depend on which PowerBook G4 you have.
Which specific model do you have?
Find out by clicking on your Apple menu, then About this Mac.
Click on the More Info... button.
That will bring up your System Profiler.
You should be at the Hardware Overview, so tell us what Model Identifier is listed...
A 15-inch PowerBook 1.67 will be either a PowerBook5,6 or PowerBook5,8

The memory sticks are completely different between those two models.

The memory is easy to install. All you need to do is flip over your PowerBook, and remove the 4 tiny screws in the small panel near the center of the bottom case. All that's inside that panel is the memory slots.

Unless you have a 17-inch PBook, where you remove the main battery, then remove screws to open the panel that's between the battery latches.

You can also look at OWC site, which will help you decide which model you have, and show you the correct memory, with the choice to purchase that memory at that site. Tech support pages on the OWC site also show you exactly what you need to do to install the memory.
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/memory/iBooks-PowerBooks/G4-Aluminum/
http://eshop.macsales.com/installvideos/
 
Then, you will need sticks that are PC-2700 DDR333 200-pin SO-DIMM
PC-3200 SO-DIMM should be fine, too.
you'll find a decent selection on that OWC site that I linked.

I would suggest that you go with a site, such as OWC, that offers support and recommendations for Macs.
Reason is: those PowerBooks were known to be quite finicky about RAM, with some RAM that would work OK in other PCs, or even in other Mac models, but would make a PowerBook mysteriously unstable. Could be that more recently manufactured RAM sticks will be less of a challenge, but a site with good, Mac-knowledgable support, such as Crucial.com, or macsales.com, would be a good choice...
 
3200 is capable of faster speed, if the system bus supports that extra speed.
In most cases, there is no actual speed advantage, but many Macs will accept the next level up or two of chip speed, as long as the memory is compatible (PC-2700 and PC-3200 are OK, but PC2-4200 (which is next generation) is not supported, and won't even install. As there is not a real advantage, then if you stick with the spec memory (PC-2700), that's OK, too. I mentioned PC3200, because it can be easier to find, if you want to purchase locally. Just remember, it must be a SO-DIMM (for laptops), and not the desktop size.

You can also ask your questions about the proper use of memory at the OWC web site...
 
You can check in your System Profiler. (in your Utilities folder!)
Click Memory from the list.

Or, just open the bottom panel, and take a look.

Each slot can take up to a 1GB stick.
 
in Crucial's site there is an option for a G4 Powerbook with DDR2 memory, what am i looking for, DDR2 or just DDR?
 
Only the last PowerBook G4 uses DDR2 memory. You don't have one of those.

I see that the Crucial site does show confusing info, and seems to list the 1.67 GHz DDR2 models as slightly older than the Early 2005 (DDR) models, which is not accurate.
Please verify at the OWC site, which shows you the correct memory, in a more understandable format.
(hint: you DON'T have an "October 2005" PowerBook. Yours is one of the "all others")
Then, just to clarify:
Your PowerBook5,6 takes DDR333 PC-2700 SO-DIMMs. Each one can be up to 1GB.

Here's another site, that gives you the same information, and verifies which RAM you need.
Your model (PowerBook5,6) is listed properly on this page:
http://www.macramdirect.com/powerbook.html#pb4
 
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