On 5 Mar, 2005, at 17:11, marshagrant at lycos.com wrote: Regarding the RAM I have: 128MB SYN. DIMM 100 (It actually has a label on it that places it as "Ap. PowerMac G3") 256MBx2 are not matched. One is from a company called SEITEC, 256 MB T8, PC-100-222-620 the other is marked 'china', with a white sticky label on it with numbers 1178-256-1147. So we can presume the 128 is outdated and the 256 are definitely third party. Have you had any strange sounds during the startup process? If you get noises like a breaking glass or off-sequence tones, the RAM you are using is not compatible or has failed. It is highly unlikely that the 128Mb stick is outdated. RAM doesn't age, it just works or fails to work when you turn the machine on. That stick appears to be a PC-100 stick and should be good for your Mac unless it has failed. Even though the 256Mb sticks are third-party, many third-party RAM sticks will work in Macs. I suggest trying the 256Mb sticks one at a time while attempting to install the OS. I would use the Seitec stick first. If you don't have good operating RAM, you will get an audible indication of that fact and the OS will not install from the CD. Then, you can restart with the other stick and try again. If you succeed with the installation, insert the second 256Mb stick and try to reboot. Just for the record, I do not have any Apple branded RAM in any of my G3s (2 desktop Beige and 1 B&W) or my G4s (Gbit Ethernet and Cube), not even my two G3 laptops, and they are all working without a hitch.