Specifications

iMac (Early 2006 17-inch) Troubleshooting — General Info 133
General Information
Serial Number Location
iMac (Early 2006) serial numbers are located on the bottom of the computer stand.
Power On Self Test (POST)
Intel-based Macs such as the iMac (Early 2006) rely on a combination of tones and blinking LEDs
to display Power On Self Test (POST) error codes.
If the computer detects out-of-specication memory or no RAM installed, the screen will be black
and the power LED on the front of the computer will blink once a second to indicate bad or no
RAM. Bad RAM can include physically damaged, the incorrect type, or not present.
If the RAM is good enough to pass the POST test but it is marginal and cannot be used by the
operating system, the computer will show a gray screen, three tones will sound and the power
LED on the front of the computer will blink three times, pause, and repeat until the computer is
turned o.
The solution to both these situations is to install known good memory.
DDR Memory
The iMac (Early 2006) computer has two SDRAM slots in the bottom of the computer. The iMac
ships from the factory with at least 512 MB of DDR2 SDRAM installed into the top slot. (The
computer may come with more RAM in the top slot or RAM in the bottom slot, depending on
how the computer was ordered from Apple.)
The maximum amount of RAM you can install in the iMac is 2 GB total (a 1 GB SO-DIMM in each
of the two slots). You can use small-outline dual inline memory modules (SO-DIMMS) of 512 MB or
1 GB that meet all of these criteria:
- PC2-5300
- unbuered
- nonparity
- 200-pin
- 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
NOTE: DIMMs with any of the following features are NOT supported in this iMac:
- registers or buers
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