Upgrade RAM out of the box, before turning on?

CtotheP · Jan 4, 2013, 08:05 AM

Just got my new Mini this morning. I'm assuming I should boot up first to make sure everything is good before upgrading to 16gb? Or can I just unscrew, upgrade, then boot up for the first time?

Thanks in advance!

MultiFinder17 · Jan 4, 2013, 08:09 AM

No problem with upgrading it before you turn it on. It doesn't really matter either way - I'd just go ahead and go for it personally. On the off chance that you try and boot it and it has issues, just swap the old RAM back in and see if that helps.

paulrbeers · Jan 4, 2013, 08:47 AM

My opinion is to boot it up first. Make sure you didn't get a lemon before you even bother to start upgrading. Otherwise, you won't know if it is the new ram causing problems or something completely different. Just my .02 worth. Granted, if all you are doing is upgrading the RAM it may not make a difference since that swap is fairly simple. I definitely don't recommend upgrading the hard drive (I know that isn't in your current upgrade plans) until after you have had a successful boot.

JimT1701 · Jan 4, 2013, 09:18 AM

I changed the RAM before first boot myself. Worked fine no issues been running all day since the 29th. 16GB Corsair Vengence RAM.

jhfenton · Jan 4, 2013, 09:56 AM

I did it that way when I got my base Mac mini (Late 2012) a few weeks ago. I ordered the RAM about the time that the Mac arrived and ordered an SSD a few days later, so I was pretty confident that the Mac was trouble-free before I swapped out the RAM a few days later. I waited another few days before I installed the SSD because that ran an even higher risk of my causing trouble.

But all has been great, I'm happy to say.

spartacvs · Jan 4, 2013, 10:01 AM

I turned on mine first before installing any ram and ssd, testing the computer to see if it's working properly out of the box.

philipma1957 · Jan 4, 2013, 10:20 AM

Having done a few hundred machines. I can only say; " do you feel lucky" .

If you are putting in ram and nothing else sure why not.

I had 2 bad minis out of 200 plus. The first one was a ssd/ram replacement and was done without a pre test. That was in 2009.

Since then i pre test every mini. All the 2010 and newer I turn upside down rest on soft cloth remove the black cover and boot.

I look to see the fan spinning.

I look to see that hard wire net connection works .

I open the about your mac to see if I have the machine I paid for.

I power off and do mods.

Since I have done this I had 1 disconnected fan on a 2011

I had a cracked ram holder.

I had a few refurbs with better ram and 1 refurb with better hdd.

So if you have one machine the chances are 99 or 98 out of 100 that just dropping in ram without a boot is okay.

CtotheP · Jan 4, 2013, 03:30 PM

I "felt lucky" and just installed. Booted up just fine, and I'm on my way!!!

Jan 4, 2013, 08:05 AM	#1
CtotheP macrumors member Join Date: Mar 2011	Upgrade RAM out of the box, before turning on? Just got my new Mini this morning. I'm assuming I should boot up first to make sure everything is good before upgrading to 16gb? Or can I just unscrew, upgrade, then boot up for the first time? Thanks in advance!
	0

Jan 4, 2013, 08:09 AM	#2
MultiFinder17 macrumors 65816 Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Tampa, Florida	No problem with upgrading it before you turn it on. It doesn't really matter either way - I'd just go ahead and go for it personally. On the off chance that you try and boot it and it has issues, just swap the old RAM back in and see if that helps. __________________ 2.5GHz 2011 iMac, 1.8GHz Rev.F MacBook Air, 32GB iPad mini, and 32GB iPhone 5 as my main drivers. "One more thing - You've waited for this, so here's your PowerBook G5!" - Steve Jobs @ WWDC 2014
	0

Jan 4, 2013, 08:47 AM	#3
paulrbeers macrumors 68020 Join Date: Dec 2009	My opinion is to boot it up first. Make sure you didn't get a lemon before you even bother to start upgrading. Otherwise, you won't know if it is the new ram causing problems or something completely different. Just my .02 worth. Granted, if all you are doing is upgrading the RAM it may not make a difference since that swap is fairly simple. I definitely don't recommend upgrading the hard drive (I know that isn't in your current upgrade plans) until after you have had a successful boot. __________________ MBP 8,2 15" 2.2Ghz w/ 120GB SSD + 500GB MBA 4,2 13" 1.7Ghz w/ 128GB SSD Mac Mini 6,2 2.3ghz w/ 240GB SSD + 1TB Mac Pro 1,1 w/ 8 cores @ 2.66 w/ 240GB SSD
	3

Jan 4, 2013, 09:18 AM	#4
JimT1701 macrumors member Join Date: May 2012 Location: Massachusetts	I changed the RAM before first boot myself. Worked fine no issues been running all day since the 29th. 16GB Corsair Vengence RAM. __________________ Mac Pro 1,1 - 8GB - 5770HD - Samsung SSD - 2x Dell U2412M + 1x Dell 2007FP - 8TB Drobo S eSATA
	0

Jan 4, 2013, 10:01 AM	#6
spartacvs macrumors member Join Date: Jan 2013	I turned on mine first before installing any ram and ssd, testing the computer to see if it's working properly out of the box. __________________ 2012 13" cMBP 16GB Ram, 256GB Crucial M4 SSD 2008 13" White Macbook 2GB Ram, 60GB HDD 2009 Mac Mini 8GB Ram, 128GB Sandisk SSD iPad 3 16GB
	0

Jan 4, 2013, 09:56 AM	#5
jhfenton macrumors member Join Date: Dec 2012	I did it that way when I got my base Mac mini (Late 2012) a few weeks ago. I ordered the RAM about the time that the Mac arrived and ordered an SSD a few days later, so I was pretty confident that the Mac was trouble-free before I swapped out the RAM a few days later. I waited another few days before I installed the SSD because that ran an even higher risk of my causing trouble. But all has been great, I'm happy to say.
	0

Jan 4, 2013, 10:20 AM	#7
philipma1957 macrumors 603 Join Date: Apr 2010	Having done a few hundred machines. I can only say; " do you feel lucky" . If you are putting in ram and nothing else sure why not. I had 2 bad minis out of 200 plus. The first one was a ssd/ram replacement and was done without a pre test. That was in 2009. Since then i pre test every mini. All the 2010 and newer I turn upside down rest on soft cloth remove the black cover and boot. I look to see the fan spinning. I look to see that hard wire net connection works . I open the about your mac to see if I have the machine I paid for. I power off and do mods. Since I have done this I had 1 disconnected fan on a 2011 I had a cracked ram holder. I had a few refurbs with better ram and 1 refurb with better hdd. So if you have one machine the chances are 99 or 98 out of 100 that just dropping in ram without a boot is okay.
	0

Jan 4, 2013, 03:30 PM	#8
CtotheP Thread Starter macrumors member Join Date: Mar 2011	I "felt lucky" and just installed. Booted up just fine, and I'm on my way!!!
	0

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