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MacBook (Unibody) and 8 GB RAM

A

anotherimacuser

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 11, 2014
6
0
Hello,

I've bought a 8 GB RAM upgrade for such a machine. However, it is not working. As described at http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...-2.0-aluminum-13-late-2008-unibody-specs.html and http://blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-08-macbooks-use-8gb it should be working. If I put only one 4GB module in the MacBook, everything works fine. But if I put both 4 GB modules in the MacBook, only few seconds it can be used. After a very short while after starting, the system is freezed. No mouse pointer can be moved and so on. However, during a short period I was seen, that the system displayed the installed 8 GB RAM. Here are the data from the system (running with a 4 GB module and a 1 GB module is also working fine):

Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 5 GB
Bus Speed: 1,07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MB51.007D.B03
SMC Version (System): 1.40f2

I use OS X 10.9.1.

Is there a hint how I can use 8 GB RAM with this machine?
 
A

allthingsapple

macrumors member
Dec 27, 2013
55
0
anotherimacuser said:
Hello,

I've bought a 8 GB RAM upgrade for such a machine. However, it is not working. As described at http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...-2.0-aluminum-13-late-2008-unibody-specs.html and http://blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-08-macbooks-use-8gb it should be working. If I put only one 4GB module in the MacBook, everything works fine. But if I put both 4 GB modules in the MacBook, only few seconds it can be used. After a very short while after starting, the system is freezed. No mouse pointer can be moved and so on. However, during a short period I was seen, that the system displayed the installed 8 GB RAM. Here are the data from the system (running with a 4 GB module and a 1 GB module is also working fine):

Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 5 GB
Bus Speed: 1,07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MB51.007D.B03
SMC Version (System): 1.40f2

I use OS X 10.9.1.

Is there a hint how I can use 8 GB RAM with this machine?
Click to expand...

Try a Pram and a SMC reset to see if that helps matters. Clean out the ram slots too and also make sure the ram is seated properly.
 
brdeveloper

brdeveloper

macrumors 68030
Apr 21, 2010
2,629
313
Brasil
anotherimacuser said:
Hello,

I've bought a 8 GB RAM upgrade for such a machine. However, it is not working. As described at http://www.everymac.com/systems/app...-2.0-aluminum-13-late-2008-unibody-specs.html and http://blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-08-macbooks-use-8gb it should be working. If I put only one 4GB module in the MacBook, everything works fine. But if I put both 4 GB modules in the MacBook, only few seconds it can be used. After a very short while after starting, the system is freezed. No mouse pointer can be moved and so on. However, during a short period I was seen, that the system displayed the installed 8 GB RAM. Here are the data from the system (running with a 4 GB module and a 1 GB module is also working fine):

Model Name: MacBook
Model Identifier: MacBook5,1
Processor Name: Intel Core 2 Duo
Processor Speed: 2 GHz
Number of Processors: 1
Total Number of Cores: 2
L2 Cache: 3 MB
Memory: 5 GB
Bus Speed: 1,07 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MB51.007D.B03
SMC Version (System): 1.40f2

I use OS X 10.9.1.

Is there a hint how I can use 8 GB RAM with this machine?
Click to expand...

Is this really a Unibody Macbook? I say this because the first Unibody one had 2.26GHz and not only 2 GHz. Pre-unibody Macbooks support up to 6GB from what I know.
 
MultiFinder17

MultiFinder17

macrumors 68030
Jan 8, 2008
2,721
2,042
Tampa, Florida
brdeveloper said:
Is this really a Unibody Macbook? I say this because the first Unibody one had 2.26GHz and not only 2 GHz. Pre-unibody Macbooks support up to 6GB from what I know.
Click to expand...

The original Aluminum Unibody MacBooks ran at 2.0GHz and 2.4GHz. You're thinking of the original white plastic Unibody MacBooks, which did indeed run at 2.26GHz.
 
A

anotherimacuser

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 11, 2014
6
0
allthingsapple said:
Try a Pram and a SMC reset to see if that helps matters. Clean out the ram slots too and also make sure the ram is seated properly.
Click to expand...

thanks for the ideas. However, nothing helped: with 5 GB of RAM (1 GB and 4 GB modules) the machine works nice, but with two modules of 4 GB it is not possible to use the machine for at least 5 minutes :(
 
B

bradleyjx

macrumors member
Jul 7, 2008
58
0
Madison, WI
The two things I'd do/check here: (I was able to successfully do this back in ~2010ish)

- See if you can re-install the firmware version that is linked to from the first article.
- Make sure that it isn't a RAM issue with one of the sticks - run each stick for a few minutes of hard use with the other 1GB module, to make sure that you just aren't dealing with bad RAM.

Also, just to cover bases, what kind of RAM did you buy?
 
A

anotherimacuser

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 11, 2014
6
0
bradleyjx said:
The two things I'd do/check here: (I was able to successfully do this back in ~2010ish)

- See if you can re-install the firmware version that is linked to from the first article.
- Make sure that it isn't a RAM issue with one of the sticks - run each stick for a few minutes of hard use with the other 1GB module, to make sure that you just aren't dealing with bad RAM.

Also, just to cover bases, what kind of RAM did you buy?
Click to expand...

I did not find a firmware restauration cd for my MacBook. The RAM works fine separately. However, it was a cheap offer.
 
TheGrandMoff

TheGrandMoff

macrumors newbie
Jan 16, 2014
14
0
Utah
You can get it to work.

I have the exact same model, unibody macbook from 2008. I installed 8Gb of ram in 2012 and it has been working great. Sounds like the Ram may be questionable if you already tried the above suggestions.
 
Altemose

Altemose

macrumors G3
Mar 26, 2013
9,189
487
Elkton, Maryland
If it works fine with one RAM module but not with both. Try starting it with the other 4 GB stick and running hardware test. It may be that the other stick is defective.
 
Munkypoo7

Munkypoo7

macrumors 6502
Oct 24, 2011
449
71
Hanover, MD
Really dumb question, as an owner of a Late 08 Unibody Macbook as well.

What speed RAM did you purchase? Hopefully it was 1066.

Most kits are 1333 (or greater), which if used in conjunction with a 1066 stick (that would be your 1GB stick), the 4GB 1333 stick will downlock. Making it work properly.

However, if you insert two 4GB modules that are 1333 respectively, then they'll try to run at that speed, and for some reason the late '08 Macbooks cannot automatically downclock them to 1066 and make them work... this would be why they aren't playing nice with your laptop.

For what it's worth, I just upgraded my Macbook with this kit, works flawlessly :)
 
A

anotherimacuser

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jan 11, 2014
6
0
TheGrandMoff said:
I have the exact same model, unibody macbook from 2008. I installed 8Gb of ram in 2012 and it has been working great. Sounds like the Ram may be questionable if you already tried the above suggestions.
Click to expand...

The solution was: using other RAM. The same specification. However, the first (cheap) RAM was advertised as "working with MacBook". I was able to give the RAM back. Now I have RAM advertised "100% warranty working with MacBook" and "10 years warranty". And it works :)
 
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