Problems removing Aluminum iMac RAM

300ZX said:

ANYONE else have this problem or have any suggestions?

EDIT: Seems I'm not the only one with this problem - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glki-cEICpo

Click to expand...

It was very hard to get the memory out for me too (almost gave up) until I tried not pulling on the tab straight but by wiggling it (pulling left wright left wright ...), it then came out easily. I don't know if it's the solution for everyone though.

imacan said:

It was very hard to get the memory out for me too (almost gave up) until I tried not pulling on the tab straight but by wiggling it (pulling left wright left wright ...), it then came out easily. I don't know if it's the solution for everyone though.

Click to expand...

Same here.. I did the same thing. The tabs dont seem to work at all. But some gentle wiggling got it out ok.

Don't use tools on the RAM, you will damage it and void the warranty.
There seems to be a known problem with some iMac and MacBook sockets. In addition, the third-party RAM may be marginally thicker than Apple's, and therefore tighter.

Take it to an Apple service provider if you need to get it extracted and can't with finger power alone.

I just pulled the tab on the original RAM and it popped out onto my lap. The new RAM I pushed straight in with a thumb on each end. I didn't push up or anything and didn't feel a click. The computer recognizes the RAM but is it possible that its not seated properly?

Mick

Push in on the ram a little. Then pull.

Worked for me...

How I got the RAM out of iMac 21.5 " 4 slots

The RAM is hard to get out -- pulling the tabs "gently" does not work. The chip is lodged in a multi-pin port, so can get stuck; the port, or slot, has a tight grip (as it should). If you are replacing the RAM in the machine, you will be throwing out your old chips anyway, so I just used a screwdriver to jostle the chip and then it came out of its slot. No damage from pushing on each side of the chip to loosen it. Putting in the new memory was just as hard -- I have four slots, and four memory chips. I was afraid I would puncture my thumbs I had to push so hard to get the new chips in. Conclusion: the grip in the memory slot is so tight that it is hard to get old chips out and equally hard to get them in.

Once I had jostled the old chips, the tabs did work to pull them out. My screwdriver method took 3 minutes, not 30. The YouTube video included in this thread featured using a screwdriver to loosen the chips. I followed that advice.

Cheers
Trent

Hi Trent,
I hope you know you posted on 5 years OLD post...

Stan,

I hope you realize that this is nearly 2014 and still relevant today. Your comment offered no help when clearly there are plenty of frustrated people upgrading memory on various iMacs still in use.

Apple hardware tends to last for many years with what purports to be a simple upgrade. This is not always the case now is it?!

Carry on old chap and stay off my lawn.