Imac i7 dead after installing 4GB of Kingston Valueram

vince82it · Dec 25, 2009

Hi everybody.

Yesterday morning I finally received my iMac i7. Everything ok, it looked fine and perfect.

After 10 minutes of good working, I've tried to install 2 Kingston Valueram modules I purchased before, the KVR1066D3S7/2G.
After having followed instructions and put everything in the right place, I tried to power up the iMac, but it didn't wake up!!!

The computer seemed to receive power (hd spinning as well as fans and dvd) but nothing appeared on the screen and no chime sound.

Already requested my replacement iMac. What I'd like to understand: was my iMac defected? Is it possible that a ram module can burn a computer?
Anyway, I'm intended to try to install my ram on the replacement iMac...

spinnerlys · Dec 25, 2009

So the iMac still doesn't work after you removed the Kingston RAM again?

vince82it · Dec 25, 2009

spinnerlys said:
So the iMac still doesn't work after you removed the Kingston RAM again?

Yep, it still doens't work after I removed the Kingstone ram...

MacHamster68 · Dec 25, 2009

so you killed it ..... that wasn`t a nice thing to do
but maybe only a coincident and it would have died anyway soon

vince82it · Dec 25, 2009

MacHamster68 said:
so you killed it ..... that wasn`t a nice thing to do

Why do you say so? It's not possible to kill a computer for having installed two ram modules!

Azrel · Dec 25, 2009

that's not true, if you had electrostatic charge on you whilst installing the modules it's possible you've damaged the motherboard.

this looks highly suspicious you have infact damaged the iMac. I doubt Apple will pick it up though.

Azurael · Dec 25, 2009

i7 iMacs come with 4GB... Don't they?

Edit: I didn't realise they had 4 slots.

TX328F · Dec 25, 2009

Does resetting the PRAM help?

You might have damaged the RAM modules if you did not handle them correctly (electrostatic discharge), but it is highly unlikely you damaged the computer - unless you really forced the RAM modules while trying to insert them with the wrong orientation

.

Before returning the iMac, have you tried resetting the PRAM? It might be as simple as that.

Good luck!

vince82it · Dec 25, 2009

Azrel said:
that's not true, if you had electrostatic charge on you whilst installing the modules it's possible you've damaged the motherboard.

this looks highly suspicious you have infact damaged the iMac. I doubt Apple will pick it up though.

O_O
If it is how you say, I really hope you're also right when you say that you doubt that Apple will pick it up...

Anyway, Kingston Valueram cannot be not the guilty guy, right?

TX328F said:
You might have damaged the RAM modules if you did not handle them correctly (electrostatic discharge), but it is highly unlikely you damaged the computer - unless you really forced the RAM modules while trying to insert them with the wrong orientation .

Before returning the iMac, have you tried resetting the PRAM? It might be as simple as that.

Good luck!

I did insert modules the right way, not forcing them. I've tried resetting the PRAM and SMC, no way...
So, the only thing could be what azrel suggested, i.e. I had electrostatic charge on me. :-(

MacHamster68 · Dec 25, 2009

so you killed it , it was working before you attempted to upgrade the ram with value ram ,some computers are more sensitive to electrostatic discharge , others less
so best bet not to tell apple about it otherwise you could lose your warranty
which would then be a expensive saving on a ram module,
if apple had fitted it even with same result they would replace the mac without question , but just dont tell them you did destroy it by fiddling some cheap ram modules inside
hope you did wipe of your fingerprints inside
happend to me too once and i did even care about static discharge , luck was it was a £ 30 pc i was upgrading

but funny enough , it worked again with the old ram sticks after not fitting all the ram inside , it worked with one stick and with the other , but not any more with both together . both same manufacturer, pny and they came in a double pack so exact the same ram sticks (twins)

Yakuza · Dec 25, 2009

i remember when upgrading my mbp memory i put on a pair of surgical gloves even after touching a metal thing to discharge the electrostatic.

chrono1081 · Dec 25, 2009

Having installed RAM hundreds of times I can tell you its highly unlikely, but still possible to kill a computer while replacing RAM.

I've only seen it twice.

lamina · Dec 25, 2009

OP, it very likely wasn't you that did it. Put the old RAM back in and tell Apple that it died after ~10 minutes of use. No need to mention the RAM part.

It may be dishonest, but if they can get away with selling a computer that is zapped that easily, that's ridiculous. I've installed RAM in dozens of computers. It's very likely that OP touched the metal body of the iMac while unscrewing the RAM door. It must have been an issue that was there beforehand.

jedivulcan · Dec 25, 2009

Personally, I'm under the general belief that computers today are made of sturdier stuff all around (I mean, magnets were generally the death of diskettes and other computer equipment, yet Apple builds them into the power ports and lid for snag-less closing in modern portable Macs).

Likely that the RAM connectors and the Logic Board in general were twitchy way before you touched the RAM. Even if you by freak chance, hit the RAM with a dash of static... the Mac overall would just not work with that RAM.

All in all, Apple should take care of you. I'd run a hardware diagnostic (from the iMac restore discs) for the heck of it.

Pressure · Dec 25, 2009

Was the ram Mac compatible?

bossxii · Dec 25, 2009

Pressure said:
Was the ram Mac compatible?

This is my thinking?

*** After posting here I thought why not look... I think this maybe your issue... http://www.valueram.com/ the site doesn't even show "Apple" as an option when searching for ram. Did you search by motherboard vendor? (I didn't look to see what mobo is in the iMac to check that part.) Very possible the logic board was fried, (mmm fried Apples... now I'm hungry!!), they will test the machine when it comes back and pretty good chance they can tell where the issue came from. If the memory socket circuits are fried they are not stupid enough to think this "just happened" they run these machines prior to shipping them and from the tests that were run on my MBP with a graphics card issue in 07. They can tell what parts are the problem. Good Luck, but looks to me like it's probably a fried board from using non compatible ram.

MacHamster68 · Dec 25, 2009

i dont think it died because of wrong ram
when i put wrong sort of ram (i think it was wrong cl) into my iMac g3 the only thing happened was a biep and flashing power button , so realised my mistake and fitted the right sort and good , no fried board as i think computers have some sort of protection to avoid frying especially as Mac `s are fussy about the right sort of ram anyway more then normal pc`s

sth · Dec 25, 2009

Pressure said:
Was the ram Mac compatible?

Welcome to the Intel world. Apples don't need special "Mac RAM" anymore, just make sure that the RAM is standards-compliant (e.g. no non-standard voltages).

flopticalcube · Dec 25, 2009

sth said:
Welcome to the Intel world. Apples don't need special "Mac RAM" anymore, just make sure that the RAM is standards-compliant (e.g. no non-standard voltages).

Not quite true. Some Mac logic boards can still be finicky about the RAM used, just as some PCs are. Not as bad as it was but not totally free all the time, yet.

Eidorian · Dec 25, 2009

flopticalcube said:
Not quite true. Some Mac logic boards can still be finicky about the RAM used, just as some PCs are. Not as bad as it was but not totally free all the time, yet.

nVidia's chipsets are very picky compared to the Intel ones for Core 2.

Lynnfield's onboard controller is extremely picky with RAM and in the majority of cases you need to follow QVL RAM rules. I've seen plenty of Lynnfield + P55 builds get written off as DOA when it's the RAM that's the problem.

archurban · Dec 25, 2009

so mac is a piece of ****. it shouldn't be so sensitive. that's why mac has highly broken rate. how that possible? that's really unlikely. that never happened no matter what I used (even mac). that's why many people go to apple store to fix their macs. my PC laptops (sony vaio) never broke. I think that mac is not tough enough to survive in real world.

flopticalcube · Dec 25, 2009

archurban said:
I think that mac is not tough enough to survive in real world.

And yet they do. What you think and your personal anecdotes are not "the real world".

AlaskaMoose · Dec 25, 2009

I would not have told the whole wold that I killed my iMac by installing defective or improper RAM modules myself. By now Apple may know that it's your fault

AlaskaMoose · Dec 25, 2009

archurban said:
so mac is a piece of ****. it shouldn't be so sensitive. that's why mac has highly broken rate. how that possible? that's really unlikely. that never happened no matter what I used (even mac). that's why many people go to apple store to fix their macs. my PC laptops (sony vaio) never broke. I think that mac is not tough enough to survive in real world.

I had used a Mac 7300 for around 14 years before I bought an iMac G5 1.8GHz. I am still using that little iMac just fine, and now bought another one.

There are a whole bunch of reasons why one should be careful when replacing RAM modules, and I will point at a few:

1. Static electricity builds on your body, and has no place to discharge unless you can provide a path for it to flow. Electronic technicians know this fact, and often wear a grounded band around their wrists to avoid discharging the static electricity directly into the computer's grounding path.

2. The wrong RAM modules can in fact damage the electronic circuits. It can create overloads, shorts, opens, and so forth.

vince82it · Dec 25, 2009

AlaskaMoose said:
I would not have told the whole wold that I killed my iMac by installing defective or improper RAM modules myself. By now Apple may know that it's your fault

Don't say so, please. I'm really scared about this now. Return procedures are stuck until Monday... I just hope to have my 2000 euros iMac working on my desk! :'(
anyway, I've added ram modules many times in my life, never had a problem like this. I got Kingston value in my MacBook. I keep thinking my iMac was defective.

Imac i7 dead after installing 4GB of Kingston Valueram

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