Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

MacBook Pro - Ram upgrade issues.

A

Allingby

macrumors newbie
Original poster
May 19, 2008
5
0
Hello there, I recently purchased some new ram for my shiny, awesome MacBook Pro.

It's 2x2GB of DDR2, PC2-6400, 800MHz RAM from Kingston's HyperX line-up.

I took out the battery, removed the old ram and put in the new, turned it on but just a black screen and no sound, okay... then I took it out, swapped them around and inserted them a little tighter, same story... I tried the old ram again and it works fine so I went back to trying the new ram again, this time I tried with one block at a time, in both slots, none of them work'd... okay, maybe the ram was defect so I got my old HP laptop (He hates of my MBP) and tried the kingston ram there, guess what, it worked (Well, it could only use 3GB of ram but still worked)

So now is my question, is there a way of getting some info at boot-up such as a BIOS or a setup? something that could help me configure? Am I doing something wrong?

Any help would be very much appreciated:p

By the way: It's an early '08 Penryn MBP at 15" with 2.4GHz C2D (Not the unibody)
 
Allingby said:
Hello there, I recently purchased some new ram for my shiny, awesome MacBook Pro.

It's 2x2GB of DDR2, PC2-6400, 800MHz RAM from Kingston's HyperX line-up.

I took out the battery, removed the old ram and put in the new, turned it on but just a black screen and no sound, okay... then I took it out, swapped them around and inserted them a little tighter, same story... I tried the old ram again and it works fine so I went back to trying the new ram again, this time I tried with one block at a time, in both slots, none of them work'd... okay, maybe the ram was defect so I got my old HP laptop (He hates of my MBP) and tried the kingston ram there, guess what, it worked (Well, it could only use 3GB of ram but still worked)

So now is my question, is there a way of getting some info at boot-up such as a BIOS or a setup? something that could help me configure? Am I doing something wrong?

Any help would be very much appreciated:p

By the way: It's an early '08 Penryn MBP at 15" with 2.4GHz C2D (Not the unibody)
Click to expand...

I can't say for absolute certain but I believe you're using RAM that is not compatible with your MBP. I have the exact same unit and am using this RAM:

http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-667M...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1225220856&sr=8-1

It should work for you as well. Don't quote me on it, just some friendly advice.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Are you using part number KHX-6400S2ULK2/4G?

I checked Kingston's site, and the appropriate part number for your MacBook Pro is KTA-MB667K2/4G, which is what I have in my Macbook Pro, and it worked flawlessly the first time I installed it.

After checking the specs for each, I'm not sure why your RAM doesn't work. Your RAM is faster, but I would think it should still work, albeit at a lower speed.

If the RAM is returnable, I'd send it back and order the KTA-MB667K2/4G instead. IMO the performance will be the same, as the Macbook Pro will run the faster RAM at the slower speed anyway, plus you'll probably end up saving money.
 
skymastr16 said:
I can't say for absolute certain but I believe you're using RAM that is not compatible with your MBP. I have the exact same unit and am using this RAM:

http://www.amazon.com/Kingston-667M...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1225220856&sr=8-1

It should work for you as well. Don't quote me on it, just some friendly advice.
Click to expand...

You beat me to it!

I actually use the same RAM as skymastr16, the KTA-MB667K2/4GR. This is the registered version of the KTA-MB667K2/4G that I mentioned above.

I don't think the MacBook Pro takes advantage of registered memory, so the 4G and the 4GR should perform identically.
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
hunterjoules said:
You beat me to it!

I actually use the same RAM as skymastr16, the KTA-MB667K2/4GR. This is the registered version of the KTA-MB667K2/4G that I mentioned above.

I don't think the MacBook Pro takes advantage of registered memory, so the 4G and the 4GR should perform identically.
Click to expand...

haha, sorry, i didn't know we were racing ;)

In actuality, the RAM i posted above actually is titled "Kingston Apple 4GB Kit" so that should be reassurance that you'll have no problem with it. Regardless of the fact that the specs sound right, chances are they aren't guaranteed Apple-proof which is probably why they named the RAM referenced above: "Kingston Apple 4GB Kit". Good luck returning the other RAM though, I'm not sure where you got it but most stores are very leery about taking back RAM so think good thoughts when you get to the customer service desk.
 
Wow, nice and quick support, thanks guys:D also, I found out that I can get a setup thingy by pressing cmd+v under boot-up, I'll try and reinstall it tomorrow, if not working, I shall take your suggestion:D
 
hi there. I have the same issue with my macbook pro. I have bought Kingston KTA-MB667K2/4G and when i place both memories my macbook does not boot. If i put one of the old 1gb memories with one new it boots and it shows 3gb ram. This happens with both the 2gb memories. What should i do? Thanx in advance...
 
Hey Tedphone,

I am eager to know if you've resolved your mbp memory issue, yet the part number you used seems to be the correct one according to posts in this thread ... i will be upgrading my ram in a few months, so I am definitely keen on finding out how it went for you

thanks
 
in the first post he says that the new ram the bought that is NOT working is 2 sticks of 2gb ddr2 pc2-6200 800mhz, that macbook uses ddr2 pc2-5300 667mhz
 
Tedphone said:
hi there. I have the same issue with my macbook pro. I have bought Kingston KTA-MB667K2/4G and when i place both memories my macbook does not boot. If i put one of the old 1gb memories with one new it boots and it shows 3gb ram. This happens with both the 2gb memories. What should i do? Thanx in advance...
Click to expand...

i am reffering to my post...
 
Tedphone, what they're asking - do you have a unibody MBP or the previous generation.....


This will help us determine if you bought the right ram or not and further troubleshoot your situation.
 
i dont have the latest version. i have the previous version. The one that is all silver...
 
the ones you bought are 5400, you should probably try 5300, but it should be backwards compatible, you are checking the amount of memory in OS X right, not windows?
 
yes i am checking it in "about this mac"...
i run the "crucial" check and everything seems fine with 3gb but when i try to put the other 2gb ram it doesn't boot...
 
i don't think thats the problem because it boots with both of them. Only when i put the 2x2gb the system does not boot. I also tried using 1x2gb and it still doesnt boot. I cant understand whats happening. I believe that if the memories were not working they wouldnt show up at all when i placed them together with the old(1gb) ones.... :(
 
So if i understood correctly, you have an older classic silver macbook pro production 2008

You have purchased "2gb bar" + another additional "2gb bar"
you have the correct DDR and Mhz, however


When you Insert any of the "2Gb bars" = it does not work
When you Insert two "2Gb bars" = it does not work
When you Insert One "2Gb bar" + the existing "1Gb bar" = it works = 3Gb total.
 
Last year I worked as Apple specialist in my city. From from my experience and other certified Apple specialists from the head Apple representative company in my country its not recommended to use Kingston RAM in Apple products.

Use Samsung, Hynix, etc instead.

For some reason, in most cases Kingston RAM doesn't work properly with Macs.
 
Well, since the machiine is not in front of us, and with my extremely limited knowledge in hardware support, I would try to:

. return the ram and purchase samsung or any of the recommended ones as noted by eXan

. Software update from the Apple Menu, a far fetched idea to do a software update

. someone else might have a good response for this issue


I really hope it works.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back