Lower RAM slot broken in Macbook Pro?

[pianodude123]

Hi,

I just found a Macbook Pro at a tagsale (yikes) for $100. It looked like it had been dropped once or twice, and it needed a cleaning badly. So i figured, its $100... why not just buy it... its a Macbook Pro for godsakes.

So i brought it home, cleaned every part of the casing, every single key, and charged up the battery with a macbook charger.... (I hope thats okay... because i left my other charger at work)

Now, I figured out pretty quickly "why" the machine might be broken....

First of all... there was enough dust on the inside of the case to open up a (feather-free) pillow factory. But second, I noticed that when I turned the computer on... it just sat with the fans spinning. Only half of the computer was getting power. (I press the caps lock key on the logic board, and no light turns on) I can hear the hard drive spinning, but the screen is not on. So now im thinking it is definitely a logic board problem.

I opened the machine completely, checking under the logic board to see if anything is loose or disconnected. Nope... but what I did notice, is that when I took the bottom piece of RAM out of the computer, (the one closest to you when you open up the ram door), the computer turned on and ran!


Now - Everybody knows about this recall for Powerbooks, but, since this computer is not under applecare... does it apply for my MBP?

 

[skyrider007]

$100?!!!!! Show us some pics!! I wanna see its condition! That thing could easily go for over a thousand of bucks on eBay!

 

[pianodude123]

Keep in mind that it is in A LOT better condition now that I have fixed it up a bit... but I will post pics. I need some advice though... has this happened to anyone?

 

[davidec]

Keep in mind that it is in A LOT better condition now that I have fixed it up a bit... but I will post pics. I need some advice though... has this happened to anyone?

the lower memory slot failure was limited to the g4 powerbooks (think the 800mhz - 1.0 ghz models)

if you're computer turned on when you removed the ram then it's much more likely to be bad ram. a lower memory slot fault would show the slot as being 'empty' when in fact it is full

 

[pianodude123]

Ive tried the Ram in other computers, and i've tried other RAM in this computer. All results show a malfunctional RAM slot

 

[DocSmitty]

Sounds like you've done the troubleshooting to pinpoint the problem. Time to start shopping around to see how much that repair would cost, but honestly.. $100 for a working MBP with a potential 2gb of ram is a steal Nice!

 

[The Flashing Fi]

Have you tried making sure there is no dust in the slot? You may want to get a hold of a can of compressed air if you haven't already.

 

[pianodude123]

Have you tried making sure there is no dust in the slot? You may want to get a hold of a can of compressed air if you haven't already.

ya... its toast... brought it to apple today and they quoted me for $800 logic board replacement...

 

[JPT]

ya... its toast... brought it to apple today and they quoted me for $800 logic board replacement...

Assuming that's the specs in your sig. Even for the $800 fix it's still a great price! $900 total is an awesome deal!

 

[pete1]

I don't know which generation of MBP the OP got his hands on, but considering that even the original Core Duo model can fully utilize a single 2GB module (which are cheap now), I think it is not such a big deal that one of the RAM slots is broken.

 

[3of9]

I stumbled across this thread in my search for other people who have experienced this exact issue.

My 17" MacBook Pro Core Duo's lower memory slot just died.
Both memory cards work fine in the upper slot, but if I try to have both in at the same time... she won't chime at all. The power light just glows (and responds to changes in ambient light, interestingly enough).

I'm curious if this is about to become a common issue with the original MBPs.

 

[Goldilocks]

Same model, almost same problem

I stumbled across this thread in my search for other people who have experienced this exact issue.

My 17" MacBook Pro Core Duo's lower memory slot just died.
Both memory cards work fine in the upper slot, but if I try to have both in at the same time... she won't chime at all. The power light just glows (and responds to changes in ambient light, interestingly enough).

I'm curious if this is about to become a common issue with the original MBPs.

I experienced the same problem with my 17" MacBook Pro Core Duo lower memory slot, but it manifested itself differently. Since shortly after I got this Mac (my first after 20 years of Windows usage), it started having the not so rare intermittent "won't wake from sleep" problem. I would have to hard reboot about every other other time it went to sleep. I searched and searched and found many people reporting the same type of problem on this and other models, and the solutions ranged all the way from resetting some default Preferences .com.apple values to unplugging everything and letting all the capacitance drain out to replacing the logic board. I tried everything short of the logic board replacement, and for months it persisted, although just intermittently enough to make me think I was sometimes doing some good. It finally abruptly stopped happening for about 60 straight days. After a fashion, I realized it was registering my second RAM slot as empty. I re-seated the RAM and both modules showed up, and then, oila', the "won't wake from sleep" problem returned. Upon hard reboot, the second memory slot shows empty again. Reseat memory, boots and shows both memory modules, later won't wake from sleep, fat-finger reboot, and one slot shows empty again. Tried to reseat again, and it doesn't see the module at all now. I finally just left out the second slot empty, and don't have the waking issue. I've got to get to the Apple store before warranty expires, and will report back, but it sounds like something wrong with the slot itself or a logic board failure. Very frustrating.

FYI, I've swapped out both modules with known working modules from another 17" MBP and put these modules in a different MBP, and it all comes back to the memory slot, not any of the modules.

 

[alphaod]

Congratulations on the computer and like it's been said $900 is still a steal! Did you check if the computer had AppleCare?

 

[Rasikananda]

Same Problem

I've just experienced the same problem with my 17" MBP Core Duo (2.16 ghz)

After about 3 years of constant use, it died in the middle of some intensive video capturing.

I figured the logicboard was dead, but then took the additional RAM I had installed (PNY brand) out and it booted!

I figured the RAM was bad, so I just bought a new piece from Crucial but wo-is-me it wasn't the RAM but the slot.

Any alternatives to replacing the Logic Board?

Has anyone put a 2gb stick in one slot?

Could it be solved with firmware adjustments of any sort? If so maybe there could be a limit-break for the 2gb barrier and up it to 4-8gb...

Any advice could help!

 

[pete1]

I've just experienced the same problem with my 17" MBP Core Duo (2.16 ghz)

After about 3 years of constant use, it died in the middle of some intensive video capturing.

I figured the logicboard was dead, but then took the additional RAM I had installed (PNY brand) out and it booted!

I figured the RAM was bad, so I just bought a new piece from Crucial but wo-is-me it wasn't the RAM but the slot.

Any alternatives to replacing the Logic Board?

Has anyone put a 2gb stick in one slot?

Could it be solved with firmware adjustments of any sort? If so maybe there could be a limit-break for the 2gb barrier and up it to 4-8gb...

Any advice could help!

Yes I believe somebody successfully tested a single 2gb module in one slot on the CD MBP. The other slot must remain empty otherwise there will be no boot.