Mac Mini late 2012 memory issues

[Johnnie66]

Hello, I have a Mac Mini late 2012.



Years ago I upgraded the memory from 4 to 16GB and it worked fine. Last year I started to get the memory errors (shutdown with 3 beeps). I replaced the old 4 GB memory dimms and everything was fine.



I claimed the 16GB dimms for warranty and received new 16GB dimms and it seemed ok again. Until a couple of weeks ago the memory errors came back, always at the moment that Mac mini feels very hot. This week I upgraded the High Sierra and the problems get more intens, even when changing to the old 4GB dimms. Does anyone have clue what is going on?



I also had problem with the 1TB harddrive, it didn't wanted to boot. With the help of disk utility I managed to repair the disk and the startup was ok again. Is there a possibility that this related?



If so, would it help to replace the harddrive with a Flashmodule?

 

[ActionableMango]

Install iStat and tell us what the temperatures are.

 

[campyguy]

Owner of multiple Minis here chiming in (no pun intended!). Reading through your post it reads to me that you do have a memory address issue, but from my experience with my Minis (all 2012 i7 units) and rMBPs there are two potential issues that are causing the failure. The first "test" you need to run is - on your Mini - Apple's Hardware Test. The results on my Macs have indicated a failed memory slot or issues with the motherboard. If it's failed memory slot, running your Mini with RAM in one slot only is a consideration (I've got 16GB in all of my Minis and they require 16GB of RAM). Apple's AHT will provide very specific feedback, it's been very helpful to me (as has the newer Apple Diagnostics test, for newer Macs than your Mini).

 

[Johnnie66]

Thanks for your replies. I ran the AHT straight a failure last night, no errors detected. I installed Mac Fans control and raised the fan speed to 3000rpm. See the screenshots attached. The Mini didn't fail over night and the temperatures where lower. But I am not sure if this is the way to go. I just set the fan speed back to auto and see what happens during the day. So far I have been able to reply to this thread without failing

 

[RyanXM]

Try an SMC and PRAM reset and see if that will resolve the issue without needing to up the fan automatically. These resets deal with all matters of the system functioning as designed. From thermal, to boot device, to system volume, etc. This can solve random issues like this.

Another question: what brand is the RAM upgrade kit you are using?

SMC Reset - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201295
PRAM Reset - https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT204063

 

[Fishrrman]

Put the original memory BACK IN, and see if the overheating problems go away.
Run like this for 2 days and monitor your temps.
What are the results?

If the problems disappear after you restore the Mini with the factory RAM, my suggestion is that you DO NOT buy or use RAM from that source again.
Get it from someplace else.

 

[RyanXM]

Put the original memory BACK IN, and see if the overheating problems go away.
Run like this for 2 days and monitor your temps.
What are the results?

If the problems disappear after you restore the Mini with the factory RAM, my suggestion is that you DO NOT buy or use RAM from that source again.
Get it from someplace else.

Very unlikely that third party RAM is going to cause an overheating issue. In my 10+ years of supporting and upgrading Mac Mini's (from the Core Duo to now), I've yet to see third party RAM (Crucial, OWC, etc) cause a Mac Mini to overheat. It is more than likely an issue with the following: Fan itself is starting to fail, SMC, PRAM, and/or an issue related to a corrupt EFI.

 

[Johnnie66]

It looks like that my problem is occurring because of the Photos Agent that is taking up all memory and part of the CPU. I have read a couple of articles so far, and it looks like the High Sierra upgrade made things worse for me. Do you agree with me?

p.s. it looks like that the 3000rpm setting is working, the memory temperature stays around 50 Celsius.

 

[RyanXM]

It looks like that my problem is occurring because of the Photos Agent that is taking up all memory and part of the CPU. I have read a couple of articles so far, and it looks like the High Sierra upgrade made things worse for me. Do you agree with me?

p.s. it looks like that the 3000rpm setting is working, the memory temperature stays around 50 Celsius.

I've seen the Photos Agent issue.
Do you have iCloud Photo Library turned on?
If you do, open Photos before going to bed and let it run overnight. It can be quite taxing, but I find if you leave Photos open overnight, the RAM usage issue goes away one everything is synced.

 

[Said Tayar Segundo]

Last week my Mac Mini started to restart unexpectedly. I could only solve by leaving only 1 of the 8GB sticks in either slot. The odd thing is that he does not accept both sticks (which are identical Kingston) at the same time but the slot seems to be indifferent

 

[MacOld]

Last week my Mac Mini started to restart unexpectedly. I could only solve by leaving only 1 of the 8GB sticks in either slot. The odd thing is that he does not accept both sticks (which are identical Kingston) at the same time but the slot seems to be indifferent

Just bought 16GB kit to find out that only one slot works yet both memory sticks are good. When inserting into the top slot alone or with both sticks in, I get a beep and no screen. Have upgraded through the different IOSs but is slow and spotty. was hoping that the double stick would have given me a better bang. MacMinibeen sitting in bubble wrap for some time. At least it works with only the one slot.

Any ideas as to how to get the second slot, top slot to be recognized? Help!