Macbook late2009 incompatible with 8GB ram?

[bundesdrucker]

Hi everybody
I've got the Late2009 white unibody Macbook (A1342) with 4GB of RAM, which seems to be the maximum for this model. However, Mactracker told me, that I can upgrade to 8GB even though Apple states its not compatible. So I bought Corsair 8GB RAM for my Macbook (this one) and installed it yesterday. Seemed to work like a charm.
Then today out of nowhere I got a Kernel Panic (the first one I ever experienced - totally freaked me out at first!). I restarted and got another one, restart, another one. So I replaced the RAM again and now it seems to work.
So my question: Should I just return the RAM or should I go through the hussle and memcheck it? Is there anybody who upgraded this specific model to 8GB with Corsair ram? Or can a Kernel Panic happen because its "too much" then Apple actually intended?

 

[dukebound85]

i have 8 in mine

 

[bundesdrucker]

Is it Corsair? So should I test the RAM if one of them is damaged?

 

[dylin]

Im running 8GB of corsair in mine.

 

[MacBH928]

I think for it to work you have to update your software to the latest OS and firmware , what ever that means...it can be done from the Apple->Software Update ....

I have late 2008 model and was told that it works to use an 8GB RAM, I decided to play safe and installed 6GB RAM. There is a significant improvement in performance and the system breaths happily . Moral of the story: 6GB is enough unless you are dedicated videogame player(which you shouldnt use MAC for) or a professional working in multimedia then you should update your computer I guess.

 

[Blueimac]

Hi everybody
I've got the Late2009 white unibody Macbook (A1342) with 4GB of RAM, which seems to be the maximum for this model. However, Mactracker told me, that I can upgrade to 8GB even though Apple states its not compatible. So I bought Corsair 8GB RAM for my Macbook (this one) and installed it yesterday. Seemed to work like a charm.
Then today out of nowhere I got a Kernel Panic (the first one I ever experienced - totally freaked me out at first!). I restarted and got another one, restart, another one. So I replaced the RAM again and now it seems to work.
So my question: Should I just return the RAM or should I go through the hussle and memcheck it? Is there anybody who upgraded this specific model to 8GB with Corsair ram? Or can a Kernel Panic happen because its "too much" then Apple actually intended?

Today my MacBook (same model as yours) arrived from eBay and I installed 8GB of Crucial CT2KIT51264BC1067 PC3-8500 1076MHz DDR3 (4GBx2) 204-PIN memory in it right away (had ordered it earlier this week) and it was running perfectly for at least the last six hours, Then just a few minutes ago the video froze up while watching a YouTube video (Macy Grey - I Try in case you're wondering) ..but then Magic Mouse and Trackpad also became unresponsive ..I've never experienced this problem before.

I had to force shutdown/reboot (by holding down the power button) several times before the video cleared up and everything was displayed correctly again. Maybe an overheating issue ?

I don't know if it's related to the 8GB of memory installed or not, I could try replacing one of the 4GB modules with a 2GB and get by on 6GB total.


Update: Since yesterday and again several times this morning I've experienced video/system lock ups (the display goes completely white or gray, sometimes half and half, sometimes white with multi-colored thin horizontal lines)

The mouse and touch pad become unresponsive, I have to force shutdown using the power button and it takes several restarts to clear the problem up.

Could this be due to too much memory ? Even though my Macbook recognizes the 8GB ?

I have removed one of the 4GB modules and replaced it with a 1GB that came with the MacBook so it's now running on 5GB to see if that helps.

This is not going the way I had hoped, I don't know if it's a Video Card or Display problem or The Logic Board ? It' s becoming very annoying now

 

[BR3W]

There is a GUI fronted for memtest on OSX called Rember that should help you diagnose whether your memory is faulty.

http://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/15837/rember

I have a late '09 unibody MacBook and have been running 8gb of RAM without issue for about a year now so any problems you're experiencing is not due to there being too much RAM in the laptop.

 

[Jony Mac]

I just ordered 8GB of Corsair last night for my late '09 MacBook. Hopefully I have no problems

 

[Jony Mac]

So far so good..
Everything launches so fast! I wish I did this a while ago.

 

[nicklad]

I think for it to work you have to update your software to the latest OS and firmware , what ever that means...it can be done from the Apple->Software Update ....

I have late 2008 model and was told that it works to use an 8GB RAM, I decided to play safe and installed 6GB RAM. There is a significant improvement in performance and the system breaths happily . Moral of the story: 6GB is enough unless you are dedicated videogame player(which you shouldnt use MAC for) or a professional working in multimedia then you should update your computer I guess.

How peculiar. You forgo the benefit of running in dual channel and lose 2GB... all for some superstition... 😛

If your EFI and operating system is up-to-date, you're fine...