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MacBook Pro 8,2 Freezes and then beeps in groups of three

J

JorWesFlow

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Aug 17, 2008
20
0
Los Angeles
MacBook Pro 8,2 MD322xx/A 2.4Ghz (Late 2011)
Mac OS 10.8.5
16GB RAM

I just bought brand new memory (2x 8GB) from OWC and installed it about 4 days ago. I also just installed an MCE Optibay 256 SSD yesterday. I cloned the OS to the new SSD, and run my home folder from the HDD now. All file copying was done using Carbon Copy Cloner, latest version. I left it copying some other files from a separate external HDD last night and when I woke up this morning, the MBP was frozen and beeping in groups of three. Restarted and it worked fine for a few hours then did it again. Restarted and then I got about 5 mins of operation before it froze/beeped again. I then reseated the memory and reset the PRAM and SMC, which gave me a good few hours of freeze/beep free operation. Then I got the freeze beeps again, but this time with artifacts on the screen (see vid/pics).

Googling my symptoms tells me that most people say this is a memory issue. But considering I ran fine for a few days with the new RAM vexes me. Because of that, I have a feeling it's the SSD, but I really don't know.

http://youtu.be/iRJ7jUNQXno
u2y8ezy2.jpg
 
Have you tried putting the old RAM back in and seeing how it runs? Sounds like a memory issue, and that would be the quickest and easiest way to troubleshoot.
 
Thraun said:
Have you tried putting the old RAM back in and seeing how it runs? Sounds like a memory issue, and that would be the quickest and easiest way to troubleshoot.
Click to expand...

I already sent the old modules to OWC for their rebate program. I figured I was in the clear when the machine ran fine on the new RAM for two days.

Alternatively, I have run some tests and received no conclusive results. First, Apple Hardware Test passed. Second, I have run memtest from Single User mode four times now with at least four passes per test. I only test one module at a time so as to pinpoint the bad module (if there is one...) or a bad RAM slot. I test one module in one slot, then test that same module in the other slot. I then repeat this for the other module.

All tests have passed with flying colors. I know Apple Hardware test isn't the most thorough thing, but Memtest certainly is. Is memtest not as comprehensive as I thought, or are these memory modules completely fine? If that's the case, then what could problem be?
 
hmmm, that beeping happened to me only when I had ram compatability issues.
 
So I just got off the phone with MCE. They said to swap the SSD and HDD. Their explanation was basically that the 2011 MBP's were not manufactured with anticipation that people would be swapping in hard drives for the optical drive. While the optical drive is technically SATA III, I guess the cabling and such wasn't prepared to be running the OS from a SATA III SSD drive such as mine. Since the native HDD is SATA II and not running the OS, they said that it's best to have that in the optibay and the SSD where the original HDD went.

So that's done... We'll see if I have another freeze/beep issue. Then it's pretty obvious that it's bad memory. I'll check back in in a few days...
 
MBP 2011 Sata III in optical bay

JorWesFlow said:
So I just got off the phone with MCE. They said to swap the SSD and HDD. Their explanation was basically that the 2011 MBP's were not manufactured with anticipation that people would be swapping in hard drives for the optical drive. While the optical drive is technically SATA III, I guess the cabling and such wasn't prepared to be running the OS from a SATA III SSD drive such as mine. Since the native HDD is SATA II and not running the OS, they said that it's best to have that in the optibay and the SSD where the original HDD went.

So that's done... We'll see if I have another freeze/beep issue. Then it's pretty obvious that it's bad memory. I'll check back in in a few days...
Click to expand...

Actually, just for the records, some people have apparently coped with the problem to get a SSD with SATA-III in the optical bay. See my posting here:
http://forum.crucial.com/t5/Solid-State-Drives-SSD/M500-480GB-Mac-Late-2011-Very-Slow-Operation/m-p/134545#M38502

And - I have no connection to that company, making a frame for use in the optical bay that is mentioned in that posting.

What I would like to hear though, if anyone has reproduced the linked DIY tutorials - and got them to work.
 
It was the RAM... not long after switching the SSD and HDD, my freeze/beep issue happened again, which left me with no choice but to exchange the RAM. The new modules have been in for three days now, and not a single issue.

I am still absolutely perplexed how bad RAM could pass a few dozen passes of memtest and not show a single error.
 
JorWesFlow said:
It was the RAM... not long after switching the SSD and HDD, my freeze/beep issue happened again, which left me with no choice but to exchange the RAM. The new modules have been in for three days now, and not a single issue.

I am still absolutely perplexed how bad RAM could pass a few dozen passes of memtest and not show a single error.
Click to expand...

A couple of weeks ago I found the same bad RAM on original RAM in my 2008 Dual Mac Pro. One day I just discovered a pair stop working on Riser A and turn out they were the last original pairs in my Mac Pro. A quick purchase later and the slot worked great.

The one thing I know RAM/SSDs fail completely without warning not like mechanical hard drives with their old Hollywood style of failures.
 
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