Macbook Pro (early 2008) wont turn on

[Macmyr]

I just upgraded memory in my mac book pro to 4 gigs. Now it won't start. It is as though the power switch doesn't work - because the little light does not come on, and there is no start up sound.

I have tried replacing the new memory with the old memory and nothing happens.

I have tries it with AC only - no battery- nothing... And I have tried it with the battery (which is pretty much charged - 4 of the 5 green lights are glowing - the 5th one is blinking).

What could I have done to mess it up?

 

[262Runnr]

make sure your memory sticks are seated correctly and making full contact

...could be a bad stick. Take out the new one and try just your old one.

 

[Dark Void]

...could be a bad stick. Take out the new one and try just your old one.

OP indicated that reverting back to the old RAM did not resolve the issue. Even if it was bad RAM, the machine would power on and either not recognize it or give off an audible noise to indicate that the RAM is in fact faulty.

Did you discharge your fingers before beginning? Did you touch anything else on the Logic Board?

 

[Interstella5555]

I just upgraded memory in my mac book pro to 4 gigs. Now it won't start. It is as though the power switch doesn't work - because the little light does not come on, and there is no start up sound.

I have tried replacing the new memory with the old memory and nothing happens.

I have tries it with AC only - no battery- nothing... And I have tried it with the battery (which is pretty much charged - 4 of the 5 green lights are glowing - the 5th one is blinking).

What could I have done to mess it up?

Does it beep 3 times when you try and start it up? That's usally an indication of unseated or bad RAM, but weird that it happens when you put the original back in. The only other thing I can think of is that you didn't fully discharge any residual electricity off your hands and fried something in there...

 

[Macmyr]

No, didn't do anything special to discharge ... didn't know to do that. Could something have happened to 'fry' things without me seeing or noticing?

 

[Dark Void]

No, didn't do anything special to discharge ... didn't know to do that. Could something have happened to 'fry' things without me seeing or noticing?

It is suggested that you remove the static electricity in your body (fingers/hands) before working with the internals. You can do this by simply touching a grounded metal object before touching the more sensitive components such as the RAM or Hard Drive.

Not saying that your lack of the procedure caused a hardware failure but it is certainly possible. If it did happen it isn't unlikely that you wouldn't notice it.

 

[Macmyr]

I just noticed that the Samsung ram upgrades I installed were marked "2Rx8" while the original Hymix were "2Rx16" - could that have made a difference?
They were both PC2-5300S-555-12 (although the Samsungs had "E3" after the 12...)
My son says he thinks if I tried to put in the wrong size, it could have fried the motherboard...
Oh woe is me... the nearest Apple store is over an hour away and there are no Genius appointments open until Monday...