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potterg

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 22, 2006
34
0
Ok so I bought a 2 gig set today(pc2-5300) and I installed both sticks. I turn my comp on and nothing happens. The screen is blank but the comp is running. so wtf is going on? Is there a difference between normal laptop 5300 ram and macbook pro 5300 ram? This is most frustrating. Any help would be most appreciated.
 
Where did you get it?

Was it guaranteed to be compatible with your mac?

From the sounds of your post it wasn't. You should return it and get it from a reputable reseller that guarantees compatibility.

Do a quick search on the forums and you'll find plenty of threads about this.
 
I got it from Fry's. I am going back tomorrow morning to see what I can do.
 
they might not be properly seated. If they are not, the mbp cannot access any memory, and would respond as you mentioned.
Try to put in the original (512?) stick and one of the new ones, and see what happens. If they are seated the same way and the mbp only recognize the original, it's probably bad memory.
 
God!!!

So I went back and got a set of corsair 1 gig sticks, put them in and the same problem...nothing happened. I put my original stick in the bottom slot and a 1 gig stick on the top. I powered it up and it beeped loudly 3 times.I have no idea what to do now.
 
you haven't put it in correctly. Try reseating it, and make sure it's really firmly seated in the slots. It takes (brutal) force! (don't break it though)
read the manual about how it should be installed.
 
result

Pt 1 stick in the bottom slot. turned on mac and it recognized it. Put the original 512 stick in the top slot, comp recognized that as well. Put the other gig stick in the top slot and the comp didnt boot up....
 
potterg said:
Pt 1 stick in the bottom slot. turned on mac and it recognized it. Put the original 512 stick in the top slot, comp recognized that as well. Put the other gig stick in the top slot and the comp didnt boot up....

Yup. 3 beeps means a memory error. A defective stick. Hopefully Fry's isn't too far away and you can get it exchanged no hassle.

If it's Corsair ValueSelect RAM, then it is a generic module and Corsair doesn't guarantee compatibility with MacBook/MacBook Pro. The only 1 Gb model Corsair guarantees for the MacBook is CMSS1GB-667SOD, but that is more expensive.

I generally recommend buying RAM from a vendor who tests and guarantees Mac compatibility, and offers a no cost (no shipping/no restocking) return if it doesn't work

In your case, the RAM may have been $20 cheaper at the PC discounter than at a good Mac vendor, but you have made three trips and wasted how much time getting working RAM?

Thanks
Trevor
CanadaRAM.com
 
Yeah I understand what you are saying but it will be quite a bit cheaper than buying 1 gig stick for $200. If this stick is faulty, why did the others not work. they never beeped 3 times but my comp still didnt turn on. Could the slot be faulty?
 
Apple's RAM slots have always been extremely close tolerance to insure a long lasting tight connection.
Many users do not manage to properly seat their DIMMS out of fear of breaking
the logic board, so you're not alone.

This may be a case where your machine will boot as long as you have one stick
of Apple factory RAM running because the SPD (Serial Presence Detect) specifications are incorrect on the 3rd party RAM.

Trevor please explain this.

Looks like we need to resurrect your " What Makes RAM Apple Compatible" thread.

Now one is saying that you must buy your RAM directly from Apple, but you should still buy RAM tested and guaranteed to work with your machine.

That why there are SO MANY POSTS in these forums advising people to go to datamem.com, macsales.com or crucial. or buy generic crucial through NewEgg.
 
potterg said:
Yeah I understand what you are saying but it will be quite a bit cheaper than buying 1 gig stick for $200. If this stick is faulty, why did the others not work. they never beeped 3 times but my comp still didnt turn on. Could the slot be faulty?
Sigh:
US$119 - $129 at Data Memory Systems Comparable prices at OWC and Trans International, a bit higher at Crucial. So that's $238 a pair compared with Fry's $189 a pair on the generic Corsair. Has the hassle and potential data loss been worth the $49?

I can't tell you what the RAM problem was first time. You can check the socket (slot) by simply putting your Apple RAM back in. Does it work?

(PS: Try this, go to outpost.com, Fry's website, and choose Memory and Hard drives, Memory, Notebook memoru, and select Apple. Report back how many Apple compatible DDR2-667 SODIMMs Fry's advertises.)
 
I bought this:

2GB 200 Pin DDR2-667 PC2-5300 256x64 CL5 1.8V SODIMM

RAM from DMS, I have a year old Macbook Pro, and after I put in the 2GB in the top slot (the standard 1GB at the bottom), it wouldn't boot up. Sometimes it barely makes any noise, sometimes the harddrive seems to boot up but nothing happens and the screen remains black.

The weird thing is that if I put any of the two by itself(it came with a standard 1GB from apple) in any of the two slots, it does boot up and everything works, so that must confirm that it's not the RAM... maybe the RAM is incompatible with eachother but I'm alomost entirelly sure that I bought the right one...

This is what my mac 1GB RAM is like:
1GB 2Rx8 PC2-5300S-555-12-E3

Did I buy the wrong RAM or is it something else?

THanks...

EDIT:

seems like I'm not the only one: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=963645&tstart=330
 
Install those chips right!

Ok so I bought a 2 gig set today(pc2-5300) and I installed both sticks. I turn my comp on and nothing happens. The screen is blank but the comp is running. so wtf is going on? Is there a difference between normal laptop 5300 ram and macbook pro 5300 ram? This is most frustrating. Any help would be most appreciated.
Two things.... Make absolutely sure the new Ram is firmly seated in the slots.
Second Install them one @ a time and see what the laptops does on start up. You can re-install the OEM memory and see if the problem goes away.:D
 
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