Problems after adding RAM

[zmunkz]

I bought one of the early '08 Mac pros when they first came out, and at that time I added 2x2GB of RAM for a total of 6GB.

Very recently, I added another 2x2GB (ordered from OWC) for a total of 10GB, to try an keep up with the increased strain I am putting the machine through. Since installing the ram, I have noticed a considerable drop in system stability... my intensive apps are crashing randomly, and a few times they have frozen OSX as well...

Anyway, I am no expert on this stuff, and I don't know how to check if there is a problem with my ram. The system recognizes all 10 GB, and I installed the DIMMs according to the instructions on OWC (stock 2x1GB + my newest 2x2GB on top riser, and my older 2x2GB on the bottom riser). I ran tech tools deluxe, but it just said "passed".

Has anyone heard of issues like this after upgrading RAM? Does anyone know how I can determine if my RAM is the issue?

Thanks in advance everyone!

 

[HomeBru Studios]

I have similar problems on a MacBook Pro.

Mail is the worst culprit for the crashing but occasionally Safari does too. Today I resorted to using Thunderbird for my email just to avoid the annoying crash of Mail that I finally grew tired of.

I didn't want 'unmatched' ram so I went for 2 sticks of 2G ram even though apparently the OS can't address over 3G...

I have seen no solution to the problem and I am betwixt and between about unmatching the ram and replacing one of the 2G sticks with a 1G stick...

Good luck - let me know if you hear of any solutions!

 

[yadmonkey]

It's possible you got some bad RAM. First thing I'd do is reseat the RAM to make sure it's in nice and snug. Then I'd run http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/15837/rember to test the memory.

 

[Fcal124]

I had that happen on one of my old PC's. I added ram and soon after my system became unstable. I replaced the added ram with new ram and the problem went away. I agree, first try reseating the boards.

 

[chas0001]

It's possible you got some bad RAM. First thing I'd do is reseat the RAM to make sure it's in nice and snug. Then I'd run http://www.macupdate.com/info.php/id/15837/rember to test the memory.

I agree. Rember (GUI) or Memtest (No GUI) are good programs to use to test the RAM.