RAM Troubles with 2006 Macbook

[chm]

Hi, Newbie here.

I recently bought an old macbook for my little sister, the May 2006 one.
Before buying the RAM from crucial I researched how much it could handle and a numerous about of places said 3.2gb when you put in 4gb, even though Apple say it is only 2gb.

At the moment, it has 2gb but I bought a 4gb and went to fit it in.
The macbook doesn't boot up? I turn it on, the screen stays black and nothing happens?

I put the old ram back in, and it works fine?
Tried one bit of the old ram with both of the new ram and it doesn't work?

The RAM I bought is pretty much identical to the one it uses now, and I know I have read elsewhere about different speeds but surely one should work along side the slower piece of ram?

Here is what I bought:
Crucial Sodimm Laptop Memory Upgrade (4GB Kit - 2GBx2,200-pin,DDR2 PC2-5300,Cl=5 1.8v)

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance

 

[Intell]

Is is a Macbook1,1 or a Macbook2,1? Only the 2,1 can use 3.3Gb of ram. The 1,1 can't because of a firmware lockout preventing it.

 

[chm]

Is is a Macbook1,1 or a Macbook2,1? Only the 2,1 can use 3.3Gb of ram. The 1,1 can't because of a firmware lockout preventing it.

.... Oh dear :/ Well thats £45 down the drain, ahwell.
Do you know if they can handle Sold-state drives? And if theres a limit?

Just want to ensure the computer is fast. It works fine and smoothly, just wanted to give it an upgrade and sadly RAM is longer an option as I just found out haha :/

Thank you for being so quick on the reply

 

[Intell]

It can support an SSD drive.

You may be able to flash the Macbook2,1 firmware onto it. Like what is done to MacPro1,1 and MacMini1,1. Here's a quick write up I did. I, Intell, am not responsible for any unlikely damage that could result from attempting the instructions I have posted below.

Before you read any further please note that there is a small chance that you can permanently brick a Macbook by doing this.

This "cross model firmware flashing" has been successful on many of Apple's early Intell Macs. The iMac 4,1>5,1, the Mac Mini 1,1>2,1, and the Mac Pro 1,1>2,1. Because the Mac Mini 1,1 and the Macbook 1,1 share the same parts, it should be an easy thing to do. I've never done it and I currently cannot find the instructions on how to do it. But I'm going to type up a quick thing based off of the Mac Mini 1,1 flash.

A quick summary of how it's done. You take the Macbook 2,1 EFI updated you downloaded from Apple and manually extract the contents and then bless the contents so that they will boot the machine. The Macbook 1,1 will then start the flashing sequence to turn it into a 2,1. If all goes well, it should reboot and be a 2,1 with 3Gb of ram support. In the event it doesn't go well, here is a link for the Macbook 1,1 firmware restoration disc, https://support.apple.com/kb/TA24012, burn it before hand if the Macbook is your only machine and use it if the Macbook becomes bricked.

Here is the link for the 2,1 firmware update: https://support.apple.com/downloads/MacBook_EFI_Firmware_Update_1_1

Download the 2,1 firmware and open it. In the disc image you'll see the Installer package, right click it and click "Show Package contents". In the package's contents, you'll see an archive, double click it to unzip it. It should have unzipped to the desktop into a folder named "Applications".

Now run copy and paste the following lines into Terminal, pressing enter after each one.

sudo mkdir /System/Library/CoreServices/Firmware\ Updates/

sudo cp ~/Desktop/Applications/Utilities/MacBook\ EFI\ Firmware\ Update.app/Contents/Resources/EfiUpdaterApp2.efi /System/Library/CoreServices/Firmware\ Updates/

sudo cp ~/Desktop/Applications/Utilities/MacBook\ EFI\ Firmware\ Update.app/Contents/Resources/LOCKED_MB21_00A5_07B.fd /System/Library/CoreServices/Firmware\ Updates/

sudo bless -mount / -firmware /System/Library/CoreServices/Firmware\ Updates/EFIUpdaterApp.efi -payload /System/Library/CoreServices/Firmware\ Updates/LOCKED_MB21_00A5_07B.fd -options "-x efi-apple-payload0-data" --verbose

Then turn off your Macbook. Turn it back on, but press and hold the power button until the sleep light flashes and it makes a strange noise. You may see a gray loading bar screen as it flashes the firmware. Don't disturb your Macbook until it restarts on its own. When it's done restarting on its own, check your machine ID. It should be 2,1. One last step is to reset the PRAM. Reboot and hold down Command+Option+P+R until you hear the second chime.

If this works, let me know. I may want to do it to my uncle's Macbook 1,1 someday.

 

[chm]

Okay, I will talk it over with my sister and she what she says!
When you say permanently brick the macbook do you mean it will have no chance of revival and will be completely useless if it was to happen?

Sounds like a good idea, but to her its a 'new computer' and wouldn't want to go destroying the thing especially with the luck I've been having lately!

 

[Intell]

Any bricking of it should be fixable via the firmware restoration cd. But there is a very, very small chance that it will be turned into a pretty paperweight.

 

[chm]

Decided not to do it for now and just hope the amount she has on it will handle whatever she does!
If I do eventually do it though I will post back on here and let you know!
Thank you for your help!