RESOLVED: Crucial Memory Upgrade Issue...Help!

[CaptRB]

I've done this before so I don't know what's wrong in this case...

Maybe I have something silly wrong or I ordered the wrong thing.

New iMac 27 5K with i7 and standard 8GB.

Crucial 16GB kit (2X8GB). DDR4-2400

Put them in and no boot. Move them to different slots and still no boot. Removed them and of course everything is fine. Wrong memory? This is what Crucial said I should order....hmmm. Someone here up on this?

Thanks,


R.

 

[SaSaSushi]

When you say "no boot", how long are you waiting? When first installing RAM into a Mac it can take upwards of 60 seconds of nothing but a black screen as the system initializes itself for the new configuration.

Are you waiting that long? Give it a full 90 seconds just to be safe.

Also, this wouldn't likely cause it to be unable to boot but the RAM should be in staggered slots for dual channel. There should be a slot between the matching DIMMs.

 

[CaptRB]

Okay....

Will give it another try! Maybe I didn't wait long enough, but nothing seemed to be happening. I did stagger, 4, 8, 4, 8.

Thanks.


R
[doublepost=1505025175][/doublepost]Oh...and when I say black screen, I don't mean backlit black. I mean it will not power up at all with the crucial memory.

R

 

[SaSaSushi]

As I recall, the RAM initialization is done prior to powering the LCD panel and it is a completely black screen for 30-60 seconds. Then it boots normally.

If you still get nothing after firmly seating the RAM and waiting a good 90 seconds and it's booting with the stock RAM then I'd say that it's a fair assumption that you've got bad RAM.
[doublepost=1505026350][/doublepost]Incidentally, if that didn't fix it I meant to ask if you had tried booting with only the new Crucial installed as it isn't clear from your comments above. I'd recommend that as well for troubleshooting purposes.

 

[CaptRB]

Well....the plot thickens...

The machine would not boot up either way.

Then I put the Apple memory back in, but this time I put them in slot 1 and 3. Prior they had been in slots 2 and 4. The machine would not boot up WITH the Apple memory in those staggered slots. I wonder if slot 1 or 3 are bad. #3 is really tight. Hope this thing doesn't have to go back.

R.

 

[SaSaSushi]

Are you sure you've seated the RAM properly? It can take a fair amount of pressure and you should feel a slight click as the modules lock in. Reseating them is one of the tips Apple suggests in troubleshooting.

 

[CaptRB]

Yeah...I tried pretty much everything at this point. Slot 3 will not "click" while the others do. But the memory does go in flush.

What I find concerning is that the stock memory won't work when I use slot 3 and 1. I tried seating and reseating with a bit of rocking.

I'll buzz crucial on Monday and then Apple if there's a defect in the memory seat. Hopefully I don't have to get a whole new machine...it just got here and I went through painful returns on the new MPB units due to keyboard failures. :-(


R.
[doublepost=1505029713][/doublepost]Unless there's a reason why the Apple memory won't work in slot 3, I think the slot is bad.

So far as I can tell, the Apple memory will work staggered in 2 and 4 or 1 and 3.


R.
[doublepost=1505030661][/doublepost]As it turns out, the crucial memory will work ALONE in slots 2 & 4. But neither the Crucial nor the Apple memory will work in 1 & 3. I don't see any other answer but a bad slot.

Looks like an Apple Store visit is in order. I'll raise hell....unless I'm doing something hugely idiotic.


R.

 

[CaptRB]

Spoke with Apple...the memory slot is indeed defective.

I have to drag it back to the store and wait for a new one to be built.

I gave them hell on the phone and will not be happy at the store. My new MBP was returned for bad keyboard and I then dropped 5000 on two new iMacs and also bought a MacBook Air for a portable.

I knew something was wrong when slots 1, 2 & 4 "clicked" and slot #3 was a battle to seat. And like an idiot I loaded and authorized software on this turkey before trying the memory upgrade. Ugh.


R.

 

[theluggage]

Then I put the Apple memory back in, but this time I put them in slot 1 and 3. Prior they had been in slots 2 and 4.

By slots 1 & 3 do you mean Bank 0/DIMM 0 and Bank 1/DIMM 0 - counting from the top in the System Report 'Memory' page... or the top row in the "Memory" tab in "About this Mac"?

Because, my iMac came with the Apple memory in slots 1 & 3 - which is pretty much what you'd expect (since the RAM is supposed to be staggered) - and all the guides I have seen show the Apple RAM in 1 & 3. If yours came with the RAM in 2 & 4 then one might start to speculate that Apple let it out the door despite knowing that Slot 3 was faulty... Not good.

 

[CaptRB]

By slots 1 & 3 do you mean Bank 0/DIMM 0 and Bank 1/DIMM 0 - counting from the top in the System Report 'Memory' page... or the top row in the "Memory" tab in "About this Mac"?

Because, my iMac came with the Apple memory in slots 1 & 3 - which is pretty much what you'd expect (since the RAM is supposed to be staggered) - and all the guides I have seen show the Apple RAM in 1 & 3. If yours came with the RAM in 2 & 4 then one might start to speculate that Apple let it out the door despite knowing that Slot 3 was faulty... Not good.

Looking from the bottom of the machine, the 1st and 3rd slots are working, but I was counting from the top down.

The tech told me that the slot which is not "clicking" is likely the issue. It was VERY tough to get the memory into and would not click. The three other slots were fine, easy and clicked properly.

For this kind of money I'm done messing with it. In the last 6 months I bought two Touchbar MacBooks, 2 iMacs and 1 MB Air. The laptops had to go back (I was eventually refunded) due to the keyboard problems and now I've got a a bad iMac.

I defend Apple often on these "rare" issues, but sheesh! This is costing me time/money. I plan to put them on the spot tomorrow. I want SOMETHING for all this hassle. Free memory or more drive space is what I'll ask for. They actually did give me something on the laptop disaster, so it doesn't hurt to ask.

Not the end of the world, but annoying.


R.

 

[theluggage]

I defend Apple often on these "rare" issues, but sheesh!

That's the problem with "rare" issues - they don't feel rare when they happen to you. Trouble is, lots of people on this forum by Apple nearly exclusively so, when they have a run of bad luck, guess who it's with.

Unfortunately, the grass is no greener on the other side of the fence. I had a foray into the dark side earlier this year, with a Surface Book, and guess what I got clobbered by?

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/05/27/sleep_of_death_windows_10/

 

[CaptRB]

That's the problem with "rare" issues - they don't feel rare when they happen to you. Trouble is, lots of people on this forum by Apple nearly exclusively so, when they have a run of bad luck, guess who it's with.

Unfortunately, the grass is no greener on the other side of the fence. I had a foray into the dark side earlier this year, with a Surface Book, and guess what I got clobbered by?

https://www.theregister.co.uk/2016/05/27/sleep_of_death_windows_10/

Yeah...look, I get it. I have perspective. Over ten thousand kids will die today due to malnutrition. People in Florida and Texas have lost their homes.

So I'm not going to have a giant hissy fit over another expensive computer having to be returned.

I'll take it back tomorrow and see if they'll buy me ice cream seeing how I now have to be without a primary machine while they slap together a 2nd one.


R

 

[imac275]

Sorry to hear that this was a hardware fault.

I had what seemed like a similar issue with Crucial RAM. When I loaded into the vacant slots, the iMac would not boot at all. I took it out and it booted fine with the Apple RAM only.

I then removed all of the RAM, put the Crucial RAM in the slots the Apple RAM had originally been and the Apple RAM in the originally vacant slots. The iMac booted fine and shows 24GB which means the slots are all working.

Not sure why it wouldn't work the other way around, but I'll just leave it set up like that now.

 

[shaunp]

Spoke with Apple...the memory slot is indeed defective.

I have to drag it back to the store and wait for a new one to be built.

I gave them hell on the phone and will not be happy at the store. My new MBP was returned for bad keyboard and I then dropped 5000 on two new iMacs and also bought a MacBook Air for a portable.

I knew something was wrong when slots 1, 2 & 4 "clicked" and slot #3 was a battle to seat. And like an idiot I loaded and authorized software on this turkey before trying the memory upgrade. Ugh.


R.

Apple's hardware is not what it used to be. I've had issues with 2 MacBook Pro's (both of which Apple didn't want to fix until I showed videos of the GPU and fan issues). No way I'd buy an iMac and have to lug that back to a store when it broke.

 

[deeddawg]

I gave them hell on the phone and will not be happy at the store

As understandable as your frustration is, I doubt the folks on the phone or in the store were involved in building the computer.

 

[SaSaSushi]

I've had issues with 2 MacBook Pro's (both of which Apple didn't want to fix until I showed videos of the GPU and fan issues). No way I'd buy an iMac and have to lug that back to a store when it broke.

That's too bad. Here in Japan Apple sends a courier with a specialized shipping container to the customer's door and overnights it both to and from the service center in Tokyo. You just hand them the iMac when they ring the doorbell.

Also, I've had a few service calls under AppleCare over the course of my 11 years as a Mac user, including expensive LCD panel replacements and Apple has never refused service once.

Are you in the US? I'm an American citizen living long term in Japan and I can say that service is just generally poor in the USA in comparison, period. I can't speak for Apple US specifically.

 

[CaptRB]

Apple's hardware is not what it used to be. I've had issues with 2 MacBook Pro's (both of which Apple didn't want to fix until I showed videos of the GPU and fan issues). No way I'd buy an iMac and have to lug that back to a store when it broke.

Well...the current MBP line is ruined by the keyboards. If not for that rotten butterfly keyboard, the 15" touchbar was the best laptop I've had and it was a total system that could replace my desktop.

Now I'm back to an Air/Imac combo. I don't expect any trouble out of the iMac once I get a good one.


R.
[doublepost=1505139526][/doublepost]

As understandable as your frustration is, I doubt the folks on the phone or in the store were involved in building the computer.

That doesn't matter. When you represent a company, especially in service, you represent the WHOLE company. As a yacht seller some years back, had I responded (or even thought) to issues with "Hey, I didn't build it." I would have been thrown out of business. Same goes for cars and toothbrushes. Business 101.


R.
[doublepost=1505139799][/doublepost]

Sorry to hear that this was a hardware fault.

I had what seemed like a similar issue with Crucial RAM. When I loaded into the vacant slots, the iMac would not boot at all. I took it out and it booted fine with the Apple RAM only.

I then removed all of the RAM, put the Crucial RAM in the slots the Apple RAM had originally been and the Apple RAM in the originally vacant slots. The iMac booted fine and shows 24GB which means the slots are all working.

Not sure why it wouldn't work the other way around, but I'll just leave it set up like that now.

Yeah...gonna try one more time before heading over to the Apple Store in two hours. One slot is really tough. It looks like there's something wrong with the slot when I look down, like a bit of plastic is to the left of the plastic tab (that makes it so you can only put them in one way).
I'll give it another shot and then bring to Apple and come home with a soft pretzel and another long wait for a machine.

R.

 

[shaunp]

.

 

[CaptRB]

Apple quality has declined, but it's still far and away better than anything else. I believe that Apple's position is not to build great machines, but rather to just stay ahead.

Sad state of affairs, but this is where we are. Look at the printer market. I cannot buy, even for 2000 dollars, a solidly reliable photo printer. They are all manufactured to same weak build specs, though they are incredibly versatile WHEN they work.

R.

 

[deeddawg]

That doesn't matter. When you represent a company, especially in service, you represent the WHOLE company. As a yacht seller some years back, had I responded (or even thought) to issues with "Hey, I didn't build it." I would have been thrown out of business. Same goes for cars and toothbrushes. Business 101.

As a yacht seller in the past, I'm sure you dealt with a variety of customers seeking resolution to a problem.

Did you find you were more inclined to go above and beyond to help the azzhole customer who gave you hell (your words), or the reasonable and polite customer looking for your help in resolving their issue?

Human Interaction 101.

 

[CaptRB]

As a yacht seller in the past, I'm sure you dealt with a variety of customers seeking resolution to a problem.

Did you find you were more inclined to go above and beyond to help the azzhole customer who gave you hell (your words), or the reasonable and polite customer looking for your help?

Human Interaction 101.

As a yacht seller in the past, I'm sure you dealt with a variety of customers seeking resolution to a problem.

Did you find you were more inclined to go above and beyond to help the azzhole customer who gave you hell (your words), or the reasonable and polite customer looking for your help in resolving their issue?

Human Interaction 101.

That's a really great question and I was highly successful because of the answer I'm about to give you.

It didn't matter how the buyer behaved. I always had empathy. Maybe the customer was in the middle of a family death. Maybe he/she has emotional problems. Maybe the customer is a jerk. but EMPATHY always works when dealing with an unhappy client. So I did whatever I could when the customer was facing a legitimate issue not of their own doing. If they were nasty, I made every effort to understand them anyway. That cost me nothing to do and gained me hugely in the end, not just in business but as a person.


R.

 

[deeddawg]

It didn't matter how the buyer behaved. I always had empathy.

That's great that you were able to do that. I've done the same when in customer facing roles in the past.

It is not a common ability, however.

Do what you will. It was merely a suggestion.

 

[CaptRB]

That's great that you were able to do that. I've done the same when in customer facing roles in the past.

It is not a common ability, however.

Do what you will. It was merely a suggestion.

That's great that you were able to do that. I've done the same when in customer facing roles in the past.

It is not a common ability, however.

Do what you will. It was merely a suggestion.

I'm bringing my Star Trek Phasor and setting it on KILL! I will be escorted by the Alien Queen!

LOL...I have empathy for the service folk too. There's a way to be civil and polite, while also demanding fair action. This is how I ended up getting a refund plus 10% extra for a 4 month old 15" Touchbar. I will be understanding, but also ask for compensation. Three visits to the Apple Store and days/money wasted is too much.

If they do nothing beyond replacing the machine, there's not much I can do beyond posting my experience. My expectations are partially based on what I would do for a customer in the same position.

Due to theban keyboards, I was basically forced to buy a top tier MacBook Air and the iMac and spend more money. Thus bar Apple has benefitted from my problems, at least in that respect.


R.

 

[deeddawg]

LOL...I have empathy for the service folk too. There's a way to be civil and polite, while also demanding fair action. This is how I ended up getting a refund plus 10% extra for a 4 month old 15" Touchbar. I will be understanding, but also ask for compensation. Three visits to the Apple Store and days/money wasted is too much.

Then we're on the same page and I misinterpreted your earlier statement. *thumbs up*

 

[CaptRB]

Then we're on the same page and I misinterpreted your earlier statement. *thumbs up*

Yeah...I'm just abusing the forum and venting. ;-)

R.