Warning about MacBook RAM upgrade
My girlfriend and I recently purchased a MacBook while on holiday in Hong Kong. She decided to get a top-of-the-line model and bumped the RAM to 2GB. She also got the extra insurance, since we would be returning to Australia and wanted some peace of mind.
We didn't have time to use the MB much while we were overseas, and now that we are back in Australia, we have found that if the MB is restarted after being used for a while, it will not boot, instead it displays a white screen and beeps. If we leave the machine to cool down for a while it will then boot up normally.
Being a brand new unit and having paid for an extra warranty, we decided to take it to our local Apple shop in Melbourne, Next Byte. The engineer told us that the beeping noise indicated that the RAM was faulty, but it was not covered by Apple because it was not an officially recommended brand (OCZ), even though the RAM was installed by an authorized reseller. The guy recommended we just buy some more RAM and try that.
So I bought two 1GB sticks of Corsair RAM, a brand that has a good reputation, and I read that others have used this in their MacBooks successfully. Unfortunately this created another problem. The MB would boot ok and we could use it for a while, but then apps would start freezing and eventually the machine would grind to a halt, displaying the multilingual "You need to restart your computer message".
Great, now we've got 4GB of useless RAM and a non-functional MB. I do have to wonder, why are MacBooks so fussy about their RAM? I've built quite a few PCs over the years and always used the cheapest no-name RAM and never had a problem, even under serious stress testing and low-airflow environments. I can only conclude that the RAM in the MB is located such that it becomes too hot, and so the RAM must adhere to Apple's stringent specifications, ie the RAM needs to remain stable at high temperatures. This wouldn't be the first time Apple has pushed the envelope as far as heat is concerned.
The MacBook is in many other ways a great-looking, nicely made product, but considering the price I expected a better experience. And for anyone contemplating buying a MacBook, also check out the sharp front edge. A serious design flaw IMHO.
We didn't have time to use the MB much while we were overseas, and now that we are back in Australia, we have found that if the MB is restarted after being used for a while, it will not boot, instead it displays a white screen and beeps. If we leave the machine to cool down for a while it will then boot up normally.
Being a brand new unit and having paid for an extra warranty, we decided to take it to our local Apple shop in Melbourne, Next Byte. The engineer told us that the beeping noise indicated that the RAM was faulty, but it was not covered by Apple because it was not an officially recommended brand (OCZ), even though the RAM was installed by an authorized reseller. The guy recommended we just buy some more RAM and try that.
So I bought two 1GB sticks of Corsair RAM, a brand that has a good reputation, and I read that others have used this in their MacBooks successfully. Unfortunately this created another problem. The MB would boot ok and we could use it for a while, but then apps would start freezing and eventually the machine would grind to a halt, displaying the multilingual "You need to restart your computer message".
Great, now we've got 4GB of useless RAM and a non-functional MB. I do have to wonder, why are MacBooks so fussy about their RAM? I've built quite a few PCs over the years and always used the cheapest no-name RAM and never had a problem, even under serious stress testing and low-airflow environments. I can only conclude that the RAM in the MB is located such that it becomes too hot, and so the RAM must adhere to Apple's stringent specifications, ie the RAM needs to remain stable at high temperatures. This wouldn't be the first time Apple has pushed the envelope as far as heat is concerned.
The MacBook is in many other ways a great-looking, nicely made product, but considering the price I expected a better experience. And for anyone contemplating buying a MacBook, also check out the sharp front edge. A serious design flaw IMHO.
Comments
My girlfriend and I recently purchased a MacBook while on holiday in Hong Kong. She decided to get a top-of-the-line model and bumped the RAM to 2GB. She also got the extra insurance, since we would be returning to Australia and wanted some peace of mind.
We didn't have time to use the MB much while we were overseas, and now that we are back in Australia, we have found that if the MB is restarted after being used for a while, it will not boot, instead it displays a white screen and beeps. If we leave the machine to cool down for a while it will then boot up normally.
Being a brand new unit and having paid for an extra warranty, we decided to take it to our local Apple shop in Melbourne, Next Byte. The engineer told us that the beeping noise indicated that the RAM was faulty, but it was not covered by Apple because it was not an officially recommended brand (OCZ), even though the RAM was installed by an authorized reseller. The guy recommended we just buy some more RAM and try that.
So I bought two 1GB sticks of Corsair RAM, a brand that has a good reputation, and I read that others have used this in their MacBooks successfully. Unfortunately this created another problem. The MB would boot ok and we could use it for a while, but then apps would start freezing and eventually the machine would grind to a halt, displaying the multilingual "You need to restart your computer message".
Great, now we've got 4GB of useless RAM and a non-functional MB. I do have to wonder, why are MacBooks so fussy about their RAM? I've built quite a few PCs over the years and always used the cheapest no-name RAM and never had a problem, even under serious stress testing and low-airflow environments. I can only conclude that the RAM in the MB is located such that it becomes too hot, and so the RAM must adhere to Apple's stringent specifications, ie the RAM needs to remain stable at high temperatures. This wouldn't be the first time Apple has pushed the envelope as far as heat is concerned.
The MacBook is in many other ways a great-looking, nicely made product, but considering the price I expected a better experience. And for anyone contemplating buying a MacBook, also check out the sharp front edge. A serious design flaw IMHO.
Honestly sounds like a problem with your specific laptop. I have several friends who have upgraded to 4gb of ram in their macbooks using OCZ, Patriot, AData, etc and none have had any problems.
Anyway, I have an original MacBook, bought in HK, with 2GB RAM (Kingston), bought in HK, and it has worked perfeclty for the year and a half since I've had it.
My girlfriend and I recently purchased a MacBook while on holiday in Hong Kong. She decided to get a top-of-the-line model and bumped the RAM to 2GB. She also got the extra insurance, since we would be returning to Australia and wanted some peace of mind.
We didn't have time to use the MB much while we were overseas, and now that we are back in Australia, we have found that if the MB is restarted after being used for a while, it will not boot, instead it displays a white screen and beeps. If we leave the machine to cool down for a while it will then boot up normally.
Being a brand new unit and having paid for an extra warranty, we decided to take it to our local Apple shop in Melbourne, Next Byte. The engineer told us that the beeping noise indicated that the RAM was faulty, but it was not covered by Apple because it was not an officially recommended brand (OCZ), even though the RAM was installed by an authorized reseller. The guy recommended we just buy some more RAM and try that.
So I bought two 1GB sticks of Corsair RAM, a brand that has a good reputation, and I read that others have used this in their MacBooks successfully. Unfortunately this created another problem. The MB would boot ok and we could use it for a while, but then apps would start freezing and eventually the machine would grind to a halt, displaying the multilingual "You need to restart your computer message".
Great, now we've got 4GB of useless RAM and a non-functional MB. I do have to wonder, why are MacBooks so fussy about their RAM? I've built quite a few PCs over the years and always used the cheapest no-name RAM and never had a problem, even under serious stress testing and low-airflow environments. I can only conclude that the RAM in the MB is located such that it becomes too hot, and so the RAM must adhere to Apple's stringent specifications, ie the RAM needs to remain stable at high temperatures. This wouldn't be the first time Apple has pushed the envelope as far as heat is concerned.
The MacBook is in many other ways a great-looking, nicely made product, but considering the price I expected a better experience. And for anyone contemplating buying a MacBook, also check out the sharp front edge. A serious design flaw IMHO.
Most Mac users just buy their RAM from crucial to avoid any issues with RAM. FOr my Mac Pro I ordered OCZ. But it's a Mac Pro. They usually take anything.
Did it today with my new machine and now the machine wont start... just a black screen, flashing led and loud beeps.
I've tried putting the ram in several times and even put the original ram back in, but still the same. No boot!! Just Loud beeps. No fan sound, nothing..
ANy help, advice would be GREATLY appreciated