Failing RAM in 2008 MP

[woodbine]

I have had the MP since late 2008 and the OWC RAM has been in there since that time.

All the slots are filled with 2GB sticks. Then a couple of months ago I had to move the MP to another room and within weeks a stick of RAM failed.

Then a couple of weeks ago I moved back to the old office and ....another stick failed. Is this just coincidence?

What's weird is that it is always the sticks at the very rear of the riser board. When you look in the RAM area, those sticks are not in direct airflow from the fans.

Any thoughts on what is happening?

I have tried re-seating the RAM several times and the contacts look fine.

 

[henjin]

OWC memory

I think you might be in luck.
OWC memory sticks have a lifetime warranty...I think.
I returned some sticks, ancient in computing terms, and received new ones back. I was so impressed I bought some more to top out my 2008 MacPro.

So call their tech support. They will ask for the serial numbers which are on the sticks. The really old sticks have a small B/W logo the newer Blue labels but the serial numbers are clear.

Before you do this try reseating them and pairing them in a different order.

 

[woodbine]

I'm really asking whether other 2008MP users have had similar fails.

I already had one stick replaced by OWC, I am holding off replacing the other one to see if anymore fail.

I do have to run my machine at 100% for many hours and although I have iStats to monitor temperatures, I rarely adjust the fan speed on long renders. Maybe I should make a habit of upping the fan speeds.

Maybe someone can tell me which part of the risers is "Riser B Slot 2", because these sensors show about +10C more than Riser A.

 

[johnnietjr]

Memory Riser

I had the same problem with my 2008 MP a few weeks ago. Turns out the memory riser board was bad. To check the riser, open your machine and power it on. Check to see if there are any red LED lights (lit up) on either riser. If there are, your memory riser is bad. I purchased a new one from DVwarehouse.com - up and running perfectly.

 

[woodbine]

one of the first things I checked, no led's on. They all just blink once at start up.

 

[Spacedust]

I got three out of eight dead stick in my Mac Pro 2008

 

[teeck2000]

When I had my 2008 MP, 6 out of the 8 OWC ram died Something like that, I was really angry when they just died like dominos...

 

[Mactrunk]

2008 MP here.
I had 4 OWC sticks suddenly die, after 3 years.
They replaced them for free.
2 of the replacements died in a couple of days.
They replaced those for free.
Several months later, all the RAM is working great.
The lifetime guarantee is a wonderful thing!

My hat is off to OWC.
Excellent customer service.

 

[eurekor]

My old PC

from 2001 has 512 Mb Ram in 2x 256Mb stick, and they are still working OK. So is my 2004 Power Mac G5 with 3.5Mb RAM.

When reading Mac Pro RAM failing like that, it is a bit hard to imagine. I just got the Mac Pro 2.1 with 8Gb RAM a few days ago - and this thing feels very rugged - quiet and fast. I hope that Mac Pro stands for its name Pro, and will be far more reliable.