Resolved MBP Mid 2010 - boot problems after RAM upgrade

[jasiekw]

Hello everyone,

It's my first post on MacRumors, so if the place for the post is wrong by any chance, please let me know - i'll repost it immediately.
I bought 2x4 GB DDR3 Corsair MacMemory RAM (CL7 1066 MHz) a couple of days ago and replaced the factory default 2x2 GB memory just after the package arrived. At first attempt the computer didn't boot, all i got was a power LED flashing along with 3 succesive beeps (as I googled, it indicates RAM didn't pass a data integrity check). I turned the computer off and at the next attempt it booted properly, and the new RAM was detected by the OSX. I thought it was the end of all the problems, but the whole thing starts over and over again if i try to boot the computer after the system has been shut down and the computer was powered off. I usually takes 2-4 attempts until I get it to work properly. Also, when try to wake up the Mac from Sleep mode (it usually happens when it has been asleep for a few hours) it doesn't respond - I have to power it off manually and then play the whole booting game from the beginning.

My question is: is it faulty RAM, or maybe this is some system config issue that needs a fix? The machine is MacBook Pro Mid 2010, i7 2,66 GHz, 256 Samsung 840 SSD + 500 GB Seagate HDD, Snow Leopard 10.6.8.

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Jasiek

 

[Altemose]

Hello everyone,

It's my first post on MacRumors, so if the place for the post is wrong by any chance, please let me know - i'll repost it immediately.
I bought 2x4 GB DDR3 Corsair MacMemory RAM (CL7 1066 MHz) a couple of days ago and replaced the factory default 2x2 GB memory just after the package arrived. At first attempt the computer didn't boot, all i got was a power LED flashing along with 3 succesive beeps (as I googled, it indicates RAM didn't pass a data integrity check). I turned the computer off and at the next attempt it booted properly, and the new RAM was detected by the OSX. I thought it was the end of all the problems, but the whole thing starts over and over again if i try to boot the computer after the system has been shut down and the computer was powered off. I usually takes 2-4 attempts until I get it to work properly. Also, when try to wake up the Mac from Sleep mode (it usually happens when it has been asleep for a few hours) it doesn't respond - I have to power it off manually and then play the whole booting game from the beginning.

My question is: is it faulty RAM, or maybe this is some system config issue that needs a fix? The machine is MacBook Pro Mid 2010, i7 2,66 GHz, 256 Samsung 840 SSD + 500 GB Seagate HDD, Snow Leopard 10.6.8.

Any help will be appreciated. Thanks in advance!
Jasiek

If you can get it to start, then hold D to run hardware test at boot. My money is on one or both bad sticks of RAM.

 

[chostwales]

Worth a shot, but PRAM reset perhaps?

Just make sure you do this procedure once. Boot it up. Then turn it off (you will notice fans run at 100% which is scary initially… not to worry thought).

Do the procedure again and you will notice it stops.

Google MBP PRAM and look for the apple advice on doing it.

5 minute job max.

 

[thekev]

Run some memory testing utility like memtest or whatever is up to date at the moment every time you do a ram upgrade. If the sticks don't pass, do not place that machine back in service. Your symptoms are very typical, and if you check the reviews on corsair, it's not that uncommon to receive bad sticks. Their quality control isn't so great. They sell because they're extremely inexpensive.

Worth a shot, but PRAM reset perhaps?

Just make sure you do this procedure once. Boot it up. Then turn it off (you will notice fans run at 100% which is scary initially… not to worry thought).

Do the procedure again and you will notice it stops.

Google MBP PRAM and look for the apple advice on doing it.

5 minute job max.

You might think so, but PRAM doesn't actually cause that error under any circumstance.

 

[simon48]

Sounds like (half?) DOA RAM.

 

[Altemose]

Sounds like (half?) DOA RAM.

Potentially. RAM is a tricky beast to troubleshoot.

 

[thekev]

Potentially. RAM is a tricky beast to troubleshoot.

Error on the side of caution. Set of memory testing utility. Run 5-10 tests overnight. If any of them show a single error, send it back.

 

[Altemose]

Error on the side of caution. Set of memory testing utility. Run 5-10 tests overnight. If any of them show a single error, send it back.

Essentially. But if your machine, PC or Mac, fails to start after a RAM upgrade then that is a pretty good sign it's bad...

 

[jasiekw]

Thank you for all your replies. The things got slightly better.

I downloaded memtest suggested by thekev. It have indicated a plenty of errors in the first pass already, but the crucial line here was:
"ERROR: Memory lock failed - reason unknown.".
I referred to Rember (a GUI that utilizes memtest) FAQ site to find a potential solution for this. The memory lock problem was related to kernel bit architecture - mine was set to 32-bit when running the test for the first time, so OSX wasn't capable of locking the whole 8 GB. After switching to 64-bit kernel, I ran 9 consecutive tests - all without single flaw.

For some reason (unknown for me ) switching the kernel to 64-bit improved the situation. The MBP now boots at first attempt, as it should be. But, I still have a problem with waking it up after being asleep for long time - does anybody have a suggestion for solving this?

Thanks, thekev for the memtest advice!

Edit:
Ok, it started all over again after few hours, so the RAM is definitely faulty. Period. Sending it back. Thanks for all the support!