Mid 2010 iMac started crashing after I installed 2x2 gigs of Crucial RAM

[Tigerman82]

I recently got 21.5" iMac i5 (mid 2010) with 2x2 gigs of RAM installed. I decided to order more RAM online and bought from Crucial another 2x2 gigs (I made sure via their guide that I'm am buying the right RAM). Today I received the RAM and after installing them the iMac started to crash. It didn't crash on normal use but if I tried to make a disk check or do a memtest, it crashed (the screen went darker and there appeared a black box saying that I need to reboot). I did a disk check via the OS X DVD and everything was fine.

I guess this means I have bad RAM or what? I took the new RAM away and everything seems to be fine, but I'm a little scared that even with the old RAM this thing might crash. I did install the RAM with care and read the instructions thoroughly. I guess one possibility is that one of the RAMs might have not been pushed back fully.

Any suggestions or words of comfort?

 

[87vert]

what ram did you recieve? Maybe you got sent the wrong type. You can try installing just the new ram and see if it crashes. If not try the old ram in the other slots. Sometimes it just takes some moving around.

 

[dagomike]

Do the memory test with them in and with them out. They should do an advanced replacement if they're bad.

 

[LPZ]

I got 2GBx2 from Crucial and installed in my new base model i3 iMac. Works fine in every way.

Here's what I got. All new iMacs use this memory:

Qty: 1 CT1412120
Part Number: CT2KIT25664BC1339
Price: $99.99
Description: 4GB kit (2GBx2), 204-pin SODIMM Upgrade for a Apple iMac 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 (27-inch - DDR3) Mid 2010 System

DDR3 PC3-10600 • CL=9 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1333 • 1.5V • 256Meg x 64 •

 

[Tigerman82]

I got 2GBx2 from Crucial and installed in my new base model i3 iMac. Works fine in every way.

Here's what I got. All new iMacs use this memory:

Qty: 1 CT1412120
Part Number: CT2KIT25664BC1339
Price: $99.99
Description: 4GB kit (2GBx2), 204-pin SODIMM Upgrade for a Apple iMac 3.2GHz Intel Core i3 (27-inch - DDR3) Mid 2010 System

DDR3 PC3-10600 • CL=9 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1333 • 1.5V • 256Meg x 64 •

Yeah, I got the same memory. Guess I either got bad RAM or I did not push them in their slots properly. It's just that I always get this bad feeling and extra heartbeats whenever something expensive isn't working properly.

 

[Tigerman82]

I ran Rember with the original (Samsung) 2x2 gigs of RAM and they were fine. The most important thing was that OS X did not crash during this test.

I don't want to stress myself further today so I think I'll test the Crucial RAM tomorrow. Hopefully I just installed them less than properly -- I really hate it when I have to return something and start a war over getting what I paid for. If it turns out to be a case of bad RAM, hopefully the folks at Crucial send me new ones.

 

[Temujin]

I ran Rember with the original (Samsung) 2x2 gigs of RAM and they were fine. The most important thing was that OS X did not crash during this test.

I don't want to stress myself further today so I think I'll test the Crucial RAM tomorrow. Hopefully I just installed them less than properly -- I really hate it when I have to return something and start a war over getting what I paid for. If it turns out to be a case of bad RAM, hopefully the folks at Crucial send me new ones.

Tigerman I don't mean to be a dick but your signature is just horrible to look at. That color hurts my poor eyes. Sorry just had to mention it.

 

[Tigerman82]

Tigerman I don't mean to be a dick but your signature is just horrible to look at. That color hurts my poor eyes. Sorry just had to mention it.

What can I say, I like that color. It does look a bit too bright though. Perhaps I will change it.

 

[Temujin]

What can I say, I like that color. It does look a bit too bright though. Perhaps I will change it.

Muuuuch better. Now I can actually read what it says.
You saved me a visit to the eye doctor Thank you

 

[dagomike]

I had a lemon of a MacBook Pro. Other than that, I don't think I've had any problems with Macs. I've had many.

 

[old-wiz]

I had a terrible time trying to upgrade a 24" iMac in 2009 from 2gb to 4gb; Two different vendors, OWC and Crucial and neither would boot. They replaced them twice and I finally gave up. Every time I tried they would beep, so I would replace the original RAM and it booted perfectly so I know I was installing them properly. When I bought a 13" MBP 4 months later I let Apple upgrade the RAM in the Apple Store. I know it was more expensive, but it worked and I've had no problems with it.

 

[vandozza]

I got 2GBx2 from Crucial and installed in my new base model i3 iMac. Works fine in every way.

I bought the same Crucial RAM kit for an i3 as well, and it's worked perfectly so far.

(Also shipped to Australia in about 5 days!)

 

[Tigerman82]

So this Crucial memory has to be damaged. After I had confirmed with Rember that the memory that came with the iMac was good, I re-installed all four modules (hoping that I had orinally just installed the Crucial memory in a wrong way). Sadly yet again I wasn't able to do the memtest: OS X crashed. Next I installed only the Crucial memory and to the top slots (where the original memory had been). Guess what, it crashed again. So I guess there is no doubt that the fault is with the Crucial memory.

I will return the memory although the Crucial website seems to be horrible (for some reason, in the return-stage, I cannot find my order history).

 

[dsc888]

So this Crucial memory has to be damaged. After I had confirmed with Rember that the memory that came with the iMac was good, I re-installed all four modules (hoping that I had orinally just installed the Crucial memory in a wrong way). Sadly yet again I wasn't able to do the memtest: OS X crashed. Next I installed only the Crucial memory and to the top slots (where the original memory had been). Guess what, it crashed again. So I guess there is no doubt that the fault is with the Crucial memory.

I will return the memory although the Crucial website seems to be horrible (for some reason, in the return-stage, I cannot find my order history).

Sorry to hear about your issues. Did you ever consider getting the OEM Samsung memory sticks from OWC? They are only about $20 more than the generic ones they sell there for 2x2GB. It's worth a few bucks to stick with factory parts sometimes.