Three 3 Beeps after long resume, boots into OSX just fine. RAM Issue?

Hi everyone,

After about a year or so of experimenting with Hackintoshs with the OSX86 community (MSi Wind and Dell E1405) and an enjoyable experience with my iPhone, I've decided to pick up my first Mac. I ended up with the newer Macbook 2.4ghz. As a veterened PC user who had no problems with Windows, I find OSX to be very user friendly, so this computer has been very enjoyable indeed.

I went ahead and upgraded it to a 500GB HDD and 4GB of DDR3 RAM as soon as I got it, and by this, I mean, I booted it up to ensure it worked, then shut it down, and added the new parts.

I don't remember if this happened on the first bootup when OEM spec, but now, whenever the computer has been asleep for a long time (after I get up in the morning, or when I get back from work), I hear three or so short beeps right before the DVD scanning for a disc. I believe this also happens if the computer has been turned off a while. If I restart or shutdown for a "short period" it does not happen.

I did some research online, and most people say the RAM has a problem, but they all never boot or have major issues.

My MacBook boots, detects the proper amount of System Memory in "About this Mac", and looks to be just fine in System Profiler. I also ran the Apple Hardware Test, and it passed without issue. The MacBook has no functionality issues that most people contribute to bad memory (reboots, funny screens). Basically, if it didn't beep 3 times, I wouldn't have thought anything could be wrong. The only other issue I have is that it doesn't turn on the laptop's display when resuming from sleep (which is very annoying), something others are reporting as well.

The DDR3 I got is OCZ Brand. A silly name, but reputable brand. It looks to use the same brand Micron chips as the OEM Apple. A link to the Memory I purchased is here - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CNR39U

Does anyone have any insight into what could be causing the MacBook to beep 3 times whenever I boot up after a long time of sleep/off?

Thanks,
Jonathan

Unibody Macbook 2.4ghz, Mac OS X (10.5.6), 4GB of OCZ RAM

Posted on Dec 20, 2008 1:24 PM

Dec 23, 2008 4:03 PM in response to JStroud

I've changed the HDD's settings to be a bit more aggressive with less head parking. That usually occurs when OS X is running, not during long sleeps or power offs when I only saw this. I haven't seen this come up in a couple of days, but I haven't been trying to provoke it either.

I am doubting the more aggressive HDD settings will completely resolve the issue, but I suspect they'll help. I don't know what other things I can try to resolve this, besides getting another drive altogether.

I'm marking this as resolved, despite not actually resolving the issue. At least it was identified and hopefully if someone else comes across this problem, they can reference this post as to the root cause.