Bricked Mac Mini after RAM upgrade

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Level 1

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Bricked Mac Mini after RAM upgrade

I just attempted to install 32gb of RAM in my Mac Mini 2018. When I then tried to turn it on it will not boot at all. The power LED comes on and the fan seems to run, but nothing else. No signal to monitor.

I followed all steps on ifixit guide and was happy that every step was done carefully, eg all connectors put back in place neatly, no excessive force used or missing screws etc.

I then went through the process again to replace the new RAM with the original 8gb, but it is still the same.

Any ideas for next step I can take?

Thanks

Mac mini 2018 or later

Posted on Sep 12, 2019 12:35 PM

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Answer 1

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WingDamage Author

Level 1

15 points

Sep 12, 2019 1:26 PM in response to JimmyCMPIT

Ok I'm embarrassed to say that it's totally fine, I had another look and I just hadn't pushed the RAM into the slots deeply enough. Turns out it is possible to be too gentle! Genius Bar appointment cancelled. My face is suitably red.

Thanks for your quick reply anyway. Seeing as you asked, yes the memory was bought specifically for this Mac.

Kind regards

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Answer 2

JimmyCMPIT

Level 7

29,230 points

Sep 12, 2019 12:43 PM in response to WingDamage

is this RAM that has been verified to work with that Mac or did you just buy something with the same voltage, latency, etc?

replacing the RAM in the 2018 mini can be involved and if you could have bricked it.

best case take it to Apple and see what they say. I would let them do all the talking.

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Answer 3

Sep 12, 2019 11:49 PM in response to WingDamage

Thanks for sharing! I made the same mistake when installing RAM in my PowerMac 8600/200. But better to use too little than too much force.

I got 16 GB RAM preinstalled in my Mac mini 2018 but might upgrade it later to 32 or 64 GB although that seems to be more difficult than replacing a HD in Mac mini 2009 (I might still finally put a small and cheap SSD in it).

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Answer 4

JimmyCMPIT

Level 7

29,230 points

Sep 13, 2019 6:21 AM in response to WingDamage

I've done it more times than I care to admit. That, forget to plug a drives power in. I spent the better part of a morning last week trying to get my display to show my desktop.

I'm the IT Systems Administrator at a multi billion dollar organization.

I forgot to turn my computer on.

so yeah.

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Bricked Mac Mini after RAM upgrade

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