Can Ram be tested if the Mac doesn't boot? Sounds like a funny joke, but please read on....

Thanks Babowa, I just left a message with them to let me know the cost of a new logic board. They are closed for the evening. I don’t want to spend 700 but I might consider 2 or 3. Given the age of this Mac I don’t want to put to much in it, but I will probably keep it for many many years. I also scratched the monitor s glass, but it doesn’t seem to be noticeable until you look real close. I currently screen share with my 21in. Mac, so 27 in. might be worth it after I buy my next Mac. I desperately need to get my current Mac back. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks

Thanks Babowa, so a new logic board is expensive, but are you also saying start looking for a new one because the repair won’t last too long or to buy a new machine with better ram configurations at purchase? I guess I will have to go with whatever slots they can find that works. Hopefully at least two. Thanks!

Well, I just read an invoice in my file online that the estimate is $652.39. This is a lot better than $1,100 that I was told over the phone, but does not include the monitor glass. It’s funny. I didn’t want to spend $700.00 at the beginning of all this and this is definitely less than $700.00. LOL. It might be good that I can’t pick it up today. I have Sunday to think about it.....I might also want to get an SSD drive to. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks.

It’s that there afraid that the glass will crack even further and the Mac won’t work anymore If they open it. He said that they don’t bend pins back as part of their repair. The other kicker is that they aren’t sure if that one 8gb of ram will work well, because they didn’t have it on for long periods of time....it might shut off at any time like it did for me. I’m hoping they installed it better than I did so I can at least have an 8gb machine. Sad for someone who lives on his computer. I’ll keep you posted. Thanks.

Thanks Babowa for the link. I already have a 21 in.that I’m using, but the thing that is slowing me down is I can’t upgrade the OS to the expense of my music software upgrade to match it. My external drive with the newer OS quit and I can’t seem to format the new external drive in the right format to boot from. Even this forum is difficult to navigate because I don’t have the updated browser.

The 27in. that would replace it seems expensive in the refurb area. I think I might either break down and pay for the repair or go for the 8gb. until the next new great one comes along.

I wonder if it makes a difference that it was souped up to be an i7 in an i5 machine? If the screen breaks I will be paying almost half of what I paid to buy it new. But is it worth it?

I just might bite the bullet though. I’m very comfortable with this Mac. It has been good to me. I did my student virtual recital on it last year and it went great! I needed to have several intensive apps open at the same time this the reason for this journey. I’m just really confused as to what to do.

I think if I try to match a refurb with what I already have it would be a lot more than fixing it.

Thanks for your ideas. although I sound very confusing it’s helping me to make a decision I can hopefully live with and get back to my work life and personal enjoyment.

Well. I just reread the estimate . New logic board and monitor ( most likely needed) will be $1,337.46. Not 1,100 like I thought it would be. I plan to make sure that this Mac was designed for 64 gb. If it was I will def pay it. OUCH! I’m going to ask because I thought I read that 32gb. was the max it could handle. I figure it should be worth it. My experiences with Macs are that they last a real long time and I am really comfortable with it. Plus, I souped it up to. Even 32gb. is probably worth it. I don’t know. I desperately need my Mac back so unless I get an 11th hour revelation that for something else I’m probably going with it.

Still open to suggestions. LOL. Thanks

Hi Halliday,

Thank You for your help. It is in an Apple authorized repair shop currently. I question this because they said they got one ram slot working after I must’ve damaged the other slots and the only chip they got to work was my Apple 8gb chip and not the the 16gb chip from OWC. My feeling is they didn’t try hard enough because OWC is reputable. I guess their chips need some more patience or a different set of instructions maybe as other posters have posted doing different things to make theirs work. When I was able to get OWC tech on the phone he was on with me for 3 hrs. then said I must have bad chips and to send them in for a replacement. They sent me new ones and the Apple tech apparently tried them or at least one of them and it didn’t work. Or, simply the chips are just not compatible with my Mac. I really did ask and re-ask the right questions to make sure they were the right ones. I was at fault for trying so much! I should have given up after my first 50 tries. LOL. The thing is I have installed ram successfully before. On at least my last two or three Macs, so I thought I could do it. The question is the cost of the the repair. If I can get 64gb working it would be worth the 1,300 to repair it, but if it can only do 32 I will probably still go with it because I was at 16 and it was a little tight so 32 might be plenty.

Well, when I asked the guy to install them I said please install early in the day , so that you could work within their hours. He said he had already installed OWC chips before. When I talk to them tomorrow I will ask the same question or have him try the OWC chips when fixed. If they don’t work then I’ll ask for smaller chips that work. Yikes! My bill will be huge! OWC did say they will refund my money with the extension on the chips so at least I didn’t lose that money. I wish I wasn’t so stubborn to keep trying. I kept watching and reading about other people’s experiences and tried them all! One of them said you need to hunker down on them so I did. You live and you learn, I guess?

Update: I guess my tech place had to wait for the logic board to be made /sent by Apple. Her guess is that 2017 is old and that might be the issue for them to make new ones Yikes! It just dawned on me that it is now in its 4th year. It’s not a good thing to need to reinvest in old hardware, but I’m sure this Mac will last me a while. Especially with the 27inch screen. I will be able to output any new Mac to it. Just disappointed in the delay. Was hoping to have it by this weekend. I will also have more time to get to my ideas for work and play next week with a lighter schedule. Hopefully/prayerfully it will get here sooner than later. Thanks for all your help. I will keep you posted.