Macbook Pro (2010) 16gb memory

@bfer I did the same with no results.. gfxCardStatus and external Display didn't work for me either.

But i still believe that graphics could be somehow part of the problem.

@swistak platform=X86PC resulted in KP related to AppleACPIPlatform.kext, but the BIOS emulation part is really interesting.

-- But I was wondering: what about a "modified" Mountain Lion installation (there are many on torrents) which allows osx to be installed on MBR disks and then loaded trough bios emulation mode????

@kitinje:

check this:

http://www.rodsbooks.com/refind/

Still trying to figure if its possible to easily disable the Intel HD graphic card but no luck.

My 17-inch MBP was able to utilize 16GB RAM in Fedora 16 and I recall having graphics switching enabled and all ran well with no problems, but on start up I got a quick error that told me the memory failed the EFI hardware check, but was able to boot anyhow and work.

Windows and OSX couldn't boot, however. Shortly before returning the RAM to Amazon, I tried booting it with just one stick installed. On my machine, the presence of even a single 8GB DIMM would not allow it to boot up. Booting in verbose mode, it would stick at the screen with the loading progress, you know, the low-resolution stuff that's just in the center of the screen that happens before the higher resolution verbose OS loading stuff.

I'm still soundly convinced that it's a soft block in the EFI.

Sadly, my beastly 17-inch machine died (nothing memory related) and can no longer test anything. AppleCare inadvertantly solved my compatibility issues by replacing it with a 16GB Retina MBP :-)

I really hope some clever person finds a solution to this. It almost seems like it'd be extra work on Apple's end to research and generate code that purposely restricts RAM upgrades, especially on such "older" models like ours :-D

Like you, I couldn't boot windows with just 1x8GB stick but i could do it with both chips 2x8GB inserted: 16GB were recognized.

I can also boot OSX in safe mode with 2x8GB, so if there is an EFI check, is it disabled on safe boot??

It is not just because of the kexts that are not being loaded in safe mode: if I keep only safe mode kexts, i get a KP when trying to normal boot.

Except graphics, what else il different in safe mode that is not directly related to the kexts ?

kitinje,

you got a interesting point, graphics.

Reading the whole tread and seeing your progress one thing is common, Linux and Windows both use Nvidia's graphics same with OSX booting in safe mode. Graphics…. Nvidia Geforce GT 330M.

2010 Macbook pro i5/i7 have dual graphics, Intel HD graphics plus NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M

2010 Macbook, 13" Macbook pro and Mac mini have Core 2 duo and NVIDIA GeForce 320M graphics processor that shares memory with the system.

My guess is that either the intel HD can't handle 16GB hence the Kernel panics or theres some sort of soft block in the EFI. Now, if we can get some magical solution to disable Intel HD graphics I bet that we will be able to use and instal 16GB of ram without issues. Can we boot OSX just with NVIDIA GeForce 330M?

This is what im trying to find out. We can boot from NVIDIA or prevent switching from NVIDIA to Intel GPU but what we need is to prevent built-in graphics from being considered at all. Safe mode does that at boot, but can't figure out how.

AppleSMBIOS.kext modding or something like that?

Keep in mind that:

- You can also boot in normal mode with 16GB if you specify kernel flag "maxmem=2048", 2GB will be usuable but system reports both 8GB chips correctly.

It there was some sort of efi-check shouldn't it be effective before you can pass maxmem flags to the kernel?

I just ordered 16gb of RAM for my mid2010 MacBook Pro. OWC certifies that the cards will work. I'm excited to give it a go!

http://blog.macsales.com/16302-some-2010-mac-owners-can-get-more-ram-than-they-t hought

That is the same RAM i have, It will work for you if you have a 13'' Macbook pro (mid-2010) but that will not be the case if you own a 15'' model.

In 15'' macbook pro, 16 gb are recognized only in safe mode, normal boot will result i Kernel Panic.

16 GB also will work using windows (bootcamp) and linux but not OSX 😟

Indeed I do have the 13" model, so I think I'm good to go. ... Any ideas why the 15" models are different? ... Talking to the OWC sales rep on the phone, she seemed to think that many intel macs can run more RAM than the "maximum" listed in the initial specs, especially after firmware updates, etc.

Hi UrbanProfStL,

As kitinje pointed out you good to go with the 2010 13" MacBook Pro.

The main difference between the 13" and the 15" is the CPU, the 13" uses a core2duo and the 15/17 Intel i5/i7. The i5 and i7 have a dual graphics system, intel hd graphics plus nvidia geforce gt 330m. From the researche I've been doing the main culprit of bloking the i5/i7 of using 16gb with OSX is the intel HD graphics... Kitinje did tested and proved that both windows and Linux are able to recognise and use 16gb. The catch is that both windows and linux solely use the nvidia gt330m graphics. Been trying to disable the intel hd graphics on OSX via EFI or some other way but so far no luck...

Hi guys,

I have a 15" Macbook Pro6.2 mid 2010, 4gb ram, 2.66 GHz Intel Core i7, NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 512 MB, running OS X 10.8.3.

So just to clarify, I can't upgrade to 16gb (2x8gb), 12 (1x8gb + 1x4gb) or 10gb (1x8+ 1x2gb)???

Hi FreakOutBoy,

The short and simple answer is NO/not yet, if you running OSX.

You have 4GB, upgrade to 8GB and a SSD. I do have the exact same model and mine been upgraded with both 8GB and SSD a few years back and it still good.

Great work everyone, I love when so many tinkerers can fearlessly cooperate to try and get this working. I have a Macbook 6,2 as well, with 8GB of RAM and 512GB Samsung Pro and 500GB optibay. I love my system but I really wish I could go to 16GB ram. I run certain programs that really could use 16GB. Keep up the good work and I will contribute, if something shows up in my research.

Hi kitinje,

http://tonymacx86.blogspot.com/2009/12/enable-full-graphics-card-acceleration.ht ml

Here it shows how to enable graphics cards. I think the one with the EFI String software seems to be the easiest to do. This way the NVIDIA GPU will be on when booting, maybe use the computer in the clamshell mode with external display hooked up. The reason gfxCard is not working is because it resets the preference to dynamic switching when restarting. This is what the developer of gfxCard told me when I emailed him for clarification.

gfxCardStatus intentionally sets your machine to Dynamic Switching on shutdown and on startup.

Cody

This is worth a shot I think. I am still looking on a way to turn off the IntelHD Graphics all together.

Keep up the good work.