Grey screen after memory upgrade

Question

Grey screen after memory upgrade

Today i have upgraded the ram in my macbook with an OCZ 8GB Kit (2x4GB PC1333). But sadly enough after powering on my macbook i get stuck on the grey screen with the apple logo.

My first impression would that there would be some compatibility issue but i'm able to run the apple hardware test without any error and it even recognizes the sticks.

So is this indeed a compatibility issue and is the hardware test giving me false hope, or is there indeed a way to get this work ?

13" Macbook Pro Mid 2010, Mac OS X (10.6.7), OCZ Vertex 2 SSD :)

Posted on Mar 26, 2011 10:06 AM

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Answer 1

leroydouglas

Level 10

199,404 points

Mar 26, 2011 10:28 AM in response to Patrick Bossen

Well two things come to mind:

Try re-seating the new RAM.

Re-install the old RAM for a test all is well independent of the new RAM.

Hope this helps

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Answer 2

Mar 26, 2011 10:27 AM in response to leroydouglas

I should have stated this in my initial post, but here goes:

I have reseated the new ram -> same problem
reset p ram -> same problem
with the original ram, the system works as intended

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Answer 3

leroydouglas

Level 10

199,404 points

Mar 26, 2011 10:29 AM in response to Patrick Bossen

Also make sure you have the correct RAM for you mid 2010 ???

8.0GB(4.0GB+4.0GB Kit) PC8500 DDR3 1066MHz SO-DIMM Memory ???

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Answer 4

Mar 26, 2011 10:54 AM in response to Patrick Bossen

These are the ones i have gotten:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/ocz-ddr3-pc3-10666-ddr3-sodimm-4gb-edition.html

I got them from a friend to try out ( try and buy). If there's no way to solve this i'm just going to return them and buy a new kingston kit from the local vendor.

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Answer 5

leroydouglas

Level 10

199,404 points

Mar 26, 2011 11:13 AM in response to Patrick Bossen

Something does not look correct here, if indeed you have a mid 2010.

OCZ DDR3 PC3-10666 / 1333 MHz / Performance Series / 4GB Modules ~ 8GB Kits

You can always verify your Macs spec's on RAM via your Serial Number

http://www.appleserialnumberinfo.com/Desktop/index.php

Macs tend to be finicky about RAM. The RAM may test just fine, but it may not want to play nice with your hardware. You can see OWC for comparison.

Hope this solves your problem.

I see OCZ does offer this:
http://www.ocztechnology.com/ocz-ddr3-pc3-8500-ddr3-sodimm-4gb-edition.html

Message was edited by: leroydouglas

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Answer 6

Mar 26, 2011 11:16 AM in response to Patrick Bossen

the serial number check confirms that these modules should work in theory.

It looks like i'll just have to get another kit instead.

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Answer 7

leroydouglas

Level 10

199,404 points

Mar 26, 2011 11:36 AM in response to Patrick Bossen

Patrick Bossen wrote:
But sadly enough after powering on my macbook i get stuck on the grey screen with the apple logo.

leroydouglas wrote:
Macs tend to be finicky about RAM. The RAM may test just fine, but it may not want to play nice with your hardware.

Of coarse I do not have your serial number, I am only specualting, there is no theory involved.

Do these two look different to you ???

OCZ DDR3 PC3-10666 / 1333 MHz / 4GB Modules ~ 8GB Kits 204-pin

OCZ DDR3 PC3-8500 / 1066 MHz / 4GB Modules ~ 8GB Kits 204-pin

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Answer 8

Mar 26, 2011 11:39 AM in response to Patrick Bossen

They are different indeed and i knew that.

But it shouldn't matter, faster ram always works aslong as its the right type, in this case ddr3 sodimm.
The only difference is that the ocz modules can operate on a faster pace than the default ram for this model (10666 vs 13333).

In bios systems this can even be set manually.

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Answer 9

Frank M

Level 1

16 points

Mar 26, 2011 1:15 PM in response to Patrick Bossen

I recently upgraded the same with:

http://eshop.macsales.com/item/Other%20World%20Computing/8566DDR3S8GP/

Try and get some tech support from OCZ. They will help! If they don't, return for full refund! then head over to OWC (Other World Computing) They're amazing!

Good luck..

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Answer 10

Mar 27, 2011 9:08 AM in response to Frank M

I've ordered a Mushkin 8GB Kit at the local vendor to replace the OCZ 8GB Kit.

OWC as stated here is indeed a good option, but i preffered the local vendor above ordering smt from the US.

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