Macbook Pro (late 2008) with 8GB ram sporadic freezing / hanging

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Macbook Pro (late 2008) with 8GB ram sporadic freezing / hanging

Hi,

Last year, I was running Lion on my late 2008 MBP with 4GB ram with no problems. Whilst 4GB is the maximum officially supported for my machine, forum posts suggested that some people had no issues running it with 8GB.

I went for the upgrade and everything was fine, with no hanging - 8GB on Lion on my machine seemed to work fine.

When I then upgraded to 10.7.2 I had a separate issue (to do with an old install of PGP) which meant I had to do a fresh install of Lion from scratch and then restore from Time Machine to get it back working. Ever since I did this, I have experienced odd behaviour, notably:-

Machine has a tendency to hang / freeze every now and then for up to 10 secs and sometimes with the spinning wheel and sometimes also requiring a hard reset
Any mounted drives in Finder (dropbox, Truecrypt) sometimes don't come up at all, with the Finder progress wheel spinning in the bottom status bar of the window, and only a "Relaunch Finder" resolves this and allows me to access the mounted drive.
Machine seems a little sluggish despite me keeping on top of maintenance activities for my machine (as I used to for SL and Lion when I first installed)

I was wondering whether there was something whereby Lion would work fine had it been installed whilst the machine had the officially supported 4GB (and then later upgraded to 8GB) as opposed to installed on a machine with 8GB (which only officially supported 4GB) at the time of install. As above, everything was working happily with the 8GB until I had to do a completel refresh from scratch.

Has anyone else had experiences of anything similar and can shed some light? I am considering refreshing and restoring from time machine again with just 4GB in the machine and then putting the extra 4GB back in after the restore, but don't want to do this unless there is any evidence to suggest this will address some/all of the issues I'm experiencing.

Thanks in advance.

MacBook Pro (15-inch Late 2008), Mac OS X (10.7.2)

Posted on Jan 31, 2012 4:06 AM

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Answer 1

Best reply

wjosten

Level 10

95,321 points

Jan 31, 2012 4:12 AM in response to gggtraveller

AFAIK, you had to have the proper Boot ROM Version to get the 8GB's to work...you couldn't just slap 8GB's in. Did you do/verify this before upgrading to 8GB's? Details here:

http://blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-08-macbooks-use-8gb

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Answer 2

gggtraveller Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 31, 2012 4:32 AM in response to wjosten

Thanks for this - I hadn't spotted this at all when I did my original upgrade.

However, have checked the Boot Rom Version as specified in the link, and I do have the correct one. I was kinda hoping it wouldn't be the right one!

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Answer 3

eww

Level 9

53,028 points

Jan 31, 2012 4:41 AM in response to gggtraveller

I'm running 8 GB trouble-free in my late-'08 MBP, but not running Lion. In your shoes, I think I'd just put the original 4 GB back in the machine right now, leaving everything else as is, and run it for a while as a test. If you have the same issues you're having now, then the additional RAM probably isn't any part of the problem. If you don't, it probably is.

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Answer 4

gggtraveller Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 31, 2012 5:05 AM in response to eww

Yeah fair enough actually, that would be a valid test. I've just realised though that I don't have access to the original 2 x 2GB RAM modules. Do you or anyone know if the machines work ok if you only have 1 (4GB) memory module in?

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Answer 5

eww

Level 9

53,028 points

Jan 31, 2012 5:28 AM in response to gggtraveller

It would be a far more meaningful test if you could run it with RAM that you know was trouble-free last time you used it. If there's a problem with the new RAM, it's at least half as likely to show up using just one module as it is using both, so I'm not sure what conclusions you could draw from testing using half the new RAM. You can't put your hands on the original RAM even long enough to test with it for a day or two? If true, that's really too bad.

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Answer 6

gggtraveller Author

Level 1

8 points

Jan 31, 2012 7:08 AM in response to eww

Unfortunately not, as I don't have the RAM modules with me anymore and can't easily get hold of them.

I guess I was also wondering whether or not the machines are ordinarily meant to work with just one of the RAM bays filled or are you always supposed to put them in in pairs. I.e. assuming the RAM modules are not faulty, is the machine designed to work with the maximum supported amount in one slot and the other slot free?...

Anyway, think I might do a full reinstall anyway - it seems to be what the Geniuses end up recommending whenever I have asked them stuff like this in the past in order to "clear away the gremlins".

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Answer 7

eww

Level 9

53,028 points

Jan 31, 2012 7:22 AM in response to gggtraveller

Your machine can run with only one RAM module installed. That's a routine testing procedure when you suspect that one module or the other is bad and want to determine which one it is.

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Answer 8

basilmir

Level 1

80 points

Jan 12, 2013 6:53 AM in response to gggtraveller

Check that you have 1066 mhz ram installed. I had huge problema with stability and i narrowed it down to using 1333 mhz ram.

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Answer 9

Mar 20, 2013 6:39 AM in response to gggtraveller

I am starting to have problems with my once perfect Macbook (13.3" Late 2008).

Several months ago I upgraded my HD to the Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid (750gb) with zero issues. The computer ran much quieter and cooler as I had nearly maxxed out the original drive with music and photos. After reading numerous forum posts and articles I learned that I would also be able to upgrade my Macbook to the 8GB RAM. I verified that my computer had the required specs for the upgrade and ordered this RAM:

Kingston 8GB (2 x 4GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 Laptop Memory Model KVR1066D3SOK2/8GR

Being impatient and wanting to really re-vamp my computer I then ordered a Snow Leopard upgrade as I was running Leopard. I only ran SL for a few days before my RAM sticks came in and only noticed one issue...iTunes would sometimes act a little goofy when synching my phone. Being a new "toy" I would try to wifi sync and it would, at times, freeze up my iTunes.

I then received and installed the new RAM modules. The iTunes seems to be freezing a bit more often with the new RAM installed. I lost sound from my speakers and after reading some posts reset my PRAM. AFter the reset I needed to go into my settings to turn on the internal speakers and now sound is back to normal. Then again, while synching, iTunes locked up. AFter several hard boots I received a gray screen when trying to close a frozen iTunes.

Any advice?

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Answer 10

basilmir

Level 1

80 points

Mar 20, 2013 9:01 AM in response to jlaverick2

You are running Snow Leopard? Isn't that kind of old?

Leopard -> Snow Leopard -> Lion -> Mountain Lion

From the looks of it, may i suggest checking that you have the latest firmware?

http://blog.macsales.com/9102-secret-firmware-lets-late-08-macbooks-use-8gb

Read the entire guide, make sure you have all the updates intalled, From the Apple menu -> Software updates

PS(shorter route). You must be running at least 10.6.6 to use 8gb.

Then try to install http://support.apple.com/kb/DL974

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Answer 11

Mar 20, 2013 9:04 AM in response to basilmir

Thank you, basilmir. Below are the specs from my Macbook prior to the Snow Leopard and RAM upgrade. To upgrade to ML I needed to first upgrade from Leopard to SL. I expect to do that later today. In the same screen as below, I now see the memory as 8GB. When I run Activity Monitor I am seeing 7.75GB so I am guessing that the video card is using the "missing" 256 meg.

Hardware Overview:

Model Name:MacBook

Model Identifier:MacBook5,1

Processor Name:Intel Core 2 Duo

Processor Speed:2.4 GHz

Number Of Processors:1

Total Number Of Cores:2

L2 Cache:3 MB

Memory:4 GB

Bus Speed:1.07 GHz

Boot ROM Version:MB51.007D.B03

SMC Version (system):1.32f8

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Answer 12

basilmir

Level 1

80 points

Mar 20, 2013 9:29 AM in response to jlaverick2

Don't upgrade right now.

This should work, in this order:

1. Install 10.6.8 update from here http://support.apple.com/kb/dl1400

Reboot.

2. Install the firmware update from here http://support.apple.com/kb/DL974

Reboot.

3. Let it boot normally after is completes the install.

Reboot again.

Do a PRAM reset. CMD+ALT+P+R while the macbook boots, keep it pressed while it chimes you should see it reset and then you can let go.

Now you should be able to use the full 8GB. Check to see if iTunes acts up again.

From there:

Launch the app store and upgrade to Mountain Lion directly.

After that is done. Use software update to upgrade to the latest firmwares, updates and patches... just click update all.

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Answer 13

Mar 20, 2013 9:28 AM in response to basilmir

Many thanks. I appreciate you help and advice

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Answer 14

basilmir

Level 1

80 points

Mar 20, 2013 9:31 AM in response to jlaverick2

No problem... make sure to refresh the page as i edited the answer.

As a sidenote you can't install Lion from the app store. They don't sell it any more, only people who bought it can give it to you.

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Answer 15

Mar 21, 2013 5:51 AM in response to basilmir

Just an update. I followed your outlined steps basilmir and downloaded Mountain Lion. I continued to experience the same issues when synching with iTunes. I tried several times and started to notice a pattern with the iTunes freezing during synch of a particular track (song). I deleted the song and everything seems to be back up to snuff.

Thanks again for your assistance, basilmir!

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