Barbarapdx

Q: Memory Slot issue - Can I use 8gb in one slot?

Early 2009 imac 24"

Can  I put an 8gb memory module into one slot of imac that has 8gb max (using 4 in each slot)  My problem is that the two 4's I currently have do not work together well. I did a PRAM reset and tried out each 4gb individually in each slot and they work, but of course were really slow.   I'm thinking if I used 8gb in one slot that would work - is this possible?

iMac, OS X El Capitan (10.11.5), 24" Early 2009

Posted on May 27, 2016 1:02 PM

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Q: Memory Slot issue - Can I use 8gb in one slot?

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  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 May 27, 2016 1:10 PM in response to Barbarapdx
    Level 9 (58,466 points)
    Photos for Mac
    May 27, 2016 1:10 PM in response to Barbarapdx

    Macs work best when they have matched RAM in each slot. For example if the computer has 2 slots and has the ability to have up to 8GB as your early 2009 iMac has then it's best to install 2x4GB of RAM in each slot. RAM is cheap, put in the correct RAM. Because iMacs are sensitive to RAM only use Crucial (buy direct) or OWC (www.macsales.com), both vendors sell high quality RAM at reasonable prices.

  • by Barbarapdx,

    Barbarapdx Barbarapdx May 27, 2016 1:15 PM in response to Barbarapdx
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Desktops
    May 27, 2016 1:15 PM in response to Barbarapdx

    I forgot to say that when the two 4's are installed at the same time I kept having the computer crash and give "panic reports" .  The continual need for restart was horrible.  Now with only one 4 installed, it's slower by a lot, but at least doesn't crash.

  • by Barbarapdx,

    Barbarapdx Barbarapdx May 27, 2016 1:17 PM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Desktops
    May 27, 2016 1:17 PM in response to rkaufmann87

    I did use Crucial to get the two 4's. Worked fine for a year, then the crashes started.  I contacted them and they are the ones who said to do the PRAM reset and test out the 4's separately.  But in calling them today they didn't know if the 8 gb would work, so I'm posting here.

  • by stedman1,

    stedman1 stedman1 May 27, 2016 1:18 PM in response to Barbarapdx
    Level 9 (73,714 points)
    Apple Watch
    May 27, 2016 1:18 PM in response to Barbarapdx

    Your computer needs

    Memory Slots2 - 204-pin PC3-8500 (1066 MHz) DDR3 SO-DIMM

    What is the spec of RAM you are using?

  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 May 27, 2016 1:20 PM in response to Barbarapdx
    Level 9 (58,466 points)
    Photos for Mac
    May 27, 2016 1:20 PM in response to Barbarapdx

    Barbarapdx wrote:

     

    I forgot to say that when the two 4's are installed at the same time I kept having the computer crash and give "panic reports" .  The continual need for restart was horrible.  Now with only one 4 installed, it's slower by a lot, but at least doesn't crash.

    As mentioned, it's wise to use matched pairs.

     

    However if your machine is getting Kernal Panics, you should post the last KP report. If you don't know how please click Mac OS X: How to log a kernel panic - Apple Support and then post your last complete KP. It may not be RAM related, it could be your HD is failing or possibly software.

  • by Barbarapdx,

    Barbarapdx Barbarapdx May 27, 2016 1:47 PM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Desktops
    May 27, 2016 1:47 PM in response to rkaufmann87

     

    Here's what I found: It doesn't say Kernal Panic, just Panic - this this what you mean? 

    *** Panic Report ***

    panic(cpu 1 caller 0xffffff801f51f92b): "a freed zone element has been modified in zone VM map entries: expected 0xdeadbeefdeadbeef but found 0xdeadbee7deadbeef, bits changed 0x800000000, at offset 8 of 80 in element 0xffffff80328165e0, cookies 0x3f001132d2628ce4 0x535218b732e283b"@/Library/Caches/com.apple.xbs/Sources/xnu/xnu-3248.40.184/os fmk/kern/zalloc.c:503

    Backtrace (CPU 1), Frame : Return Address

    0xffffff802bbd3290 : 0xffffff801f4dab12

    0xffffff802bbd3310 : 0xffffff801f51f92b

    0xffffff802bbd3440 : 0xffffff801f5612f0

    0xffffff802bbd3460 : 0xffffff801f554f72

    0xffffff802bbd34d0 : 0xffffff801f5547f9

    0xffffff802bbd36b0 : 0xffffff801f55f323

    0xffffff802bbd37c0 : 0xffffff801fac2c2f

    0xffffff802bbd38e0 : 0xffffff801fac655a

    0xffffff802bbd3970 : 0xffffff801fac8167

    0xffffff802bbd39e0 : 0xffffff801fac7b33

    0xffffff802bbd3a40 : 0xffffff7fa0c6362b

    0xffffff802bbd3a70 : 0xffffff7fa0c63561

    0xffffff802bbd3ab0 : 0xffffff7fa0c633e5

    0xffffff802bbd3ae0 : 0xffffff7fa0c67466

    0xffffff802bbd3b10 : 0xffffff7fa0c67c81

    0xffffff802bbd3b50 : 0xffffff801fae08c1

    0xffffff802bbd3b80 : 0xffffff801fae21f0

    0xffffff802bbd3be0 : 0xffffff801fadf277

    0xffffff802bbd3d20 : 0xffffff801f597cc0

    0xffffff802bbd3e30 : 0xffffff801f4df283

    0xffffff802bbd3e60 : 0xffffff801f4c28b8

    0xffffff802bbd3ea0 : 0xffffff801f4d2665

    0xffffff802bbd3f10 : 0xffffff801f5b8bda

    0xffffff802bbd3fb0 : 0xffffff801f5eca96

         Kernel Extensions in backtrace:

            com.apple.iokit.IOSurface(108.2.1)[7B01F01F-CC13-328B-BA71-E574C5FA3E25]@0xffff ff7fa0c5f000->0xffffff7fa0c71fff

     

    BSD process name corresponding to current thread: Google Chrome He

     

    Mac OS version:

    15E65

     

    Kernel version:

    Darwin Kernel Version 15.4.0: Fri Feb 26 22:08:05 PST 2016; root:xnu-3248.40.184~3/RELEASE_X86_64

    Kernel UUID: 4E7B4496-0B81-34E9-97AF-F316103B0839

    Kernel slide:     0x000000001f200000

    Kernel text base: 0xffffff801f400000

    __HIB  text base: 0xffffff801f300000

    System model name: iMac9,1 (Mac-F2218FA9)

     

    System uptime in nanoseconds: 28125099365756

    last loaded kext at 27651029479472: com.apple.driver.AppleXsanScheme 3 (addr 0xffffff7fa1eac000, size 32768)

    last unloaded kext at 27714340420658: com.apple.driver.AppleXsanScheme 3 (addr 0xffffff7fa1eac000, size 32768)

    loaded kexts:

    com.apple.filesystems.afpfs 11.0

    com.apple.nke.asp-tcp 8.0.0

    com.apple.driver.AudioAUUC 1.70

    com.apple.driver.AppleHWSensor 1.9.5d0

    com.apple.driver.AGPM 110.21.18

    com.apple.filesystems.autofs 3.0

    com.apple.driver.AppleOSXWatchdog 1

    com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyHIDDriver 124

    com.apple.driver.AppleHDA 274.7

    com.apple.driver.AppleMikeyDriver 274.7

    com.apple.driver.AppleLPC 3.1

    com.apple.driver.AppleUpstreamUserClient 3.6.1

    com.apple.driver.pmtelemetry 1

    com.apple.iokit.IOUserEthernet 1.0.1

    com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothSerialManager 4.4.4f4

    com.apple.Dont_Steal_Mac_OS_X 7.0.0

    com.apple.driver.AppleHV 1

    com.apple.driver.AppleIntelSlowAdaptiveClocking 4.0.0

    com.apple.GeForceTesla 10.0.0

    com.apple.driver.ACPI_SMC_PlatformPlugin 1.0.0

    com.apple.iokit.BroadcomBluetoothHostControllerUSBTransport 4.4.4f4

    com.apple.driver.AppleBacklight 170.8.9

    com.apple.driver.AppleMCCSControl 1.2.13

    com.apple.driver.AppleIRController 327.5

    com.apple.iokit.SCSITaskUserClient 3.7.7

    com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeDataless 1.0.0d1

    com.apple.AppleFSCompression.AppleFSCompressionTypeZlib 1.0.0

    com.apple.BootCache 38

    com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIBlockStorage 2.8.5

    com.apple.driver.AppleFWOHCI 5.5.2

    com.apple.driver.AirPort.Brcm4331 800.20.24

    com.apple.driver.AppleAHCIPort 3.1.8

    com.apple.nvenet 2.0.22

    com.apple.driver.usb.AppleUSBOHCIPCI 1.0.1

    com.apple.driver.usb.AppleUSBEHCIPCI 1.0.1

    com.apple.driver.AppleRTC 2.0

    com.apple.driver.AppleHPET 1.8

    com.apple.driver.AppleACPIButtons 4.0

    com.apple.driver.AppleSMBIOS 2.1

    com.apple.driver.AppleACPIEC 4.0

    com.apple.driver.AppleAPIC 1.7

    com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagementClient 218.0.0

    com.apple.nke.applicationfirewall 163

    com.apple.security.quarantine 3

    com.apple.security.TMSafetyNet 8

    com.apple.driver.AppleIntelCPUPowerManagement 218.0.0

    com.apple.security.SecureRemotePassword 1.0

    com.apple.AppleGraphicsDeviceControl 3.12.6

    com.apple.kext.triggers 1.0

    com.apple.driver.DspFuncLib 274.7

    com.apple.kext.OSvKernDSPLib 525

    com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusPCI 1.0.14d1

    com.apple.nvidia.classic.NVDANV50HalTesla 10.0.0

    com.apple.iokit.IOSurface 108.2.1

    com.apple.iokit.IOSerialFamily 11

    com.apple.driver.CoreCaptureResponder 1

    com.apple.iokit.IOSlowAdaptiveClockingFamily 1.0.0

    com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireIP 2.2.6

    com.apple.nvidia.classic.NVDAResmanTesla 10.0.0

    com.apple.driver.AppleHDAController 274.7

    com.apple.iokit.IOHDAFamily 274.7

    com.apple.iokit.IOAudioFamily 204.3

    com.apple.vecLib.kext 1.2.0

    com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginLegacy 1.0.0

    com.apple.driver.IOPlatformPluginFamily 6.0.0d7

    com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothHostControllerUSBTransport 4.4.4f4

    com.apple.iokit.IOBluetoothFamily 4.4.4f4

    com.apple.driver.AppleBacklightExpert 1.1.0

    com.apple.driver.AppleSMC 3.1.9

    com.apple.driver.AppleSMBusController 1.0.14d1

    com.apple.iokit.IONDRVSupport 2.4.1

    com.apple.iokit.IOGraphicsFamily 2.4.1

    com.apple.driver.AppleHIDKeyboard 181

    com.apple.driver.usb.IOUSBHostHIDDevice 1.0.1

    com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHIDDriver 900.4.1

    com.apple.driver.usb.cdc 5.0.0

    com.apple.driver.usb.networking 5.0.0

    com.apple.driver.usb.AppleUSBHostCompositeDevice 1.0.1

    com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIMultimediaCommandsDevice 3.7.7

    com.apple.iokit.IOBDStorageFamily 1.8

    com.apple.iokit.IODVDStorageFamily 1.8

    com.apple.iokit.IOCDStorageFamily 1.8

    com.apple.driver.usb.AppleUSBHub 1.0.1

    com.apple.iokit.IOAHCISerialATAPI 2.6.2

    com.apple.iokit.IOSCSIArchitectureModelFamily 3.7.7

    com.apple.iokit.IOFireWireFamily 4.6.0

    com.apple.iokit.IO80211Family 1110.26

    com.apple.driver.corecapture 1.0.4

    com.apple.iokit.IOAHCIFamily 2.8.1

    com.apple.iokit.IONetworkingFamily 3.2

    com.apple.driver.usb.AppleUSBOHCI 1.0.1

    com.apple.driver.usb.AppleUSBEHCI 1.0.1

    com.apple.driver.NVSMU 2.2.9

    com.apple.driver.AppleEFINVRAM 2.0

    com.apple.iokit.IOUSBFamily 900.4.1

    com.apple.iokit.IOUSBHostFamily 1.0.1

    com.apple.driver.AppleUSBHostMergeProperties 1.0.1

    com.apple.driver.AppleEFIRuntime 2.0

    com.apple.iokit.IOHIDFamily 2.0.0

    com.apple.iokit.IOSMBusFamily 1.1

    com.apple.security.sandbox 300.0

    com.apple.kext.AppleMatch 1.0.0d1

    com.apple.driver.AppleKeyStore 2

    com.apple.driver.AppleMobileFileIntegrity 1.0.5

    com.apple.driver.AppleCredentialManager 1.0

    com.apple.driver.DiskImages 417.2

    com.apple.iokit.IOStorageFamily 2.1

    com.apple.iokit.IOReportFamily 31

    com.apple.driver.AppleFDEKeyStore 28.30

    com.apple.driver.AppleACPIPlatform 4.0

    com.apple.iokit.IOPCIFamily 2.9

    com.apple.iokit.IOACPIFamily 1.4

    com.apple.kec.Libm 1

    com.apple.kec.pthread 1

    com.apple.kec.corecrypto 1.0

  • by rkaufmann87,

    rkaufmann87 rkaufmann87 May 27, 2016 1:58 PM in response to Barbarapdx
    Level 9 (58,466 points)
    Photos for Mac
    May 27, 2016 1:58 PM in response to Barbarapdx

    Well I can tell you it's not software related. If you are using incorrectly spec'd RAM that could be the cause and it could also be some other failing component. I think you are on the right track by starting with the RAM, get that sorted out first as RAM caused KP's are the most common. If you find your RAM is 100% okay then begin looking for other hardware issues, this means taking it to an AASP to be professionally diagnosed.

  • by Barbarapdx,

    Barbarapdx Barbarapdx May 27, 2016 2:12 PM in response to rkaufmann87
    Level 1 (12 points)
    Desktops
    May 27, 2016 2:12 PM in response to rkaufmann87

    OK, thanks, I was hoping to avoid the cost of Apple diagnosing it.  Do they charge for diagnosing or just for repairing?