My iMac crashed

[Txdogs]

Never had this happen. iMac is not even 2 yrs. old. Noticed last night my email and Safari would not open. Restarted the Imac and all was well. This morning it happened again, got a black error message to restart. Tried to. It starts booting up, the screen goes white and a loud beep alarm starts. Had to go to work. Only thing I have done recently is upgrade the memory to 4gigs. Any advice?

[Rene Ritchie]

From Apple - Support - Discussions - Nothing but beeps when I start ...

1 beep = No RAM installed/detected
2 beeps = Incompatible RAM type installed (for example, EDO)
3 beeps = No RAM banks passed memory testing
4 beeps = Bad checksum for the remainder of the boot ROM
5 beeps = Bad checksum for the ROM boot block

[Txdogs]

Crap. It was 2 beeps. The computer recognized the memory when I installed it. I'll reinstall it tonite.
Thanks.

[Txdogs]

I didn't take any chances, simply replaced the original memory and all works fine. NOW I'll be ordering memory from Apple......and I did order the correct memory for OWC.

[John T]

Surely it's under guarantee? You've seen the price of Apple's memory?

[Txdogs]

Originally Posted by John T

Surely it's under guarantee? You've seen the price of Apple's memory?

I spent $50 on the OWC memory. I'd rather play it safe than see my iMac go all white and beep beep at me.

[Dooks88]

Sorry to hear about your issues. I am using OWC memory on my 4th machine now with no issues.

[Txdogs]

Originally Posted by Dooks88

Sorry to hear about your issues. I am using OWC memory on my 4th machine now with no issues.

Hey Dooks,

Really frustrating. The new memory was recognized and worked fine for a week then 'boom' it crashed. I'm a little gun shy now and am just going to bite the bullet and order from Apple.

[Jevangil]

In all honesty, if the memory worked fine then crashed, I would have to believe that you bought some faulty memory, or something killed them. I have seen the same thing happen on some PCs that I have worked on in the past. New memory that worked for a day or so, then the system would not start. With memory sticks, it doesn't take much over voltage, or rogue current to kill a stick. Even a slight touch of static electricity can fry a circuit board.

Another thing could be the differences in the timing settings of the RAM. That alone can cause severe instability issues.

Apple's memory can be expensive for what you get. The memory they use is also sold in various other places all over the net for a cheaper price. Just be sure the ram you are buying match up with the old memory in speed. If it is PC2 667MHz, buy the same.

My Macbook uses PC3 1066MHz RAM and when I went to Fry's electronics to upgrade, I found the right speed from a different manufacturer (Apple's 1GB sticks were from Hynix, I bought 2GB sticks from Patriot) and paid half of what Apple wanted for memory upgrade. No issues whatsoever with the new RAM.

[Txdogs]

Took my chances and went to Frys after work. Bought ANOTHER 4gigs of memory for my iMac ($50). It is Patriot brand and states on the package that it is compatible with Mac. It installed and was recognized so I hope I don't have anymore issues!