Edge RAM fails on late 2008 MBP Unibody

I recently decided to upgrade my late 2008 unibody MBP (2.53 GHz) by adding a 7200 RPM drive and bringing the RAM up to 6 GB, the total this machine will hold. The drive upgrade went fine, but the Edge RAM kept throwing kernel panics. I finally put back the original 2 GB stick and everything returned to normal.
I don't actually think there is anything defective about the Edge stick, I just think it's just not compatible with this computer even though it is labeled that it should work. I'd like to know if anyone has successfully upgraded the RAM on their 2008 MBP that's the same model as mine (see above) and if so, what they used.
In advance, thanks!

Some people here will tell you to buy only "X" brand, but actual reliability studies have shown that it doesn't really make that much difference. The failure rates are pretty much the same regardless of manufacturer. It's OK to shop for price rather than paying higher prices for a so-called well known brand. The key is to buy from a vendor you know is reliable and provides a reasonable return policy in case you get a bad piece. It happens. And only buy a product with a lifetime warranty. Stay away from so-called "economy" RAM that only has a 90-day warranty.
Macs are not that finicky in my experience. I've bought lots of different kinds of RAM for more than a couple dozen Macs. I've never had a problem. But sometimes problems do arise. You get a marginal module that won't pass the system's POST test.
If you want a reliable source I recommend Data Mem. I've dealt with them for 20 years. I've no complaints. I always buy computers with a minimum RAM configuration and do my own upgrading. Thus far I've upgraded the RAM in seven Intel Macs without incident, and I've never bought "brand" RAM. But then that's me. If you prefer the "brand" crowd they usually recommend Crucial. Apple mostly uses Samsung in the new computers. And there's Hynix which is also a big brand manufacturer like Samsung. But the big memory manufacturers also sell unbranded RAM or RAM that is OEM branded.

Similar Messages

Mavericks install failed on my late 2008 MBP. Says I should contact the software provider. Want to do a system restore, using Time Machine, but latest date to use is from last year - even tho did a backup before the download?

I downloaded the free Mavericks upgrade to my late 2008 MBP on Friday. I made sure to plug in my external hard drive so that Time Machine could back up beforehand. (I should say I'm not clear about the different kinds of backups that Time Machine does - I just plug it in and let it go.).
So have tried several times over the weekend to install, it takes 46 minutes each time - only to tell me it can't do it. There was an error message of needing to contact the software provider (or something similar). After searching the internet (on my husband's computer - since my MBP is rendered useless right now) I decided maybe I should wait on Mavericks and just do a system restore. However, when I plugged in the Hard Drive and proceed to System Restore, the latest date available is one from September of 2012 (14 months ago)... I've wondered if the date might be wrong? But I'm afraid to choose it because I'm not sure what I would lose. It might take me back to Snow Leopard rather than Lion... (however, the version on Restore was 10.8.1 which is Mtn Lion, right? Even tho it was last year...)
Some sources online say that I should go into applications and delete the install -- but I can't get to anything on my computer.
I tried to do a reboot in safe mode - but not sure if it worked...
I did look on the installer log error and the latest error is:
Local Host Report crash [378]
Can anyone help me? (Using simpleton, non-techie language?
Thanks

I downloaded the free Mavericks upgrade to my late 2008 MBP on Friday. I made sure to plug in my external hard drive so that Time Machine could back up beforehand. (I should say I'm not clear about the different kinds of backups that Time Machine does - I just plug it in and let it go.).
So have tried several times over the weekend to install, it takes 46 minutes each time - only to tell me it can't do it. There was an error message of needing to contact the software provider (or something similar). After searching the internet (on my husband's computer - since my MBP is rendered useless right now) I decided maybe I should wait on Mavericks and just do a system restore. However, when I plugged in the Hard Drive and proceed to System Restore, the latest date available is one from September of 2012 (14 months ago)... I've wondered if the date might be wrong? But I'm afraid to choose it because I'm not sure what I would lose. It might take me back to Snow Leopard rather than Lion... (however, the version on Restore was 10.8.1 which is Mtn Lion, right? Even tho it was last year...)
Some sources online say that I should go into applications and delete the install -- but I can't get to anything on my computer.
I tried to do a reboot in safe mode - but not sure if it worked...
I did look on the installer log error and the latest error is:
Local Host Report crash [378]
Can anyone help me? (Using simpleton, non-techie language?
Thanks

Could the late 2008 MBP take more than 8GB of RAM?

I just recently upgraded the RAM on my late 2008 15" MacBook Pro from 2GB to 8GB, and this sucker's running like a sports car! So this has me wondering. I have babied this thing, and it is plenty powerful for me but what happens 2-3 more years down the road? I had read that the late 2008 models originally could only handle up to 6GB but do to a fimware update in April of 2010 that capacity was upped to 8GB. Is there ever a chance that the RAM capacity could go up again? If not, why?

you're probably stuck at 8GB - i wish i can upgrade my late 08 Macbook to more than 8GB - tried it, but never worked - gave it to my niece instead.
i don't really think you'd use more if you're just running normal apps.
have a look at the image below - that's my macbook with 16GB and have 9 apps running - see how much I have free?
by the time you need more than 8GB - you'll probably buy a new macbook by then - do remember, new macbooks are still selling with 4GB of RAM installed in them.
good luck

SSD Upgrade to Late 2008 MBP, Plus Windows 8 Install

Hi guys,
I have a 15", late 2008 MBP that was a beast in it's time, but has started to show it's age, especially due to my aging hard drive. I've read great things about performance improvement through installing an SSD, and so I want to perform this upgrade. Also, while I do have my computer backed up through Time Machine, I'd rather just be proactive on replacing my hard drive before it fails on me (which will definitely happen at some point). Here's some more detailed specs for my computer:
CPU: 2.66 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo
RAM: 4 GB of 1067 MHz DDR 3
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce 9600M GT 512 MB
Note about the GPU: This comp has the dual graphics chips, but I've been always using the "high-performance" one, which is what is listed above (the other one is a GeForce 9400M).
OS: Most current version of Mavericks (OSX 10.9.2)
In looking up SSD's, I've found that people that have had laptops with similar specs to mine have had success with the Crucial M500 SSDs.
After I get my drive all figured out, I want to use Boot Camp to install Windows 8 on the SSD. Currently, I do not have any Windows installations on my computer. My computer is not supported for Windows 8 installation through Boot Camp, despite the fact that hardware-wise, it is compatable with Windows 8. However, I have found discussions that are pretty standard on how to get Windows 8 installed on my computer.
-So, my first question is: Was my research good for this given SSD for my computer? It seems like Samsung makes the best SSDs, but I haven't found any evidence that it would be really compatable with my computer.
-My second question: Given that I will have just installed an SSD, will Windows 8 installation be doable? This is probably the most important question for me, because if it's not possible, then I'd rather just buy Windows 7 right off the bat and install that in boot camp instead.
-My third question: If I can get Windows up and running, how does my computer's double graphics chip configuration work in Windows? I'd want to make sure that Windows is using the more powerful of the chips and not the less powerful one.
-My fourth question: My computer has gone from Leopard to Snow Leopard to Mavericks, and I never performed a "clean install" for any of these OS upgrades. If I clone my HD to the SSD, would it be beneficial for me to run a Mavericks clean install, and then pull all my necessary data off my backup drive?
Sorry for the long-winded post, and I know much of it is demonstrated elsewhere. I have found many discussions involving SSD upgrades, and getting Windows 8 on a late 2008 MBP, but I haven't found anything that has shown both being done. Both seem easy to do, but I just don't know if doing both in tandem is going to cause a bunch of problems. Has anyone out there done this, and can anyone offer me any advice on how to make this process any smoother? I really like doing this upgrade now, because if I run into Windows issues, or other issues on the SSD, I could still just boot from my old hard drive and use my computer. Thanks everyone!

beestmode,
I have a Mid 2010 MacBook Pro, and I put a Samsung 840 PRO SSD into mine. Where did you find evidence that this model SSD would not work in your MacBook Pro? (The SSD which you’ve installed has a good reputation, so you should have no reason to regret your choice.)
Windows 8 via Boot Camp will not be possible with your model MacBook Pro. In Boot Camp, you could install up to Windows 7, either 32-bit or 64-bit. A virtualizer such as Parallels Desktop or VirtualBox could allow you to install Windows 8, but virtualizers have their own sets of positives and negatives.
Since I have a 13-inch model with only one GPU, I don’t know how your dual GPUs would be handled on the Windows side.
When I’d installed my SSD, I did a clean installation of Mavericks onto it, keeping Snow Leopard on my old internal disk, and putting it into an external enclosure.

Why would a late 2008 MBP not boot with 10.8?

I have a late 2008 MBP I update from 10.7.4 to 10.7.5 and it refused to boot, although it would safe boot. So I tried a clean 10.7.5 install still would not boot. Again happy to boot into safe mode.
Next tried a clean 10.8 install again it will only boot into safe mode.
Booting into verbose mode it fails at the bluetooth, so i tried disabling the bluetooth extensions, still no joy.
Any ideas?

Hey Sig,
I ran all the usally disk repairs and permissions repairs. It still will not boot in normal mode in any OSX above 10.7.4. I assume they have change a driver or extention that is causing a conflict. Its very fustrating as others seem to be running ML on the seem hardware with no problem.
cheers
Mike

Flickering Horizontal Bar on Late 2008 MBP

I have late 2008 mbp (5,1)....NVIDIA 9400M and 9600M GT/Intel Core 2 Duo 2.93 Ghz, 4GB RAM
Having issues where on random occasions (especially if computer screen is open and laptop is just placed on a desk-so movement?), a horizontal bar on the bottom of the screen about 4.5 cm in height begins to rapidly flicker. It started happening about a week ago, and twice it has caused the computer to freeze (reboot necessary).
Also, although temp sensors seem to be giving normal values, I have been noticing that the entire surface of the laptop is getty very hot (hotter than I have normally experienced from the laptop under a normal load).
Graphics card issue, screen connection issue? Any thoughts of what it is?

Display problems do not improve over time. Make an appointment with Genius bar at the Apple store and bring it in. If you have Applecare and is still within the 3 year warranty period, your saved, other wise be prepared to pay. I have experienced display issues twice.
Ciao

Late 2008 mbp - installed new ssd - trying to boot from snow leopard iso on flash drive - says 'cannot install mac os on this computer'

Hello -
I just installed a new M500 Crucial ssd in my late 2008 mbp - everything was working fine on old hard drive (running snow leopard) but was getting slow and wanted to upgrade - i lost my snow leopard disk when moving from hawaii so i found an iso online - using a flash drive i partitioned the disk and made the bootable image on flash drive - formatted as extended/journaled - switched out the hard drives - plugged in the flash drive - started the comp - held option - install begins to boot - choose language - all is fine - choose english - next step window pops up saying 'cannot install os on this computer' - click on utility but all options are greyed out - disk util is greyed out - only options it gives is to start from backup or restart - real confused here - all help appreciated - thanks in advance and happy new year!

Snow Leopard comes in discs only. The USB drive may be a counterfeit and/or corrupt. There are two options for you:
Get replacement original OSX installation disks from Apple customer service. Have your MBP serial number ready and there is a charge.
Or two, purchase a Snow Leopard disk from the Apple online store:
http://store.apple.com/us/product/MC573Z/A/mac-os-x-106-snow-leopard
Ciao.

How to go from 10.8.5 to 10.8.4 on late 2008 mbp?

On a late 2008 mbp went from a perfectly working 10.6.8 to the downloaded 10.8.5 from App store.
My airport is constantly unusable, I keep deleting and remaking the wifi account in Networks, it crashes at least 2 or 3 times in the beginning of the day until it finally stays working, usually while using Safari or Firefox(latest 26). Updated the system thru all available posted updates and still misbehaves. Others seem to suggest a software glitch as the culprit and have suggested going to 10.8.4.
I never had 10.8.4, so how can one get it and install it. Will it require a clean install? I have fixed permissions, checked the drive with DriveGenius but nothing seems to do the trick.
I may have to return to 10.6.x but to run Lightroom 5 I need 10.8.x. Has anyone solved this quandry out there?
Thanks, I'm at the end of this rope.
L

Will it require a clean install?
The only installer available from the Mac App Store is the 10.8.5. You can't go from 10.8.5 to 10.8.4 and you can't do a clean install with anything other than 10.8.5. You should try a new clean install of 10.8.5 to see if you had a bad upgrade originally.

Moving from Late 2008 MB to Late 2008 MBP... best way to restore via TM?

Hello,
My Late 2008 Macbook was involved in an accident (RIP). I had hopes the HDD would still work okay, but it just beeps at me and is unable to load anything.
So, I've already ordered my replacement Mac. I ended up ordering the 2.53 Late 2008 MBP refurbed from Apple.
I need to eventually restore my data on here. Fortunately I had Time Machine setup with my backup applications and files. What is the best way to restore my applications/settings on the New Macbook? Migration Assistant? Archive and Install?
The previous Macbook had a problem when opening Safari, sometimes it would take a few seconds longer than normal to load with the beachball. I'm trying to avoid migrating the issues I had previously onto the new system, so ideally I'd have a fresh OS X install, but with all of my applications and settings intact. Is there an ideal way to do this?
Thanks,
Jonathan

I understand completely about wanting to have a fresh OS to start out from to minimize any performance issues and whatnot.
As far as I can imagine, the only way to do this with all your settings and files intact is to do the Time Machine restore, then Archive and Install after (aka Option 2). However, I would evaluate the performance of the system before doing the Archive and Install. I have a feeling that you'll think its more than satisfactory and not feel the need to do the A&I at all.
As to the Safari issue, it was probably a .plist file corruption or something like that which is very simple to fix. If the new machine presents the same issue with Safari as the old one, I'm pretty confident that we can fix that up quite easily.
--Travis

Late 2008 MacBook unibody battery replacement.

Hi guys
I have a Late 2008 MacBook unibody in need of a battery replacement. Can anyone recommend a good alternative aftermarket battery replacement?
Thanks in advance!

Hi,
Go to this page
http://store.apple.com/uk/browse/home/shop_mac/mac_accessories/power
Find the battery you want and the address of your nearest Apple Dealer or buy online.
good luck,
Alan

Original capacity of 15 inch Late 2008 MBP

I'm just a little confused as to what the starting capacity of the late 2008 MBP battery is. The battery itself reads that it is at 50 Wh. But, according to Coconut Battery and iStat Pro, the original capacity is 4600 mAh.
I'm debating whether to buy a new battery since my battery has 463 cycles on it, and it's current capacity is at about 4023 mAh. If the battery started with 50 Wh, then I'm right at about 80%, and my battery should be replaced soon, but if it started at 4600, then I'm at about 87%, and it's a-okay.
The battery definitely doesn't last as long as when it was new, but I'm just trying to figure out if buying a new battery will be worth it to me at this point, or if I should give it another 100 cycles, then buy a new one.
Thanks guys!
P.S. My battery never charges all-the-way to the full holding capacity. The computer always reports that it's charged at 3900 mAh, give or take, which is about 98% of the reported capacity of 4023.

Your model's battery had a maximum capacity of roughly 4.5 hours under the minimum load. Watt-hours is not a capacity measure but a power delivery measure. The capacity measure is 4600 mAh. That is what it was when new. The battery has an expected life of 500 cycles so yours is near the time for replacement. At the point where it is now the battery should power the computer for a maximum of about 4 hours.

Late 2008 MBP not waking up since last update.

Ever since the last update (10.6.4) my late 2008 MBP will not wake up if it goes to sleep for long periods.
It never used to do this, and I'm getting really annoyed with having to do a hard shutdown every time I want to use the **** thing.
There is nothing unusual about my MBP, no aftermarket peripherals or anything like that.

Try booting from your OS installer disk and run Repair Disk from Disk Utility. I would also try booting in safe mode (hold down the shift key until you see the cog - takes a while to boot) and then run Repair Permissions from Disk Utility. If there is something in the Trash empty it. Then reboot.

Replacing Airport Extreme Card in Late 2008 MBP - What to buy??

I've limped along for about 2 years now with my wifi constantly dropping while everyone else has a strong, constant signal. Doesn't matter where I am, it's always dropping and takes ages to reconnect. I've tried everything advised on the forum etc and am now about to buy something else as my main machine. I don't want to get rid of my MBP though so am planning on installing new memory and hard drive and while I'm doing that, want to replace the airport extreme card. The MBP will then become my secondary machine.
Problem is, I can't figure out what I need to buy to replace the **** card! Seems like a lot I'm finding are either for machines that never had cards or for 2009 or newer. I just need to know which card to buy.
OR . . . hearing that they are a pain to get to (keeping in mind I'll have the guts exposed while I upgrade the memory and HD) and fiddly . . . is there something external to plug into a USB I should get instead?
Here are my specs:
MacBook Pro, 15" Late 2008 (Unibody)
2.4 Ghz Intel Core Duo
2 GB 1067 Mhz DDR3 (which I'm about to upgrade)
Mac OS X Lion 10.7.4 (11E53)
Card Type:
AirPort Extreme (0x14E4, 0x8D)
Firmware Version:
Broadcom BCM43xx 1.0 (5.106.198.4.20)
MAC Address:
Locale:
Country Code:
Supported PHY Modes:
802.11 a/b/g/n
Supported Channels:
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 36, 40, 44, 48, 52, 56, 60, 64, 100, 104, 108, 112, 116, 120, 124, 128, 132, 136, 140, 149, 153, 157, 161, 165
Wake On Wireless:
Supported
AirDrop:
Supported

I'm already upgrading to 8GB of RAM and I'm planning on adding a Solid State Hard Drive since it will be a secondary machine. I really don't want to replace the optical drive too. At that point it's got new components in an old chassis with an old CPU.
I've been to the Genius Bar (back when I lived in a place where there was one in town) and they couldn't replicate the issue but as soon as I left it started up again. There are times when it holds the signal for a good hour or more or days like today when it's dropping it every few minutes. It's completely random.
No. This girl is going to go build her own PC with a fantastic GPU so as to kick some Diablo butt and the old Macbook Pro will only get used when I don't need it for anything serious. And I am most certainly not dropping another $2k + on a new MBP no matter how shiny they are! It's the end of an era as I've been using Macs exclusively for over 10 years now.

Intel 330 ssd in 2008 MBP Unibody

My old hitachi HDD went on the fritz and I obviously don't want to replace the corrupt hard drive with another hitachi HDD. I'm looking for an SSD to install. I don't need a huge drive because my data's in the cloud for storage so I'm looking at the SSD.
I would like to purchase the intel 330 120gb SSD. Here are my basic specs:
MBP late 2008 unibody
2.8ghz processor
4gb ram
NVIDIA 9600
250gb Hitachi 2.5" HDD (this is the original corrupt drive I want to replace)
-How does TRIM work on the mac? Will I have TRIM issues with the intel 330? How do I go about this?
-Has anyone had any 1.5gb negotiation rate issues? How did you resolve them?
-Any other installation issues I should be aware of and workarounds for them?
Thank you, appreciate your help!

Hi TigerJessB
I have an Intel 330 SSD 180Gb in my mid-2009 Mbp Unibody (Cord 2 Duo 2,26Ghz, 8Gb Ram, Nvidia 9600) and it works fine. Support of trim is ok after using "Trim enabler" software from www.groths.org/?page_id=322.
Best regards

Can I upgrade from 4gb of ram to 8 gb of ram on my late 2008 macbook pro?

I think I am in the right forum. I have the previous version of the macbook pro. Not the unibody.
I read this...
http://blogs.technet.com/keithcombs/archive/2008/07/05/testing-my-apple-macbook- pro-with-8gb-of-ram.aspx
Any thoughts?
thanks,
C

You are in the wrong forum; this one is devoted to the unibody models that were introduced in late 2008. Yours is not a late-2008 model unless it's the 17" model that was minimally refreshed in October 2008. Be that as it may, you want one of the "original" MBP forums that are listed at the top of this page:
http://discussions.apple.com/category.jspa?categoryID=250
The long-established unofficial (non-Apple) word on the actual RAM capacity of your machine is that it can use 6GB without problems, but will almost certainly be inoperable or unreliable with 8GB installed. As far as Apple is concerned, it only supports 4GB.

Edge RAM fails on late 2008 MBP Unibody

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