Macbook A1181 not booting after RAM upgrade

mikester · 25 May 2011 at 12:45

So I've been having constant minor issues with my trusty second-hand Macbook as of late. Managed to replace a damaged HDD and re-install most of my software, but am now stuck.

It's a pre-2008 (or is it 2006?) non-unibody Macbook. I had previously installed a 2GB stick of Corsair RAM, which ran like a dream for the last 6 months. All was well until four days ago when it stopped booting. I see the Apple logo, but the "time wheel" appears beneath it and OS X does not boot. I have tried replacing the Corsair stick with the stock 2x512MB sticks to no avail. I've even tried a 1GB stick pulled out of an old netbook for the hell of it.

I suspect one of three problems:

1. The RAM slots have been damaged somehow (I will visually check tonight, and if not I am passing to an Apple Tech).
2. OS X has not been properly installed.
3. I am not installing the RAM properly.

Any suggestions on how to suss out any of these three options would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you.

pingwing · 25 May 2011 at 13:08

Well if the ram was working fine for a while it sounds like its nothing much to do with ram.

Sounds a bit like a hard drive problem again

(something along the lines of somethings gotten corrupt and it cant boot any more).

Have you tried a SMC reset first? (before giving the reinstall a go)

mikester · 25 May 2011 at 13:39

pingwing said:
Well if the ram was working fine for a while it sounds like its nothing much to do with ram.

Sounds a bit like a hard drive problem again (something along the lines of somethings gotten corrupt and it cant boot any more).

Have you tried a SMC reset first? (before giving the reinstall a go)

Hope not, but if I lose another HDD at least it'll be one I pulled out of a drawer.

I tried re-setting the SMC last week, using the following instructions:

Resetting the System Management Controller (SMC)
Resetting the SMC on Mac portables with a battery you can remove

Note: Learn about removing the battery on MacBook and MacBook Pro.
Shut down the computer.
Disconnect the MagSafe power adapter from the computer, if it's connected.
Remove the battery.
Press and hold the power button for 5 seconds.
Release the power button.
Reconnect the battery and MagSafe power adapter.
Press the power button to turn on the computer.

Didn't notice a single difference.

pingwing · 25 May 2011 at 16:55

Oh bum

Can you boot to an osx install cd next? If you can then you can try the repair permissions command from the disc utility which could help...