Mac OS X 10.4.10 Special Report: RAM incorrectly (or not) recognized

Some users are reporting that RAM modules are either not recognized or recognized with lower than true capacity after updating to Mac OS X 10.4.10.

MacFixIt reader Andy Bennett writes:

"So I just ran the updater this morning, and all of a sudden, my Quad-Xeon Intel MacPro is reading both of my 1GB RAM chips as 512's. I have 4 chips; 2-512's, and 2-1GB's. The Mac is showing all four them all as 512's now. I re-installed the update from a safe boot, and ran MemTest, but no changes and no apparent problems. I'm just stuck with 2GB of RAM instead of 3, for the time being."

In some cases, the RAM is simply seated improperly. Removing the module, and re-installing it, making sure the connection is tight, has resulted in the previously disabled module working again for several readers.

You can also try resetting PRAM/NVRAM as follows: Shut down your Mac, then start it back up while immediately holding the following keys: Command, Option, P and R. Hold the keys down until the computer restarts and you hear the startup sound for the third time. NVRAM and PRAM can sometimes harbor problematic data that lingers after disconnecting the offending device.

Index:

• Release notes, properly installing the update
• Important files modified by this update, downgrading components
• Downgrading to Mac OS X 10.4.9

• Applications will not launch
• Audio popping, other sounds issues: Apply Audio Update 2007-001, other fixes
• Common workarounds for when things go wrong post-update
• Display brightness stuck at maximum
• Finder crashes -- fixes
• FireWire audio interface issues -- fixes
• Printers missing -- fix
• Problems starting up
• RAM incorrectly (or not) recognized
• Sound input issues, fixes
• The problem with the Mac OS X 10.4.10 version number
• USB issues (serious), fixes
• Wireless connectivity (AirPort) fixes

Resources