Apple’s firmware updates for various Mac models, released last week, have caused problems for some Mac users. Users that have installed third party RAM seem to be especially susceptible to problems — some Macs that have been updated with the new firmware are no longer able to recognize the installed RAM after the firmware update is applied. In many cases, the Mac OS will recognize only the RAM installed by Apple, and the Apple System Profiler application does not recognize the presence of the third party memory.
So, is it a RAM issue or not? That depends on who you ask.
One source told us that the issue is indeed RAM that isn’t up to the Apple specs, “meaning the chip’s speed is not correct.” Apple is currently working to see if there’s a fix.
“In the meantime, we have to buy different RAM and make sure it works (PC100) in the box,” he said. “My next two phone calls are going to be to Apple’s Customer Relations to find out about reimbursement for the RAM I am going to have to buy and to the vendor I bought it from to see what they can do for me.”
However, several RAM manufacturers say that third party RAM, at least theirs, isn’t the issue.
Bruce Reilly, research and development manager at TechWorks, told MacCentral that their RAM has been tested with the new firmware and is 100 percent compatible. “We have always followed the Apple specifications without any deviation, as Apple tells us to do,” he said.
Likewise, Mac peripherals and memory reseller Other World Computing (OWC) has offered its own guarantee to potential buyers. The company noted in a recent e-mail that it “has always sold memory that has either met or exceeded Apple’s specs,” and said that its memory has no problems working with the new firmware updates.
In a news posting to its Web site, Memory vendor Ramjet also notes that its memory is compatible with the new firmware update.
“This issue will be resolved shortly and if users don’t have some critical applications that are required for their work or something more important, they need to hold off replacing their RAM,” TechWorks’ Reilly said.