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I bought a refurbed Mac mini (1.66 core duo/512MB/80GB/etc.) back in October. Everything has appeared to be running just fine. At one point I had bought a 1GB RAM chip from ChumpUSA and tried to install it, but the mini never booted with it in. So I chalked it up to a crappy RAM chip, returned it, and just kept going with the stock RAM.
The odd thing about that was I noticed the RAM chips were labeled as 512MB chips (or so I initially thought), but system profiler only said 512MB of RAM, so I thought maybe Apple labeled them weird, as 512MB for the set since Mini's always get sets of RAM from Apple. I guess I never checked the memory menu in system profiler to see what each chip was showing as since I never was able to boot the mini with the 1GB chip in.
Fast forward to yesterday. My 2GB of Crucial RAM from Newegg arrived and I went to install it last night. After initially installing it and booting the mini before putting the case back on I notice System Profiler only says there's 1 GB of RAM installed. I look at the memory tab and see that 1GB is listed in the one slot but the other is listed as empty! I tried every combination possible with two 1GB chips and two 512MB chips to try and determine if it was the chip or the RAM slot. NOTHING showed up in that slot despite what was in there, but everything showed up correctly in the other slot!
I don't know if anyone has ever had a similar situation, but it seems odd. I guess it's not impossible for one of the slots to be bad. Either way, it's down to the Apple Store later today to try and get the mini repaired/replaced. I'm just glad I have the PowerBook to hold me over.
Now, what I am concerned about is whether Apple will say I voided the warrantee by taking the case of the mini off. I was thinking I'll just tell them that I looked at the memory tab in system profiler for the first time and noticed one slot said "empty" but I was under the impression that mini's shipped with two, equal RAM chips, kind of play dumb and let them figure it out. Or should I admit I opened the case, saw the two 512MB chips, and then checked system profiler and noticed it wasn't recognizing both slots?
~A
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You only void the warranty if you break something while you are in there:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=13946
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I think it's a covered warranty issue.
But why complicate things?
I'd just hand it to the "genius" and say that the machine isn't detecting all of its RAM. Then I'd let him figure the rest out for himself.
As a general rule, the folks who staff the genius bars aren't much for asking intelligent and probing questions. Let him do his diagnosis and tell you what your options are.
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If the Mac is defective, I fully expect that Apple will repair/replace it.
I understand your concern, but I think you should be fine.
Even though you opened the case, as long as the "damage" was not caused by you, you should be OK.
I am willing to bet the Genius will book it in for repair with no questions asked. Make sure you back up your data and leave your new RAM at the house awaiting install after you Mac is repaired.
JJ
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[quote tahoedrew]
Now, what I am concerned about is whether Apple will say I voided the warrantee by taking the case of the mini off. I was thinking I'll just tell them that I looked at the memory tab in system profiler for the first time and noticed one slot said "empty" but I was under the impression that mini's shipped with two, equal RAM chips, kind of play dumb and let them figure it out. Or should I admit I opened the case, saw the two 512MB chips, and then checked system profiler and noticed it wasn't recognizing both slots?
That would be my approach exactly. Every indication is that it shipped with 1GB of RAM, but was only showing 512MB when you got it... thus problem existed when you received it. The fact that it showed the AMOUNT of RAM that normally shipped with a typical mac mini, probably is the reason it wasn't caught when it was refurbed, since the amount of RAM looked right... even though it was only showing HALF the installed RAM.
If you honestly don't think you created the problem (and based on what you report, I don't think you did) I would share your excellent logic with the Apple folks (only 1 slot reporting installed RAM) and let them figure out the rest. More likely than not, they'll try replacing the "bad" 512 MB chip, and discover that the replacement is "bad" too... and then may consider the possibility that the actual RAM slot is bad... which is likely the REAL problem.
Hopefully they'll give you a new Mini, since I imagine a MB repair on a mini would be more work than it is worth.
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I agree with the "don't volunteer too much information" approach.
For the most part, it's always been Apple's stance that if you didn't break anything, they'll honor the warranty.
Over at dealmac way back, there was some discussion about opening a Mac in and of itself, voiding the warrantee, and it might have been the mini. But I think there was *some* personal experience were that was not the case.
When you tell him the second RAM slot is not recognized, it will be pretty obvious that you've been inside. Just don't look guilty.
At least you found out while the warranty was still in effect.
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[quote RAMd®d]
When you tell him the second RAM slot is not recognized, it will be pretty obvious that you've been inside. Just don't look guilty.
Well, yes... if he or she is really on the ball. If you simply offer that "it seems strange that Apple reports this model as shipping with TWO 256 MB chips, and yet it reports only One 512MB chip" You need to know which it is since you plan on getting more memory at some point.
They might simply say, "Yeah well, it was sold with 512MB and it shows 512MB... not my problem." Or, a more helpful and curious "genius" might agree to have a look.
Worse case scenario, say you noticed the discrepancy, popped the cover to check, saw the second chip, and decided to give them a call since something didn't seem right.
This is a stinker of a problem... and I've run in to similar ones before. The problem is that there is a defect in the original shipped product which does not become readily evident until the end user makes changes that could in and of themselves be construed as non-typical end-user upgrades.
A similar example was a client that purchased a refurb iMac G4 and left it with the default RAM until after his one year warranty ran out. Then added more RAM and discovered the BAD end-user accessible RAM slot. Not covered. Not detectable until more RAM was added. Apple said it was probably bad RAM chips (3 different ones tried), and ultimately said tough luck... should have gotten extended warranty or "found" the problem earlier in the original warranty period. Very frustrating, since every indication was that the problem had been there since the beginning.
This problem falls in the same grey area. You wouldn't normally find the flaw unless you were poking around to begin with.
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While the mini is not really intended to be user-ugradeable, opening the case does not void the warranty. Breaking something does but you didn't break anything. The machine was obviously shipped in a defective state and I would just be honest about it.
(Apple Stores are not the only Apple-authorized service providers. If you're that worried about what a Genius says, you could claim you took the computer and memory to an Apple-authorized service provider to have them install the memory.)
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If you simply offer that "it seems strange that Apple reports this model as shipping with TWO 256 MB chips, and yet it reports only One 512MB chip" You need to know which it is since you plan on getting more memory at some point.
Ah, point taken.
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We had the same problem with a Mini here - only would recognize 1 RAM slot even though 2 were full. Well, actually, it would recognize the original 2x256 MB but not 2x512MB or 2x1GB. We'd only get 1x512 or 1x1GB reported in ASP & the Finder. We had it replaced under warranty and it's good to go.
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