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    Ran Software Update, Now Upon Booting Grey Screen Of Death Shows

    Discussion in 'Apple and Mac OS X' started by Stunner, Jan 24, 2011.

  1. Stunner

    Stunner Notebook Deity

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    I have a 13" mid-2010 MBP. Last night I decided to finally update my system(I had about 6 updates, two of which required the system to be restarted). It ran fine and upon restarting, it would boot up, make the boot-up noise, but the grey screen of death would appear over the screen with the apple logo.

    I am not completely screwed or anything as I did a Time Machine backup on Friday, however this is a real inconvenience. Is there anything I can do while I am away from my TM backup(PRAM reset, etc)? And when I do get to my TM backup, what would I do to restore from the Time Machine backup?

    Thanks!
     
  2. Stunner

    Stunner Notebook Deity

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    Ok so I just ran the Apple Hardware Test and I got the following message:

    "Apple Hardware Test has detected an error 4MEM/4/40000000"

    So it looks like I need to pay a visit to the Apple Store...
     
  3. SP Forsythe

    SP Forsythe Notebook Evangelist

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    Probable bad memory stick or memory contact problem. Apple store may try re-seating after cleaning.
     
  4. ClearSkies

    ClearSkies Well no, I'm still here..

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    You could also try booting the MBP with just one RAM stick at a time, and see whether that identifies the culprit (as SP suggested). You just need a 00 Philips to get the screws out, and be sure to pop out the battery and ground yourself before you remove the RAM.

    Might save you the trouble of getting the appt and going to AStore, if all you need to do is order a new RAM stick.
     
  5. Stunner

    Stunner Notebook Deity

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    Turns out it was a bad stick of RAM and my machine was still under the 1 year initial warranty so I wanted to let the Apple Store take care of it. Why do extra work when you don't have to, right? Ran the software update and it worked fine after getting the memory replaced.