MacBook Pro RAM Increase

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Hi Folks,

I have a 2006 MBP 2.16GHz Core Duo, with 2GB of RAM. I've read a lot of the message boards and it seems the answer is that this model has a max RAM of 2GB, officially and unofficially (the Core-2 Duo, I think can go to 4GB, unofficially).

Still, I ask... Is there anything I can do to increase the RAM on this MBP? Any re-configs of the BIOS? Re-configs of the OS? Any installs? Can I change out the processor? Can I drop a new motherboard in (with suggestions)? Anything else (and less expensive) short of having to buy a new laptop?

Thanks a lot for the posts,
Paras.


MacBook Pro, Model A1175, 2.16GHz Core Duo, 2GB RAM, OSX 10.6.6, EFI Firmware 1.2
 
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You are correct about the RAM, the maximum you can install officially and non-officially is 2GB. A new Logic Board for the laptop will probably cost more than the laptop is worth. Other than that I personally am out of ideas.
Sell or part-trade it for a newer machine if you really really need more RAM and faster performance. IMO


- Simon
 
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Well now that's a good point actually... I installed MenuMeters to see what's holding me up and why I keep getting the Spinning Beach Ball of Death so often. Everything looks like it's got enough headroom...
- RAM, I'm typically only using about 25%, rarely ever maxes out to the full 2GB
- each of the two cores are barely registering, so they're not over-tasked
- hard drive I/O looks good... HD busy lights are not on consistently
- and network Tx / Rx, look OK... max is only getting to be about 30Kb/s

I've also done the following, but still get the SBBOD:
- done a full system run using Onyx to clean everything out.
- cleaned out the caches in ~\Library\caches and ~\Library\Preferences
- reinstalled Firefox & Thunderbird and cleaned out the temp files and cache files
- cleared out most add-ons and dashboard programs except for a handful that I use regularly
- not running animated desktop
- got a 500GB hard drive in there, with only <200GB used
- OS X updated to 10.6.6, Firmware Updated to EFI 1.2

After going through all these, I assumed I just didn't have enough RAM, hence my original question, but maybe I'm wrong in this assumption.

I still get the SBBOD whether I'm using Firefox, Thunderbird, Adobe Lightroom, Photoshop CS2, MS Word, or MS Excel. I get it even if there is only one of these applications running. At the end of the day, I really just want to use these applications; I suppose I could do without using Lightroom and Photoshop on my MBP, but I do need to use the others and getting the SBBOD as often as I do just gets frustrating and impossible to work without interruption.

Thanks a lot or your suggestions,
Paras.
 
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On the RAM side, the actual memory limit for this machine is 3GBs, not 4 or 2. You can install 1x2GB and 1x1GB. This is a pain because RAM is almost always sold in pairs, so you'll need to scout eBay or just swallow the loss (Crucial sells a 2x2GB kit for about $60).

Having said all that, it doesn't even sound like this is your problem. One thing that might help is backing up your entire machine to TimeMachine, then completely wiping your HDD and restoring again from backup. I did this a while ago on one of my older machines and it fixed the constant hanging you're getting. It's a bit drastic, but no where near as drastic as buying a new motherboard, which is very unlikely to even be the cause of these issues.
 
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Thanks... I've been thinking the same and might just do that. But what does wiping out the HD and restoring it do; I assume it's re-establishing the registry and cleaning out files that have accumulated over time. Doesn't OS X do this regularly? Or the Onyx cleanings that I've run multiple times now? Can't the restoration be done without having to wipe-out and reinstall?

3GB... I've never heard that before, but a 50% bump would be pretty cool!

thx.
Paras.
 
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I don't think that it can do 3GB - I was looking at mactracker and it says max for a 2.16GHz is 2GB. There is a 2.0GHz Macbook of the same year that says it can do 3GB.

Go grab mactracker
Mactracker

There is a "this mac" function which should help you figure out what you have and what your machine can handle.
 

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Ivan is correct. If it's a Core Duo, it can only handle 2 GB - and it appears that what the OP has.
 
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Oops, yes it's the 2.16Ghz C2D that can do 3 GB, and yes it was an unusual configuration.
 
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It may sound like the windows way, but it's worth to try. Reinstall the operating system from scratch with all the applications you need. You can pull some files from a time machine backup if you need them, but I think it's useless to fully recover the system from a backup because you'll end up at the same state as before.
 
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OK.. will clean-out and reinstall; I'm sure this will help.

Thanks also for confirming, 2GB seems to be the max, per MacTracker.

Per the original post, seeing as how the RAM cannot be upgraded and all the cleanings etc., are their any Advanced re-configs of the BIOS? Re-configs of the OS? Any installs? Can I change out the processor? Or is there anything else ya'll can think of that I could do to improve the performance the machine?

Thx mucho.
 

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