Grey screen of death?

I bought a Macbook Pro a couple of weeks ago. Today something happened that gave me an unpleasant flashback of my Windows days. I was in the middle of something when the screen went grey and a message asking me to restart the computer appeared. It said something to the effect of using the power key to shut down and restart the computer.

Does this happen often?

It should not. What happen, in Unix language, is called a Kernel Panic. Have you added anything new lately, for example Memory?

Yes, if you have added 3rd party RAM (RAM that did NOT come from Apple) it may cause this problem.

ChaePod said:

Yes, if you have added 3rd party RAM (RAM that did NOT come from Apple) it may cause this problem.

Click to expand...

Yes, as a matter of fact I replaced the 2 GB that it came with and put in 4 GB from Patriot. The specs are what were recommended (RAM type, etc.). Why should this cause a problem? The Macbook Pro guide didn't say I should replace it with a brand that was the same as the one on the machine (which BTW, is Samsung).

Awesome! Thanks for the tip, I'll be sure to let you know if it worked.

bernicejuach said:

oh don't worry about it man! the thing is that memory manfactured by third party designers have a fitting problem that cause the connection that lets the computer recognize the memory fail at times. just pour some water around the area you're going to put the memory in, let it dry up for a bit. scratch the edges just a tiny bit. then pour some water to cool it off. insert the memory and it should fit in perfectly causing no connection problems therefore running smoothly. hope it helps.

- bernice

Click to expand...

I do hope that was sarcasm...

please dont pour water on anything.....the issue with the ram is not that it isnt to apples specs is that the ram is faulty...this does happen on occasion, send it backand get some new stuff
-chris

Oh jeez...

ChaePod said:

Yes, if you have added 3rd party RAM (RAM that did NOT come from Apple) it may cause this problem.

Click to expand...

Sorry but that is NOT true. As long as you buy the correct extra RAM module for your Mac model, there is no problem unless the RAM goes bad. But then again, there are brands which are better than others and will be more susceptible to work correctly. For instance, I have bought RAM from OWC and it worked very well, never gave me any kernel panics.

If your statement were true, Apple would specify this on their website and in your Owner's Manual that comes with all Macs. Apple refers to adding third-party RAM as Consumer Installable Parts.

If the OP is afraid the new RAM module is causing this, he should pull it out and see if kernel panics still happen or not. Most of the time, kernel panics are hardware-related but they can also be caused on occasion by incompatible software.