PC won't boot/post with more than 4GB ram

[sam]

I have a co-workers PC (HP model P6310) that has 8GB ram. Maybe, if lucky,
1 out of every 20 times it boots. When it does not boot, there are no beeps,
no video signal to the monitor. The fans power on and there is disk activity,
but no idea what is going on. Finally I removed all but one stick of ram
and it ran fine.

With no ram at all it does beep, so I know the speaker works. :)

I have ram memtest on each stick of ram, multiple passes and no memory errors.
No matter which two sticks of ram I use, the PC boots and runs fine with
any two sticks. As soon as I put 3 or 4 sticks in it's darn near impossible
to get the pc to boot.

The memory is what came with the PC.. ELPIDA @GB 2Rx8 PC3-10600.

I have updated the BIOS to the latest firmware.

Help appreciated.

Sam


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[John]

On 12/10/2011 10:52 AM, sam wrote:
> I have a co-workers PC (HP model P6310) that has 8GB ram. Maybe, if lucky,
> 1 out of every 20 times it boots. When it does not boot, there are no beeps,
> no video signal to the monitor. The fans power on and there is disk activity,
> but no idea what is going on. Finally I removed all but one stick of ram
> and it ran fine.
>
> With no ram at all it does beep, so I know the speaker works. :)
>
> I have ram memtest on each stick of ram, multiple passes and no memory errors.
> No matter which two sticks of ram I use, the PC boots and runs fine with
> any two sticks. As soon as I put 3 or 4 sticks in it's darn near impossible
> to get the pc to boot.
>
> The memory is what came with the PC.. ELPIDA @GB 2Rx8 PC3-10600.
>
> I have updated the BIOS to the latest firmware.
>
> Help appreciated.
>
> Sam
>
>

No results found for HP model P6310. Please try again?

at:

http://www8.hp.com/us/en/hp-search/search.html?nores=true&qt=P6310&

What OS? Win7 or XP? 64 or 32 bit?

You need 64 bit (for Windows) to see all 8GB.

John

[sam]

Sorry, P6310F. This is not an issue of Windows seeing the memory, it does not post when
more than 4GB of ram is installed. Doesn't post/boot to anything... Windows, DOS or
Linux unless ANY two 2GB sticks of ram are in slots 1 and 3 or ANY 1 stick of ram in slot 1.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01949155&cc=ad&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_r1002_usen

[Paul]

Maybe it just needs a BIOS update ?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=pv-73127-1&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=ca&product=3740333&os=2100&lang=en

The thing is, the memory interface is on the processor itself. It isn't on
the Nvidia chip. That means, electrically, the memory should work as well
on your processor, as for any other owner of that processor. Exceptions
happen, when the BIOS is poorly written, and doesn't set up the memory
controller (inside the processor) properly.

The above BIOS update release notes say:

"Resolves an issue with the incorrect memory size being displayed when
4GB or more is installed."

That isn't your exact symptoms, but it is memory related, and mentions
4GB.

That might not be the latest BIOS update, it's just the first one I found.

What is weird, is the release number on this BIOS, is lower than the one
above, and this BIOS has a later release date ??? Maybe the motherboard
gets a different BIOS, depending on the machine it's in (for tattooing
to allow the OS restore software to work) ?

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?os=4063&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&sw_lang=&product=4107914#N268

Paul

[Kittie325]

> >http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01949155&cc=ad&d...

>
> Maybe it just needs a BIOS update ?
>

> http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem...

>
> The thing is, the memory interface is on the processor itself. It isn't on
> the Nvidia chip. That means, electrically, the memory should work as well
> on your processor, as for any other owner of that processor. Exceptions
> happen, when the BIOS is poorly written, and doesn't set up the memory
> controller (inside the processor) properly.
>
> The above BIOS update release notes say:
>
>     "Resolves an issue with the incorrect memory size being displayed when
>      4GB or more is installed."
>
> That isn't your exact symptoms, but it is memory related, and mentions
> 4GB.
>
> That might not be the latest BIOS update, it's just the first one I found.
>
> What is weird, is the release number on this BIOS, is lower than the one
> above, and this BIOS has a later release date ??? Maybe the motherboard
> gets a different BIOS, depending on the machine it's in (for tattooing
> to allow the OS restore software to work) ?
>

> http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?os=4063&lc=en&cc=...
>
>     Paul

Just posted a reply at this link for the same person and problem,
hoping they'll see and answer so they can figure this out :)

[The_KiKi]

You said the RAM is that which came with it, is that all 4 of them? Has
the OS been reinstalled? It is very important to know if this is 32-bit
or 64-bit because it only can recognize 4GB of RAM if it is 32-bit but
if it is 64-bit it can recognize up to 16gb of RAM.

I am assuming that these 2 sticks only work when they are placed in
slots 1 and 3, or just one works only when in slot 1, this is common...
if it is indeed 32-bit, then the only way to fill up all the slots is to
put in 4 1GB sticks, or don't fill all the slots and just put in 2 2GB
sticks, either way 32-bit will not even see any more RAM than 4GB.

If it is indeed 64-bit, then it seems as though you have a little
troubleshooting to do. So I ask, like the person before me, what
Operating system is it and is that OS 32 or 64-bit?

[sam]

>> http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01949155&cc=ad&dlc=en&lc=en&jumpid=reg_r1002_usen

>Maybe it just needs a BIOS update ?
>

>http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareDownloadIndex?softwareitem=pv-73127-1&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=ca&product=3740333&os=2100&lang=en

>The thing is, the memory interface is on the processor itself. It isn't on
>the Nvidia chip. That means, electrically, the memory should work as well
>on your processor, as for any other owner of that processor. Exceptions
>happen, when the BIOS is poorly written, and doesn't set up the memory
>controller (inside the processor) properly.

>The above BIOS update release notes say:
>
> "Resolves an issue with the incorrect memory size being displayed when
> 4GB or more is installed."

>That isn't your exact symptoms, but it is memory related, and mentions
>4GB.

>That might not be the latest BIOS update, it's just the first one I found.

>What is weird, is the release number on this BIOS, is lower than the one
>above, and this BIOS has a later release date ??? Maybe the motherboard
>gets a different BIOS, depending on the machine it's in (for tattooing
>to allow the OS restore software to work) ?

>http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/softwareCategory?os=4063&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&sw_lang=&product=4107914#N268

> Paul



Thanks Paul, I did try the bios update above but as expected it was a prior version and would not take. I
did run the HP diags on the processor and mother board this weekend and they passed. I am going to see if I can get
my hands on some other memmory and try to see what happens if I have 4 1GB sticks for example just to see
if I can prove mem slots 2 on the MB is good.

Sam

[sam]

Thanks for the reply. Yes, it is the memory that came with the PC.

How can the question OS being 32/64 bit possibly be an issue if it won't even post? As previously stated,
It won't boot to DOS, Linux or Windows with memory in all 4 slots. I don't care what the OS is, it
should at minimum post and allow me to get to the bios.

[sam]

I was able to get my hands on 4 1GB chips. Same issue. Only posts with memory in slots
1 and 3. Spoke further with co-worker and had to laugh. Was told HP supposedly replaced
MB 3 times. Based on a bit of nfo you provided, sounds like a bad CPU.

Thanks for your input.