Upgrading Memory

[miribilist]

Hello all,

Hope one of you can help.

I have the following pc:  http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/Document.jsp?lang=en&cc=nl&taskId=120&prodSeriesId=...

And I have purchased a memory upgrade: http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/prods/components/memory-pc/ddr3-pc3-10666/1333mhz/novatech/ram-31...

Now for some reason this does not work.  Does anyone see why there is a problem?  I have contacted the manufacturer of the memory, they say it should work fine.  Contacted HP and got the usual "help" that is on offer in the form of them just repeating my questions!!

I have tried installing one and two cards in almost every combination (the correct combination is the following order, Slot 1, 3, 2 then 4.

Please Help!!

[Woodwood]

Hi miribilist

There seems  to be no obvious reason...but you have not really given enough information...for example, in what way doesn't it work ? and, the spec seems to apply to more than one product...is your system configured " with more than 3GB of memory and a 32 bit operating system" ? What OS are you in fact using ?  (64 bit windows 7 ??).  You have two new 22GB cards, and what else ?  Are your DIMM slots colour coded ?  have you worked out the matching of the pairs properly ?

You could try Crucial/Kingston/Corsair memory tools and see what kind of memory they come up with for comparative purposes.

I'm really not the best person to advise you on this system but I'll say what I can.

[miribilist]

Hi Woodwood, 

Thanks for your reply.  Apologies for the lack of info....

When I say it doesnt work, when I switch it on after installing the RAM the screen stays blank and I get one Short beep followed by a long beep.  I looked on HP site and all the info states is that this means there is a memory problem.

The machine shipped with 3x1GB DDR3 cards and I am running 32bit Windows 7.

The plan was (knowing 32bit OS cannot handle more than 4gb) to get 2x2gb cards so when I upgraded to 64bit OS infuture I had the space to do so.

The slots are colour coded and I have looked on the HP site for info.  The slots run 1,2,3,4 colour Blue, Black, Blue, Black.

The advice from HP is that the order of install must be 1,3,2,4 (Blue, Blue, Black, Black) which I have tried to no avail.

We have two identical machines in the same office and have purchased two lots of  2gb cards to upgrade both and the same issue applies on both pc's.  

The only advice HP gave me was that they couldnt support any non HP product so therefore wouldnt help!! 

Hope this aids further, and I will try the tools you suggest.

Many thanks

[Hanspuppa]

---

miribilist wrote: The machine shipped with 3x1GB DDR3 cards and I am running 32bit Windows 7.

The plan was (knowing 32bit OS cannot handle more than 4gb) to get 2x2gb cards so when I upgraded to 64bit OS infuture I had the space to do so. The slots are colour coded and I have looked on the HP site for info.  The slots run 1,2,3,4 colour Blue, Black, Blue, Black. The advice from HP is that the order of install must be 1,3,2,4 (Blue, Blue, Black, Black) which I have tried to no avail. We have two identical machines in the same office and have purchased two lots of  2gb cards to upgrade both and the same issue applies on both pc's.  

Hope this aids further, and I will try the tools you suggest. Many thanks

---

Hello miribilist, Most OEM system builders require certain memory for their systems. Most, if not all, genic memory will not work in an OEM system like your HP Pro 3010 system.

When upgrading system memory for a HP system, it is suggested you go to the Crucial or Kingston memory site and use their Memory Configurator to select the compatible memory that will work in your system.

It is also not recommend to mix memory modules of different manufacturers. While some generic memory may work, most will not and will not work when mixed with other memory. Even though the memory modules are the same type and speed, the timeings are different, and would not be compatible with your HP system.

Here  is a link to Crucial that shows the compatible memory for your system. Kingston has some compatible memory for your system as well.

I would suggest sending the memory back that you purchased and ordering the certified compatible memory from Crucial or Kingston.

[Woodwood]

This is a remark type question not aan 'isse' based on thwe useful information given by Hanspuppa. I do not question the veracity of what he wrote but I have a few questions as to why he wrote it.

---

@Hanspuppa wrote:

Most OEM system builders require certain memory for their systems. Most, if not all, genic memory will not work in an OEM system like your HP Pro 3010 system.

It is also not recommend to mix memory modules of different manufacturers. While some generic memory may work, most will not and will not work when mixed with other memory. Even though the memory modules are the same type and speed, the timeings are different, and would not be compatible with your HP system.

---

Most people have OEM systems. and many people must upgrade their memory from all kinds of memory supplier, not just the major ones like Kingston, Crucial and Corsair.  Many of these people meet with problems, but ,crucially, more do not.  If this was not the case these other memory suppliers (e.g., Mr Memory) would not exist.

Secondly, what is Hanspuppa's opinion on the purpose of  having  standards like DDR3-1066F, or PC2700 or whatever if they aren't standards ?

Finally, my own experience, which is limited, that mixing manufacturers is not a problem: my own (ancient !) system has been upgraded twice and I am using a hynix 256MB card wich was not originally supplied along with a Kingston 1 GB card of a designed for my computer model (as per the memory search on the Kingston website).  I would add that that my system is not dual channel architecture and miniilist's is and in that case he needs to use "paired" memory cards (the pairing is the reason for the colour coding.  Aso that I beleive [have no personal experience] that memory from manufacturers can just not work in some systems for no apparent reason [there must be a reason of course, most likely as Hanspuppa says, it a timing fault) although it might be marked as being of the correct type.

I would think that easiest course of action for minibilist is to return the memory from Novatech (it is probably perfectly good in another system) and try another supplier/brand - there are plenty available who offer guarantees.

[Hanspuppa]

Hello Woodwood, Thanks for you question and comments. I want try to explain  why it is best to use certified compatible memory for certain computers, since I already tried to explain this and you didn't seem to want to accept my explanation.

Memory for systems made in earlier days, when systems were not memory critical as the system memory used in todays computers, would accept many different generic memory modules. Not so with todays computers.

The person tried to use some generic memory in his HP system and the system failed to work properly, not matter how he tried to install it. You are correct about the slot colors, There is very little difference in every day performance in a system with dual or tripple channel memory. You may see a difference in benchmark testing, but not much in Web surfing.

There is also very little difference in system performance when you increase the memory more than 6 GBs of memory, unless you are using a CAD program, keep many applications open at once, or you are into gaming.

I have a system with 24 GBs of DDR3 1333 ECC, and I never use more than 3 GBs of system memory.

I simply tried to explain why his system would not work. I stand by my explanation. You can accept or reject it as you seem to have done.

There are no "standards" as you suggest. There are standard types, such as DDR, DDR2, DDR3, but the module banks and timings may be wildly different in each of these categories. So these cannot be considered as "standard" memory.  Each memory provider does not make memory for all systems. The smaller providers usually buy memory from the major manufacturers and rebrand it as they see fit. Not all memory in the same category are equal.

If you do not want to accept the suggestions of others with experience in these matters, I would suggest you just learn by purchasing your incompatible memory, installing it in your system, removing the memory and try to return it, and keep ordering more until you may get some the may work in your system.

I choose to order certified compatible memory once, and be done with it.

Thanks again for your comments.

[Woodwood]

Hanspappa, thank you for your further statements. 

I realise that there is much I do not know, and am grateful for guidance from peple such as yourself.  My experience is limited to one older system for which, as you point out, the detailed timings are not as critical as with newer, faster systems.  I have recently upgraded my memory from next-to-nothing to twice that (!) and I have not noticed a performance increase !  but I do not want to discuss that here - it is not the right place.

I have read quite a lot but that is not the same as hands-on use.  Thank you for taking the time to reply to my question, I was seeking further kowledge rather than questioning your judgement.

[Hanspuppa]

---

Woodwood wrote: Hanspappa, thank you for your further statements. I realise that there is much I do not know, and am grateful for guidance from peple such as yourself.  My experience is limited to one older system for which, as you point out, the detailed timings are not as critical as with newer, faster systems.  I have recently upgraded my memory from next-to-nothing to twice that (!) and I have not noticed a performance increase !  but I do not want to discuss that here - it is not the right place. I have read quite a lot but that is not the same as hands-on use.  Thank you for taking the time to reply to my question, I was seeking further kowledge rather than questioning your judgement.

---

Hello Woodwood, Thank you for your understanding. I know what you are dealing with, since as you mentioned, you have some limited experience with computer hardware.

I have over 25 years of "fooling" with computers and I still learn something new every day. Computers are an ongoing learning process. I do not know a person that knows all there is to know about computers, not even close.

The technology changes so rapidly that even the manufactures of the hardware and the computer suppliers that assemble the hardware are unable to keep up with this changing technology.

I almost never question another person's experience with computers, since they may be correct in how their experience may be with respect to how my experience was in the same situation.

If you don't know about something, please ask questions. You may get a different answer from different people about the same subject, but at least you are learning.

[Mikester007]

Great tutorial, very useful!

[binici]

Awesome information.

My HPE-170f could use a bit of an upgrade for memory.

Memory upgrade information

• Triple channel memory architecture

• Six 240-pin DDR3 DIMM sockets

• Supports PC3-8500 (DDR3-1066) DIMM types

• Non-ECC memory only, unbuffered

• Supports 4 GB DDR3 DIMMs

• Supports up to 24 GB on 64-bit PCs

• Supports up to 4 GB* on 32-bit PCs

What brand do you all support around here?

Corssair or Patriot?