RAM upgrade and screen issues

[james1916]

hi, i'm desperately trying to upgrade RAM memory (my HP 411 a000na pavilion is soooo slow) but no matter what i do (update BIOS whatever) i still get a blank screen when i insert a new 2GB 1600mhz DDR3 SODIMM256x8 or a new 4GB DDR3L-1600 SODIMM 1.35v CL11 it the empty RAM slot . my BIOS system information shows memory size as - 4096 MB DDR3 1600 mhz single channel. HP diagnostics show the 2nd DIMM slot as unused... any help would be very much appreciated. james

[Grzwacz · Accepted solution]

Greetings,

Welcome to the forum.

I am not a HP employee.

Your PC supports the following RAM. The following memory specs have been copied from the following HP Support site (Link).

• Dual channel memory architecture
• Two DDR3 SODIMM (204-pin) sockets
• Supports up to PC3-12800 (DDR3-1600)
• Supports 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB DDR3 SODIMMs
• Supports up to 4 GB on 32-bit systems

  NOTE: 

  32-bit systems cannot address a full 4.0 GB of memory.

• Supports up to 8 GB (unbuffered) on 64-bit computers

  NOTE: 

  Maximum memory shown reflects the capability of the hardware and can be limited further in the operating system.

I suggest you go to Crucial (Link) to get compatible RAM for your system. HP recommends Crucial memory if HP does not have the memory module density you need.

Crucial guarantees the memory modules will work on your PC.

I see an inconsistency in the memory specs at the HP Support site per above. The HP specs state 1 GB, 2 GB, 4 GB, and 8 GB DDR3 SODIMMs, but the site then states up to 8 GB of RAM support on a 64 bit operating system. My math suggests 16 GB of RAM support if you can populate two memory slots using a maximum 8 GB memory module in each slot.

Try the HP supplied memory module in the unused memory slot to see if it works. Maybe the second memory slot is in trouble.

BTW, a really slow system can be caused by many issues which may not be solved by increasing RAM.

Regards

[james1916]

great advice on trying the other slot with the current RAM... doh!

[wb2001]

@james1916,

So what happened.  Does the other slot work?

[james1916]

 that was it, other slot is banjaxed (broken)!

[Grzwacz]

Hi James1916,

You never know what the point of failure is until you try all possibilities.

Regards

[wb2001]

@james1916,

The banjaxed gave you away..... your across the pond.

Pull the power cord. Open case. Press power button dpwn 30 seconds.

With a can of compressed air (not shaken, not held at a steep angle) blow out the RAM slot.

Let us know if that worked?

[Grzwacz]

Hi Wb2001,

Good point. Maybe a cleaning will fix it.

Regards