ROM slots for adding memory

UncleTime2 · ‎02-28-2022

My system is a HP Omen 30L with an Intel based Nain Board that has 4 memory slots.

I currently have one stick of 8 GB installed in the rearmost slot. I want to add one stick of 8 GB memory . Which of the three remaining slots do I use, or does it make no difference?

I remember yesteryear when I was using an IBM PC. you had to add memory in a specific slot sequence or the computer would not boot. So that's why I am asking. I would rather admit ignorance that make a costly mistake.

BeemerBiker · ‎02-28-2022

I suspect there is no requirement. The only info I could obtain was using your model name to look through the manuals. I found a picture of the motherboard at the HP support page and there were two memory sticks at opposing ends of the 4 slots.

I suspect it is more important to get the recommended memory.

I do not have access to 30L or any Omen and do not want to guess.

What is the product ID of your system?

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itsmyname · ‎02-28-2022

@UncleTime2 -- are the four RAM sockets the same colour (black?), or are there 2 of one colour, and 2 of a different colour?

If the latter, and the new stick has the same specifications as the current stick (speed, size), then put the new stick into the same-coloured socket as your current stick, and try it. If the computer does not start, move the new stick to a different socket.

If you are interested, research online about "single-channel" versus "dual-channel" support on motherboards.

It will explain why it sometimes helps to arrange the 2 sticks to allow "dual-channel" mode.

Prométhée · ‎02-28-2022

@BeemerBiker wrote:
I suspect there is no requirement. The only info I could obtain was using your model name to look through the manuals. I found a picture of the motherboard at the HP support page and there were two memory sticks at opposing ends of the 4 slots.
I suspect it is more important to get the recommended memory.
I do not have access to 30L or any Omen and do not want to guess.
What is the product ID of your system?

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UncleTime2 · ‎02-28-2022

Thanks for the replies, guys. My slots are all black. A ;picture is worth a thousand words. 🙂

UncleTime2 · ‎03-10-2022

Follow up on the secondary SSD slot on a HP OMEN 30L Motherboard.

After reading everything I could find on the subject and consulting expert help from HP, Microsoft and my local Computer repair shop guy I decided to add storage space by sticking a 1 TB SSD in that M.2 slot. If you want to avoid a real headache, don't you do that.

It FUBAR'ed my BIOS to the extent my computer wouldn't boot. It couldn't find an Operating System Taking the drive I stuck in that secondary slot back out produced no joy. Trying all the options in my Boot Menu produced no joy either. I tried restoring from a backup I had made earlier, and then I had the OS on both the original C: drive and the newly installed SSD drive, and the computer would only boot if both drives were installed. That pretty much nullified the purpose of adding the second SSD drive in the first place, because a big chunk of space was eaten up by the second operating system.

With expert help and a lot of luck I stumbled onto a sequence that allowed me to reset my computer. Of course I lost all my installed programs. Furthermore, when I reinstalled some of them they would not activate, telling me I had already used that activation key.

Now, several days later and a fistful of dollars shorter, like Merian in the movie Music Man, I have come away from this experience sadder but wiser.

If you are thinking of putting an additional drive in that secondary slot, cool your jets, read a book, watch some movies or go visit grandmother, your time will be better spent.

DGroves · ‎03-10-2022

the HP Omen 30L has quite a few sub model configurations some AMD some Intel based so a more detailed description of the system would be useful

a AMD based 30L system:

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c07081154

a Intel based 30L system

https://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/hp-omen-30l-2020

second, adding a SSD will NOT trash a bios, however it might be possible (but unlikely) depending on the current system storage config to attempt to boot off of a new drive, and if that happened simply selecting the correct storage device as the boot device would have cured the no boot issue

itsmyname · ‎03-10-2022

@UncleTime2 -- the computer would only boot if both drives were installed.

The latest installation of Windows, onto the new SSD, caused the "Boot Manager" partition (created by the first installation of Windows) to be modified. So, from then on, Windows is demanding that both disk-drives be available. That probably is not what you want.

Also, after adding a second disk-drive (or SSD), you have to enter BIOS SETUP, to set the newest installation of Windows as the first of the "bootable" devices. Did you do that?

I feel your pain for your efforts to upgrade your computer.

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