Memory upgrade from 4 gb (2X2gb) to 16 gb (2X8) not working--HP8540W

[North-of-SF]

My first question on this forum.

Got hold of a used HP8540W Elitebook i7 620M 2.67GHZ .  Replaced its 250 gb hard drive with a 2 tb drive from another laptop (HP Elitebook 2760P).  It worked fine.  Then decided to upgrade RAM.  It had 4 gb (2X2 gb)--El Pida Taiwan 2GB 2RX8 PC3-10600S-9-10-F-1-EBJ2iUE8BDS0-DJ-F--1010GK730804.  Bought 16 gb (2X8 gb) through Amazon --Crucial 16GB Kit (8GBx2) DDR3/DDR3L 1600 MT/S (PC3-12800) Unbuffered SODIMM 204-Pin Memory - CT2KIT102464BF160B.  Before buying, had checked if the RAM was OK for HP8540W, and the answer was yes.  I was hoping to get a super fast computer after the RAM upgrade, but what I got was a laptop that was turning on and off continuously.  Left one 8 gb in one slot and put the original 2 gb in another slot; that did not work either.  Did other such combinations; the laptop just won't like the new RAM.  Ended up putting back the original 2X2gb ram sticks back and things are fine--but very very slow.  What am I doing wrong?  Are the two new memory sticks just bad?  Do I need to adjust anything at the motherboard, for it to accept the higher RAM?  Any help will be greatly appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

[iomare · Accepted solution]

Hi,

The HP 8540W with dual coreCPU supports max 8GB of RAM (2x4GB). Page 2 of service manual

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03382696

Example:

https://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for/HP-Compaq/elitebook-8540w-mobile-workstation-%...

You should consider replacing the 2.5"  HDD with a 2.5" SSD for extra performance.

Hope it helps,

David

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[North-of-SF]

Thanks, David.  Since I already have 2X8gb, will it work if one slot is empty and the other one has a 8 gb stick?  Thanks in advance for your answer.

[North-of-SF]

OK, Here is what I did and what I learned.  To see if only one 8gb ram (instead of 2X4gb option) can be used (with the other ram slot being empty), I first removed the 2 gb ram from the easily-accessible slot, right on the bottom of the laptop.  Turned on the laptop, to see if it would boot.  Yes, it did, telling me that the slot under the keyboard was the one where I needed to install 8 gb ram (keeping the other slot--easily accessible one-- empty).  Removed the keyboard, took out the 2 gb ram, put in the 8 gb ram, and turned on the computer.  Computer turned on but the screen remained black.  Turned off the computer, turned it back on.  Same result.  Lesson learned: one 8 gb ram in one memory slot, with the other slot being empty does not work. for HP 8540W.

I have a Dell with two 4 gb ram modules.  Took out the two modules from Dell and installed them in HP 8540W.  It worked.  Then installed the two 2 gb modules in Dell.  That worked too.  So, previously I had one slow laptop (HP 8540W), and one fast laptop (a beaten up Dell Studio).  I now have a fast HP 8540W and a slow Dell.  The Dell is sometimes used by the children.  Let's see how fast they find out what their father has done to them.

[iomare]

Great. Probably have the kids stressing you about the games being slow 😀

Glad you have yours running faster. You should consider replacing the hard drive ( which you could use externally) with a 2.5" SATA3 SSD. It would give a noticeable boost in everyday performance.

I would not have really known if one 8GB stick on its own would have worked and would have advised trying it.

All the best,

David