ML150 G6 - Memory Madness

[Big_Banana]

BIOS: 2011.01.18 (A) (9 Feb 2011)

PROCESSORS: Dual E5504   (2.0GHz 4MB)

RAM1: MT36JSZF51272PZ-1G4F1AB 1110

              4GB 2Rx4 PC3-10600R-9-10-J0

             P/N: 500203-061

RAM2: M39385170FH0-CH9Q5 M1111

              4GB 2Rx4 PC3-10600R-9-10-E1-P1

             P/N: 500203-061

Originally 4 sticks of RAM1 installed, slots 2A and 4B on both processors.  16GB (BIOS displayed)

I picked up 4 sticks of RAM2, installing them into slots 6C and 1D on both processors.

After the upgrade, the BIOS displayed 20480MB.  Should have been 32GB...

So I removed all of RAM2 and then the BIOS displayed 12288MB.

Thoroughly confused, I removed all the memory and started a stick at a time.

First, I populated CPU1 slots.  First with RAM1 then RAM2.

Populated slot                    Memory displayed

=================================

CPU1_CH1_DIMM2A         4096

CPU1_CH2_DIMM4B         8192

CPU1_CH3_DIMM6C         12288

CPU1_CH1_DIMM1D         16384

CPU1_CH2_DIMM3E         20480

CPU1_CH3_DIMM5F         24576

Looking good.  So I removed all the memory and tried CPU2.

Populated slot                    Memory displayed

=================================

CPU2_CH1_DIMM2A         eight long beeps, no display at all

CPU2_CH2_DIMM4B         4096

CPU2_CH3_DIMM6C         8192

CPU2_CH1_DIMM1D         4096

CPU2_CH2_DIMM3E         4096

CPU2_CH3_DIMM5F         8192

Look like Channel 1 on CPU2 is having issues?  Doesn't explain the change with slot 3E then though...

For completion sake, I poluated both CPU's as the book says.  Again Using RAM1 up first then RAM2.

Populated slot pairs         Memory displayed

=================================

CPUx_CH1_DIMM2A         4096

CPUx_CH2_DIMM4B         12288

CPUx_CH3_DIMM6C         20480

CPUx_CH1_DIMM1D         20480

CPUx_CH2_DIMM3E         n/a

CPUx_CH3_DIMM5F         n/a

Does anyone have any idea WTF is going on here?  Server had been solid for years now...

Sanity check, CPU1 slots are ordered bottom to top and CPU2 is top to bottom, right?

[Suman_1978]

Hi,

Please see the attached image for CPU and DIMM locations.

Item: 1 = CPU1

Item: 2-7 =CPU1_DIMM slot 1D toCPU1_DIMM slot 6C

Item: 20 = CPU2

Item: 14-19 =CPU2_DIMM slot 6C to CPU2_DIMM slot 1D

QuickSpecs = http://h18004.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13249_div/13249_div.html

In this secnario, I think either the new memory modules or the slots on the system board could be faulty.

Thank You!
I am a HP employee.

[Big_Banana]

Wow, pretty quiet response for an HP server forum.  Guess I am SOL. 

Better to buy a Dell next time...  ;-(

[Marko71]

Possibly you could contact HP support for help but I'm guessing you arent doing this as you havent taken out a support contract on the server or have allowed it to lapse  and now expect unending free support possibly on memory  modules that arent HP approved either.

Also what makes you think that if this issue had happened on a Dell server that you would have more of a response, are they more prones to reliability issues outwith warranty period thus more people are likely to have encountered your problem?  doesnt seem like a sound reason to buy one to me.

In all seriousness though, this is a free forum not a paid for support forum so quite possibly nobody who has read your post has encountered your particular issue myself included.

[Big_Banana]

What made you think I hadn't contacted support?  I have and they ran me through the "check power cord", "is it on",... playbook.  No dice.  The module at a time idea was mine even, not theirs.  That is why I came here.

This is a non-critical server, so no, we dont have a support contract for it.  Price of the contract would out-weigh the value of the box.

All of the modules are HP, and the part numbers were provided in my original post.

We have both Dell and HP and yes, they both fail.  "My" experience is the Dell servers fail in a more direct way.  Maybe not any better of an overall situation, but it sure does make the diagnostics easier.

Ok, so the Dell comment was off, call it frustration.  I would say your response (last sentance withstanding) wasn't a lot better..

The "solution" I have come up with:

I am buying some 2GB modules to put in the "bad" spot(s), hoping I can get the 4GB modules to work in the last slots.

Will post back as soon as they arrive...