DL385 G5p won't POST

[Anthony Halvorson]

As the subject says, we got a DL385 G5p here that just does not want to POST when we add memory to it. We have a whole stack of 2GB sticks here, but when we populate more than two kits on each side, to increase over 16GB total, it will not go through the POST when we fire it back up.

We've taken the other kits out and swapped them around, so it's not a bad kit of memory. Does anyone know of a setting or hardware limitation that would cause this?

[Anthony Halvorson]

Update:
That was while populating the memory slots with PC2-6400 sticks. Just for fun we used 1GB PC2-5300 sticks and filled all slots, and it reads all 16GB and finishes the POST. So now we're stuck with why it can't accept anything higher?

[Johan Guldmyr]

How many CPUs do you have?

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13161_div/13161_div.HTML#Memory

"NOTE: DIMM banks are active only when the corresponding processor socket is populated."

[Anthony Halvorson]

It's got two Opt. 2378 quad core procs in it.

[Michael A. McKenney]

How many sticks did you install? Are they dual rank or quad rank. Do they all match each other?

Are they the correct RAM for the server or a stack from older servers. Google DL 385G5 quick specs for the RAM supported. Did you populate the proper banks?

[Anthony Halvorson]

Populated all banks with 2GB PC2-6400 single rank dimms that were straight from HP Renew. The PC2-5300 1GB dimms were just a bunch we had laying around and when fully populated with those, it completed the POST.

[Michael A. McKenney]

4 GB REG PC2-6400 2 x 2 GB Kit 497765-B21
single rank reqistered

interleaving.
DIMMs must be installed in decreasing capacity with the largest DIMMs installed in the banks furthest away from each processor.
Standard Memory Plus Optional Memory
Up to 112 GB memory is available with the standard memory and the optional installation of 12 x 8GB PC2-5300 DIMMs.
Standard Memory Replaced with Optional Memory
Up to 128 GB of memory is available with the removal of the standard memory and the optional installation of 16 x 8 GB PC2-5300
DIMMs.
NOTE: Chart does not represent all possible configurations

Did you put the 8 modules in Banks A+B and E+F

Four single ranked DIMMs populated per node (4 x 1 GB or 4 x 2 GB for example) yields 2-way bank interleaving.

[cnb]

Check the BIOS version and Quickspecs. What Part numbers did you get from HP renew?

http://h18000.www1.hp.com/products/quickspecs/13161_div/13161_div.HTML#Memory

[Anthony Halvorson]

It's A22, and the memory kits are 497765-B21's.

We just got in some 408853-B21's (PC2-5300 kits) and it has no problem with all the slots filled and 32GB total. Literally the only difference is going from 6400 to 5300, and everything else identical, now no problems.

[Michael A. McKenney · Accepted solution]

Many HP servers require slower ram when you populate more ranks. I have seen them do 1333 (single bank), then 1066 (dual bank), then 800 (triple bank).

[cnb]

A22 is the family not the version, what the date of the BIOS?

http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsupport/TechSupport/SoftwareDescription.jsp?lang=en&cc=us&prodTypeId=15351&prodSeriesId=3821728&prodNameId=3821813&swEnvOID=1005&swLang=8&mode=2&taskId=135&swItem=MTX-994679efe4674b15a4ddce11ab

Rgds,

[Anthony Halvorson]

Sorry, date of 02/09/2010.

The memory speed needing to be lower certainly makes sense. I'm going to chalk it up to that.