Trying to upgrade from 8GB to 16GB - won't boot at 16GB

djbaxter said:

What are the chances I'll make my computer unbootable with a BIOS upgrade?

I've upgraded dozens of computers and have not had any fail.

djbaxter said:

What are the chances I'll make my computer unbootable with a BIOS upgrade?

I had a couple of motherboards bricked with a BIOS update back in 2011. They were somewhat early UEFI boards. The BIOS update appeared to go normally, but they never booted again. One of them was nominally a dual BIOS board, but it lacked a manual switch to use the backup BIOS, and the automatic switch did not work.

Other than that, I have not had any BIOS updates fail. Some of my newer board have had real dual BIOSes (with a switch), a BIOS recovery mode, or both. I haven't needed those features.

Okay. No luck so far:

Confirmed memory voltage for the new ram is 1.50 V.

Updated the BIOS.

Cleared CMOS using "Load Defaults" from Setup.

Reinstalled the new RAM - would not boot.

Reinstalled old ram. Back into Setup to disable Fast Boot to look for error messages.

Reinstalled new RAM.

Got this:

AMIBIOS (c) 2010
BIOS version: P01-A3
Release Date: 05/17/2010
This BIOS is exclusively for Gateway only
CPU: Intel (R) Core (TM) i3 CPU 540@3.07GHz

The IMC is operating with DDR3 1333 MHz
Dual Channel Mode --->> DOES THIS MATTER? Original has "chips/blocks" on both sides; new one side only)
Initializing USB Controllers .. Done.
3068 MB OK (with original RAM says 8192 MB) <<---- NOTE
(c) American Megatrends, Inc.
64-0100-001031-00101111-05170-LfdHvdImc-R6820012-Y2KC

I hear two beeps after that.

Then it stops. Nothing else happens.

simrick said:

Beep codes - AMI BIOS
The complete BIOS beep guide - TechSpot Forums
2 short Memory parity error- A memory parity error has occurred in the first 64K of RAM. The RAM IC is probably bad

AMIBIOS Beep Codes (What to Do When Your PC Beeps)
Two beeps means there has been a parity error in base memory. This is an issue with the first 64KB block of memory in your RAM. The solution is usually to replace the memory.

Parity errors:
How to Fix a Memory Parity Error | Techwalla.com

Think your new RAM is bad?

EDIT: I do not think dual vs. single channel should prevent the computer from booting, just possibly slow down performance of the OS, but I could be wrong, I'm no RAM expert.

This is the second batch of four RAM sticks I'm trying. First four from Patriot, now four from Kingston. I doesn't seem very probable that I'd have two batches of bad RAM in a row.

I don't see any information at all about 1R or 2R on the new sticks.

It just says:

Kingston
KVR13N9S8H/4
CPMK0831764 1.5V

The other sticker says:

99U5402 - 034.A00G
000007620 - P00311
HNJWY - A99PWF - YVJJA
1703 ASSY IN TAIWAN (2)

I did run the Crucial Scanner but I'm not sure how that helps me.

Here's what it says:

RAM & SSD Upgrades | Gateway DX4840 | Crucial.com



Crucial 2GB DDR3L-1600 UDIMM

CT2356176

• DDR3 PC3-12800 • CL=11 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1600 • 1.35V • 256Meg x 64 •
• upgrade for Gateway DX4840 system.

• $18.99

Crucial 2GB DDR3-1600 UDIMM

CT4047755

• DDR3 PC3-12800 • CL=11 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1600 • 1.5V • 256Meg x 64 •
• upgrade for Gateway DX4840 system.

• $18.99

Crucial 4GB DDR3L-1600 UDIMM

CT2347503

• DDR3 PC3-12800 • CL=11 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1600 • 1.35V • 512Meg x 64 •
• upgrade for Gateway DX4840 system.

• $31.99

Crucial 4GB Kit (2 x 2GB) DDR3L-1600 UDIMM

CT7329212

• DDR3 PC3-12800 • CL=11 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1600 • 1.35V • 256Meg x 64 •
• upgrade for Gateway DX4840 system.

• $37.99

Crucial 4GB Kit (2 x 2GB) DDR3-1600 UDIMM

CT4051568

• DDR3 PC3-12800 • CL=11 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1600 • 1.5V • 256Meg x 64 •
• upgrade for Gateway DX4840 system.

• $37.99

Crucial 8GB Kit (2 x 4GB) DDR3L-1600 UDIMM

CT7338021

• DDR3 PC3-12800 • CL=11 • Unbuffered • NON-ECC • DDR3-1600 • 1.35V • 512Meg x 64 •
• upgrade for Gateway DX4840 system.

• $63.99