windows 7 - Computer doesn't get further than motherboard screen after installing new ram?

08
2014-07
  • KrownScripter

    I just go new Kingston Hyper Beast DDR3 8x2GB kit in the door, but when I install them into my board, either my monitor doesn't react at all, or I get the motherboard screen which causes a restart and then repeat.

    I tried:

    • Inserting the ram and checked for the click sound.
    • Tried 1 of them at a time, same result.
    • Checking for damages, but when I insert the old RAM sticks it works as usual.
    • Getting into BIOs to check for booting options, but it doesn't react (My keyboard is properly attached, and it works with some of the other options).

    Any ideas? Specs:

    • Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU 3,20GHz
    • AMD Radeon Sapphire HD 7870 graphics card
    • Gigabyte P55-USB3 motherboard
    • Samsung SSD 840 EVO 120GB
    • WDC WD5000AAKS-00V1A0 500GB

    Thanks in advance! :)

  • Answers
  • Ramhound

    If what you have are the HyperX Beast 16GB (2 x 8GB) 240-Pin DDR3 SDRAM DDR3 2400 (PC3 19200) Desktop Memory Model KHX24C11T3K2/16X then what you have is faster then what your motherboard will support. As you can see from the diagram your motherboard only supports 2200/1333/1066/800 Mhz DDR memory modules.

    You also need to make sure your using 1.5V DDR3 DIMMs instead of 1.65V DDR3 DIMMs like the HyperX Best modules. Of course there are different versions of the HyperX Beast productline. I am going off the first result I located.

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  • Related Question

    memory - What happens when more RAM is installed than the motherboard supports?
  • DanDan

    I have a free RAM slot and some spare memory that will fit my computer. However the problem is my motherboard only supports 2GB and I have 2GB installed. What would happen if I plugged the spare memory in the RAM slot?

    The following things spring to mind:

    • Nothing will happen
    • It will work, computer becomes faster
    • Computer becomes slower
    • Explosion
    • Undetermined (Any of the above)

    Does anyone have any experience of this?

    Update: Egged on by you zealous lot, I went ahead and stuck the extra memory in. It booted up! Unfortunately, the hunch of some has been proved correct. The memory is reported at the capped limit, rather then the actual available. A shame then! But thank you all for your suggestions, speculations and stories.

    For your reference, I am using a Dell Insprion 6000 with 2gb installed, latest drivers. I attempted to add 512mb, with no success.


  • Related Answers
  • Troggy

    Simple answer: It either will only see the max supported memory or it will not work at all.

    My gut feeling says two things:

    If it does work, you just will not see the extra memory, only the max the motherboard/chipset supports. If it doesn't work, it usually will just beep at you with a memory error and you will get no video responce. All depends on the motherboard depending on how it handles memory errors.

    Someone on Yahoo answers says an interesting bit about getting a blue screen due to this:

    In my experience, putting in more than the max amount of RAM as specified by the manufacturer will cause the computer to not boot up.

    others claim:

    Some won't POST, some will and simply BSOD (kernel panic, etc) with PFN_LIST_CORRUPT.

    That said, the "max" memory isn't always the actual max. Case in point, Intel states the GL960 chipset (such as in my laptop) supports a max of 2GB of memory. 4GB is a no-go, but 3GB works.

  • Chris Tarazi

    your first stop is the mainboard manufacturer's website. update the BIOS to the latest version. then fit the additional memory and turn on the computer, if the memory is detected, run MemTest86+. no, it won't explode! :)

  • NickSentowski

    This really depends on your MotherBoard. I have seen some cases where the system functions as normal but will only recognize the 2gb, and I have seen some that will not start up and throw an error.

    I have yet to see any of the hardware fail because of an "over-installation".

  • Dmatig

    I've done it on an older computer, and the computer booted just fine - however the BIOS / start up scrolling list only reported what the maximum for the motherboard was, so it was presumably ignored.

    Now wether that's unsafe or not, i don't know, but i'd simply leave only up to the max in to be safe.

  • TFM

    I tried to installed 4GB on a HP 6720s that only supports up to 3GB, and what happened was that the BIOS saw the memory, but with any type of memory check an error was reported.

    And trying to install an OS (not even x64) was impossible, I got a memory related BSOD every time.

    I found out later on that some 6720s moderboards supported 4GB, but not mine... :(

  • ra170

    Assuming that you install the correct type that this motherboard accepts, anything above 2GB won't be addressed and will be ignored.

  • Wim ten Brink

    Been there, done this. The BIOS complained about the RAM and refused to start up. I had to downgrade again. But this was an old Pentium 133 from Dell and about 4 PC's in the past.

    In general, it will depend on the BIOS and hardware. It won't be able to handle the big modules but if there are still smaller modules available, the system might decide to just start up with the memory of just the smaller modules. But in general, the BIOS won't be able to use it thus your system would have no free RAM to use.

  • Jared Harley

    Depends on the board and BIOS. I have a Sony VAIO VGN-Fe770G that uses the GM945 chipset -- Intel, Sony, AND Crucial say that the maximum amount of RAM is 2GBs of DDR2 (1 GB per SODIMM slot), but I'm running Windows 7 x86 with 3GBs and both the BIOS and Windows report (and presumably map) all 3072MBs. I'm going to try with a second 2GB DDR2 SODIMM and see if the BIOS and a 64-bit LiveCD OS sees 4096MBs.

  • 8088

    I have an HP Compaq dc7600 desktop with an OEM-reported 3GB max. I have 6GB installed. The BIOS and Windows 7 Ultimate both recognize the extra RAM, but sysinfo shows:

    Installed memory (RAM): 6.00 GB (3.25 GB usable).

    Even so, when I upgraded from 4GB (which was already over the max) to 6 GB, the processor usage decreased across the board. Not being an engineer, I can't explain it, but it's not my imagination.

    One possibility I thought of is that although the memory may not be directly accessible, Windows does "see" it and thus is more brave in its allocation of RAM resources versus virtual memory.

  • Seasoned Advice (cooking)

    Im using an emachines d620 notebook. Recently it became very slow and the system health report suggested i decrease the load or upgrade the memory. I did later by taking my pc to an expert who installed a 2gb memory module. The initial RAM was 1GB. The guide set the limit of RAM that can be added at 1GB. My RAM is now 3GB and the rest of the memory that is not in use is shown as being available. Believe me my pc is working perfectly and its faster than ever.