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RAM Confusion, HP Elitedesk 800 G2 Tower

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M

Mealticket

PCHF Member
Apr 3, 2022
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#1
All - I'm baffled. I have the HP Elitedesk 800 G2 tower PC, with i7 6700. It came with 2 Kingston 8GB sticks of 2133 RAM which worked fine.. I bought my Dad the Elitedesk 800 G2 SFF and swapped the Kingston into that as he needed something ASAP. The SFF came with 2 Hynix 4GB sticks which worked fine in my tower. Then when I tried to upgrade my tower back to what it was, I went with 2 8GB G.Skill Aegis sticks using the NewEgg memory finder, and the fun began. That memory wouldn't work at all. I got an error, I think 2E1, memory size error. Then, after I tried to put the Hynix modules back in, it would only recognize the 4GB in DIMM 1. I swapped the sticks and it didn't matter; it only saw DIMM 1. Then I used Crucial's memory finder and bought 2 8GB 2400 sticks, and again it will only see DIMM 1. CPUID does show the speed there as 2400. The BIOS seems to give no functionality to change anything regarding the RAM settings. Any data I found online basically left me with only the option to swap the Mobo. For $20 I did that, and with the Crucial sticks, it gave 3 nasty beeps then 2, and wouldn't boot. I played around and if I left the Crucial 8GB stick in DIMM 3 only, it booted and recognized it. With a Crucial stick in DIMM 1, no joy. Huh? I'm lost, Is the BIOS stuck in some weird loop? Both boards are using the most recent BIOS. Mobo is called Spitfire Rev A.

MT
 
#2
This forum thread is worth checking out, it's a similar issue, it mentioned pressing F1 to confirm boot options after a memory change, is that an option for you?

After looking up the manuals on HP's knowledge database, this blurb details exactly what ram you need for your system, do you have any that meet these specifications?

For proper system operation, the DIMMs must be:
● industry-standard 288-pin
● unbuffered non-ECC PC4-17000 DDR4-2133 MHz-compliant
● 1.2 volt DDR4-SDRAM DIMMs
The DIMMs must also:
● support CAS latency 15 DDR4 2133 MHz (15-15-15 timing)
● contain the mandatory JEDEC SPD information
In addition, the computer supports:
● 512-Mbit, 1-Gbit, and 2-Gbit non-ECC memory technologies
● single-sided and double-sided DIMMs
● DIMMs constructed with x8 and x16 DDR devices; DIMMs constructed with x4 SDRAM are not supported
Click to expand...

This is the same in regards to the 800 G2 SDD and Tower.

The manuals can be found here:
Small Form Factor
Tower
 
#3
Pyro - thanks for your research and answer. Reading through that post, as one of the later responses mentions, it does not appear that at any point the system failed to use the RAM that was installed; apparently he just got an error message. I do get error 2E1 in BIOS and it offers to resolve it if I hit 'enter'. However, this does not do any good. I'm not seeing that any of my modules fail to meet the requirements set by HP. And, why do the Hynix not work right now, when they did before I tried to upgrade? It almost seems like BIOS is stuck in some weird loop, but I don't see any way to change RAM config in BIOS.

MT
 
#5
No. However, when I first tried to upgrade, I did buy the G.Skill sticks from Newegg and they wouldn't even boot. And, the 2 Hynix 4GB sticks that came in the SFF system worked fine and have HP P/Ns on them as well as the Hynix, so they were likely the sticks that shipped with that box originally. And again, my system will only see the module installed in DIMM1 even with those Hynix sticks.

MT
 
#6
Can you link exactly what ram you have purchased?

A more tedious test would be swapping around the stick you have that works through all of the slots and see if there is the possibility of dead/disabled ports.
 
#7
Pyro - please see below link which is what I bought. I see that what I received was DFD824A and not DFS824A, but I can't find a P/N breakdown to see what the difference is. All the specs look the same. In CPU-Z, my working module shows timings as 15 and not 17. I already tried swapping stuff around every which way and it didn't matter. On the other mobo I bought, the Crucial stick would only work in DIMM3, and not 1. Reverse of this mobo.

MT

www.ebay.com

Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) PC4-19200 (DDR4-2400) Memory (CT8G4DFS824A) for sale online | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Crucial 8GB (1 x 8GB) PC4-19200 (DDR4-2400) Memory (CT8G4DFS824A) at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
 
#8
I finally located the P/N of the 2 8GB Kingston sticks that worked in my tower when I bought it, that I swapped into my Dad's SFF box. Here it is, with a datasheet. I notice it shows 2Rx8. Hmm...

www.ebay.com

Kingston 8GB Memory DIMM (DDR4-2133) 9905625-030.A00G Desktop KVR21N15D8/8 | eBay

Find many great new & used options and get the best deals for Kingston 8GB Memory DIMM (DDR4-2133) 9905625-030.A00G Desktop KVR21N15D8/8 at the best online prices at eBay! Free shipping for many products!
www.ebay.com
 

Attachments

  • Kingston KVR21N15D8_8.pdf
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#9
What frequencies are your other ram? I see this is 2400MHz while the manual says to use 2133MHZ, do you have any 2133 sticks for testing purposes?

I wish they gave us more info on the motherboard, but unfortunately it's all a bit vague.

Where did you purchase the motherboard from, was it from a 3rd party or directly from HP?

Take a look inside the memory slots and see if they look dirty or dusty, maybe go in with a can of compressed air. Same for the modules themselves, does the gold plating look chipped/bent?
 
#10
The 2 Hynix 4GB sticks are 2133, but if I install them, the system only sees the stick in DIMM1. The mobo now in the tower came with it and is OEM. The other board I bought on eBay. I'll get some compressed air and blow out the slots.

MT
 
#15
🤔

Quite the conundrum, I'm not entirely sure what could be causing this other than possibly a faulty MOBO or BIOS setting? Last time I encountered a ram boot loop it was a faulty board IIRC, but I find it hard to believe there would be two bad ones in a row.

@Bruce @Malnutrition

These guys might have an idea.
 
#16
Pyro - yes, I'm thinking BIOS, and I'm thinking since I don't see any config options, I may be stuck with it. I may throw an aftermarket mobo at it if I can find one on the cheap. Thanks for all of your efforts,

MT
 
#17
not that I have ever seen this option, maybe because I've never needed to look, but in BIOS I wonder if some DIMM slots have been disabled. long shot.

while most mobo's accept a varied range of memory sticks, some (sounds like yours is one) only like modules that are listed in the motherboard manufactures QVL (Qualified Vendor List). so check that out and confirm the sticks y9ou have been trying are on the list.

lastly, since this is proving to be a right little bugger, I'd take it to a PC shop.
not because you can't do what they'll be doing, but the advantage is they'll have all the different sticks to play with.
they'll try a set and if they don't work, can move on and try others.
and they'll only charge for the sticks that work.
saves you ordering, waiting, trying, failing, returning, repeating. :)
if they are decent, they shouldn't even charge for their time, which will be mere minutes anyway,
 
#18
Thanks, Bruce. Well, I did locate the P/N of the Kingston 8GB sticks that were in the PC when I bought it, and they worked, and are now working in my Dad's SFF version of this same model. So if I was confident that it's just a module compatibility issue, I'd go buy those. But the fact that after the attempted G.Skill upgrade even the Hynix 4GB sticks that worked previously no longer worked right (DIMM3 was no longer recognized), I think there's more going on.

MT
 
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