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Unusual patterns during ECC RAM installation on Lenovo P51

Unusual patterns during ECC RAM installation on Lenovo P51

N
Neltyy
Junior Member
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5
06-09-2016, 01:24 PM
#1
Hello, I noticed something unusual. I recently purchased a used Lenovo P51 equipped with an Xeon E3 1535 V6 processor, featuring two 16GB M474A2K43BB1-CRCQ RAM modules and an Nvidia discrete GPU. This machine has consistently performed well for my workloads, so I chose to expand the memory by adding two more M474A2K43BB1-CRCQ units from eBay. These new sticks are 16GB, 2400 MHz, ECC type, which is essential for me lately. The RAM was delivered by a third-party courier who left it directly at my door. I accidentally stepped on it when opening the door, but it arrived well-protected with bubble wraps and ESD-safe packaging. Although it was -5°C outside, I let it warm up for an hour before connecting it to the P51.

First boot: no POST, only a black screen appeared.
Second boot: removed one of the new RAM modules (let's call it RAM A on socket 1); still no POST.
Third boot: removed the other new RAM (RAM B on socket 2) and reinstalled A into socket 2; no POST.
Fourth boot: only RAM B was present on socket 1; no POST.
Fifth boot: both RAMs were out, but the system booted without issues.

After installation, I ran a hardware diagnostic on the machine. The results so far are satisfactory. This is my first experience with ECC RAM upgrades, and I've noticed a delay in the POST/boot sequence when installing new memory. It's unusual for this issue to appear. I contacted the supplier about possible shipping damage, but as a final attempt, I installed both RAMs into sockets 1 and 2 and waited while the computer booted. About five minutes later, it worked perfectly. After a reboot, everything functioned normally.

I also replaced the stock thermal paste and minuspad pads on the Xeon E3 1535 V6, along with swapping out the NVMe SSDs for two 2TB models (each with independent GPT partitions, EFI in each). The system supports Windows and Linux boot drives, plus a shared 2TB SATA SSD in NTFS format. The display now shows 64GB of ECC memory after the upgrade.

What are your thoughts on this situation? Is this an expected behavior when upgrading ECC RAM? If you need detailed specifications, feel free to share.
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N
Neltyy
06-09-2016, 01:24 PM #1

Hello, I noticed something unusual. I recently purchased a used Lenovo P51 equipped with an Xeon E3 1535 V6 processor, featuring two 16GB M474A2K43BB1-CRCQ RAM modules and an Nvidia discrete GPU. This machine has consistently performed well for my workloads, so I chose to expand the memory by adding two more M474A2K43BB1-CRCQ units from eBay. These new sticks are 16GB, 2400 MHz, ECC type, which is essential for me lately. The RAM was delivered by a third-party courier who left it directly at my door. I accidentally stepped on it when opening the door, but it arrived well-protected with bubble wraps and ESD-safe packaging. Although it was -5°C outside, I let it warm up for an hour before connecting it to the P51.

First boot: no POST, only a black screen appeared.
Second boot: removed one of the new RAM modules (let's call it RAM A on socket 1); still no POST.
Third boot: removed the other new RAM (RAM B on socket 2) and reinstalled A into socket 2; no POST.
Fourth boot: only RAM B was present on socket 1; no POST.
Fifth boot: both RAMs were out, but the system booted without issues.

After installation, I ran a hardware diagnostic on the machine. The results so far are satisfactory. This is my first experience with ECC RAM upgrades, and I've noticed a delay in the POST/boot sequence when installing new memory. It's unusual for this issue to appear. I contacted the supplier about possible shipping damage, but as a final attempt, I installed both RAMs into sockets 1 and 2 and waited while the computer booted. About five minutes later, it worked perfectly. After a reboot, everything functioned normally.

I also replaced the stock thermal paste and minuspad pads on the Xeon E3 1535 V6, along with swapping out the NVMe SSDs for two 2TB models (each with independent GPT partitions, EFI in each). The system supports Windows and Linux boot drives, plus a shared 2TB SATA SSD in NTFS format. The display now shows 64GB of ECC memory after the upgrade.

What are your thoughts on this situation? Is this an expected behavior when upgrading ECC RAM? If you need detailed specifications, feel free to share.

Reply
Reply
P
Peedy
Senior Member
Find
641
06-09-2016, 04:44 PM
#2
I recently came across information about RAM upgrades on ThinkPad X series laptops. This seems unusual—delayed startup after installation hasn't been reported before. With over 100 units since 1995, I'm curious if this is widely known or just an isolated case.
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P
Peedy
06-09-2016, 04:44 PM #2

I recently came across information about RAM upgrades on ThinkPad X series laptops. This seems unusual—delayed startup after installation hasn't been reported before. With over 100 units since 1995, I'm curious if this is widely known or just an isolated case.

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