Continual Memory Faults - Cannot add Memory past DIMM1

Here's the manual that might help. Dell Precision 5820 Tower Owner's Manual

Check the memory configurations for what ram is compatible and where to install it--but don't install the new ram.  Ram should come from Dell or Crucial. Stop messing with any changes of hardware. Put all the original parts back in. The warranty might not cover damages you might cause. Call Dell Support. You might have trouble now that we have a 3 day holiday. You might have to wait until Tuesday. But I would call them today for peace of mind. It's only 4:19 pm.

This is a user to user forum. 

But it was all working quite happily so I know the RAM is okay. I can put any DIMM that I took out (inc the new one) in slot1 and it's fine.

I'm not aware of any holiday coming up? I am in the UK tho.

It might be a user to user forum but I have had a reply from Dell Support.

And I do have the User Manual. The current configuration bears little resemblance to the original as bought.

TB

All dimms must match

https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/product-support/product/precision-5820-workstation/docs

Memory The Dell Precision 5820 Workstation Tower includes four channel memory up to 256GB 2666MHz DDR4 ECC memory with 8 Dimm slots

The DIMM slots are (Left to right:
1 - 5 - 3 - 7 (left side of the CPU), and- 8 - 4 - 6 - 2 (right side of CPU)

White Ears are Bank 0 so if you have 4 dimms they go in the white ear slots first.

Ram must be in pairs

There is usually picture of ram config inside the cover.

VIEW

If there isn't a table of RAM config inside the cover, the table is on pg. 60 of the owner's manual that Mary linked.

I'm sorry but none of this is really of any help but thanks for trying.

I've had the memory location info inside the machine for some time and know where it all goes. As I said, it has all been working for ages and I have checked every DIMM I have in Slot 1 and they all load individually without error. They are all Micron and all match. As soon as a second matching DIMM is added in the correct slot (i.e DIMM1 + DIMM2) I get a status LEDs memory error and no POST!

I've basically given up and am using another 5820 that was previously a web server here and am transferring to that. It accepts 48GB of DIMM out of the other one quite happily.

All I want to know is what has happened and is it fixable? I'm using it at the moment but I don't really trust it.

Hopefully I know roughly what I am doing as I've been supplying, setting up and repairing my own and other people's Dell machines since about 2007 but I'm not afraid to request help when something defeats me.Whis this definitely has.

TB

well... this is me just randomly musing.

Chances that the dimm slots are dirty with some conductive particle and the very first insertion caused a short that shows up only if more than the emergency slot 1 is populated ? Aka, try to blew with canned air the dimm slots ?

Just a random idea

PS

didn't you mention it was under warranty still ? shouldn't be an option to get dell to put a new mb inside due to that ?

Try 2 ram sticks each farthest from the CPU aka slots 1 and 2

or 1 left and 1 right.

Mixing Size, Rank, Vendor, Density, speed, is not supported. They must all be the same.

I think you know what you're doing plus you said you have a working 5820 that can use the same RAM as the plagued 5820.

I was also thinking the same thing mazzinia is thinking - Contact Dell Support and get a new MB for it.  I don't know it to be repairable.

HI

Thanks all for the thoughts - the air blasting had no effect unfortunately.

At the moment I have a lone 32GB DIMM in Slot1 which works fine as does any other DIMM but I only have one of these. 

Thinking outside the box for an undocumented solution for more available memory, I wondered what would happen if I put one of the 16GB DIMMS in the other bank using the first of the black slots which is DIMM5 next to DIMM1 with the 32GB still in Slot 1. It works!!

As does an 8GB. With 16GB in Slot 5, trying another 16GB in Slot 6 fails. I haven't tried anything past this as I'm happy with 48GB.

As it now restarts reliably, once I've completed the project I'm working on in a month or two, I'll see if I can get the motherboard replaced by Dell  under warranty.

Thanks for the help.

TB

Given that it takes time for dell to move to send out someone ( ordering parts and such ), why not moving earlier anyway ?

At most that machine would get blocked for a couple of hours without data loss

Be sure to keep everything backed up so that you don't lose your project in case that 5820 still proves unreliable.  I'm also glad you got it working.

If the MB is replaced, it should still start as normal, with the exception it might say something like on first start, "New hardware detected, please restart."  Then any Microsoft stuff that's activated online will have to get reactivated.  You won't lose anything on your HDD's or SSD's.

I added some ddr4 cl16 3200 8gb gskill that works in the next inner slots for 48gb. But adding another set of corsair cl16 3200 corsair 16gb ram does not work in the next inner slots or in the free white slots.

2 things that might not work in a Dell - mixed brands and mixed sizes.  It looks like the voltages are the same though.

Even happened to one of our Rockstars on his Asus.  It would take either brand of RAM, but not both.

Precision 5820 Documentation  Includes Owner's Manual which has RAM chart, etc.