Solved Re: Envy 14-1002tx - Ram upgrade failing - Corsair Memory — 4GB DDR3 S

[thepower99]

Re: Envy 14-1002tx - Ram upgrade failing - Corsair Memory — 4GB DDR3 S

I have been trying to upgrade my laptop(Envy 14-1002tx ) with what I believe to be compatible ram, the ram is Corsair Memory — 4GB DDR3 SODIMM Memory (CMSO4GX3M1A1333C9) (Corsair Memory ? 4GB DDR3 SODIMM Memory (CMSO4GX3M1A1333C9))

Once I have installed the above ram, when i try boot the laptop it is fine, I am able to run the built in HP memory test and everything passes . However once windows tries to boot it immediately crashes on the windows 7 loading screen.

Sometimes it will BSOD and say "irql_not_less_or_equal " other times it will freeze and do nothing. If I put the old HP ram back in then everything is fine.

I believe the ram is compatible for 2 reasons: firstly even though the ram i have is corsair, this memory tool by Crucial says that this type of ram is compatible (see here) with this laptop.
Secondly the user manual for this laptop as seen here (page 52) says this type of ram is fine.

I have also tried returning the ram and got a new module with the same results.

I also tried testing the ram in other laptops to see how it went. I tried in an older asus laptop and it did not work behaving the same as my Envy, However I also tried it in a relatively new Gigabyte laptop and the ram worked, windows booted and ran just fine.

Quite confused, anyone have any ideas?

cheers

 

[thepower99]

Additionally since I first started:

I have tried updating the bios and firmware (also installed all win7 updates from microsoft) from the HP support page for this laptop, I have also run the built in HP bios memory test and it passes, however the new UEFI diagnostic seems to freeze when it tries to test the module, so maybe it has the same issue.

Does anyone have any idea what is going on here or even where to start?

Is the somewhere I can call? (Im in Australia if that matters)

really lost here, any help would be great

 

[TVeblen]

What is the voltage of the original HP stick?
The new Corsair stick is 1.5v.
They must be the same.

Will it run with just the new Corsair stick installed?

Also a good idea to run Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool on both sticks, alone and together.

 

[thepower99]

Hey thanks for the response, I'll try figure out the voltage as I have no idea, hopefully it is printed on the old modules else I'm not sure how I'll figure it out.

I have tried running it with just the corsair module installed to no avail, I tried it in both ports.

I'll try run memtest I have it in a disc somewhere.

Thanks for your help.

 

[TVeblen]

If you do a web search using the RAM modules part number (not the HP part #) you should find those needed specs.

But if the Corsair stick does not run by itself then it is either a defective stick of RAM or is incompatible with that system.
Be sure to try the stick in the same slot as the original HP stick.

 

[thepower99]

Sorry for the late reply, I looked up the module number its M471B5673FH0-CH9 which according to here is 1.5v does it look compatible with the corsiar one?

I have run the internal mem test, it was fine, ill try mem test today, I tried the new module in both ports to the same result, I also tried it in a new laptop and it worked.

 

[thepower99]

Ok so tried mem test, with only the new module in, memtest crashes as soon as it starts its tests, with both in, it get about 50% through the first test and then crashes, with just the old 2 modules in, memtest ran through about 8 passes successfully before I turned it off. I tried running it in the fail safe mode to.

 

[TVeblen]

There you have it. Bad stick of RAM.
RAM is much more complex then people think. People who like to build PCs like Memtest86+ because it is a more thorough test than the built in ones that come with PCs and Windows too. It picks up errors that others miss.
And yet, even Memtest86+ can still miss RAM errors that can cause an OS to crash.

The specs on both sticks match fine. So you should RMA that Corsair stick and get a replacement.

 

[thepower99]

hmm ok, thing is this is actually the returned module as I already did a RMA on the first one and I have actually got this particular module working in another laptop ( I tried it in a few it worked on a new laptop but not another older one), so I am a little skeptical its defective, I'll run memtest with it in the laptop that it works on if that works I assume it means the module is fine?

 

[TVeblen]

I'm sorry, I should have thought of this:
It is possible that the RAM slot in the laptop is defective (or it could have dust, hair, or corrosion).
You can test this by installing the (known good) original RAM stick in the suspected slot and running Memtest on that. If the stick has no errors in slot 1, but shows errors (or crashes memtest) in slot 2 then we can focus on the slot, not the RAM stick.

 

[thepower99]

Hi Again

Sorry for the super late reply, work keeps eating up my time,

I have tried the ram in both slots to the same result (my laptop actually has 2 ram modules in it), I tried the new stick on its own in both slots, and then again with one of the existing modules.

I hope to shortly, do a full memtest run in my other laptop in which this new module works, I will also try use this other laptops existing ram in my HP to see what happens.

As a heads up this new corsair ram has already been RMA'd and tested in other computers, but ill do a memtest run anyway and see what happens, maybe its a bad batch.

let me know if there is any other ideas

cheers

 

[TVeblen]

If the RAM test good in other PCs then you are left with the conclusion that one of the slots in your laptop is defective.

You don't say whether you get the same problem when you install the original on it's own in the suspected problem slot.

 

[thepower99]

Well I can only assume for some unknown reason the ram is not compatible with this laptop, I ran the ram in another laptop with memtest and it was all fine. I also tried the windows memory diagnostic on my hp with the new ram and it passed without any issues. So for some reason nether windows or memtest or windows startup repair can use this new ram in my HP.

I actually did do quite a bit of searching around ( see my first 2 posts) and as far as I could tell the specs matched so I don't know where I went wrong.

Any ideas as to how I can in future find the right ram?

 

[thepower99]

Oh sorry to answer your question about the ram slots, I have 2 original hp modules in the laptop and both slots are working

I also tried the ram from the other laptop (gigabyte laptop) and it worked in both slots

 

[TVeblen]

I sounds to me like you did everything right. It seems it is just a bad stick of RAM - for that laptop. RAM is more complex than many people think.

Sometimes it can be a case of the actual memory chips that are soldered onto the RAM stick. If your original sticks have 4 chips on one side then the replacement stick may also have to have 4 chips on one side. Some PCs are real cranky about things like that.

I'd be shy about getting another stick of the same RAM. I might try another brand.

 

[thepower99]

I guess that makes sense, the new module does have a different number of memory ICs on it, I'll maybe get a local computer shop to do it and tell them to figure out what ram works.

Thanks for your help in this rather frustrating issue

 

[TVeblen]

Let us know how it works out. I hope it is just RAM compatibility. Good luck!