motherboard RAM failures

[Smitty Two]

Recently starting building computers for a customer, using components
they supply, and have run into an alarming percentage (10?) of
motherboards that fail to recognize one RAM slot. Swapping the MB puts
them in order, and so far the customer has not had any problem returning
the bad MBs for credit to his vendor.

Is this a known epidemic? RoHS associated? I'm not being faulted for
this issue, but also wondering how likely it is that my (experienced)
employee is damaging the RAM slots when he plugs in the RAM.

All reasoned feedback appreciated.

 

[Meat Plow]

On Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:27:42 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:

Recently starting building computers for a customer, using components
they supply, and have run into an alarming percentage (10?) of
motherboards that fail to recognize one RAM slot. Swapping the MB puts
them in order, and so far the customer has not had any problem returning
the bad MBs for credit to his vendor.

Is this a known epidemic? RoHS associated? I'm not being faulted for
this issue, but also wondering how likely it is that my (experienced)
employee is damaging the RAM slots when he plugs in the RAM.

All reasoned feedback appreciated.

MB manufacturer?



--
Live Fast Die Young, Leave A Pretty Corpse

 

[whit3rd]

First cut, brush out the sockets (maybe it's just a bit of lint); second,
check the datasheet to be sure, sometimes the memory sizes and
socket numbers have to be in some specific order.

Third, return the board as defective, of course. A lot of manufacturers
put their boards through test with only one socket populated, and
that doesn't find all bad-socket issues. I even had one computer
that shut down every time socket #2 was used: the socket itself
was inserted backwards (it was shorting the whole power supply
through the memory module).

 

[Smitty Two]

In article <pan.2011.03.16.21.21.29@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:27:42 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:

Recently starting building computers for a customer, using components
they supply, and have run into an alarming percentage (10?) of
motherboards that fail to recognize one RAM slot. Swapping the MB puts
them in order, and so far the customer has not had any problem returning
the bad MBs for credit to his vendor.

Is this a known epidemic? RoHS associated? I'm not being faulted for
this issue, but also wondering how likely it is that my (experienced)
employee is damaging the RAM slots when he plugs in the RAM.

All reasoned feedback appreciated.

MB manufacturer?

MSI.

 

[PeterD]

On 3/16/2011 11:03 PM, Smitty Two wrote:

In article<pan.2011.03.16.21.21.29@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow<mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:27:42 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:

Recently starting building computers for a customer, using components
they supply, and have run into an alarming percentage (10?) of
motherboards that fail to recognize one RAM slot. Swapping the MB puts
them in order, and so far the customer has not had any problem returning
the bad MBs for credit to his vendor.

Is this a known epidemic? RoHS associated? I'm not being faulted for
this issue, but also wondering how likely it is that my (experienced)
employee is damaging the RAM slots when he plugs in the RAM.

All reasoned feedback appreciated.

MB manufacturer?

MSI.

They are usually good. I assume you try other RAM to make sure that you
are not using a marginal RAM device, right?

If it is an RoHS issue, I'd be very worried that it will happen as the
board age and heat cycle stresses build up over time.

--
I'm never going to grow up.

 

[tm]

"PeterD" <peter2@hipson.net> wrote in message
news:ilst47$i76$4@pyrite.mv.net...

On 3/16/2011 11:03 PM, Smitty Two wrote:
In article<pan.2011.03.16.21.21.29@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow<mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:27:42 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:

Recently starting building computers for a customer, using components
they supply, and have run into an alarming percentage (10?) of
motherboards that fail to recognize one RAM slot. Swapping the MB puts
them in order, and so far the customer has not had any problem
returning
the bad MBs for credit to his vendor.

Is this a known epidemic? RoHS associated? I'm not being faulted for
this issue, but also wondering how likely it is that my (experienced)
employee is damaging the RAM slots when he plugs in the RAM.

All reasoned feedback appreciated.

MB manufacturer?

MSI.

They are usually good. I assume you try other RAM to make sure that you
are not using a marginal RAM device, right?

If it is an RoHS issue, I'd be very worried that it will happen as the
board age and heat cycle stresses build up over time.

--
I'm never going to grow up.

Does he have an ESD problem?



tm

 

[Meat Plow]

On Thu, 17 Mar 2011 12:28:07 -0400, tm wrote:

"PeterD" <peter2@hipson.net> wrote in message
news:ilst47$i76$4@pyrite.mv.net...
On 3/16/2011 11:03 PM, Smitty Two wrote:
In article<pan.2011.03.16.21.21.29@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow<mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:27:42 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:

Recently starting building computers for a customer, using
components they supply, and have run into an alarming percentage
(10?) of motherboards that fail to recognize one RAM slot. Swapping
the MB puts them in order, and so far the customer has not had any
problem returning
the bad MBs for credit to his vendor.

Is this a known epidemic? RoHS associated? I'm not being faulted for
this issue, but also wondering how likely it is that my
(experienced) employee is damaging the RAM slots when he plugs in
the RAM.

All reasoned feedback appreciated.

MB manufacturer?

MSI.

They are usually good. I assume you try other RAM to make sure that you
are not using a marginal RAM device, right?

If it is an RoHS issue, I'd be very worried that it will happen as the
board age and heat cycle stresses build up over time.

--
I'm never going to grow up.

Does he have an ESD problem?



tm

I'd switch to Asus.



--
Live Fast Die Young, Leave A Pretty Corpse

 

[JR North]

Likely your tech is spiking the ram or slot contacts by not being
properly grounded to earth and the puter case. I never venture inside,
and especially never swap ram without being grounded first.
JR


Smitty Two wrote:

Recently starting building computers for a customer, using components
they supply, and have run into an alarming percentage (10?) of
motherboards that fail to recognize one RAM slot. Swapping the MB puts
them in order, and so far the customer has not had any problem returning
the bad MBs for credit to his vendor.

Is this a known epidemic? RoHS associated? I'm not being faulted for
this issue, but also wondering how likely it is that my (experienced)
employee is damaging the RAM slots when he plugs in the RAM.

All reasoned feedback appreciated.

--
--------------------------------------------------------------
Home Page: http://www.seanet.com/~jasonrnorth

 

[Smitty Two]

In article <UO6dncsgwOUCEh_QnZ2dnUVZ_qmdnZ2d@posted.isomediainc>,
JR North <junkjasonrnorth@bigfoot.com> wrote:

Likely your tech is spiking the ram or slot contacts by not being
properly grounded to earth and the puter case. I never venture inside,
and especially never swap ram without being grounded first.
JR

Thanks for the suggestion, but ESD is not the issue.

Smitty Two wrote:
Recently starting building computers for a customer, using components
they supply, and have run into an alarming percentage (10?) of
motherboards that fail to recognize one RAM slot. Swapping the MB puts
them in order, and so far the customer has not had any problem returning
the bad MBs for credit to his vendor.

Is this a known epidemic? RoHS associated? I'm not being faulted for
this issue, but also wondering how likely it is that my (experienced)
employee is damaging the RAM slots when he plugs in the RAM.

All reasoned feedback appreciated.

 

[Smitty Two]

In article <pan.2011.03.17.20.19.42@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

I'd switch to Asus.

Not my call.

 

[Smitty Two]

In article <ilst47$i76$4@pyrite.mv.net>, PeterD <peter2@hipson.net>
wrote:

On 3/16/2011 11:03 PM, Smitty Two wrote:
In article<pan.2011.03.16.21.21.29@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow<mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:27:42 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:

Recently starting building computers for a customer, using components
they supply, and have run into an alarming percentage (10?) of
motherboards that fail to recognize one RAM slot. Swapping the MB puts
them in order, and so far the customer has not had any problem returning
the bad MBs for credit to his vendor.

Is this a known epidemic? RoHS associated? I'm not being faulted for
this issue, but also wondering how likely it is that my (experienced)
employee is damaging the RAM slots when he plugs in the RAM.

All reasoned feedback appreciated.

MB manufacturer?

MSI.

They are usually good. I assume you try other RAM to make sure that you
are not using a marginal RAM device, right?

Once the computers pass the single beep test and the visual inspection,
they are buttoned up and delivered. It's my customer who learns whether
there are issues with RAM or anything else beyond that. But I'm
reasonably sure that he's swapping the RAM stick before diagnosing the
"bad MB."

If it is an RoHS issue, I'd be very worried that it will happen as the
board age and heat cycle stresses build up over time.

 

[Jeff Liebermann]

On Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:27:42 -0700, Smitty Two
<prestwhich@earthlink.net> wrote:

Recently starting building computers for a customer, using components
they supply, and have run into an alarming percentage (10?) of
motherboards that fail to recognize one RAM slot. Swapping the MB puts
them in order, and so far the customer has not had any problem returning
the bad MBs for credit to his vendor.

I haven't seen anything like that. However, I did have an unusual
problem when I purchased about 8 MSI motherboards from a distributor.
All the boards had a problem of some sort, but not all were identical,
which is usually the case with production defects. After some
investigation, I discovered that their shipping department had boxed
up and delivered the boards that were being returned by other
customers. This might be what's happening with the large number of
failures.

Is this a known epidemic? RoHS associated? I'm not being faulted for
this issue,

Not that I know about. However, it's considered standard practice to
assign the blame before the problem is identified and fixed.

but also wondering how likely it is that my (experienced)
employee is damaging the RAM slots when he plugs in the RAM.

Highly likely if he's using one set of RAM sticks to test the boards.
Unlikely if each board has its own set of RAM. Very unlikely if it's
the same slot that always craps out.

You might also check if the CPU is properly seated in its socket. That
has caused some similar (but not identical) problems.

All reasoned feedback appreciated.

The model number of the MSI motherboard and the exact spec of the RAM
might have been helpful. Some motherboards are VERY picky about the
type and speed of RAM that they use. On the borderline devices, a
given SDRAM stick will barely work in one slot, and fail in others.
You might be dealing with such borderline situations. Numbers please.

--
Jeff Liebermann jeffl@cruzio.com
150 Felker St #D http://www.LearnByDestroying.com
Santa Cruz CA 95060 http://802.11junk.com
Skype: JeffLiebermann AE6KS 831-336-2558

 

[Smitty Two]

In article <mch5o6lvkka0nlgto4h7kcr1c0pk6029vb@4ax.com>,
Jeff Liebermann <jeffl@cruzio.com> wrote:

On Wed, 16 Mar 2011 12:27:42 -0700, Smitty Two
prestwhich@earthlink.net> wrote:

Recently starting building computers for a customer, using components
they supply, and have run into an alarming percentage (10?) of
motherboards that fail to recognize one RAM slot. Swapping the MB puts
them in order, and so far the customer has not had any problem returning
the bad MBs for credit to his vendor.

I haven't seen anything like that. However, I did have an unusual
problem when I purchased about 8 MSI motherboards from a distributor.
All the boards had a problem of some sort, but not all were identical,
which is usually the case with production defects. After some
investigation, I discovered that their shipping department had boxed
up and delivered the boards that were being returned by other
customers. This might be what's happening with the large number of
failures.

Is this a known epidemic? RoHS associated? I'm not being faulted for
this issue,

Not that I know about. However, it's considered standard practice to
assign the blame before the problem is identified and fixed.

but also wondering how likely it is that my (experienced)
employee is damaging the RAM slots when he plugs in the RAM.

Highly likely if he's using one set of RAM sticks to test the boards.
Unlikely if each board has its own set of RAM. Very unlikely if it's
the same slot that always craps out.

You might also check if the CPU is properly seated in its socket. That
has caused some similar (but not identical) problems.

All reasoned feedback appreciated.

The model number of the MSI motherboard and the exact spec of the RAM
might have been helpful. Some motherboards are VERY picky about the
type and speed of RAM that they use. On the borderline devices, a
given SDRAM stick will barely work in one slot, and fail in others.
You might be dealing with such borderline situations. Numbers please.

Thanks for your detailed response. I am out of office until Monday and
will post back with further info then.

 

[PeterD]

On 3/17/2011 10:24 PM, Smitty Two wrote:

In article<ilst47$i76$4@pyrite.mv.net>, PeterD<peter2@hipson.net
wrote:

...

They are usually good. I assume you try other RAM to make sure that you
are not using a marginal RAM device, right?

Once the computers pass the single beep test and the visual inspection,
they are buttoned up and delivered. It's my customer who learns whether
there are issues with RAM or anything else beyond that. But I'm
reasonably sure that he's swapping the RAM stick before diagnosing the
"bad MB."

I would not assume that at all... I'd suggest trying to see if they can
confirm they did any diagnostics.

--
I'm never going to grow up.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

Been using Asus for more than a decade. Besides
Super Micro, best boards I've owned. I've used
dozens or more building OEM machines.

My machine uses an ASUS P4T, purchased in late 2001. Been running fine ever
since. My next desktop will have an ASUS board, and if I ever buy a
notebook, it will probably be an ASUS.

 

[Smitty Two]

In article <pan.2011.03.18.17.00.32@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:21:33 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:

In article <pan.2011.03.17.20.19.42@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:


I'd switch to Asus.

Not my call.

Been using Asus for more than a decade. Besides Super Micro, best boards
I've ever owned and I've used dozens or more building OEM machines.

MSI is cheap board, just pulled one out of a 3 year old eMachine and
replaced it with an Asus.

That's my call from 15 years of building experience.

All right, two votes for Asus. I'll suggest them to my customer, but I'm
going to have to be pretty gentle about it. Not all my customers welcome
design/engineering (or in this case parts specification) suggestions
from me. I'm just supposed to be the stupid guy who does what he's told.

 

[Meat Plow]

On Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:21:33 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:

In article <pan.2011.03.17.20.19.42@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:


I'd switch to Asus.

Not my call.

Been using Asus for more than a decade. Besides Super Micro, best boards
I've ever owned and I've used dozens or more building OEM machines.

MSI is cheap board, just pulled one out of a 3 year old eMachine and
replaced it with an Asus.

That's my call from 15 years of building experience.



--
Live Fast Die Young, Leave A Pretty Corpse

 

[Meat Plow]

On Fri, 18 Mar 2011 10:22:43 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:

In article <pan.2011.03.18.17.00.32@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:

On Thu, 17 Mar 2011 19:21:33 -0700, Smitty Two wrote:

In article <pan.2011.03.17.20.19.42@lmao.lol.lol>,
Meat Plow <mhywatt@yahoo.com> wrote:


I'd switch to Asus.

Not my call.

Been using Asus for more than a decade. Besides Super Micro, best
boards I've ever owned and I've used dozens or more building OEM
machines.

MSI is cheap board, just pulled one out of a 3 year old eMachine and
replaced it with an Asus.

That's my call from 15 years of building experience.

All right, two votes for Asus. I'll suggest them to my customer, but I'm
going to have to be pretty gentle about it. Not all my customers welcome
design/engineering (or in this case parts specification) suggestions
from me. I'm just supposed to be the stupid guy who does what he's told.

Hmmmm... I never had customers who didn't go with my hardware
suggestions. If they opposed my suggestions there simply were asked to go
elsewhere. I've been asked to build with the customer's hardware on a few
occasions, usually a friend of a friend. I made it very clear I would not
stand behind what I though were inferior products and they should have
consulted me prior to making purchases. I'm not insensitive to your
situation, I've been there.



--
Live Fast Die Young, Leave A Pretty Corpse

 

[William Sommerwerck]

Stability is impeccable. Video encoding approaches 20x
with NVidia CUDA support. and hour of RAW DV encodes
in minutes instead of hours. I have 3 Seagate 2TB internal
drives -- not raid, just JBOD.

Just Back up Once Daily? I back up everything every two weeks or so to a
bootable drive. Critical stuff is backed up to a Zip every time a major
change is made.

You might think this thing would howl like a microwave oven,
but that's not the case. [Ouch!] In fact, it's quiet. Everything is
installed in an Antec server case with redundant 650W PSUs.

Some time ago I switched from roller-bearing to ball-bearing fans. Big
difference.

 

[William Sommerwerck]

All right, two votes for Asus. I'll suggest them to my
customer, but I'm going to have to be pretty gentle
about it. Not all my customers welcome design/
engineering (or in this case parts specification)
suggestions from me. I'm just supposed to be the
stupid guy who does what he's told.

Until something goes wrong and /you're/ held responsible.