Htydjtk

I'm upgrading a PowerEdge T310 to its maximum allowed memory of 32GB. The compatibility information in the manual lists the following:

Your system supports DDR3 registered DIMMs (RDIMMs) or unbuffered ECC
DIMMs (UDIMMs). Single and dual-rank DIMMs can be 1067- or 1333-MHz,
and quad-rank DIMMs can be 800- or 1067-MHz. Your system supports
single-channel mode and dual-channel mode. The system contains a total
of six memory sockets. UDIMM supports single-rank and dual-rank DIMMs.
Only RDIMM supports quad-rank DIMMs. The maximum memory that is
supported on your system varies according to the types and sizes of
memory modules being used:

• Single-rank and dual-rank RDIMMs of sizes
2-GB, 4-GB and 8-GB are supported for a total of up to 24 GB.

• Quad-rank RDIMMs are supported for a total of up to 32 GB.

• 1-GB and 2-GB UDIMMs are supported for a total of up to 8 GB.

The system is currently fitted with 4x PC3L-10600 (unbuffered, non-ECC) modules of 4GB each.

If I read this information correctly, I should be able to upgrade this with 4x PC3L-10600R modules of 8GB each, maxing out the available memory and giving me the benefits of ECC.

The memory new I purchased, reading directly from the label on the sticks, is "8GB 2RX4 PC3L-10600R-9-10-E1" (Hynix HMT31GR7BFR4A)

After installing the new memory, the system will not POST, and the front LEDs have diagnostic lights 1 and 4 lit. I installed the new sticks into the exact same slots (channels A and B, slots 1 and 2) as the previous memory.

Returning the original memory leads to a normal boot.

I need to know if I've somehow purchased the wrong memory by misreading the information, or if my new memory is faulty somehow (I'd expect a later error, rather than an outright boot failure in this case).

Diagnostic lights 1 and 4 means system board failure. Either you have the incorrect RAM, A bad ram stick or a bad system board. I looked at the firmware updates and none address an issue with ram.

The manual excerpt you provided states Single-rank and dual-rank RDIMMs of sizes 2-GB, 4-GB and 8-GB are supported for a total of up to 24 GB.

Your modules are 8GB dual-rank RDIMMS, and exceed the 24GB maximum as per the manual. Try with 3 modules.

Take a look at the technical data sheet for your memory.

Specifically, the HMT31GR7BFR4A you have is dual-rank, not quad-rank.

Your system probably does not support dual-ranked 8 GB for 32 GB total (assuming your manual is correct, as it's a bit different from this technical guidebook). You'd want HMT31GR7BFR8A, which is quad-ranked 8 GB.