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Why won't my memory seat in the slots?

Shingoshi

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I've had two Tyan motherboards, the S3992 and now the S4980. They both have the same problem. I can't seat my memory in the board. One end of the DIMM slot will seat, but not the other. I can't see anything that would be causing this to happen. The locking tabs on the outside edge of the board will seat. But the locking tabs on the inside/center of the board will not. So what's up with this? And yes, I've checked to line up the notches of each DIMM. But they just act as though something is leveraging them out of the board for the inside locking tabs.

I wondered if maybe the board was warped. So I loosened up the mounting screws, and nothing gets any better than it was before. Still no luck!

Shingoshi

Actually, I also have two (uninstalled) S2912s as well. And just to make sure, I pulled one out of the box to see if the memory would seat. It does. But no luck for the S4980 board that's already mounted. 16GBs of new memory waiting to be put to use.
 
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Sometimes you have to push kinda hard. It's not the first time I cut my fingers on memory...
 

Shingoshi

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I've pushed so hard, that the locking tab has come (popped) out of the slot when I snap the other end of the slot closed. And really, this isn't my first board. I'm becoming afraid I'll actually break the board. Don't have another $600 right now to replace it (and brand new at that)!

Shingoshi
 
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maybe its just not lined up correctly because if the notch is not lined up then it wont go in at all

ive never cut myself on ram your obviously pressing to hard it should go in easily
 

Shingoshi

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You'd think the notches didn't line up. But the problem is, I have three other slots occupied in the same direction as the last chip which won't seat. So it's not the notch. But it really does feel like it though. Just not the case at all. Wondering if it's the case. But then, even if it was, I've already loosened the board to where it should still seat the memory. And remember, I have three already in place. It just makes no sense at all. One end of the DIMM sticks up to what appears to be 1/16" higher than the other DIMMs.

Shingoshi
 

beesagtig

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Sure its the right type of ram?

DDR, DDR2 and the sort...
 

Shingoshi

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Read the previous messages carefully...

Sure its the right type of ram?

DDR, DDR2 and the sort...

I said I already have three of the same DIMMs seated properly. But just for reference, it's DDR2-667 ECC Registered ram. The manufacturer is Kingston, model KVR667D2D8P5/2G.

Let me repeat myself again. I already have three other modules seated. Although, the one next to the last, was also difficult to seat. I'm using my upper body to press the memory into place, and it still won't seat.

This board has 4 slots per cpu, for a total of 16 memory slots. Other DIMM slots on the board are having the same issue.

Shingoshi
 
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that is odd... the pcb of the chips could be a bit wider? or possibly the slots are mis press and they are too thin? not sure how you would measure that but i'd take one of the chips that fit fine and put them in the back if you could.
 

Shingoshi

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I don't think it's the individual DIMMs...

that is odd... the pcb of the chips could be a bit wider? or possibly the slots are mis press and they are too thin? not sure how you would measure that but i'd take one of the chips that fit fine and put them in the back if you could.

Because the other crazy thing is that they fit in another board. However, the difference there is that the board wasn't mounted. I'm beginning to wonder if it's the chassis. The motherboard tray itself may be warped. That would explain why I had the same problem with a different board (before this one) as well.

It's just a PITA, because the system is liquid-cooled, with all of the plumbing installed. I'm going to have to flush the system real good, to keep from getting liquid on the board to remove it from the tray. If I get the board out, and the memory fits just fine, then I know it's the f'ng tray!

But right now, I should have been in bed. Instead, I fell asleep in my damn chair in front of the computer. I'll check this later and get back to you guys. I really have to go to bed.

Thanks to you all,
Shingoshi

I just realized that I can (possibly) get the board out without detaching the plumbing. So that may be easier than I first thought. Just goes to show how sleepy I am!
 
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DaMulta

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Do they have 9 chips instead of 8 on them?

on the ram stick
 

Shingoshi

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Yes, Dual Rank, x8...

Do they have 9 chips instead of 8 on them?

on the ram stick

So yes, they have 9 (x8) chips on each side instead of (x4's) 18.

But again, it's not a DIMM issue, since the same chips fit in another board. Although I also said that board is NOT mounted in this chassis. It's likely related to the tray. The center of the slot seems (likely) to be pushed up, as in a high-center, so that the ends don't fully seat.

Shingoshi

Ok. So I fully loosened the board. I can practically lift it out of the chassis. I just don't want to do that yet, since it's such a large board, that even in my large Chenbro case, it's still a very tight fit and difficult to manage getting all the screws back in place (without having them frequently fall between the board and tray). Yes, a magnetic tipped screw-driver would be nice!
 
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DaMulta

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It could be

8 on each side is only non-ecc

9 on each side is ECC

Some motherboards will take both.
 

Shingoshi

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This should give some idea of how tight the damn thing is:
No matter what I do, seating both ends causes the inside tab to pop (detach) out (of it's mechanism)!

The leverage imposed by seating both ends makes the inside locking tab come completely loose and falls out on the board. This is NOT a normal situation. I don't know if I got anti-condensation sealant in the slot causing this or not. But like I said, I had this same thing happen before, with a board that was unmodified (as in not coated).

Shingoshi
 
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Shingoshi

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I've pulled the board completely out of the chassis...

It must be something on the board. Because I have EASILY mounted the memory on the S2912 without any effort at all. The memory fits in it the way memory is supposed to fit: a simple press and snap! So I need to thoroughly check the S4980 for any sealant build-up that may be causing this to happen. If so, that'll be a bitch trying to remove it now after having dried so long ago.

If it weren't for the fact I don't have the special 4.1" pitch fans for the the S2912, I would just go ahead and mount it instead. But my liquid-cooling blocks are the smaller (3.5" pitch) size, and simply won't fit.

Shingoshi

For those of you who don't know:

Pitch, as it refers to AMD Opteron boards, is the distance between the only two mounting bolts to attach the cpu to the board.
4.1" for the earlier boards
3.5" for the later boards

And the very first board I got from Tyan described the wrong 4.1" pitch size.
 
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It could be

8 on each side is only non-ecc

9 on each side is ECC

Some motherboards will take both.

And it's completely unrelated to their physical appearance. Like he said, three do fit, the 4th doesn't. I'd swap them with another, if another module doesn't fit in the slot something must be in the way. Perhaps one of the pins in the slot is broken, have a very close look at it.
 

Shingoshi

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Maybe I'm just too tired, but I really can't see anything...

I don't see an obvious point of concern, as in debris, that would be causing the chips not to seat easily. Because even though I got three to seat, they were also very difficult to do. I've instead now taken the eight (8) DIMMs and put them in the S2912. They just simply snapped right in, just as they should have done with the other (S4980) board. I mean there is a chance this is the wrong memory for this board. :cry: Tyan (for AMD Opteron socket-1207) has some awkward peculiarities to deal with. :eek: And right now, I'm once more fully fed up with them. :banghead:

They produced two different HSF sizes for the Socket-1207. So who's to say what other nonsense one faces with them. Intel chip users may never face this kind of crap with Tyan boards, so don't bother saying how you've never had an issue with them. They are entirely TWO different platforms with completely different characteristics.

Hey, the smileys are supposed to make me feel better.
Shingoshi
 

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And it's completely unrelated to their physical appearance. Like he said, three do fit, the 4th doesn't. I'd swap them with another, if another module doesn't fit in the slot something must be in the way. Perhaps one of the pins in the slot is broken, have a very close look at it.

Thanks I missed that I thought all of them didn't fit..
 

Shingoshi

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An update to the situation...

After pulling the board completely out of the chassis, I then soaked the slots in a warm alcohol/water solution. It was my concern (from months ago) that the sealant I used (and painted on) had siphoned back up into the slots by capillary action. I didn't notice that it was happening, until there was plenty of fluid on the board in vicinity of the slots, which couldn't be removed fast enough then to prevent it reoccurring. Every time I removed fluid from the slots, more kept siphoning back into them. It was for this reason that I let the board and this project sit incomplete for most of this year.

You can read here (http://www.teamnexgen.org/forum/har...oldest-liquid-temperatureanyone-has-ever.html) where I first started this quite some time ago. Hopefully now, I'll be able to finish this thing.

One word of advice which I have unfortunately learned from all of this. If you have to basically laminate a board that is as cramped as mine, where you're tempted to use a brush instead of spray for application of an anti-condensation shield, make sure that you FIRST use fingernail polish around the edges of slots and sockets, to create an impenetrable barrier to siphoning (by capillary action).

So now the board dries with the memory all in place. Hopefully it will now start up and register all of the 16GBs I've installed.

Shingoshi
 
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Shingoshi

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My system is up and running!

All 16GBs are registered. The warm water/alcohol solution did the trick. I also had to use the end of a DIMM to insert into each slot to work open the pins which had been stuck shut from the anti-condensation layer. The water-cooling is working as well. So far, I'm very pleased with the outcome of all this.

Shingoshi
 
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