Been wrestling with my server for past week. Finally discovered it was a dodgy 4G RAM module I fitted a few years ago. Riddled with errors on memtest.

Reinstalled my stock 2G module + working OK now. However soooo slow (WHS 2011)

So reviewing recommended ram modules - threads go back years. The two main ones reccomedned seem obsolete:

Kingston: KVR800D2N6/4G
Mushkin Enhanced Silverline 4GB 240Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 PC2 6400 Desktop Memory Model 991762

Can't find them anywhere.

I'm not sure exactly what i need to look for, but one post kinda sent me the way of these (but no follow-up reports sadly):

KOMPUTERBAY 4GB DDR2 DIMM (240 PIN) 800Mhz PC2 6400 PC2 6300 4 GB - CL 5
http://www.amazon.co.uk/KOMPUTERBAY-DDR ... B0043BDDP6

I'd rather have a known + tested brand, though

I'm trying to understand the requirements too. So far:

ddr2 pc2 pc6400 800 non-eec
these are absolute, right?

Also - I'm understanding it has to be 1.8 and NOT 1.9V

Not sure about CL rating. Seen some with 5 and some with 6. If 6 is equally OK, have found some Mushkin similar to the above, but with a CL of 6 rather than 5:
http://poweredbymushkin.com/index.php/c ... 91763.html

Would appreciate any advice as keen to get this right after the painful week I've had!

OK. SO managed to find some:

Kingston KVR800D2N6/4G - Ram 4GB DDR2 800Mhz PC2-6400 CL6 240pin

However - it's CL6 - does that matter?

I don't believe it will matter, but won't know till you try. I would try it. For whatever that's worth .
But I will try anything close, most of the time the stuff works, if not, it didn't cost that much.
Good luck, let us know how it went, some may still be looking for upgrades and yours could be helpful....

_________________
[X510 CPU/RAM/All 2 TB Red's] [X510 CPU/Sync'ed Backup/All 2 TB Hitachi's]
[X510 /2 in box]
[X710 LIAN LI DIY W2016E] Stablebit Drivepool [EX-503 LIAN LI 5-bay USB3 External]
Fear the Cloud

Check out my post at viewtopic.php?t=14306 . The Kingston RAM had it's specs changed from a double sided with 8 chips per side to double sided x 16 chips. This RAM is only supported on the later AMD Socket AM2 / AM2+ CPUs. It appears this was a cost cutting measure to reuse chips from the server side, where the same chips are commonly found on ECC RAM.

I've got a 2x16 KVR800D2N6/4G stick I found on ebay coming, but am doubtful it will work. I'll be ordering a stick off newegg shortly, likely the Mushkin http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820226578 . Only other point to make is it's worth going for a 1.8V stick, the EX490/495 can't run things at a higher voltage, although most sticks will default to a lower speed at 1.8V. As for CL, the lower the number the better (it's how many clock cycles it takes after a request before it starts sending data), although for the typical home server role it won't make a great performance difference.

Let me know how you go

Thanks man. That sounds like bad news. The Kingston had the right model number and specs but did say AMD in the listing. Think also had 16 modules. So you're saying that won't work?

The mushkin you linked to- does that work?

Looks like two people said it would work for the mediasmart servers on newegg.
Back when I was upgrading we were using the Mushkin silverline I believe.

Good luck

_________________
[X510 CPU/RAM/All 2 TB Red's] [X510 CPU/Sync'ed Backup/All 2 TB Hitachi's]
[X510 /2 in box]
[X710 LIAN LI DIY W2016E] Stablebit Drivepool [EX-503 LIAN LI 5-bay USB3 External]
Fear the Cloud

Oh dear - from your article, microserver (very technical!) looks like the ram I bought isn't going to work:
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/221948172067? ... EBIDX%3AIT

Whilst there were some Q+As on the Mushkin newegg link querying whether would work with mediasmart server, there is also a review which says it doesn't work with the EX490.

So still at a loss for where to source this memory.

I will try the Kingston when it arrives with memtest, but not holding out too much hope.

Good pickup - the review at http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820226578 definitely says it didn't work. It's strange that he mentions the issue is with eSATA, make me think perhaps a BIOS update could assist in making it compatible

Forking out a few extra dollars for http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820231300

Reviews on newegg report success on EX490 and EX485.

Also the part was apparently suggested for the EX485 byHP support engineers http://mediasmarthome.com/upgrading-the ... d-mirrors/

I have upgraded a couple of my X-510 (same hardware as the EX-490) and to tell you the truth, the server rarely uses more then 1.5 gig ram.
When I installed the 4 gig stick, it did seem to help a bit, but the cpu upgrade was a noticeable difference. Even runs cooler as it has to work less and the cpu grease was better then factory..

All this being said, I don't have anything extra (except servIIo) running on my server, so if you are going to upgrade the OS or have extra stuff running on the server then the memory and cpu will be a good upgrades.

I save the heavy lifting for my HP Z210 xeon / 16 gig / SSD HTPC where I rip/scan/convert and then store on the server.

Goodluck and enjoy.

_________________
[X510 CPU/RAM/All 2 TB Red's] [X510 CPU/Sync'ed Backup/All 2 TB Hitachi's]
[X510 /2 in box]
[X710 LIAN LI DIY W2016E] Stablebit Drivepool [EX-503 LIAN LI 5-bay USB3 External]
Fear the Cloud

Well - that was DISASTROUS.

Tried the Kingstaon RAM in post above. Powered up briefly, but no post/display, then unit powered down. Could not power it back up again. So, replaced the original 2G Ram that was working before and...doesn't power up! IT'S BRICKED.

I have no idea what to do now. How do I get it to power up again?

Sorry to hear, needless to say the Gskill would be your best bet.
But, now it's time to head to ebay, find a low cost ex-490 or ex-495 and then you will have spare parts.

I have 4- x-510 and two extra power supplies and buy 2 tb wd reds 2-3 at a wack when on sale.
Spare parts is good, hard way to get them.
Good luck
Again, sorry to hear. But your data is still good.

_________________
[X510 CPU/RAM/All 2 TB Red's] [X510 CPU/Sync'ed Backup/All 2 TB Hitachi's]
[X510 /2 in box]
[X710 LIAN LI DIY W2016E] Stablebit Drivepool [EX-503 LIAN LI 5-bay USB3 External]
Fear the Cloud

First off I'd recommend pulling it apart again and putting it back again reconnecting each cable carefully. Most of the time my machines don't boot I've done something silly like not reconnecting the motherboard power. If that fails, you may need to reset the BIOS - never had to do this personally, but there should be a guide here. Typically involves pulling the battery and shorting a few pins with a jumper. Hopefully you have a debug board handy to change the defaults if need be.

I'd strongly suggest looking into the HP N54L Gen 7 Microserver if you do end up needing a replacement - you can generally get them for quite a good price, they have two slots for DDR3 RAM (with ECC support), and two PCIe expansion ports (x16 and x1), Also, you don't need to muck around with debug boards with a VGA port available. That said the CPU doesn't have an upgrade path and won't compete with an upgraded EX490/495. If you need a bit more grunt the Gen 8 is a pricier option, with a few off the shelf CPU choices.

It's the PSU. Did the paperclip test - no life at all.

So now it's looking like £60 for a new PSU and £90 for the RAM.

And with that, I think it's good night HP - it's been fun but very tedious at times, but seeing as I can get a t20 poweredge for £220 I think I'd be stupid to persist with the EX495.

Shame really - I put loads into upgrading it and keeping it going. Would I recommend one, though? Probably not.

Sorry to hear the troubles, but wish you the best going forward.
Had windows and HP built WHS on win 2008 so we could have used larger drives, they would still be going gangbusters, but the 2tb limit makes it hard to stay with them.
Good luck

_________________
[X510 CPU/RAM/All 2 TB Red's] [X510 CPU/Sync'ed Backup/All 2 TB Hitachi's]
[X510 /2 in box]
[X710 LIAN LI DIY W2016E] Stablebit Drivepool [EX-503 LIAN LI 5-bay USB3 External]
Fear the Cloud