I have a MediaSmart EX490 that I've installed Windows Server 2012 and am trying to upgrade the RAM to 4GB on.
I've tried 2 chips now, and when both are installed the health indicator light blinks red and doesn't power up.

This is the RAM I'm trying to upgrade to.

As far as I can tell, its compatible.....ideas?

If I could get a link to TigerDirect, Newegg, etc, if its the wrong RAM im using, that'd be great.

Hmm...not sure what the issue is there. I have an EX487 and an EX490, both with Pentium E5300 chips and 4 GB of RAM. I ordered two sticks of Patriot 4GB memory here: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6820220525

This was two years ago and this memory is no longer available. The memory is PC2-6400 unbuffered, non-ECC memory. That looks like what you've got in your pictures. Based on what I see, I think it should work.

You can try going out to Crucial.com and using their system scanner or memory advisor. If you pick that you've got an HP EX490 server it'll give you memory options that are guaranteed compatible with the machine in question. Off the top of my head, I don't believe any BIOS tweaks are required to run the 4GB.

_________________
Matt Sawyer
Owner, Dojo North Software, LLC

HP EX490, 4GB, E5300, 15TB - Server 2012 - Sharing and Streaming
HP EX487, 4GB, E5300, 13TB - Server 2012 Essentials - Backups

I know some BIOS systems have a prompt that recognize a RAM upgrade and say press X to continue, etc.
Could that be the case?

It seems unlikely though.

People upgrade the RAM all the time in their MSS and never encounter issues with the MSS utilizing it. With 4GB you will not get to use all of it because WHSv1 is a 32 bit OS so it will only be able to use something like 3.2GB of the RAM provided its proper RAM for your server and I mean not ECC.

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Exploring the possibilities!

Migrated from WHS2011 to WS2012E: HIGHLANDER

~ Norco 4220 Enclosure
~ Gigabyte GA-990FXA-UD5
~ AMD Phenom II X4 995 3.2 GHz
~ 8 GB Corsair Vengeance DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800)
~ 3 Supermicro AOC-SASLP-MV8

I don't recall seeing any prompts. However, you may nevertheless want to consider investing in the debug cable. The MSS is no longer the headless horseman and you can see BIOS messages, errors, etc. I have one each for my EX487 and EX490. They've been invaluable for me, especially considering I'm running Server 2012 Essentials on the EX487 and Server 2012 on the EX490. On the EX490 I periodically swap out the drives and pop in a different set to test Home Server SMART Classic under WHS v1. Being able to see the console is a must for me.

_________________
Matt Sawyer
Owner, Dojo North Software, LLC

HP EX490, 4GB, E5300, 15TB - Server 2012 - Sharing and Streaming
HP EX487, 4GB, E5300, 13TB - Server 2012 Essentials - Backups

Make sure you properly installed the RAM. Sometime it takes a lot of pressure for it to snap in.

I had problems with computers before after upgrading the RAM and usually the problem was that it wasn't seated properly.

I'm running Server 2012, 64bit edition, so this shouldn't be an issue.

Their memory advisor doesn't list the EX490.
I'll give the scanner a shot and order what it suggests.

This is the memory I got for my 490: $80.53 free shipping and it is working fine.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/271117548706?ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1497.l2649

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Fear the Cloud

I know this thread is old, But I'll give it a shot.

I bought 4 gigs of memory for my HP media server running Unraid OS 6.12.14, and it boots up and works with the 4gig memory , but the bios is only recognizing it at 2 gigs, and the server is only seeing 2 gigs. I'm using the VGA cable to access the bios, and I don't see any settings that can help unless I'm missing something. Any thoughts?


The model on the bottom sticker is HSTNA-W003 H/W Revision B bios version HPMSS-01....on start up the server says its bios version HPMSS017 09/23/2008
CPU is celeron 2.0 440

The os identifies the board and bios as:
Wistron EX48X , Version A
American Megatrends Inc., Version HPMSS-01
BIOS dated: Tue 23 Sep 2008 12:00:00 AM PDT

4 gig memory stick os Patriot PDC24G6400ELK DDR2 800MHz

Oh crap, after posting this, I think I see the problem. This stick is only half of a kit....DANG IT TO H***LL