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December 12th, 2023 23:37
Inspiron 5570 memory upgrade frustrations
I wanted to upgrade the memory on my Inspiron 5570 laptop, which came with 8GB. (I have done this many, many times in previous computers, including Dells, both desktop and laptop)
I opened the case and found it had one 8GB stick in the "DIMM B" slot. You'd think "DIMM A" was the primary one, but it was empty, go figure.
I looked up the supported memory configuration and type for this laptop, it is using DDR4-2400 SODIMM at PC4-19200, 1.2V non-ECC (pretty standard); up to 32GB in 2x16GB.
I got two 16GB sticks from Crucial (CT11039872), which is listed as compatible for my 5570:
DDR4-2400 • CL=17 • NON-ECC • SODIMM • 260-pin • 1.2V • 2Rx8 • PC4-19200
But after installing it, the laptop doesn't boot up. No "DELL" image appears. Instead, the keyboard backlight comes on, I hear the fan run briefly, and then kaput. (I mention the fan because it does NOT run while booting up my laptop with the 8GB of OEM memory.)
The same thing happens if I put just one of the chips in the "DIMM B" slot (in lieu of the OEM chip), or adding it to the "DIMM A" slot (trying for an 8+16GB configuration).
I can put the OEM chip back and everything still works, so I haven't fried my motherboard with static electricity or something. What am I missing / doing wrong? Do I have to do some kind of "hard reset" operation when adding memory?
I feel like the fan running is a clue?
ejn63
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December 12th, 2023 23:55
Unplug the system and disconnect the battery from the system board -- hold the power button for 30 sec. Then retry the installation, making sure the RAM is securely seated.
robardin
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December 12th, 2023 23:58
So yeah that was it - I needed to do "some kind of hard reset" to get into the BIOS to force the new memory to get accepted. Which is, as you say, achieved by holding down the power button for 30 seconds while turning it on.
I had earlier tried to "long press" the power button, but I guess I hadn't held it down long enough, impatient fellow that I am, LOL. But I hadn't been sure that was "the way to do it", just a guess.
(Would be nice to have an actual manual - the "service manual" I found on Dell's website for the 5570 had two sections on adding memory, which was just a diagram about how to seat a DIMM into the slot, nothing about having to do a long-power-button-press action to get into the BIOS afterward!)
It's all good now!
(edited)