Poweredge 1950 multibit memory error

PS, just tried clearing the nvram, didn't help :-(

I think it is pretty clear (although it may not be the answer you want to hear) that slot 4 is bad, as you have swapped the memory around, showing each memory stick is fine, but the error always occurs on slot 4.  It doesn't appear when only two are populated, because slot 4 isn't used.  Make sure the slot is free of dust, hair, or other particles ... if there is no change, don't use slot 4 (two memory modules) or get a new system board to fix.

With this issue, it seems you have isolated the problem to the system board slot on DIMM 4.  Since you have tried different DIMMs in that slot and the error persists, the indication would be a slot problem.  Only suggestion I could make would be to clear the NVRAM and see if the error persists, if  not it would require a replacement system board to correct the DIMM slot memory issue you are having.

Thanks for you quick responce, thats what i was afraid of.

Is this kind of issue genuinely a problem? I mean is it likely its just the error reporting which is failing? The system its self seems to be running fine?

Generally, multi-bit errors cause system crashes, so if you haven't had any system crashes, then it may not be an issue.  It depends on where/how you get the message ... OpenManage, LCD panel, diagnostics, etc.?  You may try checking your Hardware Logs in OpenManage Server Administrator (OMSA) to see how many errors were logged and when they occurred, then try clearing the logs to see if it returns for real.  If the system seems to be working fine, then together with clearing the logs, you should update your system firmware (BIOS, ESM - and RAID, NIC, etc. while  you're at it), and update to the latest version of OMSA.  You might also test the memory independent from the OS/OMSA (after clearing the logs) by running MP Memory diagnostics on it.

Don't forget to update the rest of the system firmware (if you haven't already), as most are inter-dependent on certain versions of other devices.  ESM (this is actually the error reporting device), RAID, and NIC all likely need updating as well as BIOS.

I suspect it is an old log entry causing the error messages - if you can just get the log cleared, then you should get a better view of exactly what is going on.

Bios was 5 years old so that defiantly needed an update anyway, but hasn't help.

Just downloading OMSA now.

theflash, your a genius! Clearing the logs did indeed resolve the problem and made the go away. Big thanks to you, I was about to start pulling the motherboard apart.

I'm getting the error from Dell online diagnostics tool, and from the LCD panel. I will try some bios updates, and other memory tests and get back to you.

No genius ... just been there/done that enough times to recognize it :)  Glad you got it sorted.