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August 16th, 2020 14:00

XPS 8900, Crucial ram not working

I just got two sticks of Crucial 16GB DDR4-3200 RAM for my XPS 8900 and I replaced the factory default RAM in the case (and cleaned it out with some compressed air and the vacuum cleaner). When I plugged everything in, the white power light lit up on the case and nothing else happened.

I removed the new RAM and installed the old RAM, and the computer is running properly again.

Once again, this is a XPS 8900, running Windows 10, and is fully up to date. According to the Crucial Scanner, this RAM is compatible with my computer and should be the first step in upgrading it to 64 GB.

Thank you.

10 Elder

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43.6K Posts

August 16th, 2020 15:00

Try clearing BIOS:

  1. Power off, unplug
  2. Press/hold power button for ~15 sec
  3. Open case and remove motherboard battery (check Service Manual for details)
  4. Press/hold power button for ~30 sec
  5. Install new RAM, only
  6. Reinstall battery (Time for fresh CR2032 3-volt coin cell battery?)
  7. Close up and connect mouse, monitor and keyboard
  8. Reboot

And I guess you could have gotten a bum module from Crucial...

1 Rookie

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3.2K Posts

August 16th, 2020 16:00

In addition to what @RoHe recommended you could try installing one memory module at a time to determine if you have a bad memory module.

7 Posts

August 16th, 2020 20:00

I bought it from a third-party vendor, so we'll see. Have to pick up a new battery tomorrow...

39 Posts

August 17th, 2020 16:00

I believe the RAM speed for this one (also have an 8900) is 2133. If you have different speed sticks maybe it is causing some problems.

 

Quick way to check a stick is pull all of them out and put in one at a time and see if it boots (even just to the BIOS screen). Really want to check create a bootable cd or flash drive with memtest on it.

7 Posts

August 20th, 2020 11:00

So, new battery and tried the BIOS. Will try the memory again later (didn't work after that) and I'll just return it for 2133 memory if it doesn't work.

At least I got a new battery for the motherboard, so that's something.

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