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Memory problems

Use this information to diagnose and resolve memory problems with the blade server.

IBM updates the support website with the latest tips and techniques that you can use to resolve any problems. Go to the BladeCenter support search website at http://www.ibm.com/supportportal/ to see if any service bulletins have been generated.

Follow the suggested actions in the order in which they are listed in the Action column until the problem is solved.

  • See Parts listing to determine which components are consumable, structural, or CRU parts.
  • If an action step is preceded by "(trained technician only)," that step must be performed only by a trained technician.
SymptomAction
The amount of system memory that is displayed is less than the amount of installed physical memory.
  1. Make sure that:
    • You have installed the correct type of memory (see Installing a memory module).
    • If you changed the memory, you updated the memory configuration in the Setup utility (see Using the Setup utility).
    • All banks of memory are enabled. The blade server might have automatically disabled a memory bank when it detected a problem, or a memory bank might have been manually disabled (see Using the Setup utility).
  2. Check the event log for a memory error (see Event logs), follow the actions to correct them.
  3. Run the Setup utility to re-enable all disabled DIMMs (see Using the Setup utility).
  4. Save the settings and exit the Setup utility.
Multiple rows of DIMMs in a branch are identified as failing.
  1. Make sure that the DIMMs are installed in the proper sequence (see Installing a memory module).
  2. Reseat the DIMMs and restart the server (see Removing a memory module and Installing a memory module).
  3. Remove each DIMM one at a time, restarting the server after removing each DIMM until the error is gone (see Removing a memory module).
  4. Replace the failed DIMM; then, reinstall the DIMMs to their original connectors and restart the server (see Installing a memory module).
  5. (Trained technician only) Replace the system board (see Removing the system-board assembly and Installing the system-board assembly).