I spent a little time adding RAM to a X9DRD-7LN4F board today with 16x16GB DIMMs. Well, that "little" time took much longer than I hoped. I should know better by now, but I still try. For many years now, I have *never* been able to successfully populate all DIMM slots on a motherboard in one shot and successfully boot the machine. I can't recall the last time I was able to successfully throw a bunch of DIMMs into a system and hit the power button and have everything just work. Yet, I always still try; only to be disappointed. In the end, it always turns into a tedious process of adding 1 DIMM at a time, power on, does BIOS see the DIMM? if yes, power off and add next DIMM. If not, remove and re-seat or try another DIMM. For the 16 DIMMs tonight, I had to power on and off the system over 20+ times until I finally got it to recognize all 256GB. Additionally, there are times I get systems that stubbornly get stuck with the dreaded "System Initializing .... (B6/B7/BA/BF)" codes. This usually results in taking all DIMMS out, doing a CMOS reset, and starting over 1 DIMM at a time. In the end, it eventually all works most of the time; it's not often that I conclude i have bad DIMMs.
So, am I the only one who keeps experiencing this? How often have you successfully booted a new build on the 1st try after filling up all the DIMMs in one shot?
I remember working on old PCs and servers back in the days when IBM made hard drives, Compaq and Gateway computers were still around, and my beloved DEC Alpha was still a "thing". I don't ever recall having to perform such a tedious ritual for RAM upgrades. Are DDR3/DDR4 DIMM slots just more delicate?
So, am I the only one who keeps experiencing this? How often have you successfully booted a new build on the 1st try after filling up all the DIMMs in one shot?
I remember working on old PCs and servers back in the days when IBM made hard drives, Compaq and Gateway computers were still around, and my beloved DEC Alpha was still a "thing". I don't ever recall having to perform such a tedious ritual for RAM upgrades. Are DDR3/DDR4 DIMM slots just more delicate?