Thinkpads Forum

Hi all,

I have a Lenovo Thinkpad x220 laptop. BIOS version 1.28
With the installed ram (Samsung 4GB 2Rx8 PC3-10600S-09-11-F3) it works like a charm.
I tried an upgrade and bought Samsung 2x 8GB 2Rx8 PC3-12800S-11-11-F3 and installed them, but know the laptop doesn't boot, it makes beeps (one short beep - three short beeps - one short beep, which means that the RAM modules are not recognized) and I can't even start the BIOS.
Just after that I decided to remove these RAM modules, and they were very hot !
Is it possible that the modules are broken ? I understand these the modules probably don't work with this laptop, but why do they become so hot after just a few seconds ?

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks in advance, regards, staki

Edit: I also tried with just one 8 GB module, ans it was the same, no boot and RAM module very hot just after a few seconds...

Stay with PC3-10600 and you should be good.
PC3-12800 should also work, but maybe you got some bad modules.
Any faster RAM will slow down to PC3-10600 as well.

What is the model number of the Samsung 8GB modules (will be format like M471B5273CH0-CH9)?
The speed should not matter, if you have the later BIOS then RAM will be limited to 1333 MHz but 1600 MHz or 1866 MHz RAM will automatically run at the lower speed. You can also use 1066 MHz RAM.

It could be that you bought ECC modules by mistake; it could be that the modules are faulty.

On occasion when installing RAM I don't seat the module correctly so the laptop fails to boot, you could try reseating the RAM if you haven't already.

It looks like the newer modules are rated at a higher clock speed but also higher latency (i.e. slower timings). Possibly the latency doesn't drop enough to meet the laptop's requirements when they are run at slower speeds (usually determined by values stored in SPD chip on modules).