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X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

X230-X280, X390 Series
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mr.rhtuner
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X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#1 Post by mr.rhtuner » Sat Mar 18, 2017 8:00 pm

Hey guys, I'm a new-to-me x230 owner that I purchased from ebay. I have also a x220 and a few other thinkpads that I've repaired and come to love these machines.

My x220 had installed in it the following memory: G.SKILL 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model F3-1600C11D-16GSQ
The memory has never given me issues so when my x230 arrived, I tossed in my SSD and my 16gb from the x220 and fired up the x230.

So far, when it does work...I like it slightly more than the x220 when it works.
After installing the memory, I plugged the laptop into my Lenovo Ultrabase series 3 dock which is connected to my U2713hm via displayPort.

After a few minutes, the image on both displays got badly messed up, making the laptop inoperable and seem's to shut it off.

http://i.imgur.com/4xaq5LT.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/tYZ4WHX.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/m7ScP8C.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/wD3AO9G.jpg


So after posting this on Reddit, a few members suggested it may be RAM related. I tossed in the ram that came with the laptop, which was 2GB (x2) Nanya nt2gc64b88g0ns-cg and all works just fine and no issues are present.

So I'm at a point where my 16gb DDR3 G.Skill memory that should work with my x230, doesn't.
I've tried a few bios things to see if it would help resolve it, but nothing helped.

Does anybody have a recommendation on 16GB DDR3 memory that does work with a X230? Locally, most places won't return RAM unless it's defective. I'm hesitant to buy as it's a 50/50 gamble if the ram works or not.

Hans Gruber
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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#2 Post by Hans Gruber » Sat Mar 18, 2017 8:44 pm

That is either a video cable issue or your laptop needs to be hard reset. Shut it down and pull the battery and hold the power button for 30 seconds. You could also have a video driver issue. Is this a new problem and is this laptop new to you?

Also try it with just one dimm of your 16GB kit installed and see if you have any issues. The timings of the ram may need to be adjusted in the bios.
:beer: T43p,T61,X200,X200s,x201,T500,W500,T510,T410,T410s,T420s,T430,T430s :parrot:

mr.rhtuner
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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#3 Post by mr.rhtuner » Sat Mar 18, 2017 9:40 pm

Hans Gruber wrote:That is either a video cable issue or your laptop needs to be hard reset. Shut it down and pull the battery and hold the power button for 30 seconds. You could also have a video driver issue. Is this a new problem and is this laptop new to you?

Also try it with just one dimm of your 16GB kit installed and see if you have any issues. The timings of the ram may need to be adjusted in the bios.

Sorry, but this isn't a video cable issue nor a hard reset will do anything. This occurred with it on a dock, by having another monitor attached via mini-display port or just the x230 screen by itself. I've also received this issue on the single x230 display when I was simply trying to install windows 7.

Each time the laptop uses the G.Skill memory, this will occur within 5 minutes.
Now with the 4gb of Nanya memory installed...it's been up for 3 hours and hasn't 'crapped out' since.

Regarding the Timings, looking at the bios, there doesn't seem to be much that can be done there for that.

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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#4 Post by Hans Gruber » Sun Mar 19, 2017 2:27 am

mr.rhtuner wrote:
Hans Gruber wrote:That is either a video cable issue or your laptop needs to be hard reset. Shut it down and pull the battery and hold the power button for 30 seconds. You could also have a video driver issue. Is this a new problem and is this laptop new to you?

Also try it with just one dimm of your 16GB kit installed and see if you have any issues. The timings of the ram may need to be adjusted in the bios.

Sorry, but this isn't a video cable issue nor a hard reset will do anything. This occurred with it on a dock, by having another monitor attached via mini-display port or just the x230 screen by itself. I've also received this issue on the single x230 display when I was simply trying to install windows 7.

Each time the laptop uses the G.Skill memory, this will occur within 5 minutes.
Now with the 4gb of Nanya memory installed...it's been up for 3 hours and hasn't 'crapped out' since.

Regarding the Timings, looking at the bios, there doesn't seem to be much that can be done there for that.
You didn't mention a docking station. That brings in a whole new can of worms. Yes, blame the Gskill Ram. That must be it. Couldn't be the docking station? Typically with ram issues the computer will not boot if the ram is not compatible with the laptop.
:beer: T43p,T61,X200,X200s,x201,T500,W500,T510,T410,T410s,T420s,T430,T430s :parrot:

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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#5 Post by TankPad » Sun Mar 19, 2017 7:47 am

Clean the ram with IPA or similar and retest one dimm at a time. Do a memory test too and see if anything shows up. If it works in the X220 without issue then it should work in the X230 too.

Are there any other factors involved? Does it happen even when you don't dock it? Are the temps ok before it fails?
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mr.rhtuner
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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#6 Post by mr.rhtuner » Sun Mar 19, 2017 9:40 am

Hans Gruber wrote:You didn't mention a docking station. That brings in a whole new can of worms. Yes, blame the Gskill Ram. That must be it. Couldn't be the docking station? Typically with ram issues the computer will not boot if the ram is not compatible with the laptop.
mr.rhtuner wrote:After installing the memory, I plugged the laptop into my Lenovo Ultrabase series 3 dock which is connected to my U2713hm via displayPort.
8)

TankPad wrote:Clean the ram with IPA or similar and retest one dimm at a time. Do a memory test too and see if anything shows up. If it works in the X220 without issue then it should work in the X230 too.

Are there any other factors involved? Does it happen even when you don't dock it? Are the temps ok before it fails?

I've been testing yesterday and seriously it occurs the fastest within 40 seconds and sometimes upto 3-5 minutes.

All I do is drag over a 720p stream onto my 27" monitor and have reddit open on the laptop display. Just see what the images show. Laptop screen had Microsoft OWA open and the other was a youtube video of a dog lol

I've noticed it often when trying to hookup a secondary monitor via mini-display port or dock....but when I was trying to figure out if this was driver issue, I started installing Windows 7 on my spare HDD and it did the same thing about 40 seconds into the install.

I'll do a bit more today and find out if its both or one sticks that are causing this. Sucks because my X220 worked perfectly fine with this ram.

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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#7 Post by mr.rhtuner » Wed Mar 22, 2017 12:18 pm

So here's an update.

I found a good deal on 16GB of crucial memory -Crucial 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3L 1600 (PC3L 12800) Laptop Memory (CT2KIT102464BF160B) and I ordered it knowing the x230 somehow hates my G.Skill ram.

The memory arrived yesterday so I started testing. I installed both Crucial 8gb sticks and loaded up a 720p youtube video, a few tabs on the browser and some terminal sessions, all was fine.
I then took the G.Skill memory and put it into the x230, did the same and within 2 minutes..slightly after loading the youtube video...the laptop crashed.

As I said, the G.Skill memory works perfectly fine in my x220.

Anywho... I doubt the memory is 'defective' if you will. I suspect the x230 or just maybe mine is a bit picky for some darn reason.

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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#8 Post by w0qj » Sun Apr 02, 2017 11:28 am

Hi mr.rhtuner, so did this 16 GB Crucial RAM upgrade work out for you?
Just curious ;)
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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#9 Post by rkawakami » Sun Apr 02, 2017 1:09 pm

Just ran into this thread; sorry for being late to the game....

X230 uses Intel HD Graphics 4000. It is an "integrated" processor meaning it shares the memory it uses for display(s) with main memory. In other words, there's no separate bank of memory dedicated for video usage; memory is allocated for display purposes dynamically from the pool of main memory. That your system craps out when changing video modes (single display to dual display) can mean a memory or driver issue. Since you have seemed to have fixed the problem by swapping out the G.Skill modules that would point to the memory. I didn't see anywhere in this thread where you explicitly stated that you used a memory diagnostic program, only that "I've been testing yesterday and seriously it occurs the fastest within 40 seconds and sometimes upto 3-5 minutes." If this was just using a dual monitor setup to trigger the failure, then that's not much of a complete test. I suggest that you use memtest86+ to verify that the G.Skill modules are 100%. I would further suggest that you let the modules "cool off" before running the memory diagnostic and allow the program to complete at least three full passes on the modules before declaring them fully functional. Failure can be temperature related. Starting off with the modules cold will help. They will get hot with testing so you'll cover that end of the temperature spectrum.

That your G.Skill modules work fine in the X220 is a little surprising to me. The X220 also uses an integrated video controller (a 3000, not 4000 model) but that could just mean that the memory mapping is a little different, video memory timing between the two system are different, or some other factor which allows the modules to work without any failures.

ref: http://www.memtest.org/#downiso
[b]@TankPad[/b] wrote:Clean the ram with IPA or similar and retest one dimm at a time.
I find that India Pale Ale is better used for cleaning the insides of my own body, not memory modules :lol: And yes I know that you're talking about isopropyl alcohol. It's just that anytime I see IPA in print I immediately think of going to the 'frig and having a cold one.
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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#10 Post by TankPad » Sun Apr 02, 2017 9:06 pm

rkawakami wrote:
[b]@TankPad[/b] wrote:Clean the ram with IPA or similar and retest one dimm at a time.
I find that India Pale Ale is better used for cleaning the insides of my own body, not memory modules :lol: And yes I know that you're talking about isopropyl alcohol. It's just that anytime I see IPA in print I immediately think of going to the 'frig and having a cold one.
I was quite perplexed there for a sec. I've never heard of this Ale before now. :D
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mr.rhtuner
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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#11 Post by mr.rhtuner » Fri Apr 21, 2017 8:14 am

w0qj wrote:Hi mr.rhtuner, so did this 16 GB Crucial RAM upgrade work out for you?
Just curious ;)
Hello, Yes the 16GB Crucial memory works perfectly fine on my X220 and X230 :-)


rkawakami - Thanks for the reply. I'll run memtest on the G.Skill memory again. I did run it for about 2-3 hours a few weeks ago and everything was good, no errors.

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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#12 Post by bazus » Tue May 09, 2017 5:19 pm

Hello

+1 :(

I have exactly the same screen shot and freeze after upgrading from 4GB to 12GB
(adding this 8MB vengeance : http://www.corsair.com/fr-fr/vengeance- ... m1a1600c10)

I have this laptop for 2 years without any problem (of this kind)

I'm running memtest86+ all the night. It just finished the second pass (~3.5 hours long) without error

My conf : x230i tablet / lubuntu 16.04 / ssd 512G / no docking station / no second screen

I have no idea
Thanks a lot for your help
Jerome

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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#13 Post by bazus » Thu May 11, 2017 3:47 am

Test results : strange things occurs...

legacy ram : ddr3 1600MHz - PC3 12800 - hynix 4GB
added ram : ddr3 1600MHz - PC3 12800 - vengeance 8GB
I use memtets86+ v4.20 from grub

test 1 :
identified as ddr3-1330 at 665MHz
after 8:49 hours running, 4 passes 1/2 , 0 errors

test2 :
identified as ddr3-1330 at 665MHz
after 15:58 hours running, 7 passes 1/4 , 0 errors

after those tests (machine warmed) : i can use it without freeze

I let it cooling for 1 hour then try to use it --> freeze

I let it cooling for 1 hour then try another memetest
identified as ddr3-2661 at 1330MHz
after 8:54 hours running, 4 passes 1/2 , 0 errors

I let it cooling for 1 hour and swap ram sockets then try to use it --> freeze
with only the new ram -> freeze again

any idea ???

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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#14 Post by w0qj » Thu May 11, 2017 10:42 am

This is a wild guess:

Try taking out your new RAM stick, and put it back in.

Perhaps your new RAM stick is just *barely* touching your motherboard, such what:

~When machine is hot, the metal expands, and your RAM stick makes correct contact with motherboard (RAM "OK").

~When machine cools off, the metal shrinks, and your RAM loses some of the contacts with motherboard, hence causing freezing?

Good luck!
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Re: X230 Users...my X230 doesn't like my 16gb G.Skill memory kit

#15 Post by Frenel » Sun May 21, 2017 12:28 pm

This sounds like a voltage problem.

It is preferable to use 1.35V memory on x30 series and above.
Your crucial Memory is 1.35V while the G.Skill i think is 1.5V.

The X220 should handle 1.5V memory without issues.

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