Black screen after RAM upgrade attempt then TOTAL system failure. NITRO 5

Bradon2508

I have a NITRO 5  with an Intel Core i5 and a GTX 1050Ti GPU with a 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD and came standard with 16GB of ADATA DDR4 2400 SODIMM RAM. I researched exactly what kind of ram to get for the system watched several videos and checked the exact specs of my very own system on the ACER website and spoke to a representative to determine what kind of ram to get for my system. After all that research I went and bought a 32GB Ram upgrade of Corsair Vengeance chips from Amazon.com, upon arrival I immediately began trying to swap the ram chips. I was met with a black screen upon turning on my laptop, I figured I had something backwards so I swapped them and the same thing occured.

Then I took one chip out and put one of the original Ram chips back in and it booted up just fine and I checked and my system was registering an 8GB increase in Ram(one original chip is 8GB and each of the new Corsair chips is 16GB.) I proceeded to swap out the 16GB chips in order to test if either chip was faulty in some way but that was negative. Both chips registered upon boot up in the Device Manager and System window of the Control Panel. But no matter what I did if I put both 16GB chips in the computer it didnt boot not even the ACER splash logo of the boot sequence.

I then called ACER customer support and while I was on the phone with them my system decided to completely ***** out, didnt even boot with just the original ram chips installed. Finally after 6 hours on the phone with them(by this point it was now 3am Eastern Standard Time) they then told me that they had no way to help me over the phone and told me that I would have to send it to their Service Center somewhere in Texas( I live in Richmond Virginia) and they told me it would cost $400 just to ship it to the Service Center and then after being looked at they would call me and ask if I wanted them to proceed with working on restoring my system after giving me a service cost quote based on what is wrong with my system. I said "***** THAT" because I dont have a spare $400 just laying around that I can piss away just for shipping my computer out.

I took my laptop to Best Buy and paid $35 to get it shipped out to their service center and I waited and waited and waited for a call from them, nothing not one phone call from their service center, not even a voicemail message. I get an email saying they have worked on it and have finished and shipped it back. I call the Best Buy I dropped it off at and they tell me in the ticket notes for my repair order *quoting the employee who I spoke with on the phone* "The notes say they dont work on that model so they didnt do any work on your system. I will print the ticket and check with my manager in the morning on whether or not there is anything we can do from here on our end". I am ***** LIVID to have a failure of such a simple process as this while I am taking a god damned class is ridiculous. 

If anyone can help me in any way please, I need this laptop for my class and I have already wasted 2 weeks time trying to get this god damned thing fixed. I was bought the laptop as a birthday present on February 15th 2018 by my father at the Armed Forces Exchange Service website and it only had a one year warranty.  Any assistance will be appreciated. I am getting my laptop back from Best Buy soon and I need to get it working again. PLEASE SOMEONE HELP I NEED A MIRACLE RIGHT NOW.

Commodore_1995#

In my opinion, the best solution is to exchange the rams memories! It really is strange the notebook does not identify both memories rams!

Commodore_1995#

Hello! Could you tell the exact model of your notebook? Example an515-51-75kz!
Does your notebook power on the power and battery leds? If so, try resetting the battery according to this video to discharge the static power:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfhgnxUJoZo

Bradon2508

I dont have it with me yet. I am currently in class. The box it came in is at home and I can get to that when I get home and give that information then because its on the box. Also I didnt realize there was a battery reset switch when I was doing the RAM upgrade so I actually disconnected the battery and reconnected it manually when I had the Laptop open working on it.

Commodore_1995#

OK! Post this information and also post the bios version that came on the computer! The bios version is also shown in the box!

Bradon2508

Its an AN515-51-504A, luckily Best Buy was able to help me out with a guy from in house who used to work at a service center to help get the computer functional again however the Ram Upgrade was a bust. The Ram still wouldnt work even for him and he even said he didnt see any reason why the ram I had bought on Amazon wouldnt work, correct type(DDR4 24pin SODIMM), correct MHz rating etc. He said the only thing he couldnt check the ram for was a Voltage issue as he didnt have the tools available to test the voltage. Now I just want answers as to why the RAM didnt work. I got a 2TB upgrade on the 256GB NVMe PCIe SSD that came in it now I just need to upgrade the RAM to give it the boost I feel it needs. I would prefer to not have to use ADATA brand RAM like what came standard in it. 

Commodore_1995#

Have you tested both rams memories, in both slots, individually? What is the bios version? It is possible that a bios update can solve the problem!

Bradon2508

The bios is up to date with the current version and yes I tested both ram chips in each slot prior to the system failure. Every time I tested the ram the computer registered there was indeed a extra 8 GB of ram for each chip. But still when plugging in both new ram chips together I am still met with a black screen. 

Commodore_1995#

Could you tell me the exact version of bios? Acer launched this week, version 1.22 for model an515-51! Also try disabling fastboot in the bios main section and faststartup in the windows power options:

Also, check if this button is pressed properly:

Bradon2508

I don't have my computer with me at work I will look into these when I get home. Thank you for the assistance and information. I know about the button also. 

tobimaru

You never mentioned what specific memory kit you purchased for the laptop. Can you link to the exact kit? It's entirely possible the RAM you purchased has compatible single-channel specifications but is incompatible in dual-channel. I have seen this issue before. This is why the memory stick populates and is recognized in single-channel mode with the other 8GB stick, but not in dual-channel with the matched 16GB stick. What are the timings of the memory in each state?

Bradon2508

Tha laptop came standard with 16GB of Adata DDR4 2400 MHz sodimm and I purchased 32GB of Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2400 sodimm from Amazon. https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B01G26166W?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_pd_title

Commodore_1995#

If this memory did not support dual-channel, I believe it would not be sold in pairs! In addition, this informs that this memory supports the dual-channel, see: https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:4AU2yzV-0aIJ:https://www.memoryexpress.com/Products/MX68215+&cd=5&hl=pt-BR&ct=clnk&gl=br

Could you tell me the bios version?

tobimaru

I'd be curious to see a CPU-Z shot of your factory memory configuration/timings. I have the exact same model, AN515-51-504A which ships with A-DATA 16GB DDR4. Where your assumptions begin are that it is 2400MHz RAM speed from the factory. In fact, it supports up to 2400MHz but ships with 2133MHz RAM speed and timings of 15-15-15-36.

You then installed 32GB of 2400MHz 16-16-16-39 Corsair memory which has proven to be incompatible. It won't even boot.

You then paired your 8GB A-DATA 2133MHz 15-15-15-36 memory with your 16GB Corsair 2400MHz 16-16-16-39 memory which DOWNCLOCKS to the slower 2133MHz speeds (default procedure) and is then able to boot. You should be able to confirm this within CPU-Z.

To me, this explains exactly what is happening. Thoughts?

Commodore_1995#

According to the Acer website regarding the spare part, this model can come with these two memories:

MEMORY KN.8GB04.012 MEM 8GB DDR4 2400 SO-DIMM MTA8ATF1G64HZ-2G3B1 MICRON LF + HF 1024 * 8 Yes

MEMORY KN.8GB07.034 MEM 8GB DDR4 2400 SO-DIMM ACR24D4S7S8MB-8 KINGSTON LF + HF 1024 * 8 MICRON, 20NM

Also, I do not think cas latency is a determining factor! Could you report the version of bios @tobimaru?

Bradon2508

I hadn't installed the bios update, I simply downloaded it. I just now installed it andthe update has succeeded. @tobimaru that doesn't make sense tho? Wouldn't the new ram just default to the lower speed for compatibility anyway? Underclocking wouldn't be as power draining as overclocking either so there's no reason why it wouldn't work since the ram isnt that far above the MHz of the original ram and as Acers site says the laptop is upgradable to 2400 MHz. 

Commodore_1995#

Did the two rams memories work properly after the bios update? If it did not work, did you try to disable fastboot and faststartup as I showed in the previous photos?

Bradon2508

I have not yet attempted the ram upgrade again but I have disabled fastboot in the bios however I do not have an option to disable it in my power options. I will re-attempt the upgrade in 2 days on Friday with a friend of mine who knows more than I do in case of another failure. 

Bradon2508

this was my Bios before the update. 

[Edited image to remove serial number.]

Bradon2508

This was after the update 


[Edited image to remove serial number.]

Commodore_1995#

After the upgrade, the two rams memories were not identified? You can disable faststartup here:

Bradon2508

Again I do not have an option in my power settings to disable fastboot, I only have that option in my bios. As I am from the USA and only speak English I feel like I am losing something in my translation.