Memory Upgrade on E5-575-38UM

fdsmith905
fdsmith905 Member Posts: 4 New User
edited November 2023 in 2020 Archives
I recently decided to upgrade memory from the factory installed 8GB to a full 32GB.  I purchased a Crucial 32GB kit, after confirming via their website that the kit's product number is compatible with my laptop.  I installed the RAM (correctly and properly seated), and first booted into the BIOS to make sure it was recognizing the RAM, which it was.  I booted successfully into Windows 10, but later that day Office applications were generating errors, so I rebooted.  My computer then failed to boot properly into Windows, and was caught in an endless boot repair cycle.  Could not boot into any safe mode either.  Only way to boot was using a bootable USB Windows 10 ISO, and attempted multiple repairs, all of which failed.  Since I had full backups available, I decided to do a full reinstall of Windows 10 and my applications.  Apart from taking time, everything is now working fine, with no data loss.  Prior to the Windows reinstall, I attempted to access the CMOS battery on the motherboard to remove it and attempt to clear the CMOS, but chose not to risk breaking any of the very small connectors and ribbon cables (~5) needed to be disconnected in order to access the CMOS battery on the "other side" of the motherboard.

My questions are:

1.  Does this laptop have a specific method or process that is undocumented and needs to be followed when changing memory to prevent the above?
2.  Why is the motherboard engineered like this to make the CMOS battery so incaccessible?  Sooner or later, that battery will need changing.

Answers

  • StevenGen
    StevenGen ACE Posts: 12,198 Trailblazer
    fdsmith905 said:
    I recently decided to upgrade memory from the factory installed 8GB to a full 32GB.  I purchased a Crucial 32GB kit, after confirming via their website that the kit's product number is compatible with my laptop.  I installed the RAM (correctly and properly seated), and first booted into the BIOS to make sure it was recognizing the RAM, which it was.  I booted successfully into Windows 10, but later that day Office applications were generating errors, so I rebooted.  My computer then failed to boot properly into Windows, and was caught in an endless boot repair cycle.  Could not boot into any safe mode either.  Only way to boot was using a bootable USB Windows 10 ISO, and attempted multiple repairs, all of which failed.  Since I had full backups available, I decided to do a full reinstall of Windows 10 and my applications.  Apart from taking time, everything is now working fine, with no data loss.  Prior to the Windows reinstall, I attempted to access the CMOS battery on the motherboard to remove it and attempt to clear the CMOS, but chose not to risk breaking any of the very small connectors and ribbon cables (~5) needed to be disconnected in order to access the CMOS battery on the "other side" of the motherboard.

    My questions are:

    1.  Does this laptop have a specific method or process that is undocumented and needs to be followed when changing memory to prevent the above?
    2.  Why is the motherboard engineered like this to make the CMOS battery so incaccessible?  Sooner or later, that battery will need changing.

    First, what are the spec of the DD4 ram 32GB kit from Crucial that you upgraded to? As you don’t have to go to the lengths that you did for the system and ram to work. Was it 2400 MHz, 2666 MHz or 3200MHz? As with a ram upgrade its always recommended that they be done with either the same specs as the OEM ram, speed and timing or a one up speed and timing upgrade specs as sometimes the chipset cant handle certain ram speeds and it won't work. Also, have you got the latest bios installed? As the last bios update for your Aspire E5-575 is titled “1. Fine tune DRAM compatibility” its version 1.47 dated 2018/09/18 which also has a bearing on how the ram works.

    Also, the cmos battery is very reliable and doesn’t need changing or resetting that often, if you need to change/reset the cmos, you have to have the right tools to be able to remove the cmos battery e.g. a plastic prying tool as to not shorten the battery or cue any damage in taking the cmos battery out. Also, laptops have restricted space and access and its unfortunate that they are not as accessible like desktops, that is just how it is, Have a look at this complete disassembly of an E5-575 here: https://www.insidemylaptop.com/how-to-disassemble-acer-aspire-e5-571-series-n16q2/ as it might help you and give you a guide of how to open and do everything on your .E5-575


  • fdsmith905
    fdsmith905 Member Posts: 4 New User
    Hello and thanks for your quick response.  It is very much appreciated.

    The Crucial memory kit that I purchased and installed is CT2K16G4SFD824A, operating at 2400 MHz.  The 8G factory installed SODIMM was running at 2166 MHz.

    I also, within the past month, had ensured that all the latest BIOS updates for my laptop were installed from the Acer support website.

    I also tested the new RAM with both the Windows boot-level memory checker as well as memtest86.  Neither reported any errors, and the laptop was seeing the full 32Gb in the BIOS upon first booting.  As for the CMOS battery, I did have access to the tools, including the plastic pry tool used to get to the point of accessing the backside of the motherboard.  I also did have the instructions for unplugging the various connectors to access the flip the side of the motherboard.  My question was whether to spend the next few hours performing those steps and clearing the CMOS (...and taking the chance of breaking a small connector or ribbon cable), which may have corrected the issue, or invest that same time in rebuilding the OS and reinstalling my backups.  Since I was pretty certain the memory was not at fault, I decided to spend the extra time on reinstalling the OS rather than "taking the chance" that clearing the CMOS would work.  Since it does not appear that any hardware related element was at fault here (memory, BIOS, etc), I can only assume that it was a Windows OS issue?  Or is there some "super-secret" Acer incantation that needs to be used when upgrading memory?  BTW, I was impressed with the fact that accessing and replacing the RAM and HDD on this laptop are so easy, which was partly to blame for my disappointment that the same is not true for the CMOS battery (expectations and all!)

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