Dell e6540 ram upgrade

I bought a new e6540, and went to upgrade the ram. I used this kit from Corsair, CORSAIR ValueSelect Model CMSO16GX3M2A1600C11 Laptop Memory - Newegg.com . Computer will not boot with this ram, will not load bios, anything, and I am not sure why. I thought all the specs matched, but either the ram is bad, or I missed something.

On a side note, I can confirm that an msata SSD does work on this model, coming from an e6520, this is a nice addition.

Thanks for any help.

 

Hi. I am by no means an expert on upgrading hardware so I can't help with troubleshooting memory issues. FWIW, I just installed a 16GB kit from Crucial into the E6540 without any issues. It recognized the new memory right away. The kit I installed was CT2KIT102464BF160B.

Thanks for the info on the msata SSD. I have one I am about to install, a Plextor PX-256M5M. Any thoughts on the best way to migrate the OS and programs to the new drive and leave the existing data on the existing 500GB drive? Would the Dell recovery tool work to install directly the factory image to the SSD?

 

I do not have a E6540 (yet), but my research show it requires DDR3L (low voltage) memory which is 1.35V. The memory modules you have are 1.5V and therefore are not working.
Greenamg's modules are Crucial Memory modules are are probably rated for 1.35V, which is why his are working.
I'm planning on getting Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (Newegg.com - Crucial Ballistix Sport 16GB (2 x 8G) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1600 (PC3 12800) Laptop Memory Model BLS2K8G3N169ES4) as they are rated at 1.35V at CAS 9.

Good Luck!

 

Yeah I did some more digging last night, and thought the voltage might be the problem. I went ahead and ordered a Corsair kit that is 1.35v. I'll report back when it comes in.

As far as migrating to the msata, I'm not sure as I did a fresh install. I would assume you could clone with something like acronis, but I'm not 100% sure.

On a side note, Dell was very unhelpful in providing a DVD of the OS. I have always ordered them in the past, but didn't have one for 7 Pro, they sent me a 7 premium no problem for a 7720 last week, but would not help at all on the 6540, so I bought one on eBay.

 

By the way, how have the screen been treating you guys. I keep hearing that the screen is not that good and is keeping me back from buying this laptop.

 

Any cloning tool that knows to check for alignment will work out of the box. You can also go the slightly more complicated way and align the drive manually using diskpart, then clone it (there are free tools for that, not sure if there are free cloning software that also make sure to align a SSD).

 

While haswell technically supports 1.5v ram, for some reason dell has designed the new haswell latitudes to only accept 1.35v ram. This was confirmed by our corporate dell technical engineer. We've also tested several 1.5v modules from 1, 2, 4, 8gb and different speeds that we have used in E6530 in a several E6540's and so far none of them that are 1.5v works. only the 1.35v low voltage version.

 

I'm not a big user of the built in screen. I run Latitudes for the docking capability. At the last company I work for I had a D520, and loved that I could bring it home and work and it was just like I was in the office and didn't have to hook any cables on up. So when I started my own thing, I turned to the newer version of what I knew, and have not been disappointed.

In setting up windows from a fresh install, and not docked, I am noticing a strange issue when the computer goes from the windows start splash screen, to the desktop, and when the UAC kicks in. It's almost like part if the screen doesn't fill in the color fast enough, and it takes a few milliseconds to catch up. For instance if the computer is in sleep mode, and I wake it up, the dell logo you click to unlock the computer is black before it turns to white. I need to hook it up to the dock and see if it does it on my screens so I can see if its a driver issue, or a screen issue.

 

Have not had any issues with the screen. I use the E6540 mostly for work and haven't used any games or movies yet. I will update if any issues arise.

 

I'm using the Plextor PX-128M5M msata in my E6540, and that works fine, so its bigger brother should work too. I use Windows Server 2012 Essentials for my computer backups. So I basically swapped the 2.5" HDD with the msata SSD and restored a backup. No problem.

I like the screen. This is my first 15" laptop with a 1920x1080 screen. I was afraid text would be too small but with text and webpages on 125% this is no problem. Brightness is a lot higher than other laptops I used, which is good. I played some Diablo III, without issues. Overall I'm satisfied with the screen.

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