Troubleshooting DIMM Slots 2 and 4 Optiplex 9020
9Just Finished my Windows XP PC build, and now I am working on upgrading my modern editing/some gaming rig. I went the Optiplex upgrade route for a budget build. This is a refurbished Optiplex I just got in a couple of weeks ago, and today, while trying to put in the 32 Gigs of DDR3 (1600 mhz) which is the max ram, and max speed this thing supports, I couldn't get DIMM slots 2 and 4 to work. In fact, the PC would just boot to a black screen. If I just left the ram in the first two slots (DIMM 1 and 3) it would work fine.
I googled it, and went through the troubleshooting process as suggested, and nothing worked. I finally came across a post about how bent pins could be the cause, so I, finally, took the processor out and inspected it just to find there was gunk between the processor and the pins, and it had been there for a while. It even had an outline on the processor itself. Just goes to show, if you buy a refurbished Optiplex, make sure you check the processor as your beginning maintenance just to make sure.
The case is also bent, but that could have happened in shipping. From now on though, any future rigs I use will be built by me.