RAM Upgrade freezes server during bootup

[jasondillard74]

Hello~

I am running FreeNas 8.3 on 9 different Netgear ReadyNas 3200's. Each has either 4GB or 8GB of RAM, and each has 12 - 1TB drives. I've been runnign backups to these drives for a few weeks now with only minor glitches which could be due to performance issues. So, I decided to upgrade the RAM in each to 16GB. After installing the RAM, the server boots past POST and reads all 16GB of RAM fine. I can go into the BIOS and verify it there too. Then it begins to load FreeNas and hangs at the screen where you have the option to load into safe mode. Immediately after the options box I get:

KDB:debugger backends: ddb
KDB: current backend: ddb

And thats it. The system halts there. I have tried using 8 different memory sticks in 2 different servers with the same result. Am I missing something?

 

[cyberjock]

I'm wondering if the system is designed(whether accidental or intentional) not to support more than 8GB of RAM. I've seen systems that POST and appear fine above a common RAM limit(2GB/4GB/8GB/etc) but some have these artificial limits that will prevent the OS from working correctly. It's almost like the extra RAM isn't really available to the OS and when the OS tries to access it... game over.

Just for my curiosity.. have you tried to run a RAM test? Surely you don't have a whole bunch of bad sticks, but I wonder if memtest would crashed or otherwise fail trying to write and read to all of the RAM, or even if it will test all of the RAM.

 

[gpsguy]

You might want to search the ReadyNAS forum for your 3200. In one of the first entries on the search, someone thought it was limited to 8Gb of RAM.

 

[jasondillard74]

Gents,

Thanks for the help. I finally managed to find a single post on the ReadyNAS forums where a guy mentioned that the 3200's might not allow any more than 8GB. Turns out that's exactly what it was. Nothing on the ReadyNAS website though as to what the maximum amount is...morons. Think Netgear is keeping that little tidbit out on purpose out of lack of it hurting sales? Oh well, 8GB is twice as nice as 4GB, right?

 

[cyberjock]

I've seen ready-made NAS hardware is often limited in hardware upgrades more often than not. Go ahead and label me a conspiracy theorist, but I think it's on purpose to prevent you from buying cheaper hardware and upgrading it yourself.

 

[JaimieV]

ReadyNAS are one of very few ready-made NAS builders that make kit where you *can* upgrade the memory, so don't be too nasty to them.

(Not for that, anyway - they've been orphaning their older Sparc based stuff lately, and I'm fine to be sarcastic to them about that!)