ASA 5505 memory upgrade question

[jeffreyp]

in anticipation of upgrading to 8.3 i purchased a 512MB chip for my 5505.  the asa is revision V05.

the memory is 512MB PC3200 DDR 400MHz 184-pin DIMM CL3 unbuffered, non-ecc.

i swapped in the new chip and plugged in the box.  it came up fine.  sh ver and sh mem both indicate 512MB of memory.  the box seems to function just fine (i.e., i haven't noticed any problems.)

but when i issue a reload command the status light turns amber, all other LED's simultaneously flash green, and the box never reboots.

if i reset the power (unplug/plug in), it boots fine; if i use the "reload" command then it does not.  i've done both of those actions a dozen times and the behavior is consistent.

purchased the memory from amazon.  there is even one review stating that the reviewer purchased the ram specifically for an asa 5505 and that it worked for him.

any pointers would be appreciated.

[Yudong Wu]

Connect the console to capture the output when you issue "reload" command. The console output should tell you at which step the bootup stuck.

Cisco might not support this 3rd party memory well. If you would like get rid of this, you might need purchase memory from a Cisco partner directly.

[jeffreyp]

thanks for the feedback.

the reload does not get very far:

=====

xjr1# reload
Proceed with reload? [confirm]
xjr1#

***
*** --- START GRACEFUL SHUTDOWN ---
Shutting down isakmp
Shutting down File system

***
*** --- SHUTDOWN NOW ---

Rebooting....
=====

i understand that it's 3rd party memory and that all bets are off as fasr as official support.  my bewilderment is because (a) the memory is recognized and seemingly works flawlessly when the device is power-cycled (as opposed to "reload"ed) and (b) at least one other person has used this exact memory stick with no issues.  (i have asked him to verify that, and also asked if he could tell me what version of the device he has.)

[Yudong Wu]

hmm, no idea. Maybe try a different version to see if it make any diff.

[jeffreyp]

yes, already tried that, with no change in the symptoms.  :-(

[Andrew Ossipov]

Hello,

Unfortunately, this is a known compatibility issue with third-party memory. You will need to acquire the official memory kit (ASA5505-MEM-512=).

Andrew

[Matt Wilson]

As per picture, this is the RAM in my 5505 v09. Works perfectly.