Issues with power-up and system stability when employing four matching DDR5 RAM modules
Issues with power-up and system stability when employing four matching DDR5 RAM modules
I assembled my initial PC during Christmas using an MSI Pro Z790-P motherboard that supports Wi-Fi and DDR5 memory, opting for two 8 GB DDR5 RAM modules from Kingston. I purchased another pair of identical 8 GB sticks the previous day, reconfigured some BIOS settings, and Windows began to bluescreen with numerous error codes such as IRQL NOT LESS OR EQUAL, KMODE EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED, PAGE FAULT IN NONPANGED AREA. Eventually, I was unable to access Windows at all, receiving a message about a critical system driver missing or containing issues. I attached the BSOD dump files for reference. After removing the new RAM sticks, everything functioned properly again. I updated the BIOS to check for fixes, but when I reinstalled the RAM, the system still wouldn’t boot into Windows and the debug light showed missing/DRAM problems. Eventually, I replaced the old RAM with the new ones in their original slots, which resolved the issue, so it appears the problem wasn’t the RAM itself. What could be causing this? I’m using Windows 10 Pro version 22H2 and have attached the BSOD dump files.
Just because they share the same model number doesn't guarantee they're identical. The 5200 CL40 can contain any memory IC, so you might have a mix of Hynix and Micron sticks. The issues you're facing are likely memory-related, possibly due to incompatibility between the sticks. It could also be that your board lacks optimizations for 4 DIMM setups, which would make things worse. The best fix is to replace all four sticks with a proper 2x16GB configuration, which will improve performance and simplify handling for both board and CPU.