Pc fails to start following adjustments in RAM rate.
Pc fails to start following adjustments in RAM rate.
Hi everyone, last night I attempted to adjust the RAM speed because it was stuck at a very low setting. While doing so, I increased it to a level that was safe for the RAM but not for the CPU. This caused my PC to stop booting. I tried clearing the BIOS by removing the CMOS battery and shorting the CMOS pins, doing this several times. After resetting, the computer seemed to behave differently—specifically, the CPU error LED stayed lit for about 15 seconds before shutting down. Even after trying again, it still wouldn’t boot, and I couldn’t access the BIOS to reset it to default settings. The motherboard still detected missing components, as error lights appeared when parts were removed. The only clues were two error messages on the screen indicating the RAM was installed incorrectly (I checked all slots) and that the system was set to gaming mode, which I didn’t understand. I also tried using a different monitor with various cables, but everything worked fine until yesterday. When I attempted to power on all lights and components, the PC functioned perfectly. Could there be another way to reset the BIOS without using the monitor? Or is something damaged during the process?
The PC specs are:
- Motherboard: B450 Gaming Plus Max
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 7 2700
- GPU: GeForce GTX 1660 Super
- RAM: 2 x Corsair Vengeance DDR4 8+8 GB 3200MHZ
- Power Supply: EVGA 550 B3
Thank you in advance for your assistance. I hope my question was clear enough.
I understand you're puzzled about the system's behavior, especially since it seems stable at 3200Mhz RAM. It's quite unusual. If this was mentioned in your message and you didn't read it, please forgive me ahead of time—those methods did help me somehow. In the past, I used 3333Mhz RAM with XMP enabled, but it wouldn't boot; only RGB lights appeared. After removing the leftmost channel slot and resetting CMOS, it worked. Another instance involved a newer CPU paired with the same RAM, yet I forgot to reset to default XMP, causing it to fail. So I powered off the PC, unplugged it for an hour or two, then restarted it while holding the power button to clear residual power. After reconnecting, it booted successfully. It's a bit mysterious, but it seems to respond to your setup in some way.
I'll attempt to experiment with the components instead, thank you. But perhaps I wasn't precise—I wasn't sure I upgraded the RAM; I just adjusted the frequency via AMD Ryzen Master. That should change the BIOS settings for overclocking and other accessible options through the BIOS. In this case, I changed the RAM frequency from 1450MHz to 3000, which seemed reasonable given the RAM, though I didn't realize the CPU limits were around 2700. Sorry, it wasn't clear in my first message.
Hey there,
I'm still trying to figure out what this advice is about, but it seems a bit vague. Can you confirm if you still have the old RAM? What will happen if you reinstall it? Have you checked each RAM module separately? If not, do so—there might be faulty or damaged DIMMs.
Did you update the BIOS after resetting the CMOS? Which BIOS version is currently active?
Try running memtest86+ outside of Windows (if possible) to verify your RAM. Any errors will indicate a problem. Make sure to check both DIMMs individually.
If you adjusted the memory speed manually, did you also increase the voltage to 1.35V? This is crucial and might be the reason for boot issues.
Also, if you purchased the RAM as a kit, ensure both sticks came from the same set—different kits could cause compatibility problems.
Yes, another AM4 system using Corsair Vengeance that doesn't run at full speeds. First, update your BIOS to the latest version. Remove the RAM as it's not required and might be causing issues, then use M-FLASH to reinstall it. You'll need a different computer to download the BIOS file and copy it onto a USB drive, preferably formatted FAT32. After that, attempt to boot the machine with just one stick of RAM. Once it starts working again, we can proceed to adjust the RAM settings.
Removing the GPU somehow got me into the BIOS, after a few attempts to reset the CMOS without it, it worked. I set the BIOS options to the default optimized ones, but Windows still won't boot. I tried restoring from a drive I made yesterday, but that didn’t fix the issue. It seems the problem might be with the BIOS settings, which still feel odd to me. Is it the settings or do I need to reinstall Windows? Thanks, NanoSuit3 for the insight about removing the GPU, and thank you Kira-faye for the more detailed solution I would have needed.