Problem with one stick of RAM preventing the PC from booting, unlike another system.
Problem with one stick of RAM preventing the PC from booting, unlike another system.
Maybe I'm going mad. I had a 4 sticks 32gb TridentZ Neo at 3600mhz and an 18GB CL with a new setup. On the original board I managed all four to function, but on this one only three sticks worked. This new rig features a Ryzen 9 5950X, an MPG X570 gaming Wi-Fi, an RTX 2080 Super, and an RM850x PSU. I isolated it to think it might be one of the four drives. I checked every slot and confirmed functionality, but when I swap in a faulty stick, it boots fine until I power it off. Then it fails to start again, and even after multiple attempts, it keeps refusing to boot with the other sticks. For verification, I moved one stick to another system—it worked perfectly there. I turned it off and on several times, but the issue persisted. Honestly, I’m starting to doubt my setup and might need to return it for replacement. I’m convinced this RAM is faulty and would probably file a return request. Still, the other side of the story keeps popping up in my mind—maybe I missed something in BIOS or need a different approach. This is my second build, so I’m trying to figure it out before giving up.
Welp, I guess I can't get that one stick to start again to run the test... the other sticks will do it... I think my suspicions may be confirmed. Frick lol, I guess I missed those bad reviews, considering I have problems with that one stick though and can get the other ones to work... so I am become more and more certain that there is just something wrong with the ram.
Nah. The mobo and IMC of the CPU are critical components of RAM function. If there's a problem there, you can have all sorts of issues like not being able to run all four slots (which puts the most stress on the mobo and IMC), not being able to enable XMP, failure to boot, etc. The fact that the RAM works fine on a different system proves there's nothing wrong with the RAM.
I observed that sometimes when attempting to boot, the debug indicator stays on the CPU rather than DRAM for an extended period. However, after turning it off and on again, it switches to DRAM. It seems unusual since this happens only with a particular RAM stick that was included in the same pack as four others. Perhaps I should try a CMOS reset or power cycle again.