The PC turns off after 5 seconds, yet remains powered on when RAM sticks are taken out?
The PC turns off after 5 seconds, yet remains powered on when RAM sticks are taken out?
Hi everyone,
I’m facing a problem with my custom-built PC that hasn’t been fixed yet. It performed perfectly for two and a half years (installed in August 2022) until recently. Now the system powers off after about five seconds when turned on. I’ve noticed several things: removing the RAM sticks keeps the PC running, but once they’re installed it shuts down quickly. The RAM was working fine before, so they should be compatible. All cables and connections look secure and are reattached properly.
I’ve tested each RAM slot separately and found none working. I also tried placing each stick in different slots, but the problem remains.
Details about the hardware:
- Motherboard: Gigabyte X570S AORUS PRO AX
- RAM: Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO 16GB (2 x 8 GB) DDR4 3600
- CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 5900X 3.7 GHz 12-core
- GPU: Gigabyte GeForce RTX 3080 10GB
- Power Supply: Corsair RM850x White 850W
My concerns:
- Are the RAM slots on the motherboard faulty?
- Is the PSU providing sufficient power?
- Could there be another issue I’m missing?
The unusual behavior is that after shutdown, only the RAM lighting stays active, while other RGB elements (fans, GPU, etc.) turn off.
Question:
Why does the PC stay on without the RAM, but shut down when they’re installed? Both the RAM and motherboard seem fine, and this happened suddenly. Any advice or insights would be really helpful! Thanks in advance.
Welcome to the forums, newcomer!
If the PSU isn’t providing sufficient power, you might consider obtaining a well-built PSU and checking if the problem continues from that point.
Currently, my PC powers on in about 5 seconds before shutting down, which could indicate a BIOS issue.
Motherboard: Gigabyte X570S AORUS PRO AX
Please note the PCB revision number for your motherboard;
https://www.gigabyte.com/Motherboar...co...-rev-10#kf
then follow the Q-Flash Plus instructions on the back panel alongside this guide:
View: https://youtu.be/ABNgLr7YhTc
Even with a different motherboard, the approach remains similar.
If the BIOS is damaged, these steps should help restore your system. Ensure the RAM slots A2 and B2 are correctly populated.
If the integrated memory controller on your CPU failed, that might be causing the POST failure. Also, verify the RAM on another functional motherboard to confirm it’s not the source of the problem.
I suspect a device might be involved.
Disconnect all USB devices, storage units (SATA, NVMe, optical), RGB lights, and fans—leave only the CPU fan active.
Front panel connections should remain connected only to the power-on switch.
This should isolate the motherboard, CPU, CPU fan, one RAM module, graphics card, and PSU.
Connect the PC beeper for diagnostic sounds if available.
Attempt to boot the system; if a keyboard error appears, proceed.
After that, reconnect the keyboard, restart, and try accessing BIOS.