New PC won't boot, bad RAM?

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Aster321

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Jan 16, 2015
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Good morning,

so I just finished building my new PC, tried turning it on and of course...it won't boot. All fans are spinning though and power LEDs are on as well.

These are the parts, I have installed so far:

Main board: MSI B150M PRO-VDH
CPU: Intel core i5 6500 with stock cooler
RAM: 8GB Corsair Vengeance DDR4 2400MHz
PSU: 500W

My main board has three LEDs, that are supposed to indicate if CPU, DRAM or GPU are not detected or bad.
The LED for DRAM is on constantly with the CPU LED flickering every few seconds.
I have read the instruction manual and troubleshooting checklist on the forum here and double checked all steps.

I then tried turning it on without the RAM stick installed and it gave me three long beeps, as it was supposed to.
Then, when reinstalling the RAM, no beeps at all. Does that mean the RAM is dead?
I have only one stick of DDR4 RAM and also no other computer that uses DDR4, so I can't do any testing.

 
Solution
Shaun o
Hi Aster,

As a small note by just reading the manual it quoted the maximum speed of the DDR4 Ram to be 2133Mhz

4x DDR4 memory slots, support up to 64GB
ƒ Supports DDR4 2133 MHz
y Dual channel memory architecture
y Supports ECC, un-buffered memory
ƒ ECC UDIMM memory (non-ECC mode)
y Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
* Please refer www.msi.com for more information on compatible memory


You know it could be because you have bought a DDR 4 Stick with a 2400Mhz speed.
So if you swap the memory over ask for a 2133Mhz DDR 4 Memory kit also.

The board might not be able to configure it`s self due to the memory running at a higher speed than it quotes it can handle.
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maxwellmelon

Splendid
Oct 2, 2013
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did you try all the ram sockets?

are your sure cpu is installed correctly?--ive seen lots of issues with ram issues on intel cpu due to, bent pins, cpu not quite correctly in socket, heat sink to tight(warping the cpu socket a little bit), debris between the cpu and the pins. almost would just say pull the cpu and check it all then put it back in.
 
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Aster321

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Jan 16, 2015
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I did try socket 2 first, as stated in the main moards manual, then tried the other 3, with the same results.
Now I just took the cpu out of the socket again to check. All pins are angled at the bottom and straight at the top. (scary at first, but they are supposed to be that way to not break) Didn't find any bent pins. Reinstalled CPU and still no change.
 
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Shaun o

Shaun o

Illustrious
Oct 7, 2007
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The red solid light on your motherboard lit for the memory means it is having problems detecting the ram or memory modules fitted to the motherboard.

If you are using two 4Gb memory sticks with a motherboard that has support for up to four memory sticks.
It means you have placed the two ram sticks in the incorrect memory slot sequence for the first pair of memory slots you insert to the motherboard.

The board reads out of the four memory slots each in a set order.
Look at your motherboard manual where it tells you what position and number of dimm memory banks the kit of two memory sticks should first be placed in to avoid booting problems of the system Aster.

When you fit the ram stick open the two white tabs up .
Line the stick and the notch of the memory up.
Push down firmly on each end of the memory stick with your two thumbs, till you hear a click.

 
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Aster321

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Jan 16, 2015
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I have only one 8GB stick.
As I said, I read the manual and put it in the right slot as described.
For my motherboard that is DIMM2 and that's where I put it.
After trying that (and refitting it a couple of times) I tried the other slots as well. none worked.
 
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Shaun o

Shaun o

Illustrious
Oct 7, 2007
6,113
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Ok well since you bought a single 8Gb memory stick and not a matched pair of two 4Gb sticks as you should of done Aster.

You now have to check what the maximum capacity of ram out of the four memory slots provided the board quotes it can read.

Not every board or memory slot on a motherboard can read a memory stick of a set size.
For example if the board quoted a maximum of 16 Gb of memory it could read.

It would mean the maximum size of each memory stick per memory slot could be 4Gb in memory size.

4x 4= 16.

Some boards expect you to fit a dual memory kit in order to configure the board for Dual channel memory mode also by default.
And don not like single memory.

I hope you have a good friend Aster and I say it in a nice way.
If he or she has a dual memory kit fitted in a system ask if you can test them in your motherboard in a dual memory setup.

An i will bet the board will post after that.
I`m going to skim over the motherboard manual for you to see if anything else could be the cause to help you if that is ok.

I will post back if I find out any possible other cause ok Aster.

 
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Aster321

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Jan 16, 2015
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Motherboard, CPU and RAM came as a set at my local computer store, so I kinda expected all that stuff fitting together...
Reading a bit more about it now, I understood two separate sticks would have made more sense.
Just checked the mainboard manual again.
Says it supports up to 64GB. In 4 slots that would be 16GB each, so I shouldn't have a problem, right?
 
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Shaun o

Shaun o

Illustrious
Oct 7, 2007
6,113
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Hi Aster,

As a small note by just reading the manual it quoted the maximum speed of the DDR4 Ram to be 2133Mhz

4x DDR4 memory slots, support up to 64GB
ƒ Supports DDR4 2133 MHz
y Dual channel memory architecture
y Supports ECC, un-buffered memory
ƒ ECC UDIMM memory (non-ECC mode)
y Supports Intel® Extreme Memory Profile (XMP)
* Please refer www.msi.com for more information on compatible memory


You know it could be because you have bought a DDR 4 Stick with a 2400Mhz speed.
So if you swap the memory over ask for a 2133Mhz DDR 4 Memory kit also.

The board might not be able to configure it`s self due to the memory running at a higher speed than it quotes it can handle.
 
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Solution
A

Aster321

Reputable
Jan 16, 2015
18
0
4,510
I noticed that too.
Did a bit of research to find out if that would be a problem, but everyone said sticks with a higher max frequency would just run at 2133MHz, so I didn't care much about it.
But maybe the combination of using only one stick and that one stick being a higher speed causes the problems, I guess?
I'll try to find someone who's RAM I could try instead.
Otherwise I'll probably go back to where I bought it and ask them to check it.
I'm just wondering why they would sell such a set where parts aren't even set up to work with each other...
 
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A

Aster321

Reputable
Jan 16, 2015
18
0
4,510
Took the RAM to the store yesterday and asked them to test it if it was broken.
He tested it in my mainboard and a different one and...who would have guessed, it was working but not compatible with my mainboard.
Gave me another RAM, this time 2133MHz, instead.
When I took it home and put it in my PC everything started to work fine.

Lessons learned:
-2400MHz RAM works with 2133MHz mainboard only in theory.

-Double check what people are selling you, even if they`re supposed to be experts


Thanks for the help, Shaun!
 
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