How come my pc only boots with 1 stick of ram and not 2?

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lopezmike848

lopezmike848

Aug 6, 2018
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How come my pc only boots with 1 stick of ram and not 2? It only boots from the ddr4_4 slot, the slots go from 4231. I tried each stick in each slot and only the 4th slot works. The guy I bought my pc from used 4 sticks and was working fine, but when I try 2 sticks of 8gb ddr4 it gets stuck in a boot loop and not posting to bios or anything like that.
My specs:
Cpu: i7-6700k not overclocked
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z170mx-Gaming 5
Gpu: EVGA 3gb 1060 Superclocked
3tb HDD
650w psu
Ram: G.Skill Ripjaws V 2133mhz 2x8gb (this in the new ram)
I cleared the cmos, removed the battery, jumped the 2 pins
 
Solution
Darkbreeze
In the voltage control section of the bios, there will be a setting for DRAM voltage. Highlight that field and press the + key to increase the value by one increment. If it won't allow you to do that, then try increasing the DRAM voltage by .005, .010 or .020, whichever increments it will allow.

Since I too have a Z170 gaming 5 board, but the ATX version, I will tentatively say that it will only allow you to change the DRAM voltage in increments of .020, but I'm not 200% certain that the settings on your model will be the same.

Before going through all that though, make sure you have the latest bios version installed before going any further. This is probably the fix that is needed if you do not have the most recent version...
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lopezmike848

lopezmike848

Aug 6, 2018
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They were both purchased together and the ram only works in slot 4, I’m only using 1 ram of 8gb
 
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SkyBill40

SkyBill40

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Oct 11, 2013
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You may have a defective stick or potentially a bad DIMM slot on your mobo. Make sure that the RAM is inserted into the correct slots per your mobo manual and you shouldn't have any issues so long as the RAM itself is good. I'd find it truly hard to believe you have three bad DIMM slots.
 
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lopezmike848

lopezmike848

Aug 6, 2018
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The ram is good, both sticks work in ddr4_4 slot, i don't know why its not working with 2 sticks, if the person i bought my pc from used 4 sticks.
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

Retired Mod
Jun 24, 2014
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Did you personally SEE it working with four modules installed? Did you see it working with 2 modules installed?

Do you know anybody with compatible memory that you can try to, to eliminate the possibility that it's the memory?

My sticking point is the fact that none of the other slots work with a single module. That usually tells me there is a problem with the motherboard.

You might also try replacing the CMOS battery or upping the memory voltage slightly. System might be defaulting to a lower voltage than those sticks were designed to run at.
 
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lopezmike848

lopezmike848

Aug 6, 2018
5
0
10

I did see the mobo working with 4 sticks, i might know someone with different compatible ram, how do i up the voltage on my mobo?
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

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Jun 24, 2014
80,411
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In the voltage control section of the bios, there will be a setting for DRAM voltage. Highlight that field and press the + key to increase the value by one increment. If it won't allow you to do that, then try increasing the DRAM voltage by .005, .010 or .020, whichever increments it will allow.

Since I too have a Z170 gaming 5 board, but the ATX version, I will tentatively say that it will only allow you to change the DRAM voltage in increments of .020, but I'm not 200% certain that the settings on your model will be the same.

Before going through all that though, make sure you have the latest bios version installed before going any further. This is probably the fix that is needed if you do not have the most recent version installed.
 
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Solution
lopezmike848

lopezmike848

Aug 6, 2018
5
0
10

Yes!!! Thank you!! My 2 sticks work now, i put my DRAM voltage to 1.240, i tried 1.220 but didnt work and then i added .020 and it worked! Thanks man i really appreciate it
 
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Darkbreeze

Darkbreeze

Retired Mod
Jun 24, 2014
80,411
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176,790
Don't forget to update your bios. After updating you MIGHT be able to drop the voltage back down to the stock value, which would be preferable than running with increased voltage. It's not a problem to run with higher voltage, at all, but the memory and the CPU will run a little cooler the lower the voltage is. Too low and you risk instability, too high and you get excessive heat.

Update the bios to the latest version and it will automatically set everything to default settings. If you are back at the same issue with the memory, then increase the voltage back to where it was working at.

Also, slightly overclocking the CPU is a often a good thing as well because it increases the performance of the memory controller as well, which, on most Intel CPUs from the last few generations is in the CPU. However, if it's working, after you update, then you can just call it a day if you wish. Kind of important to make sure you are on the latest bios.
 
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