Question 1 out of 2 RAM slots not working

[Rutabaga]

Motherboard: Biostar B450MH
RAM: G.Skill Trident Z 16GB 3000MHz RGB
CPU: Ryzen 5 2600
GPU: GTX 1660 6GB

System worked fine for 2 years, albiet without XMP, I cannot recall what the issue was, but there was a problem trying to boot with XMP profile which enables 3000MHz, so it was set by default to 2133MHz. Then after trying to perform a clean Windows 10 install, there was an issue running both RAM sticks. It would crash with BSOD frequently, especially when trying to run demanding video games.

At one point, it would report that only 7 .9GB of RAM was available, while 8.1 was "system reserved".

I tried installing Windows 11 with the same symptoms.

Then I removed one of the sticks and everything worked fine, even with XMP profile on. Trying the same stick in a 2nd slot would not even boot BIOS, let alone Windows.

Tried updating motherboard BIOS with no improvement. Tried installing all the drivers with the same results.

Tried resetting CMOS on the MB by removing the battery and the jumper pins.

I'm ready to accept the RAM slot on the MB is totaled and I need a replacement MB, but wanted to make sure if there are any other steps I can take before I plunge $150 on a new motherboard (B550).

 

[drivinfast247]

Are you using slots a2-b2?

 

[Zerk2012]

Are you using slots a2-b2?

Only 2 slots on that board.

 

[Mahisse]

Had to upgrade recently due to a ram slot became faulty on my MB. It took me a good while to troubleshoot and found out what was wrong.
There's only the hard approach to rule out the issue.
Run memtest on each memory sticks in the first slot. Let it run and see if one of them, or both of them fails.
If both passes, none of the memory sticks are faulty and the first slot is ok as well.
If one of the sticks fail it's probably just a memory stick that's faulty.
If everything seems fine in the first slot, use the memory stick that works and move them to each slot and run memtest in each case.