[SOLVED] Asus Prime Z390-A not booting past DRAM orange led

[Terox]

New system built christmas day
Failing to boot up
Symptoms:
On power up

1. Motherboard CPU Red neon displays for a split second then goes off
2. Followed immediately by DRAM Orange/Yellow neon which then remains on constantly
3. There is no signal sent to the monitor (Monitor is connected to onboard vga port via hdmi slot)
4. Motherboard LED's for VGA or Boot do not come on

So it basically stops booting up on a Yellow/orange LED for the DRAM

What we have done to try and pinpoint the issue.(Getting exactly the same symptom on each attempt)

1. Clear CMOS every attempt
2. Tried every combination of both a single and dual RAM sticks inserted into every DRAM slot with NoMem switched on and off and also with no ram connected at all
3. Reseated CPU, took hi res photos of the motherboard socket and the processor which shows no bent pins etc)
4. Physically unplugged and reconnected all cables.

This has been done with the following minimal installed components
1 x ASUS Prime Z390-A LGA1151
1 x Intel Core i9-9900K Retail - (1151/8 Core/3.60GHz/16MB/Coffee Lake/95W/Graphics)
1 x Corsair CW-9060025-WW Hydro Series H100i V2 240 mm
1 x Corsair Dominator 32GB 3200MHz DDR4 Memory Kit 2x16Gb (CMD32GX4M2C3200C16 version 4.31)
1 x Corsair RM850i PSU


(This points me to believe that the Boot sequence is failing to either read the ram or failing before it attempts to read the ram because exactly the same symptom is seen with no ram installed at all or any combination of the ram we have in any slot)
It also points me to believe that the cpu was recognised and working, as the red cpu light went out.
I presume the boot up process is
Check cpu
Check ram
Send video to VGA port
Boot to bios

I know the ram is not listed on the Verified vendors list however very similar models of this ram are
eg
CORSAIR CMD32GX4M2C3200C16C ver4.31 32GB(16GB*2)
(NOTE difference between the 2 is this verified stick ends with the letter C)

I don't want to guess this is a ram issue and have to buy additional sticks so could you confirm if the ram we use works on the motherboard
I suspect either a faulty mboard or faultyor unsuitable ram.
I currently have on order a cheap motherboard speaker to see what beeps i get

Any help advice on anything i have not yet covered would be very appreciative.
I have tried my damdest to cover all bases and prevent any "Have you turned it on and off" responses.

____
EDIT
FYI we also have currently
WD6003FZBX WD Black installed to one of the satas and have plugged back in both the Samsung EVO 970 ssds to the M2 ports (They were removed during barebones testing and make no difference whether they are connected or not)


Also both power connectors required for the mboard are connected from the psu and the cpu power connector slot on the psu is the one used for the 8 pin connector not the pcie slot.

 

[Terox]

UPDATE
According to ASUS the ram i am using is compatible they have asked me to RMA the board which I will be doing

 

[Terox]

Update
New board same issue.
Bios version on shipped board is v1302
Now found out CPU is not validated by bios until v1802 although according to Asus it should work
No way to update bios without it booting to bios
Also getting conflicting statements from Asus as to whether the DRAM will work on bios version 1302...
so have now ordered a cheap 4 GB stick
Hopefully this will let me post to BIOS so i can update the damned thing.
Failing that there must be a conflict between the cpu and the board, either incompatibility until a later BIOS or something wrong with the cpu

What a balls ache this is turning out to be

 

[Terox]

UPDATE
I replaced the ram with a stick of Corsair cmv4gx4m1a2133c15 4gb
This then allowed me to boot into BIOS
I then updated the bios to v1401 (latest to date)
I then powered down, cleared cmos and refitted the non working ram (CMD32GX4M2C3200C16 version 4.31)
In every combination conceivable clearing cmos on every attempt.... back to the same issue
Spoke to asus support via chat
They stated ram is not supported because of a hardware limitation

What they dont support 2 x 16GB sticks at 3200? What a load of tosh
The board supports 64GB at 4000

 

[tighteewhitey1111111]

Check your voltages to CPU and memory and make sure what they are require are being delivered by the PSU as reported in BIOS. Your m/b has onboard graphics so remove video card to rule-out it as being the cause of the problems. Run just a single stick of RAM in case of compatibility issues and yes it matters which slot you use. If video fails make sure to have monitor plugged in before booting as some m/b's "sense" if a monitor is connnected before using onboard video.

Edit: Also I checked the specs on NewEgg and your motherboard can run:

Memory
Number of Memory Slots
4×288pin
Memory Standard
DDR4 4266(O.C.)/ 4133(O.C.)/ 4000(O.C.)/ 3866(O.C.)/ 3733(O.C.)/ 3600(O.C.)/ 3466(O.C.)/ 3400(O.C.)/ 3333(O.C.)/ 3300(O.C.)/ 3200(O.C.)/ 3000(O.C.)/ 2800(O.C.)/ 2666/ 2400/ 2133
* The maximum memory frequency supported varies by processor
** Refer to www.asus.com for the Memory QVL (Qualified Vendors List)
Maximum Memory Supported
64GB
Channel Supported
Dual Channel

https://www.newegg.com/p/N82E16813119152

Note where it says to check the "Qualified Vendors List". Even if your memory is not on it, it might be possible to loosen timings, increase voltage, etc... and make it work. Also in order to run dual channel you have to put the memory is specific slots and some memory won't run Dual Channel unless it was purchased as a kit.

EDIT #2:

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...G/Memory-QVL-For-Ryzen-1st-Gen-Processors.pdf

EDIT #3:

I checked your memory against the list and "CMD32GX4M2C3200C16 version 4.31 " is not on it. To save you time, the critical digits are CMD32GX4M2. There are several that are close, but none of those listed are an exact match to the memory that you have. For future reference, when ordering a "cutting edge" board like this (can't think of a better term than that atm) it's always a good idea to think about memory compatibility. I only became aware of it because I planned on overclocking. Most people assume that "memory is memory" and for the most part it is, but not always. You might be able to make what you have work. I once tweaked a CPU into functionality by adding a mere .1 volt to the vcore and ka-BANG it started working. Also do not trust your Power Supply. I would trust the reported voltages in BIOS before I would trust the brand and what is printed on the sticker, and I've read of cases where the only real way to know for certain is to actually measure the voltage on the motherboard.

 

[tighteewhitey1111111]

Up early this morning for some reason and re-reading your thread. I didn't read the part where you had already considered the RAM might be the issue. It very likely IS the issue. A single digit is enough to make a difference. I had a $2,000 motherboard /CPU refuse to run non-registered memory, as stupid as that might sound, even though the specs specifically said that it would. Memory is very, very picky at the edge of the performance envelope. Read the "approved list" and note that very similar model numbers have completely diffrerence IC chips. It might not look significant from a "spelling" perspective, but from an electronic perspective the difference could be profound.

Again tweaking the timings and voltages might save you, but as long as you are using non-approved memory the motherboard support people will always have a way out and will not support or RMA the board (unless you lie, etc...). It's just as easy to exchange memory as it is to exchange a motherboard, and you might have to do either one or the other. If I were in your situation and were determined to use that memory with that motherboard, I would be looking for a person or a group of persons, somewhere, that were highly experienced in memory and overclocking, etc... Those guys know exactly what those chips are, timings, voltages, etc... and why certain motherboards like this one won't use certain memory. If anyone knows a workaround, it would be one of those overclocker guys.

 

[Terox]

Thanks for your feedback tighteewhitey1111111.
I had already stated i was ordering qvl listed ram having already ordered and fitted a cheap 4gb stick for testing purposes which worked
That came today and all is well.
As per your idea on tweaking voltages. That may well work.
From my understanding what they do with the qvl memory is create profiles for it which will of course mean voltage tweaks.
However that would not be practical in my case as that would require me having access to BIOS which I did not.

The difference between my ram and a supported ram was the letter C on the end which according to corsair ram template naming convention means specifically for intel chips.
One of the other issues i had which delayed me ordering a cheap test stick in the first place was Asus tech support giving conflicting information
Initially they said it should work,
then they stated it might work once i update bios, which wasn't possible at that time
and then eventually stating its a hardware issue and nothing they could do

Anyway, ordered some qvl listed fast ram and the system is now working as it should, so thanks for your post

PROBLEM SOLVED