Asus Z97-A won't boot up if I install RAM on channel A

[alirezanoori]

I have bought an Asus motherboard (Model Z97-A) today. I wanted to assemble the parts but the system didn't boot. Note that this is not my first time building a PC. I have done it for more than 50 times. I checked the motherboard and saw that its memory LED Is on. The mainboard has 4 RAM slots (A1,A2, B1, B2). After reading the manual and several trial and error found out that when I install a RAM module on the A1 or A2 channel the system won't boot. It doesn't matter if I install RAMs on all slots, 2 on As or a single module on A1 or A2, in any case I couldn't boot the system with a RAM module on the A channel. I have 4 RAM modules. 2 are Kingstone HyperX and 2 are Geil. All of them DDR3 but the Geil ones are 1333 and the Kingstone ones are 1600. I tried the MemOK button on the motherboard. It began to blink, the system rebooted several times but in the end it didn't work. Now I'm writing this with the full system setup but just 2 modules on the B channel. (I mean everything else is working just fine). Since I have JUST bought this, I was wondering whether I should return it and get a new one or the system is fine and I'm doing something wrong or there's a setting somewhere that needs to be changed.

 

[cin19]

1) Try install the intel chipset driver, https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=20775
2) Update the BIOS.
3) If you try those two, the RAM still don't work on the channel A, then RMA the MB, if you are 100% sure the RAMs are fine. Also make sure there are not bent pins on the cpu socket.

 

[alirezanoori]

1) Try install the intel chipset driver, https://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?DwnldID=20775
2) Update the BIOS.
3) If you try those two, the RAM still don't work on the channel A, then RMA the MB, if you are 100% sure the RAMs are fine. Also make sure there are not bent pins on the cpu socket.

Thanks, but I should mention, the same RAMs work on the B channel. I checked the CPU pins, they seemed fine (although all of them seemed bent but I think that's the design 😀). I'll try to update the BIOS too see if anything changes and will get back to you.

 

[alirezanoori]

The problem was with one of the CPU pins. I fixed (bent) the pin and installed the RAM modules. No problem whatsoever.