Question Intermittent boot issue with a DRAM LED

[Beavertales]

Specs:
7800x3D
32 GB DDR5 6000 MHz G.Skill RAM
Aorus Elite AX b650
Zotac RTX 4080
RM850x

Problem: Every once in a while, PC won't boot and is stuck on the DRAM led until manually power down the PC and turn it back on. Works great once it's back on. Performance is great, temps are great, etc. I've only ever once had to clear CMOS for it to POST. The only commonality I can find in replicating the behavior is that it only happens sometimes once the PC is off for a couple of hours. Even then, it only happens *sometimes*. I've gone as long as 2 weeks without the issue presenting itself, or as short as 2 days.

Steps taken:
-Various levels of RAM OC, problem persists even with no OC.
-Ran memtest86, passed all 4 passes
-Reseated RAM
-Tried new RAM
-Tried various bios revisions (tried FC, FCd, FB, FA1a on Gaming X AX mobo, tried FC on Aorus Elite AX)
-Tried new mobo (which obviously includes reseating everything). I originally ran the system on the Gigabyte Gaming X AX mobo and then swapped out to my Aorus Elite AX.
-Reached out to Gigabyte customer service and they basically said to check the cpu pins, which were all fine both on the original mobo and the new mobo


My only guess at this point is that it's a psu issue, but I really don't know. If anyone has any insight or any ideas, I'd really appreciate it. This has been such a massive headache

 

[Ralston18]

Install a new CMOS battery as a matter of elimination.

 

[Beavertales]

Install a new CMOS battery as a matter of elimination.

I'm asking this from a place of ignorance, but wouldn't the chances of two mobos both having bad CMOS batteries be incredibly low?

 

[Ralston18]

Incredibly low....

Apologies - did not fully register two motherboards.

As a common factor how old is that Corsair RM850x PSU? History of heavy use for gaming, video editing, or even bit-mining?

Remember that PSUs provide three different voltages (3, 5, and 12) to various system components. Any voltage(s) out of tolerance could cause problems.

One potential clue being that the PC/PSU was or had cooled down. Something contracted and connectivity was not as it should have been. Just a bit warmer for any reason and all is well (or seems so).

Is it possible to swap in another known working PSU? Remember to use only the modular cables that come with any given PSU.

PSU's can be tested if you have a multilmeter and know how to use it. Or know someone who does.

FYI:

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-manually-test-a-power-supply-with-a-multimeter-2626158

Any voltages out of tolerance make the PSU suspect.

 

[Beavertales]

Incredibly low....

Apologies - did not fully register two motherboards.

As a common factor how old is that Corsair RM850x PSU? History of heavy use for gaming, video editing, or even bit-mining?

Remember that PSUs provide three different voltages (3, 5, and 12) to various system components. Any voltage(s) out of tolerance could cause problems.

One potential clue being that the PC/PSU was or had cooled down. Something contracted and connectivity was not as it should have been. Just a bit warmer for any reason and all is well (or seems so).

Is it possible to swap in another known working PSU? Remember to use only the modular cables that come with any given PSU.

PSU's can be tested if you have a multilmeter and know how to use it. Or know someone who does.

FYI:

https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-manually-test-a-power-supply-with-a-multimeter-2626158

Any voltages out of tolerance make the PSU suspect.

The RM850x is brand new out of the box. My PC is in a space that has some level of variability in the temperature, but never more than a couple degrees fahrenheit. I have a Rm750e I've used before (only for a couple months for light loads), so I'll hook that up and see if the problem persists. Unfortunately it'll take anywhere from 5 hours to 2 weeks to find out if the issue is resolved or not. In the case that it isn't the PSU and the issue persists, what might be next on the troubleshooting chopping block?

Also, another question just for my own knowledge, in the case that it is temperature related, does that fault lie with the connectivity of the PSU? I'm assuming a fully functional PSU should be able to sit in a decent degree of variable temperature and boot properly.

 

[pete_101]

Which G.skill RAM do you have?
My Gaming X AX didn't like Ripjaws S5 XMP, it would have boot issues as well as restart issues. Some BIOS versions were worse than others, but they all had their issues. I ended up get G.skill Flare X5 EXPO and that fixed the issues.

 

[Beavertales]

Which G.skill RAM do you have?
My Gaming X AX didn't like Ripjaws S5 XMP, it would have boot issues as well as restart issues. Some BIOS versions were worse than others, but they all had their issues. I ended up get G.skill Flare X5 EXPO and that fixed the issues.

First set of RAM was this teamgroup set: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BPHRGLSH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Second set is now this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BF6ZQ8MY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The first set I tried was NOT on the QVL for my mobo. The second set is on the QVL for both my original gaming X AX as well as my current Aorus Elite AX.

 

[pete_101]

First set of RAM was this teamgroup set: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BPHRGLSH/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&th=1

Second set is now this: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0BF6ZQ8MY/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The first set I tried was NOT on the QVL for my mobo. The second set is on the QVL for both my original gaming X AX as well as my current Aorus Elite AX.

That 2nd set is AMD EXPO, so it should be fine.

 

[Ralston18]

Yes.

A fully functional PSU should be able to withstand quite a range of temperatures; both internally (case) and environmentally (e.g., room temperature). Check the specs for temperature ranges.

The difficulty of intermittent problems is that there may be multiple factors involved.

If a second PSU such as the above mentioned RM750e does not resolve the problems then there are only two directions to go:

1) Some problem within the wall outlet.

2) Some problem with the motherboard.

Overall the wall outlet is likely to be the much more tolerant of the two.

Which leaves the motherboard as a suspect.

Take a close look at the power connectors (plugs, wires, and sockets) using a bright flashlight. Even a magnifying glass.

 

[Beavertales]

That 2nd set is AMD EXPO, so it should be fine.

Yeah, I double and triple checked that my second set should work fine. And I know that the chances of getting two components with the same exact strange issue would be incredibly small, so I would imagine both a mobo issue and a ram issue would be ruled out.

 

[Beavertales]

Yes.

A fully functional PSU should be able to withstand quite a range of temperatures; both internally (case) and environmentally (e.g., room temperature). Check the specs for temperature ranges.

The difficulty of intermittent problems is that there may be multiple factors involved.

If a second PSU such as the above mentioned RM750e does not resolve the problems then there are only two directions to go:

1) Some problem within the wall outlet.

2) Some problem with the motherboard.

Overall the wall outlet is likely to be the much more tolerant of the two.

Which leaves the motherboard as a suspect.

Take a close look at the power connectors (plugs, wires, and sockets) using a bright flashlight. Even a magnifying glass.

So just to make sure I’m understanding, if the PSU doesn’t solve the problem, the most likely answer seems to be that I got insanely unlucky and got two motherboards in a row that have the same identical issue?

 

[Ralston18]

"Insanely unlucky" - that has happened....

Key is to be able to narrow down the potential culprits by methodically swapping components within the host system or by trying suspect components in another known working (no problems) system.

Determine if the noted problem follows a component (such as RAM) or stays with the original host system.

Regarding RAM - these motherboards?

https://download.gigabyte.com/FileL...231002.pdf?v=3328e8ded029461a2a329a0787ac304c

https://download.gigabyte.com/FileL...e_1401.pdf?v=a2ccba4705052610f37b6a7cf6ddc411

From Page 13 (Gaming motherboard).

"• When installing memory modules, be sure to install in the DDR5_A2 socket first."

Easily overlooked or forgotten

Overall, as @pete_101 seems to be focusing on is the RAM.

Take another look at the supported RAM modules along with physical installation and subsequent configuration settings.

The lesser evil of two possibilities - the other possibility being two bad motherboards.

 

[Beavertales]

"Insanely unlucky" - that has happened....

Key is to be able to narrow down the potential culprits by methodically swapping components within the host system or by trying suspect components in another known working (no problems) system.

Determine if the noted problem follows a component (such as RAM) or stays with the original host system.

Regarding RAM - these motherboards?

https://download.gigabyte.com/FileL...231002.pdf?v=3328e8ded029461a2a329a0787ac304c

https://download.gigabyte.com/FileL...e_1401.pdf?v=a2ccba4705052610f37b6a7cf6ddc411

From Page 13 (Gaming motherboard).

"• When installing memory modules, be sure to install in the DDR5_A2 socket first."

Easily overlooked or forgotten

Overall, as @pete_101 seems to be focusing on is the RAM.

Take another look at the supported RAM modules along with physical installation and subsequent configuration settings.

The lesser evil of two possibilities - the other possibility being two bad motherboards.

Even though I’m fairly certain I installed the ram correctly, will the slot you put ram into first really make a difference as long as both appropriate slots are filled at the time of boot?

 

[Ralston18]

Yes.

Installation order matters when stated and required. Depends on the motherboard.

One of the reasons for asking about the motherboard make and model.

Another reason is the use/availability of SATA ports. Depending on the components some SATA ports are not available for use.

 

[Beavertales]

Yes.

Installation order matters when stated and required. Depends on the motherboard.

One of the reasons for asking about the motherboard make and model.

Another reason is the use/availability of SATA ports. Depending on the components some SATA ports are not available for use.

Good news! Failed to boot again. At least it didn’t take several days for it to happen again. I noticed though that the boot time was about twice as long when it successfully booted. “BIOS time” in the task manager is usually around 19-20 seconds, but this boot was about 39. Does that help narrow anything down?

 

[Ralston18]

If available and accessible try configuring verbose mode to display what is occurring during the boot process starting from power on.

The wording may not necessarily include "verbose". What you are looking for and need to configure is some option that shows the boot process step by step.

Check in the BIOS menus applicable to the motherboard in use.

 

[Beavertales]

If available and accessible try configuring verbose mode to display what is occurring during the boot process starting from power on.

The wording may not necessarily include "verbose". What you are looking for and need to configure is some option that shows the boot process step by step.

Check in the BIOS menus applicable to the motherboard in use.

I'm looking at the manual for my board here: https://download.gigabyte.com/FileList/Manual/mb_manual_b550-aorus-elite-ax-v2_e.pdf

I'm not seeing anything that meets your description, unless I'm missing something. Any ideas?

 

[Ralston18]

Not seeing anything either.

If you can access BIOS per Section 2-1, Page 21, and explore the settings your might find something.

One possiblilty is to turn off Fast Boot to determine if boot progress is then displayed.

 

[Beavertales]

Not seeing anything either.

If you can access BIOS per Section 2-1, Page 21, and explore the settings your might find something.

One possiblilty is to turn off Fast Boot to determine if boot progress is then displayed.

Fast boot has been disabled on both boards, I've never turned it on and it's off by default. I also don't see anything in the settings that sounds like what you're describing.

Is there a possibility at this point that there's an issue with my CPU? It's the only component I haven't swapped out.

 

[Ralston18]

If the CPU was installed in both motherboards - and the problem thus "followed" the CPU then yes - the CPU is suspect.

However with intermittent problems I would just leave the current installation alone for a bit longer.

Clear the Event Viewer logs to make it easier to note any logged problem.

And per the motherboard manuals:

"Status LEDs
The status LEDs show whether the CPU, memory, graphics card, and operating system are working properly
after system power-on. If the CPU/DRAM/VGA LED is on, that means the corresponding device is not working
normally; if the BOOT LED is on, that means you haven't entered the operating system yet"

Pay attention to the BOOT LED: is it or is it not on when boot failure problems occur?

 

[Beavertales]

If the CPU was installed in both motherboards - and the problem thus "followed" the CPU then yes - the CPU is suspect.

However with intermittent problems I would just leave the current installation alone for a bit longer.

Clear the Event Viewer logs to make it easier to note any logged problem.

And per the motherboard manuals:

"Status LEDs
The status LEDs show whether the CPU, memory, graphics card, and operating system are working properly
after system power-on. If the CPU/DRAM/VGA LED is on, that means the corresponding device is not working
normally; if the BOOT LED is on, that means you haven't entered the operating system yet"

Pay attention to the BOOT LED: is it or is it not on when boot failure problems occur?

Nope, not on when the problem occurs. I boot it, POST starts, CPU light turns on for a split second (like normal), and it sits on the DRAM led until I restart it. In case it’s pertinent information, I’ve noticed that my rear intake and bottom fan eventually stop spinning (after about 1-2 minutes of gradually slowing down) but my top two front fans keep spinning like normal.

 

[Ralston18]

And that has been the sequence of events with two motherboards and two PSUs - correct?

However, overall, the system will eventually (intermittently) boot.

Not at all sure about the fan behavior - how are the fans physically connected?

Take look at the cpu/ fan headers and fan connections per the motherboard's documentation.

Which fans are connected to which headers?

Are there any splitters or adapters being used?

Focus being on discovering some common factor with respect to the boot failures.

Just raising the possibilty - someone may note some possible issue or concern as a result.

 

[Beavertales]

And that has been the sequence of events with two motherboards and two PSUs - correct?

However, overall, the system will eventually (intermittently) boot.

Not at all sure about the fan behavior - how are the fans physically connected?

Take look at the cpu/ fan headers and fan connections per the motherboard's documentation.

Which fans are connected to which headers?

Are there any splitters or adapters being used?

Focus being on discovering some common factor with respect to the boot failures.

Just raising the possibilty - someone may note some possible issue or concern as a result.

Yes, same issue with two mobos, two power supplies and two sets of ram. All the fans are plugged into Sys_fan headers, cpu cooler is plugged into cpu_fan header, the fans on the radiator are plugged into some pwm-type thing that is connected to the pump. No splitters being used, all plugged in directly to the board.

I also want to add here that I looked in windows last night at saw that fast startup was enabled. Is that the same as fast boot in the bios? I’ve also seen some people complain about fast startup; any chance that could be a culprit?

 

[Ralston18]

Not the same as far as I know.

From my system via Powershell:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> powercfg /list

Existing Power Schemes (* Active)
-----------------------------------
Power Scheme GUID: 381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e (Balanced)
Power Scheme GUID: 49ef8fc0-bb7f-488e-b6a0-f1fc77ec649b (Dell)
Power Scheme GUID: 8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c (High performance) *
Power Scheme GUID: a1841308-3541-4fab-bc81-f71556f20b4a (Power saver)
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

High Performance matching my Control Panel configuration.

FYI:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/t...loyment/updates-not-install-with-fast-startup

Updates can be problematic and can be "intermittent".

Check in Update History for any failed or problem updates.

Then change the power plan for awhile to eliminate Fast Startup as a possible culprit.

 

[Beavertales]

Not the same as far as I know.

From my system via Powershell:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> powercfg /list

Existing Power Schemes (* Active)
-----------------------------------
Power Scheme GUID: 381b4222-f694-41f0-9685-ff5bb260df2e (Balanced)
Power Scheme GUID: 49ef8fc0-bb7f-488e-b6a0-f1fc77ec649b (Dell)
Power Scheme GUID: 8c5e7fda-e8bf-4a96-9a85-a6e23a8c635c (High performance) *
Power Scheme GUID: a1841308-3541-4fab-bc81-f71556f20b4a (Power saver)
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32>

High Performance matching my Control Panel configuration.

FYI:

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/t...loyment/updates-not-install-with-fast-startup

Updates can be problematic and can be "intermittent".

Check in Update History for any failed or problem updates.

Then change the power plan for awhile to eliminate Fast Startup as a possible culprit.

Will do. By the way, my understanding is that if I’m not even getting into bios when the problem occurs, there shouldn’t be any event logs in windows since I certainly am not getting into the OS. Is that accurate?