Question New build boot failure diagnosis... X670/AM5/DDR5

[dfd282]

Hello! I'm a long-time hobby computer builder, but rarely have had issues driving me to seek out advice, so I'm new to Tom's Hardware...

My church's production computer has been having increasingly more and more issues, so we bit the bullet last week and decided to have me build a new one. Specs are as follows:

ASUS Tuf Gaming X670E-Plus Wifi
AMD Ryzen 9 7950x
Corsair 2x16GB DDR5 5600MHz RAM
ASUS Tuf Gaming GeForce RTX 3090
Samsung 980Pro nvme.2 SSD
Corsair RMX1000 PSU
Noctua NH-15 Cooler with the double fans

Overall a fairly simple build, but one that I hope to carry a lot of power and speed for handling our graphics-hungry 5x full HD video outputs for our live production environment.

I knew the X670 and AM5 and DDR5 were all fairly new technology, but I didn't realize they were quite as new as they seem to be! Looking through the forums it seems there may be a lot more bugs than I had expected. So, here's what's happening and what I've tried. Hoping for some advice on next steps.

I assembled the system as I do every system... carefully and painstakingly, inspect every component before it goes together. Got it finished and went to boot it up to start installing my OS, and it won't boot far enough to launch the graphics components. Asus's Q-LED system is hanging with the orange DRAM light meaning it's got a memory failure of some kind.

I tried moving the DIMMs from A2/B2 to A1/B1 in case there was an issue with the slots on the mobo, with no luck. I then tried each DIMM by itself in each of the four slots, also no luck.

So then I tried doing some quick research to make sure the memory I have is compatible... I have the Corsair set with model number CMK32GX5M2B5600C36. That specific model number isn't listed in Asus' list of supported memory modules, however the exact same number ending in C40 is on the list (looks like the difference is timing 40/40/40/77 vs 36/36/36/76). Other memory modules on their supported list do include modules with the 36/36/36/76 timing, so I don't imagine that should be an issue, but maybe it is.

I launched a chat with Asus support and their first question was if I had cleared CMOS, which I hadn't, so I tried that. No luck. Then he asked if I had updated the BIOS. Now I'm not aware of any way to flash an update without first being able to boot into the BIOS settings, but maybe they've got a way to do it now, I dunno... if there is, would love someone to tell me. EDIT I learned about the BIOS Flashback that Asus has, and I did it and I am updated to the latest BIOS released on 10/13/22**** I explained (again) that I couldn't even get as far as the boot screen and his response was "oh yeah of course" and then he decided to kick it up to the next level of support which has promised to get back to me in 1-2 business days.

I'm hoping for a solution today or tomorrow as this is destined to be our new production computer at church, and we really don't want another week with the system that keeps crashing randomly during service.

I did order a new set of memory on Amazon (after confirming that no brick and mortars around me carry the DDR5 in stock) and it'll be here supposedly between 4-8am tomorrow (yay Amazon Prime!) and I made sure to get a model of memory that exactly matches the list of approved memory from Asus (I'm getting another version of the Corsair 32GB 5600MHz, this one with the LED modules on the heatsinks instead of the matte black).

Assuming that works--I either had an issue with unsupported memory or bad memory DIMMs.

If that doesn't work, what's the next step short of trying to return/RMA the motherboard and start from scratch? Could there be something else in the configuration specs causing this? I did have someone suggest possible bent pin on the CPU which I don't think is the case--I always visually inspect everything before installing, but I can unmount the cooler and remove the CPU and double check that if that is really worth checking.

Thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[Soupladel]

I posted on the other thread you commented on but essentially you should be able to update the BIOS via the BIOS Flashback functionality

[Motherboard] How to use USB BIOS FlashBack™? | Official Support | ASUS Global

 

[dfd282]

Ok so I've done the BIOS Flashback to the newest version released back on 10/13 and it's still hung on the orange DRAM qled at boot. Won't load my graphics to get to the boot screen.

Someone on the other thread mentioned DDR5 has a very long memory "training" time at reboot which isn't something I've ever heard of before... but regardless it was suggested that I let it sit for a while and see if it eventually moves on past that. What does "a while" mean? I've let it sit on this orange light for 2-3 minutes and I can't imagine it should take that long, let alone longer?

 

[faalin]

Put the ram in slots A2/B2 boot the computer and let it sit. It will go through memory learning, it will go from not getting anything on the screen to just barely getting to the bios, to booting to the bios. It basically figures out what speed and timings work the best to boot up, you may see the computer reboot multiple times before it actually boots up to the bios.


Jaytwocents had a video where it took 20-30 min to memory learn, so give it time

 

[Soupladel]

Put the ram in slots A2/B2 boot the computer and let it sit. It will go through memory learning, it will go from not getting anything on the screen to just barely getting to the bios, to booting to the bios. It basically figures out what speed and timings work the best to boot up, you may see the computer reboot multiple times before it actually boots up to the bios.


Jaytwocents had a video where it took 20-30 min to memory learn, so give it time

If there are concerns over memory training, i would suggest trying just a single stick in the furthest away slot from the CPU - more sticks of ram increase the time it takes to train.

 

[dfd282]

Jaytwocents had a video where it took 20-30 min to memory learn, so give it time

WHAT! 20-30 Minutes?? Holy Cow... is this something new with DDR5? I've never experienced that before in any system I've ever built... Ok, I'll give that a try lol

 

[faalin]

Memory learning is not new. My first intel board an Asus Rampage 3 extreme with a i7-950 (intel's Gen 1) cpu had memory learning. I've had 6 Asus intel boards over the years and 1 AMD and all of them at one point in time have done memory learning.

It's not all the time but it does happen, but it seems AMD's new 7000 series does it more frequent with first boot up. Jay was using an Asrock Taichi board and said anytime he removed all power from the board it would memory learn but would only take 5-10 min.



On a side note i would try leaving the GPU off and just use the on CPU/Board graphics until it fully boots up.

 

[Soupladel]

Memory learning is not new. My first intel board an Asus Rampage 3 extreme with a i7-950 (intel's Gen 1) cpu had memory learning. I've had 6 Asus intel boards over the years and 1 AMD and all of them at one point in time have done memory learning.

It's not all the time but it does happen, but it seems AMD's new 7000 series does it more frequent with first boot up. Jay was using an Asrock Taichi board and said anytime he removed all power from the board it would memory learn but would only take 5-10 min.



On a side note i would try leaving the GPU off and just use the on CPU/Board graphics until it fully boots up.

I have the Asus Crosshair X670E Hero and it doesn't take anything like even 5 minutes on that one, i know different board but its at least a good baseline for comparison.

 

[dfd282]

Memory learning is not new. My first intel board an Asus Rampage 3 extreme with a i7-950 (intel's Gen 1) cpu had memory learning. I've had 6 Asus intel boards over the years and 1 AMD and all of them at one point in time have done memory learning.

It's not all the time but it does happen, but it seems AMD's new 7000 series does it more frequent with first boot up. Jay was using an Asrock Taichi board and said anytime he removed all power from the board it would memory learn but would only take 5-10 min.



On a side note i would try leaving the GPU off and just use the on CPU/Board graphics until it fully boots up.

Thats crazy I've never experienced it before...

I'm about 15 minutes into just letting it sit there, so I'll let it sit another 15 mins and then try pulling the GPU card and try again.

 

[dfd282]

Ok I let it sit a solid 30 minutes and it didn't do anything... didn't seem to reboot, flash the lights, or anything. Just sits there with the DRAM qled light on and the CPU and case fans spinning away.

I've pulled the GPU and trying again.

If it's not just a matter of it taking for freaking ever to do this memory training thing, am I on the right ballpark in trying a new set of DIMMs?

 

[Soupladel]

It really shouldn't take that long.

It could be the RAM, but its unlikely that both sticks are dodgy, therefore you may want to check other areas like pulling the CPU to check the pins in the socket or indeed the pads on the CPU

 

[faalin]

Question - Is it really true that 7950x randomly shuts off whereas 7900x is fine?

https://www.xda-developers.com/amd-ryzen-7900x-7950x-review/#:~:text=AMD%20Ryzen%209%207900X%20and%207950X%20pricing%20and%20availability&text=AMD's%20high%2Dend%20Ryzen%207000,you%20can%20get%20it%20now. This reviewer says "My biggest issue, however, was with the Ryzen 9 7950X. No matter what...

forums.tomshardware.com

Looks like your already in this thread and getting some other help.

But yeah if its not posting after that i would caulk it up to ram compatibility, AMD is pretty picky with its ram

 

[dfd282]

So I'm not a fan of sitting and waiting... I went ahead and pulled the CPU and there MIGHT be a bent pin in the socket. It's really hard to tell they're so damn small, I just know there's one spot that flashes gold a little differently than the rest. Took the system to a local custom shop that swears they can straighten any bent pins and he's going to have a look and let me know if he can fix it. I probably made a bad call there... probably should have just returned the parts to Amazon as DOA and ordered replacements, but I really need this thing working for Sunday so I'm taking a gamble on a repair... fingers crossed.

 

[Soupladel]

So I'm not a fan of sitting and waiting... I went ahead and pulled the CPU and there MIGHT be a bent pin in the socket. It's really hard to tell they're so damn small, I just know there's one spot that flashes gold a little differently than the rest. Took the system to a local custom shop that swears they can straighten any bent pins and he's going to have a look and let me know if he can fix it. I probably made a bad call there... probably should have just returned the parts to Amazon as DOA and ordered replacements, but I really need this thing working for Sunday so I'm taking a gamble on a repair... fingers crossed.

Any luck yet?

 

[dfd282]

Just an update to close out--it did turn out to be a bent pin inside the AM5 socket. New motherboard is on the way.

 

[DMD61]

Good morning.
Reading this thread I saw myself again with the same problems.
Motherboard: ASUS TUF GAMING X670E-PLUS
CPU: AMD Ryzen 9 7950X
RAM: G.SKILL Flare X5 32GB Kit DDR5-6000 CL32 (F5-6000J3238F16GX2-FX5)

Only yesterday I started assembling the PC with the motherboard purchased on 11/22/2022, due to waiting for other components.
Unfortunately, I noticed an anomaly in the boot sequence, the boot gets stuck in the RAM memory diagnosis (Orange Led always on), the RAM used are 2 banks of G.SKILL Flare X5 32GB Kit DDR5-6000 CL32 (F5-6000J3238F16GX2-FX5), and these memories were inserted in the A1-B1 slots, so the boot is not completed.
Instead, trying to insert the RAMs into slots A2-B2, the diagnosis on the RAMs remains stuck for almost 25 seconds sometimes even longer, with boot completion at about 40-50 seconds.
To avoid any further doubt I tried other pair of Kingston FURY Beast 32GB RAMs (KF560C40BBK2-32) as per the Asus memory list, unfortunately I found the exact same problems, on slots A1-B1 the boot gets stuck on RAM diagnosis and on slots A2-B2 the RAM diagnosis gets stuck for 25 seconds.
As per the instructions from the service center of the I used only slots A2-B2 for dual channel, and they advised me to do a test by inserting only one RAM bank in slot A2 to check the operation.
Well by performing this test things got worse in the sense that the boot diagnosis freezes on the orange light and does not proceed further.
At this point I have activated the RMA procedure , I do not see any other tests to be performed, such a product should work right away or almost.
It is a bad experience for me.