Question New PC won't POST, mobo shows yellow DRAM light ?

[Kill3rCat]

As the title says, a new PC (mostly new - assembled using a mix of new and old parts from my old PC, whose CPU recently died) won't POST. A red CPU light briefly flashes (I'm not sure if that is normal, I'm used to the the LED numerical POST code readout that they used to put on mobos <£400) and goes out, and then shows a yellow DRAM light on the mobo which stays.

I have attempted the following:
Tried the RAM in a different PC - it works
Tried another PC's RAM in the new build - it doesn't work
Unmounted the CPU cooler in case I had it too tight and bending the mobo or pins - read about this being an issue sometimes
Removed the CPU and inspected it and the socket for damage, bent pins or dirt; there was none
Checked the power cables, quite sure they're all seated snugly

Here's my system specs:
Mobo - ASUS TUF Z690 D4
CPU - i5 13600K
RAM - 2x Corsair 16GB CMK32GX4M2B3200C16 ver 4.32
GPU - GTX 1080Ti
PSU - Cooler Master RS-A00 AFBA-G1 V1000

I'm all out of ideas here. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

 

[MrN1ce9uy]

Sounds like your 600 series motherboard needs a BIOS update to read the 13th-gen CPU.

 

[Kill3rCat]

Sounds like your 600 series motherboard needs a BIOS update to read the 13th-gen CPU.

Ah, could that cause the DRAM to not be detected? Also, since it's not reaching BIOS, is it possible to flash the BIOS?

Edit: According to the manual, I can put the BIOS file in the root of a USB drive, rename it, stick it in the PC, boot the system, and it will use 'ASUS CrashFree BIOS' to update the BIOS from the flash drive. Except I stuck the USB in, powered on the system, and nothing changed. Yellow light, waited a couple minutes, nothing changed, no sign of it doing anything. I'm guessing it won't function unless the system is capable of POSTing, which this one ain't.

 

[samuil0000]

On Asus's website it says that ver4.32 isn't supported, only 4.31 of that model. However you can still try one RAM stick with all slots, check if the CPU works, clear the CMOS or a different stick of RAM that is supported.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

On Asus's website it says that ver4.32 isn't supported, only 4.31 of that model. However you can still try one RAM stick with all slots, check if the CPU works, clear the CMOS or a different stick of RAM that is supported.

The list of RAM part numbers on the Asus website is merely a list of RAM that has been successfully tested on that motherboard.
It doesn't mean no other part number/version number will work, but Asus obviously can't guarantee that it will.

 

[Kill3rCat]

Well, at this point, having tried everything, it seems @MrN1ce9uy was probably correct about needing a BIOS update to be compatible with 13th gen... but I don't have a compatible 12th gen processor to get it to POST so I can do the BIOS update. Chicken and egg problem, but I don't have any chickens or eggs to hand, so I've had to admit defeat, swallow my pride, and huck the thing down to a PC repair shop who actually have the components on hand needed to resolve the problem.

Thanks for the advice chaps.

 

[Phillip Corcoran]

Well, at this point, having tried everything, it seems @MrN1ce9uy was probably correct about needing a BIOS update to be compatible with 13th gen... but I don't have a compatible 12th gen processor to get it to POST so I can do the BIOS update. Chicken and egg problem, but I don't have any chickens or eggs to hand, so I've had to admit defeat, swallow my pride, and huck the thing down to a PC repair shop who actually have the components on hand needed to resolve the problem.

Thanks for the advice chaps.

That's what we advise anyway if you don't have (or can't borrow) an older CPU for BIOS update.
Good luck.

 

[Karadjgne]

It doesn't mean no other part number/version number will work, but Asus obviously can't guarantee that it will.

Asus can't guarantee anything. Can buy 2 identical kits off the same shelf, one right after the other, on the same day, from the same store and have 1 kit work great and the other not at all, regardless of if in the QVL or not. The kit asus tested is no different, it might be an identical kit to one bought, but it's going to be a different batch for every single kit other than those sold in that particular batch, which is like 100 sticks ± from that exact sheet of silicon.

Even then, silicon is spun during the manufacturing process, so chiplets closer to the center are more pure, edge chiplets are more densely populated with impurities, so even identical kits from an identical batch are no guarantee of compatibility.

Add to that the fact Asus Word is worth less than the Mud stuck to the bottom of my work boots, especially concerning required bios, updates etc.

@ Op. Take your mobo to a shop and have them update the bios. Usually a minimal charge and probably cheaper than buying a 12thgen cpu, unless you can get one cheap on ebay or other 2nd hand site.