Question New Ram Install - PC intermittently boots

sdph536

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I have a desktop PC that has the following configuration:

Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
CPU
AMD Ryzen 5
RAM
64.0GB
Motherboard
Micro-Star International Co. Ltd B450 TOMAHAWK MAX (MS-7C02) (AM4) 24 °C
Graphics
DELL C2422HE (1920x1080@60Hz)
2047MB NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1660 (MSI) 25 °C
Storage
931GB Crucial CT1000BX500SSD1 (SATA (SSD)) 23 °C
465GB Crucial CT500P1SSD8 (Unknown (SSD))
Optical Drives
No optical disk drives detected
Audio
NVIDIA High Definition Audio
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64-bit
Computer type: Desktop


The ram is Vengeancce LPX DDR4 3200 - Initially I had only two stick - 16gb each -totaling 32gb.

I installed two 32gb sticks of Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 for a total of 64gb but then added left two of my 16gb sticks for a total of 80gb.


The motherboard is a MSI Tomahawk 450b Max -

The ram was installed in the respective slots per the manual.

Initially have reboot the system took me to the bios due to hardware changes and I saved and exited with normal configuration.

The system worked fine for a few days but now when try to start the machine it gets into a cycle of trying to boot but it never does. At times I will see a message about repairing the system.

Most times if I F2 into the Bios and exit out without any changes the system will start.

However, today it wouldn't - I checked all of the ram to make sure it was seated correctly and it was but still wouldn't boot to windows.

I finally removed the two sticks of 16gb - leaving only the new 64gb installed and it booted up but again only after going into the bios.

I really have no clue what is wrong but before I did the ram installation the pc was working as expected and I had not boot issues.

Any advise or troubleshooting guidance would be helpful if someone can lend their time... thanks in advance.
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
I installed two 32gb sticks of Vengeance LPX DDR4 3200 for a total of 64gb but then added left two of my 16gb sticks for a total of 80gb.
Yeah, don't do that. Mixing an matching sticks of ram doesn't end well, if you do a search across our forums with people who've done so. Please pass on a link to both ram kits.

I finally removed the two sticks of 16gb - leaving only the new 64gb installed and it booted up but again
The sticks of ram are populating slots A2 and B2, correct?

For the sake of relevance, you might want to state the BIOS version for your motherboard at this moment of time.
 

sdph536

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Apologies about the BIOS version.

It has E7C02AMS.3F0 with a 07/23/2022 date.

The ram that I had installed is linked here: I have four sticks of each.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0143UM4TC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My plan which was poorly executed due to the issues faced was to buy these sticks below and keep two sticks from above.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y4ZZ7LQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As mentioned I pulled the original two sticks out and left the two 32gb sticks in and now the PC boots everytime.
 

sdph536

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Apologies about the BIOS version.

It has E7C02AMS.3F0 with a 07/23/2022 date.

The ram that I had installed is linked here: I have four sticks of each.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0143UM4TC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

My plan which was poorly executed due to the issues faced was to buy these sticks below and keep two sticks from above.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y4ZZ7LQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

As mentioned I pulled the original two sticks out and left the two 32gb sticks in and now the PC boots everytime.

And yes, the current sticks are populated in the slots mentioned.
 

sdph536

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@Lutfij To wrap this up... all issues are because of my ignorance.

  1. I cannot mix 32gb sticks with 16gb sticks correct?
  2. If I want more ram.. I can only add 32gb sticks (same make/DDR/speed) thus matching what I have.
    1. Ideally, adding two more 32gb sticks which would fill up all four slots
Am I correct?
 

quasipredator

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  1. Sometimes, really depends on the motherboard and things can still get wonky.
  2. Yes that is what would be recommended.

You might want to try underclocking these sticks, it might solve your stability issue as well.
 

Lutfij

Titan
Moderator
It has E7C02AMS.3F0 with a 07/23/2022 date.
Yeah, that's the latest BIOS version.

If I want more ram
two kits of these;
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07Y4ZZ7LQ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
but please make sure that you buy them together or ASAP since Corsair is one brand that has PCB revision numbers on their ram kits, to denote that they've used different IC's...which is the same as mixing and matching ram kits/sticks. Buying the next kit after a long while will place you into trouble, mind you as inventory(an IC's used) can and will change over time.