Question PC does not boot after RAM upgrade ?

[juschi]

Hi everyone,

I wanted to upgrade from 2 x 4GB of RAM to 2 x 16GB (see system specs below). The system is running perfectly fine with the 2 x 4GB RAM sticks, but as soon as I switch to the new 2 x 16GB sticks, the PC won't boot and the 'DRAM'-LED on the motherboard lights up.

I have tried using only one stick and inserting it in different slots. Both of the ends click when I push the RAM into the slot, so the problem should not lie in the RAM being seated incorrectly. I have also tried leaving it in for a few minutes and waiting for the system to miraculously boot up (which did not work). When I removed them afterwards, I could feel that they had significantly heated themselves up during those couple of minutes.
The BIOS is on the newest version and I have cleared the CMOS.

Is there an obvious incompatibility between my newly bought RAM and the system?

Thanks a lot for your help!

System specs:
Motherboard: MSI Z170-A Pro (MS-7971)
CPU: Intel Core i5-6600K @ 3.50GHz
RAM: 2 x Kingston DDR4-2400 4GB
GPU: NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1070

New RAM: 2 x Mushkin Silverline DDR4-2666 16GB

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

What BIOS version are you on for your motherboard? Which slots are the rams populating on the board? Mushkin ram's have a 6 digit number to denote their SKU. Can yo pass that on.

 

[juschi]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

What BIOS version are you on for your motherboard? Which slots are the rams populating on the board? Mushkin ram's have a 6 digit number to denote their SKU. Can yo pass that on.

Hi Lutfij,

Thanks for the quick reply!

- the BIOS version is "E7971IMS.1K0" which was listed as the latest one the MSI website (here: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/Z170-A-PRO/support).
- the RAMs are populating DIMM2 and DIMM4, as demanded by the user manual.
- I am not so sure where to find the SKU, but are you talking about "MSL4U266KF16GX2"?

 

[Geef]

One quick thing to check any time you upgrade your RAM. Make sure in the bios that your old memory didn't have specific settings programmed in. If your old memory was set to use XYZ timings and then your new sticks are trying to do those numbers it probably won't end well.

The exact thing happened to me during last upgrade. I was freaking out until I realized how dumb I had been.

 

[juschi]

One quick thing to check any time you upgrade your RAM. Make sure in the bios that your old memory didn't have specific settings programmed in. If your old memory was set to use XYZ timings and then your new sticks are trying to do those numbers it probably won't end well.

The exact thing happened to me during last upgrade. I was freaking out until I realized how dumb I had been.

Thanks for the hint. Except for some boot-priorities regarding OS and disks, everything in the BIOS is set to its default value. The timings of the old and new RAM do differ, but shouldn't this be taken care of automatically (since everything is set to default)?

Also, after reading a bit more into this topic, what is happening to me when I start the PC with the new RAM installed seems to be called "the system does not POST" (since I have no chance of entering the BIOS). I don't know if that changes anything about what I have written before, but I thought I might share that.

 

[geofelt]

I see no obvious error.

Ram faster than the default 2400 speed will boot into bios at the default motherboard speed, giving you the option to select a higher speed xmp profile.
Your motherboard supports up to 3200 speed.

Perhaps your ram is faulty and should be returned for a rma.
I don't know if the warm feeling is an indicator of bad ram.
On one stick yes, but not on both.

 

[juschi]

I see no obvious error.

Ram faster than the default 2400 speed will boot into bios at the default motherboard speed, giving you the option to select a higher speed xmp profile.
Your motherboard supports up to 3200 speed.

Perhaps your ram is faulty and should be returned for a rma.
I don't know if the warm feeling is an indicator of bad ram.
On one stick yes, but not on both.

Ok, then I will speak to the support. Thanks for your help.

 

[juschi]

So, I sent the RAM back to the shop I bought it from and they gave me a refund.

As a last question, because I still would really like to upgrade to 32GB of RAM: Do you guys think I should order the same brand and model again and see if it works this time, or do you have a better suggestion?