[SOLVED] PC loops on and then off after putting in two sticks of ram.

Jan 19, 2020
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I built this PC a few months ago. For a majority of the time that I have had it, I’ve only been able to run it on one stick of RAM, as when I put in the other stick, the PC begins a loop of turning on and then off. The CPU and DRAM LED’s are a solid red the whole time that it is on. Does anyone know how to solve this issue?

My components:
Ryzen 5 3600
ASRock X570 Phantom Gaming 4
MSI Geforce RTX 2060S
G. Skill Aegis DDR4-3200 Mhz (2x8) GB
Thermaltake Smart 600W PSU
 
Solution
Those Aegis sticks show to be compatible according to the G.Skill website. They are however lower quality than the Ripjaws or Trident Z kits so it wouldn't be too surprising to find you have a pair of sticks that are simply not not compatible with each other. That would be a last resort assumption though, after all other possibilities have been eliminated.

Update to latest BIOS, then do a hard reset to refresh the BIOS hardware tables.


BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery...
Are the RAM modules installed on A2 & B2 slots?
Can you get into the BIOS while the two RAM modules are installed?
A2 and B2 doesn't mean much unless you are board specific and know that the nomenclature is correct for that board and manufacturer. Some boards/manufacturers might call it DDR4_1 and DDR4_2.

On ASUS X570 motherboards, they have actually SWITCHED the locations of the A2 and B2 DIMM slots and the population rules for these ASUS X570 boards are reverse from all other DDR4 dual channel motherboards INCLUDING other X570 boards from ASRock, MSI and Gigabyte.

Better to say simply "second and fourth slots over from CPU", so that there is no confusion, except that if there is only ONE DIMM to be installed, then you'll want to note that for these ASUS motherboards you want it in the fourth DIMM slot over from the CPU rather than the second one over, as would be the case for any other motherboard using DDR4 that is dual channel architecture.
 
Jan 19, 2020
11
0
10
A2 and B2 doesn't mean much unless you are board specific and know that the nomenclature is correct for that board and manufacturer. Some boards/manufacturers might call it DDR4_1 and DDR4_2.

On ASUS X570 motherboards, they have actually SWITCHED the locations of the A2 and B2 DIMM slots and the population rules for these ASUS X570 boards are reverse from all other DDR4 dual channel motherboards INCLUDING other X570 boards from ASRock, MSI and Gigabyte.

Better to say simply "second and fourth slots over from CPU", so that there is no confusion, except that if there is only ONE DIMM to be installed, then you'll want to note that for these ASUS motherboards you want it in the fourth DIMM slot over from the CPU rather than the second one over, as would be the case for any other motherboard using DDR4 that is dual channel architecture.

Sorry, the DIMMs I am installing it in are A2 and (unsuccessfully) B2.
 
Jan 19, 2020
11
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Did you tested both RAM sticks on slot A2 (2nd from the CPU) to make sure they both work?
Have you tried any other combination like A1 & A2 (1st & 2nd from the CPU) or A1 & B1 (1st & 3rd from the CPU)
They both work on A2, but whenever I put them into any other slots individually, the boot loop occurs. Using A1 and A2 worked successfully once, but I attempted again sometime later to no avail. The other combinations just flat out didn't work.
 
Jan 19, 2020
11
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What BIOS version do you currently have installed?

What is the EXACT model number of your memory kit?

Did both these sticks come in ONE kit, or were they purchased separately, even if they are the same part number?
The ram I came in was in one kit. The model number is "F4-3200C16D-16GIS".
**Also, I couldn't find the model in the memory qvl list. Could this be the reason?
 
A2 and B2 are the ONLY slots designated by the population rules for your board, for two DIMM operation, whether using single or dual rank modules. So there is either a problem with BIOS compatibility and support, incompatible memory or a CPU/motherboard issue such as bent pins on the CPU or a standoff under the motherboard somewhere that it doesn't belong.

QVL list for motherboard is irrelevant. They only test a few models. QVL for memory manufacturer is a different story. They test ALL their memory for a given motherboard. I'll check on this.

MORE important is what BIOS version you have currently. In MANY cases, simply updating to a newer BIOS version fixes the problem if a newer version is available. Not always, but often.
 
Jan 19, 2020
11
0
10
A2 and B2 are the ONLY slots designated by the population rules for your board, for two DIMM operation, whether using single or dual rank modules. So there is either a problem with BIOS compatibility and support, incompatible memory or a CPU/motherboard issue such as bent pins on the CPU or a standoff under the motherboard somewhere that it doesn't belong.

QVL list for motherboard is irrelevant. They only test a few models. QVL for memory manufacturer is a different story. They test ALL their memory for a given motherboard. I'll check on this.

MORE important is what BIOS version you have currently. In MANY cases, simply updating to a newer BIOS version fixes the problem if a newer version is available. Not always, but often.
I will try the BIOS update and try the other solutions. I realized that I wasn't on the latest BIOS and am hoping that that will resolve the issue.
 
Those Aegis sticks show to be compatible according to the G.Skill website. They are however lower quality than the Ripjaws or Trident Z kits so it wouldn't be too surprising to find you have a pair of sticks that are simply not not compatible with each other. That would be a last resort assumption though, after all other possibilities have been eliminated.

Update to latest BIOS, then do a hard reset to refresh the BIOS hardware tables.


BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.
 
Solution
Jan 19, 2020
11
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Sorry for the late response, but I just updated the BIOS and did everything you said to do, and it worked! However, although i can put the PC up with both A2 and B2 slots occupied, the RAM is not detected.
Also, in CPU-Z it says I h
Those Aegis sticks show to be compatible according to the G.Skill website. They are however lower quality than the Ripjaws or Trident Z kits so it wouldn't be too surprising to find you have a pair of sticks that are simply not not compatible with each other. That would be a last resort assumption though, after all other possibilities have been eliminated.

Update to latest BIOS, then do a hard reset to refresh the BIOS hardware tables.


BIOS Hard Reset procedure

Power off the unit, switch the PSU off and unplug the PSU cord from either the wall or the power supply.

Remove the motherboard CMOS battery for five minutes. In some cases it may be necessary to remove the graphics card to access the CMOS battery.

During that five minutes, press the power button on the case for 30 seconds. After the five minutes is up, reinstall the CMOS battery making sure to insert it with the correct side up just as it came out.

If you had to remove the graphics card you can now reinstall it, but remember to reconnect your power cables if there were any attached to it as well as your display cable.

Now, plug the power supply cable back in, switch the PSU back on and power up the system. It should display the POST screen and the options to enter CMOS/BIOS setup. Enter the bios setup program and reconfigure the boot settings for either the Windows boot manager or for legacy systems, the drive your OS is installed on if necessary.

Save settings and exit. If the system will POST and boot then you can move forward from there including going back into the bios and configuring any other custom settings you may need to configure such as Memory XMP profile settings, custom fan profile settings or other specific settings you may have previously had configured that were wiped out by resetting the CMOS.

In some cases it may be necessary when you go into the BIOS after a reset, to load the Optimal default or Default values and then save settings, to actually get the hardware tables to reset in the boot manager.

It is probably also worth mentioning that for anything that might require an attempt to DO a hard reset in the first place, it is a GOOD IDEA to try a different type of display as many systems will not work properly for some reason with displayport configurations. It is worth trying HDMI if you are having no display or lack of visual ability to enter the BIOS, or no signal messages.
The updated BIOS worked! However, I’m seeing in the System Information tab that only 8 GB of physical memory is installed. In CPU-Z however, it says that 16 GB is present. Is this correct or do I need to fix anything?
 
Jan 19, 2020
11
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I just saw an error message when I booted up. It said something along the lines of a PMU training error at Socket 0 Channel 1 Dimm 1. Does this mean I should replace my RAM?