Question PC not booting up sometimes with new RAM or when using Dual Channel.

[aranorde]

Current Specs :
Motherboard : Gigabyte A320M HD2 CF ( only 2 RAM SLOTS / Running BIOS F23)
Processor : Ryzen 3 1200 (no OC)
RAM : TeamGroup T-Force VULCAN TUF 16GB 3200 MHz DDR4 (2X8GB)
PSU : Corsair VS 450
GPU : Palit GTX 1050 StormX 2GB
SSD : Corsair Force LE 200 120GB (OS) / WD Blue 1TB
OS: Windows 10 Edu 64bit

This is extremely confusing as hell to me. So I'll just type what happened in order. I'm a newb so please stay with me on this.

My PC was working fine with 2x8GB DDR4 G-Skill Aegis Sticks (bought back in April, 2019 / not Dual Channel Kit - bought separately).

It was working at 2133MHz speed (actual speed of the RAM sticks are 2400Mhz), no XPM or any OC used, everything was on Auto in RAM frequency on BIOS.

Suddenly it stopped booting out of nowhere a week ago. No fans spinning, no lights!

So I opened my PC to check if fans are starting to spin or any other weird thing is happening, boom my PC booted just fine. I did nothing than opening my PC.

Initially I thought it was the PSU acting up (FSP Hexa+ 450W), it has been nearly 2 years since I bought it so I changed to a new one, Corsair VS 450W.

PC didn't boot again.

At this point I'm guessing it is something going wrong with my MB so I took it to the place I bought and they tried booting it up, it booted up like nothing was wrong, but showed only 8GB usable of 16GB RAM.

They cleaned the RAM sticks, reinstalled and it showed 16GB usable. I took the PC home, and it worked fine for the day.

PC didn't boot again the next day.

Tired switching RAM sticks on the slots, no use. Tried booting with 1 stick on slot-2 it booted just fine. At this point I'm though that these RAM sticks are not suitable to work together.

Using my marketing skills and I sold my old RAM sticks (separately) quickly, got new TeamGroup T-Force VULCAN TUF 16GB 3200 MHz DDR4 (2X8GB).

Tried booting my PC, didn't boot.
BUT WAIT, I pressed power button again after like 7 seconds and it booted just fine. what the actual flying Armenian umbrella.

So I checked the speed using CPUZ, it was running at 2400MHz (actual speed of the RAM sticks are 3200Mhz).

I tried switching it off and hit the power button to switch it on, it didn't boot up like earlier but worked just fine when I clicked the power button again, just like earlier.

So I tried restarting, switching off and on couple of times to see if there are any issues but PC was booting up without no issues at all.

I was so happy that I fixed the issues. (Or happy that the issue fixed itself)

Tried turning on my PC today, PC didn't boot. (I punched wall with my face)

Tried switching RAM slots, no boot. Tried booting with 1 stick on slot-1, no boot! But tried 1 stick on slot-2, it did boot up just fine. (Remember 2 Slot MB)

So I assumed that slot-1 has some issues but tried adding the second RAM stick again to slot-1 but PC booted just fine, showed 16 usable and speed at 2400MHz like earlier. what.

Now i went into the BIOS and checked the speed and everything was set to auto, tried an XMP mode named "Profile1" on my motherboard. It boosted my speed to 3200Mhz and I'm currently running at that speed.

I bet on my hollow-soul that my PC won't boot tomorrow.

What the hell is going on?

Please help me, I spent my money that I saved to by a RX 570 on new PSU and RAMs. I was told by a friend that Ryzen 3 1200 has compatibility issues with lot of RAMs.

I'm financially not stable to do them at the moment as well. I've been doing freelance work to save money, without this PC i will not be able to do anything, I've dropped all the work I started and finished the stuff which were pending, no more income till I fix this PC. I'm a student as well, money goes to education too. This is all f-ed up.

Any help on this is appreciated!

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hey there,

Thanks for your post. You've a great way of describing things

IMO, your issue is ram related. Mainly that you are using auto settings and it's possible the G-skill wasn't necessarily compatible with your mobo, hence running at default (2133). Running in XMP, if it's available is always the first way to go. Hopefully you will boot fine tomorrow with the TeamGroup ram, and that will be the end of your problem. If, you still have issues, you may have to set the timing's and voltage manually. This is done in the bios. I'm not sure your mobo has those options, but you can check and see. If it does, then setting timings manually might help.

Your CPU, R1200 has no compatibility issues with ram. That's more to do with the mobo, so don't be worrying about that too much.

The PSU you bough is arguably not as good as the FSP you had! But it should be sufficient for your system providing you don't OC the CPU or GPU.

Be careful when cleaning ram or sockets. Thread lightly. Use only cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol, let it evaporate for a while before replacing any components.

 

[aranorde]

Hey there,

Thanks for your post. You've a great way of describing things

IMO, your issue is ram related. Mainly that you are using auto settings and it's possible the G-skill wasn't necessarily compatible with your mobo, hence running at default (2133). Running in XMP, if it's available is always the first way to go. Hopefully you will boot fine tomorrow with the TeamGroup ram, and that will be the end of your problem. If, you still have issues, you may have to set the timing's and voltage manually. This is done in the bios. I'm not sure your mobo has those options, but you can check and see. If it does, then setting timings manually might help.

Your CPU, R1200 has no compatibility issues with ram. That's more to do with the mobo, so don't be worrying about that too much.

The PSU you bough is arguably not as good as the FSP you had! But it should be sufficient for your system providing you don't OC the CPU or GPU.

Be careful when cleaning ram or sockets. Thread lightly. Use only cotton swabs and isopropyl alcohol, let it evaporate for a while before replacing any components.

Thanks for your reply.

These are my current RAM profile settings in MB. I changed X.M.P to Profile 1 from Auto, Did nothing else!

Page 02 :

Page 03:

Is it set properly? I do not think I understand RAM timings properly to set them or check them.

Voltage and everything is set as suggested on the RAM's web-page.

What do you think? also please let me know if you need more info on this.

I'm traumatized. Hitting the power button is scary and gives me PTSDs.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Well, it's not great that your having to hard reset so often. It's not good for the OS, when that happens as it can become corrupt as can the MBR on the boot drive.

Has the change to XMP still bearing fruit? As in, no more crashes, or is still happening. Ram instability if they are not set right can cause real headaches, like your experiencing. Hopefully the XMP profile has made them stable, and you can enjoy the system a little now.

Setting timings manually is straight forward. There are lots of guides. Google your motherboard and a guid for setting ram manually, and it will tell you what to do. Something like this:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hKNePZkHJEY


or this

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hE76PEpSp1I
.

 

[aranorde]

Well, it's not great that your having to hard reset so often. It's not good for the OS, when that happens as it can become corrupt as can the MBR on the boot drive.

I'm not hard resetting anything, if it doesn't boot it does not. If it does then I shut down like normal. Where did I mentioned me hard-resetting anything?

XMP profile is functioning quite well, as far as I know my MB supports 3200MHz and so does my CPU so it is working as listed. No instability or anything from What I've seen. I just booted fine today with XMP on.

Hopefully the XMP profile has made them stable, and you can enjoy the system a little now.

Why are you talking like my system is dying? lol. I've been told not to set anything manually and let the MB decide what it can do. Since the profile 1 in XMP is working just fine, I will not be touching or play around with BIOS settings any further!

From my assusmption, the system is running fine (for now).

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

Hard reset was a turn of phrase, but that's neither here or there, what I meant was your startup, boot issues.

No, there is no suggestion your system is slowly dying! I simply said that with boot/posting issues, it can corrupt your OS at start up, or the MBR (master boot record). The point being, if you have minor software issues down the line, it might be an idea once your sure the ram problems are sorted out to re-install the OS.

Anyway, hopefully your sorted, so I'll wish you well.

 

[Roland Of Gilead]

I've been told not to set anything manually and let the MB decide what it can do. Since the profile 1 in XMP is working just fine, I will not be touching or play around with BIOS settings any further!

The reason I mentioned this is because if you still have problems with the ram after XMP, then setting manually is the next step. Like i said it's not hard to do. But should be tried before potentially sending them back. If XMP continues to work, then you won't have to set the DIMMS manually.

And no, setting things on auto is not always the best option, just for reference.