Question PC won’t boot after an “Update and Shutdown” – - - DRAM Debug LED Stuck, and no display ?

[Zombehh]

My PC was working perfectly until I did an “Update and Shutdown” in Windows. When I came back, it wouldn’t power on at all. Since then, I’ve replaced multiple components, but the issue persists.

Original Specs (Before Failure):
• CPU: Intel Core i7-13700KF
• Motherboard: ASRock Z790-C
• RAM: Corsair Vengeance 64GB DDR5 6400MHz C32
• GPU: GeForce RTX 4060
• Storage: 2TB NVMe M.2
• Cooler: Thermaltake AIO Liquid Cooler
• PSU: CORSAIR - RMe Series RM850e 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular Low-Noise ATX 3.0 and PCIE 5.0 Power Supply

New Specs After Replacements:
• GPU: RTX 4060 (2 months old)
• Motherboard: Gigabyte Z790 AORUS ELITE AX rev 1.1 (new)
Gigabyte Support Page
• PSU: Thermaltake Toughpower GF A3 1050W (new)
• CPU: Intel Core i5-12600KF (new)
• RAM:
Corsair Vengeance 64GB (2x16GB) DDR5 6400MHz C32 (purchased late last year)
Also tested: Thermaltake 32GB DDR5 5600MHz (original kit; 1 stick failed, replaced with 64GB kit)
New: Corsair Vengeance 32GB (2x16GB) DDR5 6400MHz C36 (AMD EXPO, Intel XMP-compatible)
• Storage: Same SSD as before
• Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 (new)

What I’ve Replaced:
✔ PSU – Replaced, still no power
✔ Motherboard – Replaced, no change
✔ RAM – Tested multiple kits, issue persists
✔ CPU Cooler – Replaced, still no boot
✔ CPU – Replaced i7-13700KF with i5-12600KF, no change
(parts are temporary just until I figure out what the issue is)

Current Symptoms:
With Thermaltake 5600MHz RAM (1 Stick in DDR5_A2 Slot):
• PC powers on, all fans (CPU, case, GPU) spin.
• MOBO CPU LED turns on briefly, then switches to DRAM LED and stays on.
• RAM LED turns on, but CPU cooler LED stays off.
• No display (tried HDMI & DP to 1440p 244Hz monitor).
• Keyboard LEDs turn on, but system remains unresponsive.
• System stays in this state indefinitely until manually powered off.

With either Corsair RAM (or multiple sticks installed):
• Same boot sequence (CPU LED → DRAM LED).
• After ~30 seconds, CPU cooler LED + case fan LEDs turn on, then system shuts off.
• Still no display, no BIOS access.

What I’ve Tried:
✅ Cleared CMOS multiple times (battery removed, power drained, CMOS clear button used).
✅ Updated BIOS using Q-Flash Plus with the latest firmware.
✅ Tested different RAM kits (5600MHz & 6400MHz), tried single-stick configs in recommended slots.
✅ Checked all power connections, reseated GPU, RAM, and CPU.

What I Haven’t Done Yet:
⏳ Tested a DDR5 4800MT/s stick (don’t have one available).
⏳ Breadboarded the system outside the case (did this with the old motherboard, same issue).

Final Thoughts & Questions:

I’ve been troubleshooting this for days and I’m completely out of ideas. Could Windows’ “Update and Shutdown” have corrupted something critical? Could this be a BIOS/memory compatibility issue even after updating firmware?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

(I typed a messy paragraph and asked chatgpt to clean it up)

Photos:

https://imgur.com/a/oqXUalj

View: https://imgur.com/a/oqXUalj

 

[Lutfij]

I’ve been troubleshooting this for days and I’m completely out of ideas. Could Windows’ “Update and Shutdown” have corrupted something critical? Could this be a BIOS/memory compatibility issue even after updating firmware?
It's probable though looking trough your entire thread, I'd say that the board is what got nuked. If you breadboard with merely one stick of ram in slot A2, no storage but a discrete GPU(this is where an iGPU would've been handy so you can remove the discrete GPU from the equation) and see if you can get display output at least.

Cooler: Thermaltake AIO Liquid Cooler
Thermaltake have a number of cooler past and present in their portfolio, which one do you have?
+
Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 (new)
On both cooler's have you tried merely having the cooling block rest on the CPU's IHS, without fastening it down? This will mean you have your build on it's side. This is something you can do while breadboarding.

If all your parts including your PSU work on another donor motherboard, then your board was what conked out.