Question PC won't POST with 4 sticks of RAM (Error 0d) after changing the CMOS battery ?

[sayine]

Hey there,

PC won't POST with 4 sticks of RAM (Error 0d) after changing CMOS battery.
But the PC seems to be working fine with only 1 or 2 sticks installed.

I'm a bit lost im afraid. I have a kind of custom prebuilt i got used from a friend. It sat for a while so the CMOS Battery was dead (checked with Multimeter) so there were some issues. So i changed the Battery, afterwards PC would not Boot at all, QCode gave the error 0d and the DRAM LED was lighting up. (Indicating DRAM Training Failure).

With the BIOS Flashback Button I updated the BIOS with the official newest Release from Asus for 2024. But PC still wouldn't post.

I removed 2 Ram Sticks (1rd and 3rd Slot empty) and PC seemed to post fine.
I checked the Serial Number on the Ram, and it seems that its not on the QVL List, but it was prebuilt that way and worked fine for years before. I think either i had really bad Luck and there is just now a hardware issue i caused, or that maybe there were some Custom Settings in the BIOS i cant really figure out.
Could someone with Experience shed some light on this? I would be really grateful!

BIOS Settings at the moment are standard, so no XMP or DOCP turned on, just auto. I didnt change anything yet.

I heard from other people that RAM isn't guaranteed to work if it isnt on the QVL but it worked fine before, and also during stress tests. (I never did a Memtest though, because I had never had issues with RAM up until now, except when Overclocking, but that was expected).

I also heard about some people raising their voltages a tiny bit when using 4 RAM modules, but as i don't really understand the cause at the moment, im not sure if that makes sense at all and I'd rather play it safe.

PC Specs:
Mobo: Asus Crosshair VIII Hero WiFi
CPU: Ryzen 5950X
GPU: RTX 3090
RAM: 4 x 16GB Corsair Vengeance RGB PRO (CM4X16GC3200C16W4)
PSU: Corsair RM1000
Drives:
Kingston Fury Renegade 1TB
Samsung 860 Evo 1TB
WD Red 3TB

Cooling with EKWB on both CPU and GPU, doesn't seem to be too much pressure on the motherboard as it worked fine before. Hopefully it isn't ESD related either, as i grounded myself before changing CMOS battery.

Im kind of at a loss here lol. Most Threads i read about error 0d are of people who never got their system running with the RAM, or which had faulty RAM or Motherboard. So I have started this thread considering its a different situation. I hope that's fine.

 

[Ralston18]

Any beep codes?

This motherboard?

https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/...8_1730032656_d621668fe3ceea2c8f5f151c3dda64da

Verify that I found the applicable User Manual.

Re-read and review the entire manual and double check all connections and related configuration settings.

Check all onboard jumpers and switches.

Pay close attention to all fine print, warnings, and so forth.

How was the CMOS battery replaced? Or cleared? What procedure was used? Reference?

Even though the RAM "worked" for awhile its' not being in the QVL is relevant. The manufacturer had some reason(s) for not including the RAM and those reasons may have just "caught up" with the system in question.

There is a great deal of detail regarding RAM, PCIe, etc. on Pages 1-5 through and including Page 1-8.

PCIe operating modes being of most interest as I understand the posted system issues.

Hopefully the problems stem from just some error of omission or commission.

 

[sayine]

Hey there, thanks for taking the time to help

Omission on my Part is the actual BIOS Version: 4902

Beep Codes on Startup ist one long one followed by two short ones. (Indicating that no Memory is found)

Yes its that Motherboard, i have the same PDF of the Manual myself.

I checked all Connections on the Motherboard, they are all seated. I checked PSU Side aswell.

Switches seem to be working fine (Front Panel Switches or onboard MOBO Switches made no difference)
Jumpers were not changed or touched since it last ran.

For CMOS Battery Replacement i removed Power from the PSU and grounded myself. Afterwards i took out the CR2032 and measured it (empty at 200mV). Waited for a few minutes and put a fresh one in (over 3V).
Because it gave the 0d error i removed Power again and subsequently pressed CMOS Clearing Button on the rear of Motherboard for 10sec.
Procedure was used as it was described in Official ASUS Video.

Of course it isnt optimal, but i couldnt decide on which Ram the System came with. Otherwise i would have checked beforehand. But as it ran for years prior without Issues i would just like to restore that state, even if it is a suboptimal Solution. At least the Ram is not mixed and came out of a single Set. But i wish i would have kept note of what Settings there were beforehand when it was running fine, because i dont have a Backup.
Or do you think the Situation has changed as in i will not get it running again with 64 gigs?

I sadly do not have enough knowledge concering PCIe Lanes/Operating Modes. What can i check next? I have a single VGA in the Topmost Slot that should be running at x16. But its only described for 3rd Gen in the Manual not 5th Gen. Also im unsure of the implications of that for the Memory.

Could the Company that built it have used some special BIOS Settings (Ram Speed, Memory Voltage, etc.) to maintain Compatibility that i didnt check yet? Or should i suspect a hardware defect on one of the Sticks/Ram Slots?

I read so many Posts of People having Memory Compatibility or Stability Issues on 4 Sticks on Ryzen, but Solutions varied wildly.

 

[Kona45primo]

Remove ram and clean contacts gently with a pencil eraser. Try again.

Confirm running at 1.35v, attempt running slightly higher 1.36-1.37 to see if that posts.

 

[sayine]

Thank you, i will try it later and give an Update.
Should i leave Memory Frequency at Auto with DOCP/XMP turned off or should i set a fixed lower Memory Frequency on purpose? (I have no clue how Ram Stability is affected by that tbh, i would need to read into it further to understand.)

 

[sayine]

Hey, so i cleaned up the Contacts and checked each Stick separately with unchanged standard Settings (in the fourth Slot, DIMM_A2) and marked them. Theres something really strange going on.
Results:
Stick 1: Worked fine
Stick 2: Worked fine, but displayed Code 40 (normally it showed AA for All Clear) didnt find anything in the Manual concerning this
Stick 3: Worked fine, but VGA LED was lighting up on the MOBO. Though Code showed AA and everything was working. (Output to Monitor was Displayport from VGA and that worked fine, windows has shown RTX3090)
Stick 4: Started up fine but showed the VGA LED again. After a few Seconds in Windows it crashed and Code 97 was displayed (along with VGA LED). After that no Output to Monitor.

What on gods green earth is happening here.
It would be really bad luck if theres some physical Damage right after the BIOS Update. Or i somehow changed some vital Settings. I hope its only Software related but im at the end of my knowledge.

 

[Bob.B]

Hey, so i cleaned up the Contacts and checked each Stick separately with unchanged standard Settings (in the fourth Slot, DIMM_A2) and marked them. Theres something really strange going on.
Results:
Stick 1: Worked fine
Stick 2: Worked fine, but displayed Code 40 (normally it showed AA for All Clear) didnt find anything in the Manual concerning this
Stick 3: Worked fine, but VGA LED was lighting up on the MOBO. Though Code showed AA and everything was working. (Output to Monitor was Displayport from VGA and that worked fine, windows has shown RTX3090)
Stick 4: Started up fine but showed the VGA LED again. After a few Seconds in Windows it crashed and Code 97 was displayed (along with VGA LED). After that no Output to Monitor.

What on gods green earth is happening here.
It would be really bad luck if theres some physical Damage right after the BIOS Update. Or i somehow changed some vital Settings. I hope its only Software related but im at the end of my knowledge.

Just to make the pot smaller unplug all disk.....test.

 

[DaleH]

Hey, so i cleaned up the Contacts and checked each Stick separately with unchanged standard Settings (in the fourth Slot, DIMM_A2) and marked them. Theres something really strange going on.
Results:
Stick 1: Worked fine
Stick 2: Worked fine, but displayed Code 40 (normally it showed AA for All Clear) didnt find anything in the Manual concerning this
Stick 3: Worked fine, but VGA LED was lighting up on the MOBO. Though Code showed AA and everything was working. (Output to Monitor was Displayport from VGA and that worked fine, windows has shown RTX3090)
Stick 4: Started up fine but showed the VGA LED again. After a few Seconds in Windows it crashed and Code 97 was displayed (along with VGA LED). After that no Output to Monitor.

What on gods green earth is happening here.
It would be really bad luck if theres some physical Damage right after the BIOS Update. Or i somehow changed some vital Settings. I hope its only Software related but im at the end of my knowledge.

When you checked the ram sticks separately, did you use the some socket for each test?

 

[BFG-9000]

This is why I usually try to change the CMOS battery on a running computer, if possible. You could ask your friend if they remember what the settings were.

Clearly they had custom speed, timings and/or voltage set and if you don't know what they were, you'll have to put in your one good stick and adjust things until it works with 4 sticks. The quickest thing to try is 2933 instead of 3200, but you haven't mentioned what your one stick is running at so for all we know that's 2133 without XMP or EXPO enabled. It could just be the 2133 is defaulting to excessively tight timings like 14-14-14 or something.

Normally, 5000 series Ryzen works just fine with 4 sticks of 3200 in a matched set, but that part number appears to be sold only as singles now so the rated speed might not actually work even in pairs, given how closely Corsair bins things. Rating is 3200 at 16-18-18-36 with 1.35v but don't expect that to work. I should point out JEDEC standard for 3200 is 22-22-22 which is just slightly more latency than 2133 14-14-14.