Question RAM works on one PC but doesn't on another?

[TyZed]

Hi. I had 2 sticks of Corsair Vengeance DDR3 2x4GB (from a kit, version 8.16) that I wasn't using on my Gigabyte B85M-D3H, so I sold them to someone who had an Asus Z97-K. He was using the same sticks, but an older version (version 5.20), and he says it won't boot on his system no matter what. I tested them on my own motherboard before selling them and they were working fine.

He has tried clearing the CMOS, trying different combinations, one at a time and cleaning the contacts. They still don't work.

Personally, I have used them in my system with the same RAM, albeit my other sticks were both standalone 1x4GB off the shelf, and one is version 5.14 while the other is 8.23. All 4 of the sticks worked fine, although I had to move them around in different slots to work.

Can anyone help us out here?

 

[Lutfij]

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Which slots is he populating on the motherboard? What BIOS version is your friend on for his motherboard? Often times you will need to clean the slots for the rams on the motherboard or that the gold contacts on a stick of ram need cleaning with an eraser in order for the rams to work again. it can also be a faulty/corrupt BIOS since I've also had some boards that refused to work with known working sticks of ram, until I got a BIOS programming tool, wiped the BIOS chip and flashed it with the right BIOS. Using the BIOS programmer also helped me read through the BIOS chip, seeing the corrupt data on it.

You might want t also parse the specs to his build, since it's highly likely you're not dealing with an apples to apples comparison.

 

[NightHawkRMX]

I would tell the buyer to remove the ram and reinstall it a couple of times, and also to clear CMOS. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000025368/processors.html

It may be helpful to check if that particular model of ram is on the QVL list for the Asus Z97k:

Z97-K - Support

www.asus.com

 

[TyZed]

Hi, sorry for the late response.

Welcome to the forums, newcomer!

Which slots is he populating on the motherboard? What BIOS version is your friend on for his motherboard? Often times you will need to clean the slots for the rams on the motherboard or that the gold contacts on a stick of ram need cleaning with an eraser in order for the rams to work again. it can also be a faulty/corrupt BIOS since I've also had some boards that refused to work with known working sticks of ram, until I got a BIOS programming tool, wiped the BIOS chip and flashed it with the right BIOS. Using the BIOS programmer also helped me read through the BIOS chip, seeing the corrupt data on it.

You might want t also parse the specs to his build, since it's highly likely you're not dealing with an apples to apples comparison.

Well we've tried updating the BIOS to the latest version today too, to no avail. He says he's cleaned the RAM contacts on the sticks themselves, and dirty RAM slots are probably not the issue since his RAM sticks work fine in all of the slots.

I would tell the buyer to remove the ram and reinstall it a couple of times, and also to clear CMOS. https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/support/articles/000025368/processors.html

It may be helpful to check if that particular model of ram is on the QVL list for the Asus Z97k:

Z97-K - Support

www.asus.com

I did check this, and yes, all of the sticks are compatible with the board.

Also, I tried my RAM sticks on another, different PC with a 3rd gen board, and they didn't work on that either. The RAM sticks (on my limited testing) seem to only work on my PC and no where else at all. This is an extremely weird issue, and has complicated my knowledge of RAM compatibility to a whole new level.

I've also just refunded him in full, since they don't work on both of his PCs either. I guess I'll keep them until the day a worthy PC arrives.