[SOLVED] Upgraded PC won’t post; Yellow DRAM light constant

[sayeeed]

I recently bought some parts to upgrade my existing PC which has worked perfectly fine the past year or so. My upgrades included getting two additional sticks of RAM, a new CPU cooler, and a new m.2 drive, yet after re-building the computer into a new case, it won’t post and gets stuck on a constant yellow DRAM light.

Parts:
Motherboard - Asus Prime Z390-A
CPU - Intel i7-9700k
RAM - T-Force Delta RGB DDR4 3200mhz (4 sticks of 8gb; 2 sticks worked in previous build, fail to work now)
GPU - 2070 Super (EVGA)
PSU - Corsair RM 650x
SSD - Samsung QVO (old) and Samsung EVO 970 pro m.2 (new)

When plugged in, the computer will turn on, all the fans will spin, motherboard, case, and RAM RGB lights up, red CPU light on the mobo flashes once and then stays on the yellow DRAM light. I have the mem OK! switch OFF as I had another DRAM light issue a year ago that was resolved by having that off. I double checked that everything is seated properly and connected. I’ve tried switching the known working sticks of RAM in all different combinations, as well as the new sticks. Every stick lights up but the result is the same. The computer previously worked, so the CPU, mobo, ram, psu, gpu all have worked until it was reinstalled into another computer.

the only thing I haven’t tried is uninstalling the new m.2 drive and testing the new system with just the old parts except for the new cpu cooler. But I didn’t think the new m.2 drive would be causing the yellow DRAM light.

Other than that, anyone have any suggestions?

 

[geofelt]

In the process, did you ever remove the cpu from the motherboard socket?
The process is delicate, and can result in a bent pin that often shows up as ram issues.

As I recall, the purpose of the MEMOK is to let the motherboard find a ram setting that works.
I would give that a try.

Can you get one single stick of ram to work in the slot the motherboard designates?
If so, test each stick individually.
Run memtest86 or memtest86+
They boot from a usb stick and do not use windows.
You can download them here:

MemTest86 - Official Site of the x86 Memory Testing Tool

MemTest86 is the original self booting memory testing software for x86 and ARM computers. Supporting both BIOS and UEFI, with options to boot from USB.

www.memtest86.com

Memtest86+ | The Open-Source Memory Testing Tool

Memtest86+ is an advanced, free, open-source, stand-alone memory tester for 32- and 64-bit computers (UEFI & BIOS supported)

www.memtest.org

If you can run a full pass with NO errors, your ram should be ok.

Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when more sticks are involved.

You can sometimes get things to work by increasing the ram voltage higher than the stock setting. try this with whatever ram will work, shut down, install the extras and test.

 

[sayeeed]

In the process, did you ever remove the cpu from the motherboard socket?
The process is delicate, and can result in a bent pin that often shows up as ram issues.

As I recall, the purpose of the MEMOK is to let the motherboard find a ram setting that works.
I would give that a try.

Can you get one single stick of ram to work in the slot the motherboard designates?
If so, test each stick individually.
Run memtest86 or memtest86+
They boot from a usb stick and do not use windows.
You can download them here:

MemTest86 - Official Site of the x86 Memory Testing Tool

MemTest86 is the original self booting memory testing software for x86 and ARM computers. Supporting both BIOS and UEFI, with options to boot from USB.

www.memtest86.com

Memtest86+ | The Open-Source Memory Testing Tool

Memtest86+ is an advanced, free, open-source, stand-alone memory tester for 32- and 64-bit computers (UEFI & BIOS supported)

www.memtest.org

If you can run a full pass with NO errors, your ram should be ok.

Ram is sold in kits for a reason.
A motherboard must manage all the ram using the same specs of voltage, cas and speed.
The internal workings are designed for the capacity of the kit.
Ram from the same vendor and part number can be made up of differing manufacturing components over time.
Some motherboards, can be very sensitive to this.
This is more difficult when more sticks are involved.

You can sometimes get things to work by increasing the ram voltage higher than the stock setting. try this with whatever ram will work, shut down, install the extras and test.

I never removed the CPU from the socket, I just removed the old cpu cooler and cleaned off the old thermal paste, re-applied thermal paste, and installed the new one.

I tried installing every stick one at a time, with and without the memok switch on/off. I feel like the old sticks would have worked no problem, but those don’t boot either, leading me to think it’s not a RAM specific issue. I don’t know if the cpu could have bent pins while it’s installed, but I can take it out and check it, unless you think that shouldn’t be the issue. Other than that the only other thing I can think of is either motherboard or the new m.2 drive is doing something.

 

[geofelt]

Unless the latch was released during the install of the cooler, i would not think the pins were damaged.
You risk more by looking.

What is the make/model of the new cooler?
Does it have a backplate?
You usually need to install some sort of an insulator for them.
Review the cooler install process; that is one of the new things.

 

[sayeeed]

Unless the latch was released during the install of the cooler, i would not think the pins were damaged.
You risk more by looking.

What is the make/model of the new cooler?
Does it have a backplate?
You usually need to install some sort of an insulator for them.
Review the cooler install process; that is one of the new things.

Okay perfect, the latch was never removed.

I believe it’s a Cooler Master Hyper 212 RGB Black edition. Yes it came with a backplate, tho I don’t recall there being any insulator. I’ll look over the install process but it was fairly simple, similar to the previous cpu cooler. The fan on the cooler does spin when the starting the computer.

 

[geofelt]

The last hyper212 I installed was a pain.
The instructions were cryptic an difficult for even an experienced installer to install properly.
The newer version is supposed to be better.
If there was some sort of a short from the backplate, that could cause such symptoms.

Past that, I am out of ideas.

 

[sayeeed]

The last hyper212 I installed was a pain.
The instructions were cryptic an difficult for even an experienced installer to install properly.
The newer version is supposed to be better.
If there was some sort of a short from the backplate, that could cause such symptoms.

Past that, I am out of ideas.

Would it be noticeable if there was a short? I guess I can take the motherboard out and try and boot it out of the case too?

 

[Sohom]

Did u do a cmos reset by taking out the battery? If not do it; then try with only a single stick of ram and check each ram slots, but first do a cmos reset... and also provide the exact model no. of ur ram sticks, incorrect mismatch can also cause post issues.

 

[sayeeed]

Did u do a cmos reset by taking out the battery? If not do it; then try with only a single stick of ram and check each ram slots, but first do a cmos reset... and also provide the exact model no. of ur ram sticks, incorrect mismatch can also cause post issues.

I haven’t reset the cmos yet, I’ll do that first and try one stick of RAM in A2 (furthest from cpu). I’ll check the exact model when I get home in a few minutes, i bought the same RAM as the first kit I had, but the two originals have been working fine for over a year.

 

[sayeeed]

I haven’t reset the cmos yet, I’ll do that first and try one stick of RAM in A2 (furthest from cpu). I’ll check the exact model when I get home in a few minutes, i bought the same RAM as the first kit I had, but the two originals have been working fine for over a year.

The exact model RAM is T-Force Delta 8GB DDR4 3200 CL 16-18-17-38 1.35v, the new set is also the same as the old.

Resetting the cmos didn’t fix the problem, after resetting, the computer turns on, immediately turns off and reboots, and goes back to the constant yellow DIMM light. I didn’t take the battery out but I’m about to do that now but don’t think it’ll fix anything.

 

[--SID--]

Did you mount the motherboard on spacers in the new case?

 

[sayeeed]

Did you mount the motherboard on spacers in the new case?

Yes, standoffs came already included (NZXT h510 elite). I took the motherboard out of the case and hooked everything up on top of a cardboard box and same issue.

 

[sayeeed]

Update:
After doing everything above, I decided to strip it down outside of the case to exactly how it was in the old case, which basically was just reinstalling the old cpu cooler (and checking the cpu for any bent pins). Doing that booted fine with one stick. Put the new cpu cooler back on, 1 stick worked, 4 sticks worked, and now everything is back up and running.

@geofelt was right, the backplate or something must have been shorting out, and when it was reinstalled, the problem was fixed and everything booted.

Thank y’all for the help!

 

[geofelt]

Update:
After doing everything above, I decided to strip it down outside of the case to exactly how it was in the old case, which basically was just reinstalling the old cpu cooler (and checking the cpu for any bent pins). Doing that booted fine with one stick. Put the new cpu cooler back on, 1 stick worked, 4 sticks worked, and now everything is back up and running.

@geofelt was right, the backplate or something must have been shorting out, and when it was reinstalled, the problem was fixed and everything booted.

Thank y’all for the help!