Question Why Won't PC Boot with 2 RAM Sticks (But Works with 1)?

[JudithWright]

PC originally booted fine with 2x8GB RAM sticks using this setup:

CPU: AMD Ryzen 3 2200g

Motherboard: Gigabyte B450 Aorus M Rev. 1.1

RAM: Team T-Force Delta RGB 16GB (2 x 8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 SDRAM DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) Intel XMP 2.0 Desktop Memory Model TF3D416G3200HC16CDC01

Today, I switched the RAM using this below, which appears to be compatible according to PCPartPicker:

Neo Forza FAYE 16GB (2x8GB) 288-Pin DDR4 3200 (PC4 25600) SDRAM Desktop Memory Model NMUD480E82-3200DG20

But the PC would not boot at all.

All the fans would spin and CPU cooler was active but there were red lights flashing on the bottom right corner of the motherboard. I actually couldn't even turn off the machine by holding down the power button and I had to flip the OFF switch on the power supply to get it to turn off.

I tried putting in both of the original RAM sticks but the same problem happened (no boot).

Then, I put in one RAM stick (in the second position) and now it boots fine - but it will not work if I add the second ram stick to the fourth position RAM slot. The same thing happens when RAM slots ONE and THREE are used (no boot). But the PC will boot if RAM slot ONE is used in isolation.

Strangely, whenever two RAM sticks are installed, they both light up (RGB) before the PC power button is even turned on. Why would that happen?

I have tested both of the original RAM sticks in slot 2 and they both work when used in isolation, so it doesn't seem to be a problem with the RAM sticks themselves.

Also, I have removed the battery in the motherboard several times (to reset CMOS and BIOS) and I have even re-installed Windows 10 but nothing seems to work.

What happened? Did I damage the motherboard somehow? Is there any way to fix this so that 16GB of RAM can be used again?

 

[MeanMachine41]

A number of things can happen when changing RAM.
You can corrupt your Bios if not done correct.
The modules are not seated properly or they are faulty.
There is a mismatch or the kit are not supported by the CPU or MB.

Suggest you reflash Bios and update your chipset with the latest version.
Why did you decide to change out the Team T-Force RAM kit in the first place.?

 

[JudithWright]

A number of things can happen when changing RAM.
You can corrupt your Bios if not done correct.
The modules are not seated properly or they are faulty.
There is a mismatch or the kit are not supported by the CPU or MB.

From what I can see, there are no compatibility issues according to PCPartPicker.

As a side note, I have also used Memtest86 and it shows zero errors. I was actually hoping some sort of error would pop up that way...

 

[JudithWright]

Another update:

I updated the BIOS to version F62d, also updated the chipset and APU drivers to the most recent versions from the Gigabyte website.

No real change, other than that the RAM RGB does not immediately light up when the power cable is connected.

The system still does not boot with 2x8GB RAM installed in the SECOND and FOURTH positions. But the PC will boot when one 8GB stick of RAM is installed in the FIRST or SECOND positions.

When 2x8GB sticks of RAM are installed, the PC does not boot and the system fan seems to be running at maximum speed.

When this is happening, the PC cannot be turned OFF by holding the power button (the only way to turn off the PC is to flip the switch on the power supply).

 

[JudithWright]

A number of things can happen when changing RAM.
You can corrupt your Bios if not done correct.

Just now, I had the motherboard battery out for about 30 minutes. I put it back in and tried with 2x8GB of RAM in slots ONE and TWO - and the PC did boot

But it was a very strange boot - I am not sure if any of this is significant:

-With 2x8GB of RAM in slots ONE and TWO, the RGB on the RAM lit up as soon as the power cable was plugged in (without yet pressing the power button on the front of the PC case).

-The boot was very slow and erratic. I actually didn't think it was going to boot at all - but then I saw the AORUS screen for a split second. It then shut off but then showed again after about 15 seconds. Very strange and erratic - but right now 16GB of RAM are showing in the Windows system information.

Should I try moving these two RAM sticks to slots THREE and FOUR?

I am a little nervous about what to do next because this seemed to be a very strange bootup.

 

[thx1138v2]

RTM. What does the manual say about which slots to use for 2 DRAM modules? That's what you should be using.

Find manual here

 

[JudithWright]

RTM. What does the manual say about which slots to use for 2 DRAM modules? That's what you should be using.

My understanding is that the proper RAM slots are the SECOND and FOURTH from the CPU.

I have tried those many, many times.

 

[DRagor]

All your tests look like slots 3 and 4 died. To confirm try to boot with one stick in slot 3 or 4.

 

[MeanMachine41]

Just now, I had the motherboard battery out for about 30 minutes. I put it back in and tried with 2x8GB of RAM in slots ONE and TWO - and the PC did boot

But it was a very strange boot - I am not sure if any of this is significant:

-With 2x8GB of RAM in slots ONE and TWO, the RGB on the RAM lit up as soon as the power cable was plugged in (without yet pressing the power button on the front of the PC case).

-The boot was very slow and erratic. I actually didn't think it was going to boot at all - but then I saw the AORUS screen for a split second. It then shut off but then showed again after about 15 seconds. Very strange and erratic - but right now 16GB of RAM are showing in the Windows system information.

Should I try moving these two RAM sticks to slots THREE and FOUR?

I am a little nervous about what to do next because this seemed to be a very strange bootup.

We need to see if there is a driver error during normal boot conditions.

Boot into safe mode. https://support.microsoft.com/en-us...-windows-92c27cff-db89-8644-1ce4-b3e5e56fe234

If the system boots OK then check within Device Manager for any yellow triangles that would indicate a driver issue. If there are any then uninstall the offending driver and reboot to see if there is a change.

If no change then boot into safe mode and run SFC /SCANNOW from an elevated command prompt. This will interrogate your system32 files for corruption and if there is then windows will attempt a fix.

Please report back with the above results before we move on with troubleshooting.