[SOLVED] Yellow Dram light now on TWO diff mobos

[Rkzweigle]

Hi all. Couple weeks ago my computer stopped booting. It would power on and spin all fans but my monitor would stay black and the keyboard and mouse LEDs wont not turn on. I noticed the DRAM light on my mobo was lit yellow. I figured it was a RAM issue. Reseated ram, no luck. Tried Replacing with working RAM, no luck. Cleaned CPU and reseated it, no luck.

Then I tried swapping PSU's for one I knew for sure worked. Same thing. So I figured it had to be a motherboard problem. So I ordered a brand new MOBO and moved my system over and STILL wont boot and is showing yellow DRAM light on the new mobo. WTF is going on? Could it be my CPU?

Specs: (First MOBO) ASUS TUF X570 Gaming + WIFI
(New MOBO) ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming
RAM: Corsair Vengeance LPX 16GB (2x8GB) X2
CPU: Ryzen 3900x
PSU: Corsair RMX 750x
GPU: MSI Gaming trioRTX 3080

 

[Darkbreeze]

What are the exact model numbers of BOTH memory kits you've tried?

Have you tried BOTH memory kits in BOTH motherboards?

Which DIMM slots, exactly, are you installing them in? Starting at the CPU and moving to the right, 1, 2, 3, 4. Slot four being the one closest to the edge of the motherboard.

What is the model of the OTHER power supply you tried, and how long has this RMx 750 been in service? How long has the other power supply been in service, in years?

Have you made absolutely certain that there are no motherboard standoffs in locations where there shouldn't be one/any under the motherboard? I'd make sure you don't have any standoffs installed that don't line EXACTLY up with the mounting holes in the motherboard.

What cooler are you using and how tight are you getting it? You've double checked the CPU to make sure there are no bent pins?

Do you have a different graphics card to try, because I've seen, more than once, a faulty graphics card trigger debug lights for things other than the VGA purposed light before.

Is the BIOS on both motherboards up to date, with the most recent non-BETA BIOS version installed?

Have you tried EACH stick of memory from both memory kits, individually, in the slot closest to the edge of the motherboard, by itself, to see if there is any change?

Also, I'd unplug and then reinstall every power connection and data cable, just to be sure, if you haven't already.

 

[Rkzweigle]

Corsair vengeance lpx 8 gig kits. They work fine in old machine. Tried them in both yes. Tried each stick individually in each dimm.

Other PSU is 1000w 80+gold came with a prebuilt less than two months old. Works in other machine. 750x probably 2 years old works fine in other machine.

standoffs are correct

cooler is noctua dh 15. Reseated it screwed it tight. Cpu didn’t look like it had bent pins but I need to look again.

3080 works in old machine. Tried my old 1070. Works in old machine not the other.

bios flash backed to latest non beta version (this is a brand new mobo btw). Reset cmos.
All connections are tight.

the only thing I haven’t checked is the cpu cause I don’t have a second amd cpu. Could the cpu be giving off the dram led? I am lost and frustrated. Tested everything else.

 

[Darkbreeze]

Screwing down the heatsink TOO tight, can cause the DRAM light to come on, or any number of other problems. So, when installing the CPU cooler you ONLY want it to be snug, fully seated, then maybe a VERY small additional 1/16 to 1/8 of a turn. You do not want to overtighten it OR tighten it more or less in one spot than in all others. That's why I recommend for high pressure mounting heatsinks that you alternate corner to corner or side to side in turns of no more than 1.5 turns until snug, then lightly tighten it down just a little more. No more than a quarter turn at MOST.

This isn't USUALLY the cause of problems like this, but it happens frequently enough to be worth being aware of.

About the only way the CPU would cause the DRAM light to come on is if it is faulty (Pretty rare. Like, in 30 years I've seen two or three ACTUALLY faulty CPUs that came from the factory that way.) but usually any CPU that fails is due to some kind of user error like a bent pin from improper installation, being dropped on the floor which damages something inside it or bends some pins, incorrectly overclocking with too much frequency or voltage, long term overclocking or a short somewhere that zaps something. Or if the CPU cooler is cocked from an uneven installation pressure, which can cause it to cock in the socket and break the connection between some of the pins and the contacts inside the socket or for Intel, the contacts with the pins on the motherboard.

So yes, the CPU can definitely cause the DRAM light to come on because the memory controller is IN the CPU, but it would be pretty rare for it to simply be a faulty CPU unless one of those conditions above was met, or you bought it used and don't really know the history of abuse it may have gone though, or you are that one in probably several thousand that actually comes with some kind of factory defect that results in either an instant failure or a failure within a relatively short amount of time.

Far more common would be, well, ANYTHING else. That doesn't mean it CAN'T be a CPU, because I've seen a handful of them fail here in the forums over the last five years, but I personally have only seen three myself that I know for a fact were factory defect failures.

My recommendation would be to follow the guidelines in my bench testing guide. That's really about the best way to figure out what's going on and the fact is that in some cases you just can't figure it out without throwing a few parts at it, since most of us lack the specialized equipment required to actually test CPUs and motherboards. Even most repair shops don't have that kind of equipment, and much of what they do is accomplished by basic troubleshooting and swapping out parts until the problem is found.

How To - Motherboard bench testing

Finding the problem through bench testing If you are here then it’s likely you have encountered a serious hardware issue and have been unable to resolve it using the standard no-POST troubleshooting procedures. If you have not yet attempted to resolve your issues using the no-POST...

forums.tomshardware.com

 

[Rkzweigle]

K so I was finally able to get my hand on another AMD cpu. It was my friends old 1600. I know it’s not compatible with my motherboard but I just wanted to see if it would post.

so booting it up with the 1600 the dram light goes away, the leds light up on mouse and keyboard and the vga and boot light comes on no visual though (I’m assuming cause it’s not compatible) so I’m coming to the conclusion that my 3900x is the problem. Only thing I can think, since it just randomly stopped working one day with no overclocking or any changes, is that the company I bought it prebuilt through used some refurbished cpu or something sub standard. Any thoughts?

 

[Darkbreeze]

Nothing is going to work right with that CPU. You NEED a compatible CPU in order to determine anything at all.

 

[Rkzweigle]

Ok so I was able to get my hands on a 5600x. Put it in, and the machine works fine. shrug so i dunno what is wrong with my 3900x i dont even know how to diagnose or fix it. Its definitely the problem though.

 

[Darkbreeze]

That IS weird. Maybe you were just that 1 in however many, thousands, that was unlucky and got one damaged in shipping or whatever. At least you know now that was the deal.

 

[ASoggyShoe]

I stumbled upon your forum while currently trying to solve basically the exact same issue. My motherboard was also the ASUS TUF X570 Gaming + Wifi. I think my CPU is an amd ryzen 3700.

Ive had this build for almost 2 years, havent touched anything internally. It goes months without even being turned on sometimes. Played on it the last few days for few hours at a time, and now today while sitting idle at the desktop everything went black and the DRAM light turned on.

Ive tried resetting the RAM, tried different RAM, purchased a new ASUS B550-A ROG motherboard and nothing has changed. Im now thinking its the CPU.

Maybe its from the ASUS TUF X570's, maybe there was a surge? Maybe its my AIO (the LEDs have never worked properly on it. Its a corsair h100i or something)?

Idk, but I feel super defeated and I just came here to say I also have the same issue all of a sudden