PC worked... until I changed the memory frequency

[sushibubba]

Hello,

 

I finally made my first PC yesterday after years of waiting, and after my initial build it booted. However, I decided to try to boost up my memory speed to its rated speed of 3Mhz which was currently running at like 2133Mhz. However, once I made this change in BIOS, the computer went black and the fans stopped spinning and now I can't even get to the BIOS screen. I've tried clearing the CMOS, unplugging and many external cords and nothing can seem to get my PC back to BIOS. I think the pieces worked because I got into Windows for about a day before I messed with settings, but now I just want to be able to actually use my new PC.

 

Any ideas or possible fixes would be very much appreciated.

Thanks!

 

 

Specs:

Prime b450 Plus Motherboard

Ryzen 5 3600 CPU

EVGA Broze+ 450W PSU

NVIDIA GTX 1660S GPU

 

[boggy77]

how did you clear cmos? jumping the pins?

make sure ram is in slots 2 and 4.

if you manage to get back into bios, instead of manually setting the frequency of the ram, just enable d.o.c.p. this should set the frequency, timings and required voltages to make the ram work properly.

[minibois]

1 minute ago, sushibubba said:

I finally made my first PC yesterday after years of waiting, and after my initial build it booted. However, I decided to try to boost up my memory speed to its rated speed of 3Mhz which was currently running at like 2133Mhz. However, once I made this change in BIOS, the computer went black and the fans stopped spinning and now I can't even get to the BIOS screen. I've tried clearing the CMOS, unplugging and many external cords and nothing can seem to get my PC back to BIOS. I think the pieces worked because I got into Windows for about a day before I messed with settings, but now I just want to be able to actually use my new PC.

1. Did you reset the CMOS according to how it should be done in the manual?

2. How did you set the memory speed? Using DOCP, or just changing the memory speed?

3. Once you are in the BIOS again, turn on DOCP, save and reset and don't touch your computer for a bit. Usually it has to 'train' the memory by resetting a couple times on its own.

[sushibubba]

4 minutes ago, boggy77 said:

how did you clear cmos? jumping the pins?

make sure ram is in slots 2 and 4.

if you manage to get back into bios, instead of manually setting the frequency of the ram, just enable d.o.c.p. this should set the frequency, timings and required voltages to make the ram work properly.

I jumped the CLRTC pins on my motherboard and took out the CMOS battery as my mother board manual recommended. And I've tried rearranged the RAM and they are in slots 2 and 4. The only thing that turns on though are some LED's on the motherboard.

[boggy77]

try to unplug it from the wall, take out bios battery, jump the pins again and keep the power button pressed for a few seconds to drain the capacitors. if this doesn't work, i'm not sure what will.

[sushibubba]

5 minutes ago, minibois said:

1. Did you reset the CMOS according to how it should be done in the manual?

2. How did you set the memory speed? Using DOCP, or just changing the memory speed?

3. Once you are in the BIOS again, turn on DOCP, save and reset and don't touch your computer for a bit. Usually it has to 'train' the memory by resetting a couple times on its own.

1. I did reset the CMOS according to the manuals recommendation.

2. I set the memory speed manually and not using DOCP, which is what is likely causing the problem in hindsight.

3. If I get to BIOS I will try that thank you.

[minibois]

5 minutes ago, sushibubba said:

1. I did reset the CMOS according to the manuals recommendation.

2. I set the memory speed manually and not using DOCP, which is what is likely causing the problem in hindsight.

3. If I get to BIOS I will try that thank you.

Ensure the tool you are using is actually electrically conductive.

Someone in the past tried this use some screwdriver, which they later found out had a non conductive end; which means the two pins won't connect together.

Resetting the CMOS should allow you to boot into the BIOS again.

 

If you set the speed in the BIOS manually, you are not changing the voltage and timings, which very well might be why the memory is unstable.

Usually though, after restarting 3-5 times the motherboard will catch on to that and reset itself.

[sushibubba]

1 minute ago, minibois said:

Ensure the tool you are using is actually electrically conductive.

Someone in the past tried this use some screwdriver, which they later found out had a non conductive end; which means the two pins won't connect together.

Resetting the CMOS should allow you to boot into the BIOS again.

 

If you set the speed in the BIOS manually, you are not changing the voltage and timings, which very well might be why the memory is unstable.

Usually though, after restarting 3-5 times the motherboard will catch on to that and reset itself.

Ok thank you, right now I just tried to get to the BIOS at all with only my memory, CPU and motherboard (along w/ PSU) but still nothing is posting. I'm starting to think there is a hardware issue now, and that I ruined my computer. I'm kinda having a panic attack I just saved up alot of money to get this and now nothing is getting it to post

[minibois]

1 minute ago, sushibubba said:

Ok thank you, right now I just tried to get to the BIOS at all with only my memory, CPU and motherboard (along w/ PSU) but still nothing is posting. I'm starting to think there is a hardware issue now, and that I ruined my computer. I'm kinda having a panic attack I just saved up alot of money to get this and now nothing is getting it to post

Did you have your videocard installed too? The Ryzen 5 3600 does not have integrated graphics, so it could only post using your GPU.

But just calm down, panic won't do you any good in finding the solution. I understand this sort of stuff can be nerve-wrecking  

 

- Just plug in a single stick of memory in the second slot of your motherboard

- plug in your videocard in your system (and plug your monitor in the videocard's output)

- ensure your CPU power, 24 pin ATX and videocard power cables are properly inserted (both in the component and PSU side, if it's modular).

 

Now try to turn on the system and wait a bit. What happens now? Do the fans spin? Any LEDs turning on? etc.

If it does not post, now try to follow the steps in the manual (the screenshot posted above) to reset the BIOS. Ensure the tool you're using is electrically conductive. A screwdriver, tweezers, or heck, even a (clean ) butterknife would work for this.

 

Do you have someone else that can help you with this? So one person holds the tool on the pins properly and the other person can plug in the power cable and turn on the PC? Because you need to hold DEL too, during boot. That way you know for sure the two pins were bridged and someone can press DEL.

If that fails, you will need to remove the battery and do follow the steps again (as described at the bottom of the screenshot).

[sushibubba]

19 minutes ago, boggy77 said:

try to unplug it from the wall, take out bios battery, jump the pins again and keep the power button pressed for a few seconds to drain the capacitors. if this doesn't work, i'm not sure what will.

Yea I tried that, and still no post. Im going to try to contact ASUS or someone to try to help

[porina]

Welcome to the joys of memory problems. While doing similar with manual ram overclocking, some motherboards are just a pain to recover and even with the reset function, it takes many power cycles before it sorts itself out. Just keep trying some more times.

[sushibubba]

12 minutes ago, minibois said:

Did you have your videocard installed too? The Ryzen 5 3600 does not have integrated graphics, so it could only post using your GPU.

But just calm down, panic won't do you any good in finding the solution. I understand this sort of stuff can be nerve-wrecking  

 

- Just plug in a single stick of memory in the second slot of your motherboard

- plug in your videocard in your system (and plug your monitor in the videocard's output)

- ensure your CPU power, 24 pin ATX and videocard power cables are properly inserted (both in the component and PSU side, if it's modular).

 

Now try to turn on the system and wait a bit. What happens now? Do the fans spin? Any LEDs turning on? etc.

If it does not post, now try to follow the steps in the manual (the screenshot posted above) to reset the BIOS. Ensure the tool you're using is electrically conductive. A screwdriver, tweezers, or heck, even a (clean ) butterknife would work for this.

 

Do you have someone else that can help you with this? So one person holds the tool on the pins properly and the other person can plug in the power cable and turn on the PC? Because you need to hold DEL too, during boot. That way you know for sure the two pins were bridged and someone can press DEL.

If that fails, you will need to remove the battery and do follow the steps again (as described at the bottom of the screenshot).

I’m going to try to put back the motherboard in the case after it not running by itself. I have my dad with me who is an EE engineer and has been helpful, so we’re going to try holding the gate with a flat screwdriver. That’s what I’ve been using, but I’ve only bridged the gap while the battery was off. I will keep you updated as I need a break I’ve been troubleshooting for the last 6 hours. 
 

many thanks!

[sushibubba]

8 minutes ago, porina said:

Welcome to the joys of memory problems. While doing similar with manual ram overclocking, some motherboards are just a pain to recover and even with the reset function, it takes many power cycles before it sorts itself out. Just keep trying some more times.

Yea, and do you know if there is any way to differentiate a memory vs a cpu or some problem? And what should I do if the motherboard doesn’t recover?

[porina]

2 minutes ago, sushibubba said:

Yea, and do you know if there is any way to differentiate a memory vs a cpu or some problem? And what should I do if the motherboard doesn’t recover?

If it was working before, but not working after a change to memory settings, it is strongly leaning towards the system getting itself into a funny state. It might take multiple attempts, doing slightly different things to find one that works for your system. For example, on some systems if you leave it on for some minutes it might activate a self reset function when it detects it is in a stuck state, and boot in a safe mode on next power cycle. 

[sushibubba]

1 hour ago, sushibubba said:

I’m going to try to put back the motherboard in the case after it not running by itself. I have my dad with me who is an EE engineer and has been helpful, so we’re going to try holding the gate with a flat screwdriver. That’s what I’ve been using, but I’ve only bridged the gap while the battery was off. I will keep you updated as I need a break I’ve been troubleshooting for the last 6 hours. 
 

many thanks!

I tried to reboot it while jumping the CLRTC pins and still nothing. I have talked to ASUS and they are able to send me a new motherboard, so I may just have to try again with a new motherboard once it comes in.

[sushibubba]

1 hour ago, porina said:

If it was working before, but not working after a change to memory settings, it is strongly leaning towards the system getting itself into a funny state. It might take multiple attempts, doing slightly different things to find one that works for your system. For example, on some systems if you leave it on for some minutes it might activate a self reset function when it detects it is in a stuck state, and boot in a safe mode on next power cycle. 

Also since the CPU fans aren't working I have no idea what parts of the board work or what the issue is, my only goal is to get some post or the fans to power or something. I think soon I may need to just return it as I've tried literally everything I can think of.

[sushibubba]

4 hours ago, sushibubba said:

I’m going to try to put back the motherboard in the case after it not running by itself. I have my dad with me who is an EE engineer and has been helpful, so we’re going to try holding the gate with a flat screwdriver. That’s what I’ve been using, but I’ve only bridged the gap while the battery was off. I will keep you updated as I need a break I’ve been troubleshooting for the last 6 hours. 
 

many thanks!

 

[sushibubba]

Just now, sushibubba said:

 

This is my setup as i try everything to get a boot up and running and nothing has worked. I’m about to just buy a new motherboard and other parts until something fixes it. Just and update, and thank everyone for their support

[sushibubba]

1 hour ago, sushibubba said:

 

After many reboots, it finally ran! Thanks to everyone who helped and gave advice! I couldn’t have done it without y’all!

[cezzbb]

Would love to know what fixed it for you in the end as I have essentially done the same thing changed the XMP profile of the Ram and since then even after clearing the Bios can not boot.

 

 

[sushibubba]

2 hours ago, cezzbb said:

Would love to know what fixed it for you in the end as I have essentially done the same thing changed the XMP profile of the Ram and since then even after clearing the Bios can not boot.

 

 

Make sure your f-panel is connected when trying to re-run your motherboard, and also make sure your power cables are on tightly. Then i just repeated cleated my CMOS by removing the battery and jumping my CLRTC pins (not sure about your board), then eventually my pc ran bios. 
 

One issue i overlooked was that a motherboard, even with power, needs the case to connect and power on to run it, as connected by your f-panel cable from your case or some other case connector. 
 

I also went a little overboard and dissected my motherboard and tested the bare essentials (GPU, PSU, CPU+Fan and motherboard) then eventually it all started running and i reconstructed it. If you have any other questions let me know i have been troubleshooting for the better part of the last 12 hours. 

[cezzbb]

Didn't need fpanel as could just jump the power pins with a screwdriver butttt it didn't want to work at all stripped everything down and then put back together outside of case and still no go... 30,000 attempts later no clue what I did but it booted to the bios, I then reinstalled the drives and it all worked again.

 

Very strange both had such similar issues today but also spent hours diagnosing and no clue what fixed it in the end.

[sekhon]

I was experiencing similar issues yesterday and today. I ended up solving it for different reasons.

One thing that I took away from this experience is that whenever you have to clear your CMOS a lot, you can just hook up your reset switch from your case to the pins you need to jump to reset your CMOS.

That way, if you need to clear your CMOS, all you have to do is:

1) Power down the system
2) Turn off the power supply/ or unplug
3) Clear capacitors by hitting the power button a few times
4) Holding down your reset switch on your case
5) Boot up

Made troubleshooting this issue a lot quicker and easier. 

Glad you ended up figuring it out.

[sushibubba]

1 hour ago, cezzbb said:

Didn't need fpanel as could just jump the power pins with a screwdriver butttt it didn't want to work at all stripped everything down and then put back together outside of case and still no go... 30,000 attempts later no clue what I did but it booted to the bios, I then reinstalled the drives and it all worked again.

 

Very strange both had such similar issues today but also spent hours diagnosing and no clue what fixed it in the end.

Well good thing yours worked, I’m glad we both have working computers at the end of the day