Pc shuts on for 2 seconds and then off repeatedly when one of the RAM sticks is in the 3rd slot

[Daniel D.]

Hi, so I bought a new ssd, wiped all the drives, then I removed them all except the ssd, installed windows 10, installed some drivers and then the pc asked for a restart.I turned it off so I can plug in the 2 hard drives again and when I turned the pc on it turns on and off repeatedly. I tried swapping the RAM sticks (they are 2) nothing happened, then I removed the one that was on the third slot and the pc booted. I turned off the pc and swapped the 1st RAM stick with the other one and the pc booted again... So the problem clearly isn't in the sticks. What causes the problem then? And should I just ignore it and put them in the first and second slot?

 

PC SPECS:

CPU: Intel Core i5-9600K
GPU: ASUS ROG Strix GeForce RTX 2070 Super OC 8GB
PSU: CoolerMaster MasterWatt Lite 700W
RAM: 16GB DDR4 3000MHz Team T-Force Delta RGB Black (2x8)
Motherboard: ASUS ROG STRIX Z390-F GAMING

SSD: Adata XPG 8200P
Cooling: CoolerMaster MasterLiquid ML240L RGB
Case: Cooler Master MasterBox MB530P RGB

[WaggishOhio383]

Which two slots do you mean by slots 1 and 3? Looking at the board in an upright position, going left to right, this would imply that you have the RAM in the leftmost slot, and the slot two to the right of it. However, looking at the manual for your motherboard, it says that the two sticks should be inserted in slots 2 and 4 (the slot furthest to the right and the slot two to the left of it). I've attached an illustration to show what I mean. The slots labeled with blue show where your RAM should go. The slots in red are where I'm assuming you're putting your RAM? Apologies if I'm wrong in assuming this, in which case I'm not sure what could be wrong, but if this is the fix it's a rather simple one so I figured I should suggest it.

 

Edit: Apologies for my terrible arrow drawing skills. I stink at using ms paint.

[Daniel D.]

I'll try it, but in the BIOS for some reason the ram's frequency is automatically set to 2666mhz or something like that and it should be 3000 mhz. Should I leave it or should I change it to 3000.

[WaggishOhio383]

1 minute ago, Daniel D. said:

in the BIOS for some reason the ram's frequency is automatically set to 2666mhz or something like that and it should be 3000 mhz. Should I leave it or should I change it to 3000.

Can't hurt to turn it up to my knowledge. I had to do the same for my RAM. However, that's probably not what's causing this issue. The ram can run lower than it's supposed to perfectly fine. However, if you want your RAM to work as well as it's supposed to, then boost those numbers up to 3000.

[Daniel D.]

still does the same thing...

[WaggishOhio383]

Just now, Daniel D. said:

still does the same thing...

Okay, one more thing you can check. Keeping the RAM in slots 2 and 4 (because that's where it's supposed to go to run dual-channel), go into your BIOS to the same place where you went to clock the RAM up to 3000 mHz. Check the RAM voltage (it may say something else like DRAM voltage), and make sure your motherboard is providing your RAM with enough power. For most RAM, it should be 1.35 V. However, you can double check the numbers for your RAM on the manufacturer's website if you want to be sure.

[Daniel D.]

Just now, WaggishOhio383 said:

Okay, one more thing you can check. Keeping the RAM in slots 2 and 4 (because that's where it's supposed to go to run dual-channel), go into your BIOS to the same place where you went to clock the RAM up to 3000 mHz. Check the RAM voltage (it may say something else like DRAM voltage), and make sure your motherboard is providing your RAM with enough power. For most RAM, it should be 1.35 V. However, you can double check the numbers for your RAM on the manufacturer's website if you want to be sure.

I cant get to the BIOS when I have both of the ram sticks installed. The pc just turns off and on for like 2 seconds. I removed the 4th ram stick (from left to right) and right now im in the BIOS

[WaggishOhio383]

1 minute ago, Daniel D. said:

I cant get to the BIOS when I have both of the ram sticks installed. The pc just turns off and on for like 2 seconds. I removed the 4th ram stick (from left to right) and right now im in the BIOS

Okay. Check the voltage and see if that could be the problem. Aside from that, the only other thing I can think of would be outdated BIOS, or a faulty motherboard.

[Daniel D.]

It worked fine 2-3 hours ago... Here is what I see. I dont want to do something wrong so I just sent you an image

[WaggishOhio383]

2 minutes ago, Daniel D. said:

It worked fine 2-3 hours ago... Here is what I see. I dont want to do something wrong so I just sent you an image

That DRAM voltage value should be at 1.35. did you change it to 1.34375 or is that what it was already at?

[Daniel D.]

I installed one of them in the 4th slot(the right one) and it turn on and off and then on again but it booted. 

[WaggishOhio383]

If changing that doesn't fix it, then I'm unfortunately unsure of what else to do. I've heard of computers crashing or having blue screens with multiple sticks of ram inserted, but I've never heard of a computer refusing to boot altogether. It's definitely an unusual case.

[Daniel D.]

1 minute ago, WaggishOhio383 said:

That DRAM voltage value should be at 1.35. did you change it to 1.34375 or is that what it was already at?

it was like that

[WaggishOhio383]

1 minute ago, Daniel D. said:

I installed one of them in the 4th slot(the right one) and it turn on and off and then on again but it booted. 

So does that mean it's working now, or was that a one-time thing? I'm assuming this was after you changed the voltage?

[Daniel D.]

I changed it to 1.40 and it worked! Thanks for the help! And sorry for wasting your time

[WaggishOhio383]

Just now, Daniel D. said:

I changed it to 1.40 and it worked! Thanks for the help! And sorry for wasting your time

No worries! Glad I could help.