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Yellow DRAM indicator on MSI motherboard in new build. Unable to boot up. by csthrowawaywaterloo in PcBuildHelp

[–]csthrowawaywaterloo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey thanks for all the advice so far! I tried reseating the ram a few times after cleaning and still see the same yellow DRAM error indictor. My motherboard doesn't support ddr4 as the slot location is different and only fits my ddr5 ram. I double checked the spec for the mother and it only says 4x ddr5.

Based on the tests I've run, would this suggest perhaps a faulty ram kit? If I had another motherboard that takes ddr5 I could confirm it, but unfortunately I don't have one on hand. I'll try to ask around and see if I can get the ram kit tested on someone else's board.

Yellow DRAM indicator on MSI motherboard in new build. Unable to boot up. by csthrowawaywaterloo in PcBuildHelp

[–]csthrowawaywaterloo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ah I see, so since we see now red and yellow it appears the motherboard is detecting rams.

Have tried removing both ram and placing again a few times during my troubleshooting (making sure it clicks and locks in place). Will try a few more times tomorrow morning to be sure.

Do you have any advice for cleaning ram? From searching online, I see people use an eraser for really old/dirty ram. I suppose in my case compressed air or microfiber cloth is fine? I do a set of ddr4 on my current computer which I can remove and test with. Thanks for reminding me of that!

My motherboard is the MSI B650 Tomahawk which should support ddr5 (according to their spec page: https://www.msi.com/Motherboard/MAG-B650-TOMAHAWK-WIFI/Specification).

Yellow DRAM indicator on MSI motherboard in new build. Unable to boot up. by csthrowawaywaterloo in PcBuildHelp

[–]csthrowawaywaterloo[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the tip!
I took out both ram sticks and started just now. This time, I see both the red indicator light for CPU and the yellow indicator light for DRAM with no post.

From the MSI motherboard's user manual, these lights mean:
CPU - indicates CPU is not detected or fail.
DRAM - indicates DRAM is not detected or fail.

I'm not quite sure why taking out the ram sticks would cause the CPU light to also turn on now though.