Strix B550-F Gaming - RAM issue?

There is certainly some progress. I had been able to borrow some LPX sticks from a friend (only 2666MHz though) and try and the board boots no problem, BIOS even loaded DOCP automatically.
It was than happy to boot repeatedly with that but no joy recognising UEFI drives :D
Waiting for delivery to get past Win install.
For some reason Team sticks are unhappy on that mobo.
 
I thought I would just double check my Asus X470 boot options, and it seems that I don't need to select the EFI file.

Link to a couple of photos that I've taken: https://photos.app.goo.gl/4ar9aZea9ah3DMuq7

  1. I went into the BIOS (escape key)
  2. Select the "boot" tab
  3. Then you can see from the photo that I appear to have two bootable partitions: I select partition 1
  4. It then procedes to boot into the instalation of Windows 10 (though I didn't take a photo of the initail installation screen).

My USB 3 headers on the front of my PC go into a PCI-E USB 3 header card (I would link to the one I have but rules forbid me, but the closest I could find is this: https://www.overclockers.co.uk/silv...nd-usb-3.0-pcie-expansion-card-cc-008-sv.html (minus the need for a SATA power cable (which is a second USB 3 header) and the rear USB ports at the back)).

The only other thing I can think of is trying the USB slots on the rear of the mothboard; maybe the USB headers on the board don't "engage" until they are in the operating system?

I feel like I'm plucking at straws here, but hopefully this helps?
 
Thanks. I've been only plugging to ports at the back of the mobo. My SSD caddy has a LED to signal the status and it seems to be initialising ok, going from white to blue and blinking as per usual operation so its all strange that it didnt boot into Win install.
I'll take some pics later.. still waiting for the dreaded delivery lol

Also, I thought of checking the M.2 by unplugging that and using a spare SATA ssd to be the temporary destination drive for Win.
Last resort will be migrating a DVD drive and hooking this up temporarily as this new PC case doesnt even have front pockets for it :D
 
qbazdz said:
Thanks. I've been only plugging to ports at the back of the mobo. My SSD caddy has a LED to signal the status and it seems to be initialising ok, going from white to blue and blinking as per usual operation so its all strange that it didnt boot into Win install.
I'll take some pics later.. still waiting for the dreaded delivery lol

Also, I thought of checking the M.2 by unplugging that and using a spare SATA ssd to be the temporary destination drive for Win.
Last resort will be migrating a DVD drive and hooking this up temporarily as this new PC case doesnt even have front pockets for it :D
Click to expand...
So I'm guessing it's kinda working at the moment?

Depending on the capacity of the SSD and M.2 drives are (hoping SSD is smaller than the M.2), I may be able to get that onto the M.2 one way or another
 
Well, no.
Right now I can't even place where the issue is.
New RAM, one stick. No POST. QLED suggests CPU issue.
Power down, check all connections and PSU again (I've got Antec PSU checker).
Power on and can POST and go into BIOS but can't save settings without needed a switch reset to get it to POST, mobo is stuck in POST loop and can't boot.
QLED for RAM is on for the longest.

How can I rule our CPU or Mobo without having spares?
 
Justintime said:
Qvl ram? At least ryzen optimised?. Fact it boots fine with lpx seems to point to memory incompatibility.
Click to expand...
Not quite. All complete POSTs are a bit random. Depends if I had board unplugged a bit or not, if I reset or go from power off etc.

Right now I can boot from original Team sticks and from new LPX too, but I can't do it stably and repeatedly.
 
qbazdz said:
Well, no.
Right now I can't even place where the issue is.
New RAM, one stick. No POST. QLED suggests CPU issue.
Power down, check all connections and PSU again (I've got Antec PSU checker).
Power on and can POST and go into BIOS but can't save settings without needed a switch reset to get it to POST, mobo is stuck in POST loop and can't boot.
QLED for RAM is on for the longest.

How can I rule our CPU or Mobo without having spares?
Click to expand...
I've just checked your motherboard to see if my processor will work in your board: no

Just checked my BIOS version to see if your CPU will work in my motherboard: not without upgrading (and the later BIOSES that are available can cause issues for the older gen AMD processors so I'm reluctant to do this).

Motherboard diagnostic LED still seems to imply CPU or RAM. I wonder if the memory controller on the CPU is not working properly and that's where the issue lies?

The only thing I can think of: clear the CMOS using the header (page 1-17 of your motherboard's manual) and seeing what that brings. I just wonder if it is still trying to apply an overclock somewhere.
 
I tried CMOS clear earlier today. No joy.
Same with bent pins - all seems to be in order. Nothing in socket suggesting issues there either.
I flashed older BIOS and exact same issue - cold boot, need to restart once at least to get past POST and into BIOS.

Unfortunately, the CPU didn't come from from OcUK, and I do wonder if we didn't get unlucky with a returned unit from this shop. My friend didn't spot it until I looked at the CPU but there was no paste on the retail cooler and the metal lid on CPU was dirty. Cooler looked like someone did a poor job at cleaning it - I could still get lots of residue with IPA. Box on the outside was dented but seal looked like new.
Maybe a coincidence, but someone could have returned a dud and retailer didn't notice?
 
Uh oh.

I'm assuming from that, there was no thermal paste on the CPU or the cooler when you took it off today and noticed what you saw?

I would plead ignorance, put the CPU back and send it back to the reseller saying that you have changed your mind.

And try to get another CPU from somewhere else
 
I noticed that there was no paste when we unboxed it, but I applied my AS5 and a H100. We went ahead with the build as we needed the machine for Monday. Got a replacement coming tomorrow lol.. Its been a never ending story of 1 day turnaround re-orders.
Now reports of Asus struggling with AMD/DDR4 boards are making me nervous for future stability - we'll see.
 
Yes - same story. That's why I think its either CPU or Mobo now.
I would expect change in behavior if it was purely memory issue when QVL sticks were fitted but it was exactly the same as with non QVL ones.
 
qbazdz said:
Yes - same story. That's why I think its either CPU or Mobo now.
I would expect change in behavior if it was purely memory issue when QVL sticks were fitted but it was exactly the same as with non QVL ones.
Click to expand...
As I said earlier, I think it is CPU given that it was a second hand one. More specifically, I think it is the memory controller; maybe they pushed it too hard with memory OC and killed it (well, it's barely alive if your mobo alternates between CPU fault then memory fault. It was certainly a problem for Gigabyte and AMD's AM3 processors (the advice then was "don't use memory over xxxx speed" (I forget the exact speed, but it would have been the speed of the memory controller in the CPU - I was curious whether it would be a problem with AM4 and I guess it still, unless someone can prove me otherwise).

Hopefully once the processor has arrived and you've tested it, you'll have some good news. Fingers crossed
 
Good news lads. It was the dodgy CPU. New one fitted and the new baby booted without issue. Just in the middle of configuring Win10 now lol!
Haven't used M.2 drives yet so I am amazed with the speed..
 
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