RAM upgrade problems

Brambory

PowerSpec G221 bld 3 with AS Rock B250 Pro4 board. I bought a 16GB pair of Kingston HyperX Fury DDR4-2400 RAM sticks (recommended and sold by MicroCenter). When I install them in slots A1 and B1 (A2 and B2 are used by stock RAM), the computer will not boot. It just hums, with no beeping or other sounds. Tried it several times, making sure they were totally snug, snapped in nice. What do I do to allow the upgrade to work?

PowerSpec_MikeW

Greetings,

First lets try to see if it'll POST with a  single stick installed. Could you also provide the full model number or specs on the RAM?

Brambory

HX424C15FB2K2/16   16GB DDR4 - 2400 CL 15 288 - Pin UDIMM Kit (2x8GB)

This one was the only one that would work, according to the website and a guy at the store.

Do you mean using a single original stick, or adding just one new one, and, if the latter, does it matter if it's in A1 or B1?

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Brambory

Adding just a single stick from the Kingston kit, and either one.

Brambory

No boot. The blue light and the fans start and stop over and over. I unplugged it since it wouldn't shut down by holding the button down for several seconds.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Brambory

The turning off and off, is telling you that the RAM is trying to train. It's looking for a profile on the RAM that it can boot with, but obviously is being unsuccessful. I'd clear your CMOS and give it one more go. If it still won't POST with one stick, then this RAM isn't going to work on your board.

It is returnable for 30 days, and we have other RAM that will work for you. The boards a B250 so it is going to be limited to 2666 as a maximum frequency, but that doesn't mean you can buy a faster RAM and still use it. It's just a question of what profiles it has on it, but it will still work.

Just as an example, here's the data sheet for your RAM: https://www.kingston.com/dataSheets/HX424C15FB2K2_16.pdf 

You can see the 2133 CL14, 2400 CL15 JEDEC profiles, and the 2400 CL15 XMP profile. So your board should be set to XMP auto, and if there's no profile, it'll train to one of the JEDEC profiles. The problem with higher speed kits, is they're likely to only have a 2133 CL15 profile, to POST.

So ideally you want a 2133/2400/2666 kit with low latency. CL15 is stock for DDR4 so that's what I'd shoot for. Higher is looser/slower. Check out a kit like this: https://www.microcenter.com/product/508576/gskill-ripjaws-v-16gb-(2-x-8gb)-ddr4-2400-pc4-19200-cl15-dual-channel-desktop-memory-kit-f4-2400c15d-16gvr---red 

Also you can see here: https://www.gskill.com/qvl/165/184/1535941837/F4-2400C15D-16GVR-Qvl 

This RAM has your motherboard on their QVL list.

Brambory

Thanks for your detailed response, some of which is over my head.

1. How do I clear CMOS? And, after I do, will the computer boot okay after I take the stick out?

2. I'm puzzled as to why the sticks I have were recommended by MicroCenter as the ones to do the job in my specific computer.  And it was way more than 30 days ago, so too late to return.  I had the same problem when I first got them and just gave up in confusion and frustration, but now I want more usable RAM. You say, "So ideally you want a 2133/2400/2666 kit with low latency. CL15 is stock for DDR4 so that's what I'd shoot for," and that is what I have,  —  HX424C15FB2K2/16   16GB DDR4 - 2400 CL 15 288 - Pin UDIMM Kit (2x8GB). These specs are identical to the stock sticks on the board now. Why would the ripjaws work better?    Thanks for the help; I want to make it work this time around. DM

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Brambory

There will be a jumper on the board labeled CLR_CMOS or CLR_RTC, it's detailed in the manual. Short it for a few seconds. Or remove the CMOS battery. It's unlikely to make a difference though since the board is trying to train, but we may as well try.

Generally RAM isn't a problem and so long as the specs are correct, it'll work. You will run into exceptions here and there. I'm pretty happy with G.Skill across the board for the most part and in this case G.Skill tested the RAM on your board to verify it will work.

Brambory

Well, that didn't make any difference, but thanks for the idea anyway. While I have your attention, can you tell me what the RESET button does? It's the one on the top of the computer, opposite the power on button. And what is the little gray button to the left of the reset button? It has an icon over it that looks like a cylinder.   Back to the RAM I got from MicroCenter — the specs are exactly what you recommend, and the same as the stock RAM, and it was sold as the one for my system, so what's wrong? I will probably go for the ripjaws, but don't like to throw good money after bad.

PowerSpec_MikeW

@Brambory

The RESET button just restarts the system. If the system hard locks, pressing the button will cause it to restart. The cylinder icon is an icon for the HDD. That's indicating there's an HDD status LED there.

No explanation on the RAM besides it's just not compatible with this particular motherboard. There could be a number of reasons for this. It's rarer today for this to happen, but you do run into it. I would bring the RAM with you and speak to a manager at the store, to see what we can do.

Brambory

Since it has been more than a year, and since it is available for pickup only, and since I live 50 miles from the store,  and since COVID is still strong, I think I'll just order it from Amazon or NewEgg and take the risk. If I get lots more RAM functionality for it, the tip about G.Skill have been worth it. Thanks, Mike, for your earnest efforts to help me. It's quite different from other experiences in forum-land. DM

Brambory

I took a look at the BIOS page and find that there is a firmware update available for this board, which says it will improve memory compatibility. I searched further and the feedback on the web said that if you are having trouble installing new RAM, that this could help. I thought it would be worth a try but wonder if there is any risk. I've never done a firmware update before on a board. What do you think?

TSTDavey

Hello @Brambory just chiming in with @TSMikeW. Depending on issues with your system, there is a small risk with updating the bios. There's more of a benefit to updating the bios than not depending on the situation. The only small potential risk is that if there is a mix up in the update process, the system may not boot or you'll have issues posting. There are options to reset the bios if this were to occur, but this most likely won't happen as long as you update the bios with the correct bios file from the motherboard manufacturer's site.

Brambory

Thanks for this. Speaking as a person who is often subject to the Murphy's Law about, if something can go wrong, it will go wrong, I'm shy about trying it. If I was assured that it would allow my new RAM to be recognized, then I would be more likely to go ahead. I would need to know a step by step process to "reset the bios" first.

TSTDavey

@Brambory see the video below on how to reset the bios with the cmos battery. @TSMikeW has mentioned in this post earlier of changing the jumpers or removing the cmos battery. Take a look a the video below on clearing the bios. You can try this, but as I look over this whole thread it may not be the board as the issue. The HyperX RAM sticks may be your issue. Have you thought about going with the G.skillz sticks like @TSMikeW had mentioned? It may be just the RAM you have and not your board. That means resetting the CMOS battery may not fix your issue.
Link below
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pdp_L5IxaNI

Brambory

Thanks for the input. I wondered if it might be the RAM, but it was the only one recommended by Micro Center as matching my precise build. Too late to return.  If you can't trust  Micro Center, who can you trust? I'll probably end up trying the G.skillz in the end, even though the BIOS page says an update will help memory compatibility.  Further, the CMOS battery is buried behind the huge video card, and the board looks different from the diagram from the manual which shows where the reset jumper is. I don't see it on the board.