Does the system have a speaker? Sometimes they cut costs and omit the speaker. You can use something like this when your board doesn't have one.
Does RAM just die?
- Thread starter Pablo
- Start date
No speaker or speaker pins
Last edited:
Possibly the PSU or mobo then, I don't think it's the RAM in your case.
I had a similar issue a few months back putting together a new build for a friend only reusing his old 1200w Corsair PSU. The DRAM red LED came on and all errors pointed to the RAM or CPU. It would POST but I had to jump the reset pins to go into the UEFI. His build is 99% similar to mine so after testing out his CPU and RAM on my setup I was 100% sure it was the motherboard. Well two days and two trips to Microcenter later I decided to test out my old PSU on his setup and that ended up being the culprit.
Honestly I'm not sure but the end is still the same regardless of the RAM configuration and it should have worked with just 1 plugged in - assuming all 4 didn't go bad at the same time. Unfortunately the only real way to test this right now is with a spare set of RAM which has already been ordered.
Try this to see if this changes the DRAM light occurrence - although removing the CMOS battery technically does the same thing, I've had different errors when the jumper was reset:
The LED only reports a memory abnormality. The memory controller is integrated into the CPU and the board provides power and memory bus for the RAM slots.
It could be PSU, CPU, motherboard or the RAM. Unfortunately in the world of IT the way you diagnose these issues is R&R.
If I were you I'd purchase an inexpensive name brand 500W power supply for about $40. It's impossibly unlikely all 4 of your RAM sticks failed at the same time. Cross your fingers and hope it's not a CPU or motherboard.
Do you have another CPU to toss in it? I would try that first. Doubt it's the PSU, it would not set a RAM LED debug light.
Happens to me once in a while. Going from 2 sticks back to 1 stick to test and it follows one particular stick. They pass test most of the time but a weak cell somehow would crash my system after a few days. It would take a very long time of trial and error to narrow down and conclude that.
The thing about these Debug LEDs is that they may not be accurate. It could mean the CPU is hanging on the RAM verification, but the RAM may be good.
More expensive boards have actual error codes which are more specific, but could still be a hit or miss.
More expensive boards have actual error codes which are more specific, but could still be a hit or miss.
All MB's are kinda cheapie IMHO. But I get your point
Your PC has surpassed its life expectancy. https://www.costco.com/hp-17.3"-laptop---13th-gen-intel-core--i5-1335u---1080p---windows-11.product.4000213585.html
Saw one of these at the Costco store yesterday for $449.
Saw one of these at the Costco store yesterday for $449.
But that's a laptop, if you're going to get a new desktop I don't think I'd recommend most prebuilt systems since the larger OEMs have all pretty much went the proprietary PSU route, and system integrators are pretty hit and miss with the quality and I'm not sure they're a very good value over just selecting your own hardware and building it yourself.
Oh I'm sorry why would I suggest something that is more versatile?
It looks like the OP has a decent system with a dedicated GPU a basic productivity laptop isn't exactly a comparable replacement.
I have a laptop and it's not very versatile. It's portable, it works. But I just don't like laptops. Too small no matter what
I dislike Laptops to . I sit about 3 feet away from my Desktop Monitor with a cordless mouse in hand and I'm comfortable .
If the RAM is made by Dodge, it will die.
Four sticks of RAM to die simultaneously is an extremely low probability. Winning a lottery is more likely.