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zulu9812 · 28th May 2012, 15:44

Okay, despite the motherboard, I am not overclocking.

The problem began a couple of days ago. Two days in a row, my computer unexpectedly restarted - but upon attempting to start up, boot would fail at various points. Sometimes at the initial screen (press 'Del' to enter BIOS, etc.), sometimes at the windows logo, sometimes at a screen asking do I wish to boot into safe mode, sometimes when it had just got into windows itself (both Normal and Safe modes). The first day this happened, I was able to boot into safe mode and restart into normal mode. The second day, this didn't work (the computer rebooted itself when in safe mode before I could do anything) and then kept attempting failed boots that got shorter and shorter until it was just the switch clicking on and off. I eventually did a CMOS battery re-seat and the computer then ran fine, until this morning when it unexpectedly restarted for the the third day in a row and then followed the behaviour described above.

The Rampage III Extreme has a series of diagnostic LEDs that can tell you if something is wrong with your graphics card, boot device, cpu or ram. In this case, the DRAM led was lit up red. This wasn't the first time I'd seen this LED so I thought that I'd better replace the RAM. I had already ordered the replacement yesterday and it arrived today.

old RAM - http://www.corsair.com/en/tr3x6g1600c8d.html

new RAM - http://www.corsair.com/en/vengeance-...m3a1600c9.html

I also re-seated the CMOS battery again, just in case.

Now my computer won't boot at all - fans spin but the DRAM warning led is still lit and I get no system beeps. Screen is inactive. Can't tell what's going on.

Can anyone help me out?

zulu9812 · 28th May 2012, 17:29

I tried booting with no RAM at all installed. I got a series of long beeps. This is good, as it generally implies RAM problems. If I had still gotten no beeps it would likely have been a PSU problem. But I do get beeps. So I tried with one stick of the new RAM. No beeps.

This could mean bad RAM. But I'm not inclined to think that it's 2 sets of bad RAM. It is probably something else.

Peter187 · 4th Jun 2012, 08:48

Hi, Do you think it could be your power supply dying?

JPClyde · 4th Jun 2012, 09:36

The red light is for the voltage, I have one for memory, CPU, Northbridge and Southbridge.

They're called Voltiminder LEDs, it's telling you the voltage is too high.

You have to change it in BIOS, or reset your CMOS.

shinuviel · 17th Dec 2012, 22:49

Hi, I've got the same problem as zulu. My pc started to freeze at random stages, like windows loading, a couple of times, than after 2 or 3 reboots it couldn't POST anymore (There is no bip at the start, only the fans are running). I opened my case and found out that there was a red led lit up. My motherboard is an Asus m4a88td-v evo/usb3, and the light I was talking about is the DRAM_LED which points to a ram problem according to the manual. After this led there is a button that can be pressed to start a "memory compatibility tuning" as manual says, so i tried this one. The light starts to blink at different speeds and when it ends nothing happens, the red light is still there and the system will not post. I have another pc in my home with a similiar config, so i tried my ram there and it works fine, i tried my PSU and it works fine, i tried even the cpu and it wroks too...so the last thing I can think of is the motherboard.

Well after reading zulu post i tried to start my system without the ram sticks and surprise, i got a long beep and a series of short ones (indicating missing ram), so how is it possible to be a motherboard problem if the diagnostic beeps runs great?

I also tried to clear the CMOS, there is a procedure indicated in the manual: you have to move a jumper cap from a position to another and wait 10 seconds, then return it to the previous position. I did, but nothing happened, so assuming it didnt work i also took away the battery from cmos and put it down again after a couple of minutes.

What else can I do? Is really the motherboard dead after 2 years of honoured service?

28th May 2012, 15:44	#1
zulu9812 Multimodder Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 222	Asus Rampage III Extreme RAM issues Okay, despite the motherboard, I am not overclocking. The problem began a couple of days ago. Two days in a row, my computer unexpectedly restarted - but upon attempting to start up, boot would fail at various points. Sometimes at the initial screen (press 'Del' to enter BIOS, etc.), sometimes at the windows logo, sometimes at a screen asking do I wish to boot into safe mode, sometimes when it had just got into windows itself (both Normal and Safe modes). The first day this happened, I was able to boot into safe mode and restart into normal mode. The second day, this didn't work (the computer rebooted itself when in safe mode before I could do anything) and then kept attempting failed boots that got shorter and shorter until it was just the switch clicking on and off. I eventually did a CMOS battery re-seat and the computer then ran fine, until this morning when it unexpectedly restarted for the the third day in a row and then followed the behaviour described above. The Rampage III Extreme has a series of diagnostic LEDs that can tell you if something is wrong with your graphics card, boot device, cpu or ram. In this case, the DRAM led was lit up red. This wasn't the first time I'd seen this LED so I thought that I'd better replace the RAM. I had already ordered the replacement yesterday and it arrived today. old RAM - http://www.corsair.com/en/tr3x6g1600c8d.html new RAM - http://www.corsair.com/en/vengeance-...m3a1600c9.html I also re-seated the CMOS battery again, just in case. Now my computer won't boot at all - fans spin but the DRAM warning led is still lit and I get no system beeps. Screen is inactive. Can't tell what's going on. Can anyone help me out?

4th Jun 2012, 08:48	#3
Peter187 Whats a Dremel? Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Australia Posts: 117	Hi, Do you think it could be your power supply dying? __________________ Dremel Moto-Tool is the name given to rotary tools developed by Albert J. Dremel, who founded the Dremel Company in 1932 in Racine, Wisconsin. Core i7 970@ 4GHz. ASUS Rampage III Extreme. EVGA SC GTX580 SLi. X-Fi X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Professional. 2x WD Black Caviar SATA III. 12GB Patriot Viper 2 Sector 7 2000MHz. 1200w Toughpower PSU. Logitech Z5450 5.1. 27"LED Acer. H70 CPU Cooler

4th Jun 2012, 09:36	#4
JPClyde Multimodder Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Bradford, UK Posts: 186	The red light is for the voltage, I have one for memory, CPU, Northbridge and Southbridge. They're called Voltiminder LEDs, it's telling you the voltage is too high. You have to change it in BIOS, or reset your CMOS. __________________ Asus Crosshair III Formula / Amd Phenom II x4 965 3.4ghz / 8gb Corsair Memory / EVGA GTX570 HD Superclocked / Sound Blaster X-Fi Titanium Fatal1ty Pro / Tagan Piperock 800w PSU / Samsung SATA 500gb HDD / Samsung SATA SSD 128gb HDD / DVDRW / Cool Master HAF X Case Last edited by JPClyde; 4th Jun 2012 at 10:06.

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28th May 2012, 17:29	#2
zulu9812 Multimodder Join Date: Oct 2010 Location: Edinburgh Posts: 222	I tried booting with no RAM at all installed. I got a series of long beeps. This is good, as it generally implies RAM problems. If I had still gotten no beeps it would likely have been a PSU problem. But I do get beeps. So I tried with one stick of the new RAM. No beeps. This could mean bad RAM. But I'm not inclined to think that it's 2 sets of bad RAM. It is probably something else.

17th Dec 2012, 22:49	#5
shinuviel What's a Dremel? Join Date: Dec 2012 Posts: 1	Hi, I've got the same problem as zulu. My pc started to freeze at random stages, like windows loading, a couple of times, than after 2 or 3 reboots it couldn't POST anymore (There is no bip at the start, only the fans are running). I opened my case and found out that there was a red led lit up. My motherboard is an Asus m4a88td-v evo/usb3, and the light I was talking about is the DRAM_LED which points to a ram problem according to the manual. After this led there is a button that can be pressed to start a "memory compatibility tuning" as manual says, so i tried this one. The light starts to blink at different speeds and when it ends nothing happens, the red light is still there and the system will not post. I have another pc in my home with a similiar config, so i tried my ram there and it works fine, i tried my PSU and it works fine, i tried even the cpu and it wroks too...so the last thing I can think of is the motherboard. Well after reading zulu post i tried to start my system without the ram sticks and surprise, i got a long beep and a series of short ones (indicating missing ram), so how is it possible to be a motherboard problem if the diagnostic beeps runs great? I also tried to clear the CMOS, there is a procedure indicated in the manual: you have to move a jumper cap from a position to another and wait 10 seconds, then return it to the previous position. I did, but nothing happened, so assuming it didnt work i also took away the battery from cmos and put it down again after a couple of minutes. What else can I do? Is really the motherboard dead after 2 years of honoured service?