I recently finished building a new PC and installed Windows and the required drivers, but I'm running into two problems. After the system has been shut down for a while, it sometimes fails to boot and gets stuck with both the CPU and DRAM debug LEDs illuminated. Waiting does not make it start. The system has also occasionally crashed and rebooted while doing light tasks such as browsing, although it remains stable when left idle in the BIOS. Reinstalling Windows on a different SSD may have helped with the crashes, but I haven't been able to test that properly because the system now refuses to boot again. I've already flashed the BIOS, cleared the CMOS, reseated the RAM and CPU, checked all power cables, and tested the entire build outside the case. EXPO is disabled, and the CPU socket appears to have no bent or discolored pins. Without spare parts to swap, I'm unsure whether the motherboard is faulty or what else to test.
1 Answer
Since both the CPU and DRAM indicators are coming on, start by clearing the CMOS again and try booting with the memory settings fully at default. Also inspect the CPU socket very carefully for even a slightly bent, damaged, or discolored contact. A socket or memory-training problem can prevent POST, and EXPO should remain disabled while troubleshooting.
EXPO is already disabled, and I’ll try clearing the CMOS again. This has happened more than once, though, and the socket looks normal to me.