I'm troubleshooting an ASUS ROG STRIX Z370-G Gaming system with an Intel Core i5-8400 and two Kingston HyperX Fury 8GB DDR4-3200 modules. Either stick works normally by itself in both the A2 and B2 slots, but installing both modules causes a repeating pattern of one long beep followed by two short beeps, an orange DRAM LED, and no successful POST.
I have reseated the modules several times and also tried both sticks together in A1 and B1, with the same result. I removed and reinstalled the CMOS battery as well, although I haven't located the CLRTC pins. What should I test next, and what could make both modules work individually but fail when used together?
2 Answers
Since the sticks and slots work individually, the problem may be related to memory settings or the CPU’s integrated memory controller rather than a completely dead module. Clear the CMOS properly, then boot with both sticks installed at their default settings—make sure XMP is disabled and the memory is not being forced to 3200 MHz. After the system is stable, try enabling XMP or manually testing a lower speed such as 2666 or 2933 MHz. Also check that the modules are a matched kit; two separately purchased sticks can sometimes fail to run together even when each works alone.
Run a memory test on each stick individually first, then test both together. MemTest86 can be written to a bootable USB drive; boot from it and let several passes complete. A module can appear to work in Windows by itself but still produce errors under a longer stress test. If both sticks pass alone but fail together at default settings, inspect the CPU socket carefully for bent pins, reseat the CPU cooler without excessive pressure, and check the motherboard manual for the recommended two-DIMM slots. The socket pins connect to the memory channels, so a pin or contact problem can affect dual-channel operation.
That makes sense. I was confused because each stick boots normally on its own, but I’ll use MemTest86 and then inspect the socket and CPU seating if both modules pass individually.
I tried both modules together in A1 and B1 as well, but the same DRAM light and beeping occurred. I’ll try a proper CMOS reset and check whether the memory is running with XMP enabled.