I recently upgraded my motherboard from the MSI A520M-A PRO to the MSI B550 MPG Gaming Plus, and I handled all the cable installations myself. I'm fairly experienced and feel confident that I did everything correctly. However, after setting everything up, I noticed that the DRAM light on the motherboard stays solid white, and the system won't boot—it doesn't show any display output at all.
Here's what I've attempted so far:
- I cleaned the RAM contacts using an eraser.
- I tested each RAM stick one at a time in all available DIMM slots.
- I attempted two BIOS updates using the Flash BIOS Button, the first of which seemed promising but later switched to a solid red light. For the second update, I used version 7C56v19, which is the official non-beta version that supports my Ryzen 5 5600 CPU. The flash LED blinked for several minutes before turning off entirely, but the system didn't shut down or reboot afterwards.
My PSU is a Cougar 600W, and I've ensured all power connectors (the 24-pin and 8-pin CPU) are properly secured. I'm using Corsair Vengeance 3600 MHz RAM (2x8 GB), which worked fine on my previous A520M board. My GPU is an MSI RTX 2060 and it's known to be functioning well. I also have SSDs (Samsung 2TB NVMe + Kingston 512GB NVMe) and everything related to the monitor and GPU connections has been tested successfully.
I haven't reseated the CPU or cleared the CMOS yet but I'm considering it if there's a chance it might help. Any ideas on why the DRAM LED stays on after a successful BIOS Flashback? Could this be a sign of incompatibility or something else? Thanks for your help!
2 Answers
It sounds like you've done a lot of troubleshooting already! Since the DRAM light is still on, it might be worth trying different slots for your RAM sticks. Some motherboards have specific slot recommendations that can affect booting. And since you flashed the BIOS successfully, consider that the BIOS might have an issue recognizing the RAM. Reseating or trying a different RAM set, if available, could potentially solve the problem too.
From what you've described, it's possible that the RAM isn't fully seated or is simply incompatible with the new motherboard, even if it worked fine before. I'd recommend reseating the RAM sticks and ensuring they're in the right slots as per the motherboard manual. Sometimes a single unbalanced stick or improper slot can lead to issues like this. Also, if you haven't already, clear the CMOS; it might help to reset any BIOS settings that could be causing conflicts.
Definitely give reseating the RAM a shot. I had a similar issue where my RAM wasn't clicked in all the way, leading to boot problems. Clearing the CMOS is also a good move—it can clear up any weird settings that might have been carried over.
I've had issues with improperly seated RAM too, so checking that is key. If you can, also test with another set of RAM if you have them. Sometimes compatibility can be tricky.