# Red light on ASUS Motherboard



## Mladen_94 (Jan 2, 2015)

Hello everyone. Sorry if i made thread in the wrong section i just created account here. I am hoping that you can help me with this, i searched whole google and i couldn't find any solution. So my problem is next:

My PC won't start. I see continious dram red light, holding RAMOK button can't fix the problem.There isn't any beep sound when i turn on my PC. I tried removing Graphic card and putting it back. I tried all 4 RAM Memory slots (2x Black and 2x Blue) and the red light still appears. I don't know how to fix the problem because i don't know what is causing him. Can you please help me ?

Specifications:
Motherboard: ASUS M5A87
CPU : AMD Athlon II x4 645 3.1 Ghz
GPU : Nvidia (Gainward) GTS 450
RAM:  Patrion (PSD34D16002H)  4 GB DDR3

PC worked normaly, i just turned it off to clean some dust from it, i had to remove component cuz its impossible to reach some areas without removing components. I changed thermal paste on my processor and thats all.. Thermal paste is not the problem cuz i changed it few times to see if red light would stop, i also tried without thermal paste but i still had red light.. All fans were working normaly, there isn't any smoke, any smell, everything was cool and clean.. I have no idea what to do.


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## JunkBear (Jan 2, 2015)

Try without the graphic card. Does it still make the same? Some components mais be not well sit in like memory sticks. It happened to me on time that I accidently bent a pin on the AMD cpu. It could also be that electro static blew one of memory stick. Oftn people make mistake to remove the components with computer plugged or just after unplugging it. You need to unplug and push on power button to empty all the circuits of the remaining electricty so it wont make a "spark" peak of discharge. 

1- Remove graphic card
2- Make cpu mainboard and cpu connectors are well plugged in
3- Remove memory sticks and start computer.
4- If its beeping then the motherboard is good so you put back memory one by one and test it. 
5- If not beeping then the motherboard got fried by spark discharge.
6- If beeping and memory all tested its still dont start then im afraid the cpu got busted. Try another cpu inside and if its workingthen the cpu gotta be replaced.


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## Mladen_94 (Jan 2, 2015)

JunkBear said:


> Try without the graphic card. Does it still make the same? Some components mais be not well sit in like memory sticks. It happened to me on time that I accidently bent a pin on the AMD cpu. It could also be that electro static blew one of memory stick. Oftn people make mistake to remove the components with computer plugged or just after unplugging it. You need to unplug and push on power button to empty all the circuits of the remaining electricty so it wont make a "spark" peak of discharge.
> 
> 1- Remove graphic card
> 2- Make cpu mainboard and cpu connectors are well plugged in
> ...



Since its my friend computer i can't do anything right now. I am collecting info so i can try tomorrow since its 00:45 AM here..

I tried with removing memory stick and started PC, i heard beeping, i tried all 4 slots and i still had red light.. I will try tomorrow with removed graphic card.. I hope that CPU is okey  cuz thats damn expensive, i don't have money for bubble gum lol 

thx for the advice, if you have any more advices, tell me so i can try all of this tomorrow 

EDIT: When all is inserted properly i dont have any beeps, i get beeps when ram is not inserted..But when its in, its only a red light, no beeps


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## JunkBear (Jan 2, 2015)

Mladen_94 said:


> Since its my friend computer i can't do anything right now. I am collecting info so i can try tomorrow since its 00:45 AM here..
> 
> I tried with removing memory stick and started PC, i heard beeping, i tried all 4 slots and i still had red light.. I will try tomorrow with removed graphic card.. I hope that CPU is okey  cuz thats damn expensive, i don't have money for bubble gum lol
> 
> thx for the advice, if you have any more advices, tell me so i can try all of this tomorrow


 
that's the same procedure i used for 20 years now so just do it. Even if technology and parts change it's still the same procedure. If you have spare power supply just bring it there try it after you did all the testing. if still not working with graphic card removed then plug the setup with the power supply you bring. If still not working then it is the cpu.


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## Mladen_94 (Jan 2, 2015)

Is there any way that the ram is boosted? cuz he got warranty for RAM only and its the cheapest lol


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## JunkBear (Jan 2, 2015)

As i said try step by step i told you. no need to add more until you do the step by step.


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## Mladen_94 (Jan 2, 2015)

Okey thanks, i will try all of this tomorrow, i will post here what happened and what is busted when i get home. Thanks alot man


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## OneMoar (Jan 3, 2015)

*if junkbears recomendations don't work*
inspect the cpu for bent or broken pins if you had to fight to get the heatsink off you may have broken one
or the socket its self in witch case you need a new board ... 
system is getting pretty old time to think about a upgrade ...


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## newtekie1 (Jan 3, 2015)

It sounds odd, but this could be a PSU issue as well.  The RAM controller is on the CPU. If there is an issue with the CPU receiving power it can cause the RAM controller to not initialize properly. This will cause the DRAM LED to light because the POST process can't initialize the RAM.

That power supply in the picture doesn't exactly look that high quality.


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## OneMoar (Jan 3, 2015)

on asus boards the dram light doubles as post code led check the manual static on is never good tho


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## Mladen_94 (Jan 3, 2015)

OneMoar said:


> *if junkbears recomendations don't work*
> inspect the cpu for bent or broken pins if you had to fight to get the heatsink off you may have broken one
> or the socket its self in witch case you need a new board ...
> system is getting pretty old time to think about a upgrade ...



I alredy checked CPU, all pins were normal, all in line, not even a single pin was bent, not even broken.. I had no problem putting CPU back to socket 

Edit:
@newtekie1  IDK i just hope that its not CPU or GPU  everything else is afordable..
I know that he wont charge me for that crap, but i would really feel like sh*t if something went off.. I would sell my kidney if i have to, just to fix that problem* *


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 3, 2015)

No psu info cant help you


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## Mladen_94 (Jan 3, 2015)

eidairaman1 said:


> No psu info cant help you


blueberry power supply psb560


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## OneMoar (Jan 3, 2015)

Mladen_94 said:


> blueberry power supply psb560


replace the psu


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## Mladen_94 (Jan 3, 2015)

I will try everything you guys wrote here. Thx alot, this is one great forum  nice community


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## hat (Jan 3, 2015)

Try to find a way to make sure it's indeed the PSU before you replace it. If it's not too much trouble take the PSU out of your rig and try it in your friend's if you have to.


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## Devon68 (Jan 3, 2015)

Did anyone here download the manual and actually look into it.
That Led is for the ram (DRAM LED)
next to it there is a small button that's called mem test try and press it and see if the memory will pass
The problem is almost definitely the ram. (At least I see it's in the proper place Bank A1)


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## OneMoar (Jan 3, 2015)

Devon68 said:


> Did anyone here download the manual and actually look into it.
> That Led is for the ram (DRAM LED)
> next to it there is a small button that's called mem test try and press it and see if the memory will pass
> The problem is almost definitely the ram. (At least I see it's in the proper place Bank A1)


you didn't read the thread


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## Devon68 (Jan 3, 2015)

> you didn't read the thread


You got me there


> on asus boards the dram light doubles as post code led check the manual static on is never good tho


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## eidairaman1 (Jan 3, 2015)

Devon68 said:


> You got me there



Those lights tend to give a false positive, if correct voltage isnt being provided to any system part it wont boot properly


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## Aquinus (Jan 3, 2015)

eidairaman1 said:


> Those lights tend to give a false positive, if correct voltage isnt being provided to any system part it wont boot properly


Yeah, except that particular LED means something and if it stays lit it could be an indicator of a problem.

Like my motherboard, that's the DRAM_LED. It stays lit when the motherboard either can't place nicely with the DRAM installed or when the DRAM has failed. You can try pressing the MemOk! button which will try to bypass any DRAM checking it does but, I suggest pulling both DIMMs out and testing one at a time. Reset the BIOS while you're at it.

If it was working before and not now and it's the DRAM_LED lighting up, that's almost a surefire sign that at least one stick of memory as failed. This isn't rocket science.



newtekie1 said:


> If there is an issue with the CPU receiving power it can cause the RAM controller to not initialize properly. This will cause the DRAM LED to light because the POST process can't initialize the RAM.


I don't think you're right on that one but you never know. If the IMC can't initialize the very first stage of startup (CPU init) should fail as the IMC needs to be powered up to work with some of the cache levels and cache is checked before DRAM. This really smells like bad DRAM. It's not that hard to swap DIMMs around to rule it out.


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## Mladen_94 (Jan 3, 2015)

Hi guys, we took pc to my other friends house. RAM Memory was busted..We tried RAM from the picture above to other PC and the other PC wouldnt start either..Then we took new ram memory and put on the broken one and everything was fine. PC started normaly, bios was reseted so we had to change time and date manualy. Thanks everyone for helping me


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## AsRock (Jan 3, 2015)

Glad you got it sorted out.  But please consider running a system on a quality PSU as cheap ones can do so much damage.


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## Devon68 (Jan 3, 2015)

Well I might have not read the whole thread but still called it correctly. This makes my day


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## AsRock (Jan 3, 2015)

Devon68 said:


> Well I might have not read the whole thread but still called it correctly. This makes my day




Well i read a few ASUS forum posts were the red light issue was due to a few things like not having the 8 pin connected or even the PSU not supplying the power required correctly.


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## OneMoar (Jan 3, 2015)

Or he had a lose connection someplace and it was just a fluke it started working again ...
could have a cracked trace on the board or a issue with the socket
if it was a ram issue then it should have given 3 beeps and the light will blink twice according to the manual
steady on indicates a no power to the cpu
just because it didn't post in the other machine doesn't mean the ram is shot he may not have cleared the cmos when testing it in the other machine ... which could cause a no post ...
or he managed to kill the ram with ESD ... which unless you work on carpet is near impossible


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## Aquinus (Jan 3, 2015)

OneMoar said:


> if it was a ram issue then it should have given 3 beeps and the light will blink twice according to the manual


Mine blinks quickly when it is booting normally. I've never recall seeing mine flash when I first got it with a BIOS that didn't play nicely with the memory I had. Many boards also don't have a built in speaker so the beep codes will only be heard if you added one yourself. Maybe it's different with his board but every time my system hangs on boot because of DRAM for any reason (including unstable DRAM overclock) it's always a stead red on the DRAM_LED.

All in all, I think the only evidence everyone is running on to blame something other than the memory or blame something on why the memory failed is the Rosewill PSU. Without additional information it would be hard to say, but I find it very unlikely that the PSU failing would cause issues strictly with the DRAM itself. Some of the explanations I've read here have been pretty ridiculous. So without jumping to conclusions, the PSU should be tested before blaming it for anything.


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## Tmarine (Jul 7, 2016)

Hi i have an Asus motherboard with socket 775 something call Republic of Gamers I move for my military duty my pc was working perfect then when restarted after moved doesnt start , then i dint touch nothing no$$$$ to start solving around w tests and swapping, few days ago I order t a used motherboard and new PS same brand even more power thermaltake, was 750 now 850w,
PC start make a long beep, no video, then turn on blue LEDs on and no response at all while this LEDs are on no restart nothing, I know this motherboard are old but is too expensive to update.

my DDR2 strikers x 4
video Geforce 550  

i was reading about to test without any card on it? this can be done after al thos LEDs are on?


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## EarthDog (Jul 7, 2016)

Yikes...on so many levels...

Did you try to reseat all the parts and make sure they were sitting in their slots properly? What CPU? Which ROG motherboard? Please make you system specs please...


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## Tmarine (Jul 7, 2016)

Intel QX 6700 quad Core extreme 2.66GHz Clockable 8MB Cache
MB Asus striker Extreme LGA socket 775 NVIDIA 680I 1333GHz FSB
ROG Republic of Gamers bluue LCD error on rear (this not giving any)
RAM corsair DominatorPC 8500 DDR2 2048 x 4
Video:EVGA 580GTX 1535MB

with all this I I need to recover it lol Thanks for your concern


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