Q code 15 won't go away

[AndrewJ81]

Hi everyone, I just got a ROG Strix x870e with: 

• Ryzen 9950x
• G Skill Trident 2x32GB DDR5 CL30 6000mhz ram (it's on the QVL)
• Corsair rm1000x PSU

Motherboard won't post.

I have tried updating the BIOS and the clear CMOS as suggested on another thread about this same error code.
Included a pic and a short video of the error codes. Starts with 15 and yellow light that maintains for a few seconds and then cycles through a few other different codes.

Any suggestions? I would appreciate any help.

[Nate152]

Hello AndrewJ81

Code 15 = Memory training and can take a while to complete.

It looked like your motherboard shut down at the end, this is probably due to no cpu cooler installed.

Try again with your cpu cooler installed.

[AndrewJ81]

Thanks @Nate152 , I was actually trying to avoid having to install the CPU cooler at first. The reason for this is because I wanted to test and see if my motherboard, CPU and RAM would all work before installing the cooler with thermal pads etc. Is there any way to do that, or are you pretty confident with your suggestion? I've tried a few more times and the results were the same, where that code was up for a few seconds, then cycled through a few other codes and shut off

[Nate152 · Accepted solution]

What is happening is....

Because you don't have a cpu cooler installed the cpu is overheating, the motherboard is shutting off to prevent cpu damage.

Go ahead and install everything in your case including your cpu cooler and see how it goes.

[AndrewJ81]

@Nate152  Thank you so much, that seems to have worked but there's a caveat.... I connected the power after installing the cooler and the M2 hard drive... result: it's now asking me to enter BIOS setup. Since the motherboard isn't yet in the case, should I just turn off the power on the power supply, then install the board into the case and then turn it on again when done? Or would that damage anything? Or do you recommend setting up the BIOS now before the motherboard is in the case?
Small discrepancy I noticed: the screen shows my ram as DDR5-4800 but it's actually DDR5-6000.
Sorry, it's my first time building a PC on my own. Really appreciate your help.

I've attached screenshots...

[Nate152]

Getting the bios screen is normal on the initial startup, this is a great sign everything went well and is working properly.

Good choice of memory with G.Skill Trident Z5 NEO.

To get your ram up to speed, you'll have to enter the bios. On the AI Tweaker page, set the AI Overclock Tuner to EXPO I, hit F10 and Enter to Save and Exit.

On the reboot, it will do memory training and may take a little while before it actually boots.

You can try it now or wait until you get it installed in your case.

[AndrewJ81]

Thank you so much @Nate152 , I really appreciate it.