Windows Random BSODs After Upgrading To Maximus Z790 Hero

[ag368]

I recently purchased the Asus Maximus Z790 Hero motherboard and have noticed that Windows has become quite unstable compared to my previous Rampage V Maximus motherboard. I am using all 4 banks of RAM (128 GB) and running the Corsair Vengeance DDR5 5200 MHz. According to  CPU-Z, the memory controller frequency is 1300 MHz, and Uncore is showing 4600. I just selected the Asus XMP I profile in the BIOS (UEFI).

I am getting some intermittent BSODs  with the following information:

031124-74140-01.dmp 3/11/2024 7:38:32 PM SYSTEM_SERVICE_EXCEPTION 0x0000003b 00000000`c0000005 fffff806`194dae0f ffff8982`48eadbc0 00000000`00000000 Ntfs.sys Ntfs.sys+dae0f NT File System Driver Microsoft® Windows® Operating System Microsoft Corporation 10.0.19041.1 (WinBuild.160101.0800) x64 ntoskrnl.exe+3fd3a0 C:\Windows\Minidump\031124-74140-01.dmp 32 15 19041 14,637,564 3/11/2024 7:40:54 PM

I am currently stuck on Windows 10 and can't upgrade to Windows 11 because the OS will crash with a KERNEL_SECURITY_CHECK_FAILURE error right after Windows 10 reboots and re-loads during the Windows 11 upgrade process. I have run the mem86test program through two full cycles twice and I am not seeing any memory issues.

I have heard that manually reducing the RAM speed in the BIOS may help with system stability issues but I'm not sure what setting to tweak. Has anyone seen this issue before with the Asus Z790 motherboards and, if so, what did you do to fix it?

Thanks in advance!

[caqo1971]

I gues that you installed again windows after Changing the motherboard.

And Upgrade to the latest BIOS 2102, they fixed DDR5 compatibility.

[ag368]

I didn't replace the motherboard at all. I ended up taking out half the RAM. It turns out that you can't even run 2 of the same kit of RAM even if the modules match. The paired modules you buy in a kit are specifically tuned and tested for the rated speed and settings. I must buy a RAM kit for 128GB if I want to use that on my setup.

I haven't tried updating my BIOS yet (after I previously upgraded but then rolled back because I didn't know to go and change the UEFI settings to Windows and couldn't figure out why the motherboard could no longer boot. 😋

[Silent_Scone]

Hi @ag368 

Read here for more info on XMP/EXPO and combining memory kits. 

Memory Kits - Overclocking and what you may not kn... - Republic of Gamers Forum - 979716 (asus.com)

[ag368]

Yeah, that's what I had read in another article online. Combining two of the same memory kits and combining them is not a good idea because the XMP profile on the RAM is specifically set for the modules that come in one kit. Pairing even the same kits together throws off the proper timing settings.

I suppose if you don't use XMP settings, you could then combine the same modules but then you would have to figure out what timings to use to get a stable system. It would be a lot of work and most people would probably want to plug it in and go without having to do a lot of testing and trial and error.

[caqo1971]

Just update bios to 2102.

[ag368]

I just updated my BIOS earlier and it seems that, for whatever reason, right after updating, I received a Secure Boot error message stating that the firmware was recently updated on a device in my last PCIE slot which happens to be a hardware RAID controller. Never saw this error before until upgrading to this particular BIOS version. I had to enable CSM mode to at least keep Secure Boot enabled on my Windows boot drive.