Fatal1ty AB350 mini-itx : issues at cold start

Hi,

I've a Fatal1ty AB350 mini-itx motherboard with a Ryzen 5 5600G (previously had a 2200G and had the same issue).

I'm running on BIOS 7.40 and use 16GB RAM.

What I observed is that although my RAM is 2666 MHz, it's only recognized as 2133 by default. So if I change the frequency in the BIOS, it works fine.

I can restart the computer or shut it down and start it up again and the setting will be kept until I do not turn the PSU switch to OFF.

If I do so, wait let's say 30s, and and then turn it on and do a cold start, I'll have 2 issues :
1. The system will take at least 30s to reach to the first ASRock logo.
2. The RAM frequency setting is lost and I've to set it again.

Some other BIOS settings are well saved (ex : the priority order for my SSD's).

I created a ticket but until now, I've not received any news yet.
I could see that others here and on other forums have experienced cold boot issues too (slow start).

Anyone could get this solved ? Or shall we hope it'll be fixed in a next BIOS revision ?

Best,
K.

eccential wrote: Wow, that board was released in 2017, so that's over 5 years ago. Could it just be that the CMOS battery needs to be replaced? You know, one of them coin batteries, CR2032 I think.

I can try this. But the thing is that other BIOS settings (ex : drives order preference) is being kept.

I should have a spare battery like that. I'll try with another one. I've ordered a new RAM kit to from 16GB 2666MHz to 32GB 3200MHz. As suggested by ASRock support, I've ordered Patriot Viper model as it seems to be the most compatible one.

I'll see if witht the RAM that should be compatible things are getting better, if not, I'll change the battery.

I'll try replacing the battery.

In the meantime, I could try other RAMs (incl. a Patrio Viper that the ASRock support recommended me without more success).

Also, one of my friends could get the XMP profile persisted after a cold boot with the same motherboard and a 5600G.

Also, as I stated, I also experienced the issue with my 2200G. And, I'm not sure anymore, but I think I had the issue with the 2200G even before I upgraded the BIOS or RAM and that at the beginning, I did not have this issue.

To be noted : the PC was not used for few months at some point.

All this make me think that it could indeed be a battery issue. I'll give it a try.

Found it : it was not on the board itself but stuck on the side of the I/O panel.

Good to hear. Yeah, they use a proprietary connector on many mini-ITX boards because, I guess, no room. There are a lot of interesting hacks you can do with something like this.

If you have a spot welder (you know, the ones they use to make battery packs), that'd be the perfect solution, but, well, most people don't have that. I'm weird, so I have one. LOL

It's not the best thing to do to a little coin battery, but you can actually solder the leads directly to it, if you're careful with it. Then wrap the whole thing in big heat-shrink tubing, and then stick that thing behind the audio-connector block.

One could even be clever with a CR123A (Lithium Primary, non-rechargeable) for this sort of thing. That thing will probably last for your lifetime for this purpose LOL. But it's a bit of a danger due to its high current capability (accidental shorting can cause bad things, like fires). LOL