Performing Passmark RAM performance test causes my PC to fail to restart afterwards

[Danisimo1]

The problem is the following:

My Asus Tuf Gaming B650 Plus motherboard works fine except for one detail, when I run the ram memory performance test in the Passmark program, although the test runs normally and there is no failure, when I reboot the PC the motherboard no longer recognizes my RAM, the only way to be able to start the PC again is to do a CMOS clear to the motherboard or change the tab on the supply and press the button to release the power left in the computer, that forces the motherboard to re-recognize my RAM.

Another symptom of when this problem happens, is that when I passed this ram memory performance test in passmark, right after if I start the hwinfo program to measure the temperature sensors of my motherboard, the program no longer recognizes my RAM memories and they are not reflected, before passing the program and this performance test yes, with all its data.

Otherwise, the RAM memories work perfectly in games and in other programs or performance tests, even in RAM stability tests without giving failures. I have tried different things to try to solve this problem without success. Installing a different version of Passmark (beta included), reinstalling Windows 11, uninstalling drivers and running the test without drivers installed in Windows 11. I have tested the stock RAM without choosing any EXPO profile and with all the default values in the BIOS, and also with EXPO profile 1 and 2 enabled.

I had exactly the same thing happen on the previous Asus board (Asus Tuf Gaming B650m Plus Wifi) that I had that I was forced to return thinking this problem was hardware, however the exact same error happens on this motherboard which makes me suspect it has to do with something to do with the passmark programa, BIOS or motherboard causing this error when running this test on the ram. I am using the latest bios posted on their Asus website and have tried older BIOS for the same motherboard and the same problem occurs.

My RAM is as follows and is listed on the G.Skill QVL list for this Asus motherboard and also for the B650m Plus Wifi I had previously:
F5-6000J3238F16GX2-FX5

Yesterday I received another G.Skill memory that is also in the QVL list of that brand for this motherboard and it produces exactly the same error, so I rule out that it has to do with any problem with my RAM:
F5-6000J3238F16GX2-TZ5NR

I am desperate with this problem, because although I know that the rest of the programs and games work fine, I do not understand why this error occurs with passmark preventing me from restarting the computer, which is a rather annoying instability of the motherboard.

I am not the only user with this problem, I have talked to other people on the internet who have the same problem with this test and am5, although others seem not to, and I do not understand what is the cause.

The test within the Passmark program where this error occurs is specifically called "Memory Mark".

Thank you very much for your attention and I hope you can help me to solve this problem.

[Richard (PassMark)]

User Forum Post is being handled through email. We will update the post when pertinent information is available.

[Richard (PassMark)]

We had one other similar report of Ryzen machine unable to boot, but a CMOS clear or double reboot fixed it. We are unclear why this just started to happen as the software has been available and running okay. We have thousands of downloads and submissions from users without issue until now.

However, we are confident that we have found the issue and will release a new download next week to address the issue that some users are experiencing on AMD PCs with PerformanceTest.

Problem also only seems to effect V10.2 Build 1016. Problem only started in this release as we added code to scan for possible 2nd SMBus on some Ryzen machines.

Also you don't need to run the Memory test to see this. Just collecting the RAM details are start up is enough to provoke the issue on susceptible systems.

Background: At this time, we are suspecting it might be a BIOS bug. To read the RAM SPD data, the use of the SMBus is required. These are wires that connect the CPU to RAM an other components to pass around system information (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/System_Management_Bus). To use the SMBus sometimes CPU or chipset registers need to be changed. e.g to unlock the bus, but these should all be reset to default when the machine restarts. The AMD 600 series chipset platform seems to maybe have a bug where it won't boot with the SMBus in this state and also doesn't set the state to something it is happy with (and also seems to forget the previous RAM SPD settings). Proposed workaround solution is for PerformanceTest to manually re-set the SMBus values back to how they were initially.

[David (PassMark)]

There is a new build available on our web site that should fix this. Release 10.2 Build 1017, 20/Feb/2023

Release history
https://www.passmark.com/products/pe...st/history.php

Download page
https://www.passmark.com/products/pe...t/download.php

Workaround if you already have the issue:
Again: If you find this forum post, it seems a double reboot fixes the problem on some systems (maybe do hard power off to be sure). On other systems a CMOS clear is required.

CMOS is a small memory chip on the motherboard used to store BIOS and boot settings. Some motherboards have a button on the motherboard to reset CMOS. Others have a jumper (two wires that need to be joined). Others require the temporary removal of the battery on the motherboard. Check your motherboard manual for details.