Yellow Light On Motherboard [Detailed-Guide]

A yellow light on your motherboard means a RAM problem. A solid yellow light points to DRAM issues, while a blinking yellow light indicates that the motherboard is receiving power and functioning correctly. When the motherboard detects memory problems during initialization, it activates the yellow light to alert you to the problem.

Yes, your PC has been doing well so far, but when something goes wrong with the parts on the motherboard, all hell breaks loose. It happened to me a couple of times, and after checking forums and reading manuals, I figured out what was wrong.

In this article, I will look at what the yellow light on the motherboard means and how to identify which component caused the problem based on the meaning of the blinking lights.

What Do the Yellow Lights On MSI, Asrock, Gigabyte, and Asus Motherboards Mean?

If you see a yellow light, it means there is probably something wrong with the RAM. The LED lights on the motherboard are a great way to recognize problems within your machine before they become a serious issue.

Most motherboards have LEDs or LCDs that display error codes when something is wrong or not functioning correctly.

When the motherboard finds errors, a series of LED lights illuminate. This action serves as a reminder to check the status of a computer. However, this may not be obvious to those unfamiliar with it. What do the lights mean?

Often the meaning is written on a sticker on the motherboard or even in the motherboard’s manual. The meaning of each light is not the same on all motherboards, which is why you need to check your motherboard’s manual to know the meaning of each light.

How to Fix the Solid Yellow Light on an Asus Motherboard

The yellow lights on the Asus motherboard are part of the POST-state LED, which checks the DRAM during the booting process of the motherboard. If an error is discovered, the yellow LED will remain illuminated until the problem is resolved.

When I had this issue on my Asus Rog Strix B450-F Gaming AMD Ryzen 5 2600 Motherboard, when I installed 2 x 8GB DDR4 3000MHz Corsair Vengeance, I solved it by re-seating the big power cable (ATX-24) that connects to the motherboard and then swapping the two RAM positions, and everything worked perfectly.

If this fix does not work, then you can try other fixes below:

Locate your problem.

To find out if your motherboard is the cause, you can remove everything connected to it, starting with graphics and other add-in devices like storage devices and RAM.

Remove any case accessories attached to the motherboard and put them on your computer with one RAM stick to see if the problem stops. This process is called troubleshooting.

If you see a constant yellow light again, your motherboard is likely problematic. If you find no problem with these devices, you should try the next solution.

Remove and re-insert the RAM stick.

The yellow light indication on your motherboard might indicate that there’s a problem with your RAM. Remove the RAM, and then reset it.

Some people may need to clean their RAM by blowing it out or cleaning it with rubbing alcohol before reinstalling it. If you still have a problem, try inserting the RAM into a different slot. If this doesn’t solve your problem, try the next solution.

Reconfigure your RAM

If your computer keeps showing a yellow or yellow light on your motherboard, check if there is any button near the light; press the button for a few seconds, and the problem may be fixed. Pressing the button will reconfigure your RAM based on its settings.

If this does not fix it, try the next solution.

Change GPU Slot

To fix the yellow light on your motherboard, you can try removing the GPU and re-inserting it like the RAM. However, if this still doesn’t work, you can try using a different PCIe slot on the motherboard.

Different manufacturers have multiple PCIe slots on their motherboards to support several graphics cards. If this does not fix it, try the next solution.

Change PSU

If the yellow light on your motherboard is lit, you will want to first check if the GPU fan and cooling fan are working. If not, this may require you to get a power supply to provide enough power for the entire system.

To check for this, you need the wattage of your entire system, which can be found by searching “total power usage” and “watt-hour”. If this does not work, try the next solution. If this does not fix it, try the next solution.

Update your BIOS (Basic Input/Output System).

BIOS, short for Basic Input/Output System, is a program built inside your computer’s ROM (read-only memory).

It keeps a small amount of data on the motherboard ready to load and run the operating system and devices connected to it. When you want to update your computer’s BIOS, you need to flash the BIOS on your system. If this does not fix it, try the next solution.

Asus motherboard, yellow light, no boot

As a PC technician with 10 years of experience fixing issues with motherboards, a yellow light on an Asus motherboard typically indicates a problem with the DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory). This could be due to a variety of factors, including:

Incorrectly installed RAM modules: Make sure that your RAM modules are properly seated in their slots. You can do this by gently pressing down on each module until you hear a click.
Faulty RAM modules: If you have checked the installation of your RAM modules and they are still not working, it is possible that one or more of the modules are faulty. Try removing one module at a time and see if your system boots. If it does, then the module you removed is faulty.
Incompatible RAM modules: Make sure that your RAM modules are compatible with your motherboard. You can check this by consulting your motherboard’s manual.
Dirty or damaged RAM module contacts: If the contacts on your RAM modules are dirty or damaged, it can prevent them from making proper contact with the motherboard. Clean the contacts with a dry cotton swab and try again.

If you have tried all of the above and your system is still not booting, it is possible that there is a problem with your motherboard itself. In this case, you may need to contact Asus support for further assistance.

Here are some additional troubleshooting tips:

Try resetting your BIOS or CMOS to default settings.
Disconnect all unnecessary devices from your system, such as external hard drives, printers, and scanners.
Try booting your system with a single stick of RAM in the recommended slot.
If you have an M.2 SSD installed, try removing it and booting with a SATA SSD instead.

If you are still having problems, please consult your motherboard’s manual or contact Asus support for further assistance.

Please note that this is general advice and may not solve all problems with Asus motherboards. If you are not comfortable troubleshooting the problem yourself, please consult a qualified PC technician.

How to Fix the Yellow Light on a Gigabyte Motherboard

The major causes of a yellow light appearing on your Gigabyte motherboard are faulty RAM or a loose cable on the motherboard. However, other causes include missing 8-pin power connectors or outdated BIOS. The common fix is to remove and reinsert the RAM stick or reset the BIOS.

However, there is more.

As you probably know, Gigabyte has many features, like high-end capacitors and built-in LED trace path lighting. I used the B365m Ds3h model for Intel’s 8th and 9th generation CPUs.

I have seen many reports about these models having blinking yellow lights (DRAM lights), especially those associated with hardware faults.

In the rest of this article, we will walk through all the possible causes of the yellow light error signal on the Gigabyte motherboard and how to fix them easily.

Re-install the RAM Stick.

As previously stated, improper RAM placement can result in the yellow light on a gigabyte motherboard. If you eventually find that to be the case, then this fix will work.

The first step is to open the CPU unit and then remove the RAM disc. Before reinstalling it, clean the slot with a blower. As you install the RAM, ensure the gap on the motherboard slot is large enough and that the stick is aligned to make that “click” sound.

Consider putting the RAM in a different slot if the yellow light still appears after this fix. If that doesn’t work, the problem may not be with the RAM stick.

Update the BIOS.

Updating your BIOS may be the one-stop solution to the yellow light on your motherboard. If your Gigabyte motherboard has an outdated BIOS and you update from one generation chip to the next, the yellow light will illuminate. You can override it by updating your BIOS to the latest version.

Reset the CMOS.

Another fix with a high success rate is to reset the CMOS battery in your motherboard to make sure the BIOS is operational even when your computer is plugged out. Here’s how to go about it:

First, unplug all power sources connected to the PSU and discharge every capacitor by pressing the power button five times.

Open the CPU case and locate the CMOS battery on the motherboard that looks like a coin. Gently remove it while taking note of the correct positioning.

Hold the battery out for 3–5 minutes before replacing the CMOS battery.

Afterward, assemble the unit and start your computer to see if the yellow light is off.

Reconfigure your RAM.

When your RAM does not adjust to the settings of your motherboard, you may observe the yellow light indicator. When you detect this to be the root cause, then reconfiguring your RAM according to the settings on your motherboard will solve the problem.

To do this, check for any buttons near the yellow light and press the button for a few seconds. This may force the computer to fix itself.

Remove and re-insert the GPU.

Gigabyte motherboards come with more than one PCIe slot. Changing the GPU slot from one PCIe to another may fix the problem. But for that, you can consider removing and re-inserting the GPU to see if the yellow light will stop, just as you did with the RAM.

Replace PSU

The yellow light can light up when there is not enough power for the entire motherboard. The best way to know whether the GPU is the cause is to confirm whether the cooling fan and GPU fan are working. If not, then you need to replace the PSU with one that can provide enough power for the motherboard.

I recommend that you use the CoolerMaster platform to calculate the power needed for your gigabyte motherboard so that you do not replace it with a lower power supply.

Unplug all cables.

Simple fixes like unplugging all the cables connected to the motherboard and reconnecting them after 20 to 30 minutes may resolve the yellow light indicator. The cables you should focus on are:

All power cables from the HDD and SSD
The 24-pin cable
The 8-pin PCIe power connector

Yellow light Blinking on the motherboard

On some computers, a blinking yellow light signifies hard drive activity. When the hard drive is used, the yellow light may blink every few seconds. The computer constantly asks the hard drive for information if it blinks for a long time.

If the yellow light is static, you likely have an issue with your RAM or one component isn’t properly connected to the motherboard.

The yellow light blinks rapidly when the motherboard receives power and functions correctly. This can be a solid light, a blinking light, or a flashing light.

A solid yellow light means you have power, but the motherboard is not receiving any other signals or input.

How To Fix Red and Yellow Light on Motherboard

A red light on an Asus motherboard typically indicates a problem with the CPU (central processing unit), while a yellow light indicates a problem with the DRAM (dynamic random access memory). However, when both lights are on, it can be difficult to determine which component is causing the problem.

Here are some troubleshooting tips:

Check the CPU and RAM installation: Make sure that the CPU and RAM modules are properly seated in their slots. You can do this by gently pressing down on each module until you hear a click.
Try resetting the BIOS/CMOS to default settings: This can sometimes fix problems caused by incorrect BIOS settings.
Disconnect all unnecessary devices from your system: This includes external hard drives, printers, and scanners.
Try booting your system with a single stick of RAM in the recommended slot: If your system boots with a single stick of RAM, then the other stick of RAM is likely faulty.
If you have an M.2 SSD installed, try removing it and booting with a SATA SSD instead: Sometimes M.2 SSDs can cause booting problems.

I understand that troubleshooting a PC problem can be daunting, especially when you are not sure what the cause is. However, I encourage you to try the steps above. If you are still having problems, please do not hesitate to contact a qualified PC technician for assistance.

I am here to help and support you in any way that I can.

What You Should Do If Your PC Won’t Turn On?

If your computer won’t turn on, there’s a problem. The first thing to do is verify that everything was installed properly and look for incompatibilities.

Look closely at the motherboard manual to understand the blinking lights.

You should also check your motherboard manual if you see blinking lights when your system boots up.

Problems with hardware and software can cause your computer to stop working. If you are having a problem with your computer not powering on, one of the first fixes to try is to make sure that it is getting the right amount of power.

It is common for cables to become loose over time, and some even get damaged. This can lead to power supply issues, resulting in your computer not turning on. You should inspect the cable for any signs of damage or connection instability.

Conclusion

Seeing yellow lights on the motherboard can be alarming sometimes, but it can be very useful if you use it right. You can easily identify problems with the hardware if you know the meaning of those lights.

But be sure to use your motherboard manual to easily identify the exact problem. Meanwhile, we hope that you enjoyed this article. Feel free to leave us any comments below!

On some motherboards, like the Asus Prime, a blinking yellow light represents normal hard drive activity, indicating that the hard drive is in use. Other computers, for aesthetic reasons, use yellow light.

However, on gigabyte motherboards, the yellow light could indicate a memory problem, a BIOS problem, or even a loose cable around the unit.

While the fixes to this problem range from reinstalling the RAM stick to resetting the CMOS, the best way to easily identify the exact problem and solution is to use your motherboard manual.

If you have tried all of the troubleshooting tips shared in the above article and still get the yellow light, then it is time to use the warranty from Gigabyte.

I hope you found this helpful.