are properly seated and perform a smell test for the odor of burnt electronics
(kind of a combination of burning leaves with a bit of old tires thrown in).If you cannot get the RAM to work, try to find a compatible machine at a
friend’s home or in your office and substitute your RAM into a working
machine. If that second machine fails, you can assume your laptop’s memory
has died; contact the module maker to see if it is under warranty. If the
second machine works and you’re certain you have checked the original
machine to assure proper installation, an injury to the motherboard or other
circuitry may have happened. You have to decide if the laptop is worth
repairing.Hanging on half-dead
One of the most annoying situations is an intermittent problem: Sometimes it
works and sometimes it doesn’t. This is often the result of bad connections
between the memory and the motherboard — corrosion, cracks, or improper
seating of the module in the connectors.- Turn off the power, remove the battery, ground yourself.
You know the drill by now. - Open the memory container on the laptop.
- Carefully remove the modules and look for corrosion, cracks, or
improper seating of the module in the connectors.- Corrosion or gunk:You can carefully clean them with a weak
solution of water and isopropyl alcohol or purchase a specialized
electrical contact cleaner; use a clean cloth to gently clean the con-
nectors. Some users prefer a clean rubber pencil eraser; be sure to
remove all pieces of rubber from the module before you reinstall it.
If you can see gunk inside the memory container, carefully vacuum
out the dirt. - Cracks: It’s not worth attempting to repair the memory; replace it
with a new module. If there are cracks with the attachment point
inside the memory container, you’ll have to decide whether the
laptop is worth repairing. - Improper seating: Sometimes all it takes to reestablish a good
electrical contact is removing and reseating the module.
- Corrosion or gunk:You can carefully clean them with a weak
- Latch it in place, following the computer manufacturer’s instructions.
Another possible cause of intermittent failure is overheating. If your laptop
works when first started and then fails after running for a while, check for
proper operation of the fan and that none of the ventilation ports are
blocked. Heat can cause the holder for the memory contacts to expand,
resulting in a bad connection, or it can cause the memory module itself to
break contact.98 Part II: Explaining What Could Possibly Go Wrong