Damaged Ram Slot
The RAM socket would need to be removed and replaced as its damaged. This level of repair can't be done by a DIY person as you need specialized equipment to remove the socket so as not to damage the logic board and you also need access to the part which is not easy in this case as the part is not available. The worst 'defect' I've run into in a RAM slot was a couple of dust bunnies making contact marginal and resulting in obscure memory errors. Even if I could solder, I don't think I'd ever contemplate a repair on something as complicated as the RAM slot by anyone other than the ODM. Hello, Since long time already, we are told, when assembling PC and where motherboard has 4 RAM slots, that we should insert first pair of RAM into 2nd and 4th RAM slot first (or other two assigned RAM slots) and only after that, if we get 2nd pair we should put it into 1st and 3rd slot.
Is it possible to fix laptop memory slot failure with a guitar pick? Yes, it is. You will not fix the memory slot itself, but you can work around the problem. 🙂
Today I received a Toshiba Satellite Pro 4600 laptop with the following complaint:
The laptop starts and works properly, but recognizes only one of the two memory modules installed. The laptop has two 256MB RAM modules installed, but registers only 256MB.
First of all, I removed the memory cover to find out if both memory modules are installed correctly. The laptop had two 256MB Kingston modules installed and they were seated properly.
This question asks one concise thing: Advice on identifying a damaged RAM slot. The other question asks: 'how could i see if the RAM Slot is broken' and 'in case it is how could i fix it' This question refers to a completely different research procedure prior to asking the question itself. So, if you have one or two Rams installed in your computer then take out all of your computer’s Rams from the motherboard and then place only one ram into the slot just for the testing purpose and then test your PC. In case, if you are able to use your computer without any problem that means your another ram is faulty, just buy a new one.
When I started the laptop and entered the BIOS setup menu, I found that only one of the two memory modules is detected and the laptop registers only 256MB (262144KB) of RAM instead of 512MB (524288KB).
Just a side note. In the computer world 1MB=1024KB. That’s why 256MB=262144KB and 512MB=524288KB.
I tried reseating both memory modules but it didn’t help.
After that I tried installing both memory modules in both memory slots one by one and here’s what I found. The laptop worked absolutely fine when both memory modules were installed into the slot A, but failed to boot with both memory modules installed into the slot B.
Apparently, there is nothing wrong with the memory modules and the laptop has a faulty memory slot B. The memory slot is permanently soldered on the motherboard. If one of the slots fails you’ll have to replace the whole motherboard or use the laptop with only one working slot.
Buying a new motherboard for this older laptop wouldn’t make any sense because it’s too expensive, but the laptop is still in a good working condition except the faulty memory slot B, so I continued playing with that trying to find the solution.
I noticed that the laptop start normally with the memory module installed into the faulty slot if I slightly press on the module with my thumb. And this gave me an idea.
This guitar pick is going to fix my laptop. 🙂
I installed both RAM modules back into the slots and then placed the guitar pick over the module in the slot B as it shown on the picture.
I thought if I close the RAM door it will press on the guitar pick/memory module and it will have the same effect as pressing on the module with my thumb. And it worked!
Both memory modules were detected properly and the laptop registered all 512MB. After “the fix” I tested memory with Memtest86+ and the laptop passed the test.
I wouldn’t call it the best solution for fixing a faulty memory slot but in some cases it will work.
By the way, I didn’t charge the customer for this “repair”, he knows what is going on and how I “fixed” his problem.