Got a donated G5 20' iMac with several problems. After replacing power supply, it began to work. Then tried to add RAM (matching chips), but top (2nd) slot doesn't work. With RAM in 2nd slot, iMac experiences constant kernel panics.
Before I “fixed” the memory slot I talked to my customer and explained that he has three options: 1. Replace the whole motherboard and this option will cost him a few hundred dollars 2. Use the laptop as is with only one good memory slot 3. Use the laptop with my fix and see how long it last (by the way, I didn’t charge him for this repair). Jun 13, 2014 Broken memory slot So recently my colleague tried to upgrade the RAM in his laptop, but he ended up messing up really bad he actually broke the only memory slot on the motherboard (yikes!). He asked me to take a look at it for him, and I was pretty surprised how badly he had messed it up (as in there's no way it could be fixed).
Original suggestion from multiple sources said it was likely logic board problem, but this Mac is too old to put money into that. Since it's 6 years old, and the 2nd RAM slot was never used, IS IT POSSIBLE that the RAM slot merely needs cleaning? (One tech guy suggested cleaning connectors on the RAM itself with an eraser, but since it was new and clean, I wondered about the slot itself.)
Can the RAM slot be cleaned safely? If so, what should I use? (Alcohol or other cleaner? How to apply if any cleaner can be used? Or is there something like a pencil eraser that could go into the inside of the slot?)
Is this a good question?
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.
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.
How To Repair Ram Slot For Laptop
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.