Solved! Did I just fry my RAM?

Apr 8, 2019
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Hi

I was trying to fix my broken Laptop. It did not power up anymore. I push the power button, the LED lights up, screen remains black, no BIOS, no error message, no beeps, after a minute it just switches off.

Because I remembered that, in the past, I had to try multiple times to power on my laptop, I suspected some sort of deterioration and that it might be a problem with my RAM that got worse gradually.

Today I bought new RAM, same specs: 8 GB DDR3 2400 MHz, removed the old one, put in the new one, started my laptop and everything worked. Great.

Then I went to work, started my laptop, started Google Chrome, the screen froze, I rebooted and I am back at square one: black screen, no error message, no BIOS, no beep.

Am I concluding correctly that I fried the new RAM? But how and why?

I am aware of static electricity. Also, I did NOT disconnect the battery when switching RAM. I read that this is a mere precautionary measure, but please correct me here.


I could go to the store to buy new RAM anytime, but I am afraid I'm gonna fry it, again.

All help is appreciated!
 
Solution
Two slots should be underneath the keyboard (1 and 2) and if you remove the bottom of your case, there should be two more (3 and 4):
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-P507-Clevo-P651RP6-G-Notebook-Review.172321.0.html

The exact model number of the RAM would be nice to know. In the manual of the Schenker there is a note for chosing the RAM correctly:
"SO-DIMM Memory Types All SO-DIMM memory modules installed in the system should be identical (the same size and brand) in order to prevent unexpected system behavior. Do not mix SO-DIMM memory module sizes and brands otherwise unexpected system problems may occur. "

Did you load the XMP profile in BIOS?

With which tool did you check the RAM for errors?

Which BIOS version...
Apr 8, 2019
4
0
10
Thanks for your response.

Most likely the RAM is still working but it was a coincidence that the laptop booted after replacing it.

You are right here. Both, the old RAM and the new one still work. I found out after systematic testing. It turns out now that one of the two RAM slots are causing the problem. Or at least after a lot of trial I know that usage of slot A correlates with malfunction.

From what I read, this could be due to some damaged contact in the slot or in the CPU socket.

I was able to boot using both slots once - so there is a sporadic failure and not a permanent one. I can work with my laptop again - by relying on slot B only - but I am still troubleshooting the issue. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Which laptop brand and model is it?

The laptop is a XMG Schenker P507 with a GTX 1060. It's basically a gaming laptop of adequate size and weight to be still considered portable.
 
Which RAM models do you wanna run with this laptop? Could be an incompatibility issue as well.

Most laptops or motherboards will only boot fine with the recommended slot/s in single and dual channel use. If two slots are used, best thing would be a dual channel kit (RAM) or the same RAM brand and model or at least the exact same specifications like capacity, timings and bandwidth.

I think your laptop does have 4 slots for RAM. Are you sure you are using the correct slots for two RAM modules?

One thing I would try anyways, would be to update the BIOS of your laptop to it´s latest version.
 
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Apr 8, 2019
4
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10
Hi, thanks for commenting!

Which RAM models do you wanna run with this laptop? Could be an incompatibility issue as well.

Most laptops or motherboards will only boot fine with the recommended slot/s in single and dual channel use. If two slots are used, best thing would be a dual channel kit (RAM) or the same RAM brand and model or at least the exact same specifications like capacity, timings and bandwidth.

I think your laptop does have 4 slots for RAM. Are you sure you are using the correct slots for two RAM modules?

I have two RAM slots - unless there are more somewhere hidden. How do you know there are 4? I was able to operate the laptop briefly with both RAM slots in use, 2 x 8 GB = 16 GB showing up in the BIOS menu. I put RAM of two different brands but otherwise identical: 8GB DDR4 2400 MHz SODIMM

One thing I would try anyways, would be to update the BIOS of your laptop to it´s latest version.

After quite a bit of trial, the failure turns out to be sporadic. It seems to correlate with the use of slot A. At the moment I am using the laptop with slot B only - because it froze and didn't boot up properly after I briefly operated it with both slots.

Do you have an idea what can cause such a sporadic failure? I would rule out things like incompatibility.

Also, I operated the device with each of the RAM modules at a time and with both of them - and I checked the RAM for errors without finding any. So the RAM itself is functioning.

The sporadic failure together with the apparent correlation to the slot A leads me to believe there is a loose connection somewhere (the slot, the mainboard, a cpu pin).

But please correct me if my assumptions are incorrect. I am looking for solutions in any direction.
 
Two slots should be underneath the keyboard (1 and 2) and if you remove the bottom of your case, there should be two more (3 and 4):
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-P507-Clevo-P651RP6-G-Notebook-Review.172321.0.html

The exact model number of the RAM would be nice to know. In the manual of the Schenker there is a note for chosing the RAM correctly:
"SO-DIMM Memory Types All SO-DIMM memory modules installed in the system should be identical (the same size and brand) in order to prevent unexpected system behavior. Do not mix SO-DIMM memory module sizes and brands otherwise unexpected system problems may occur. "

Did you load the XMP profile in BIOS?

With which tool did you check the RAM for errors?

Which BIOS version is installed?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Ruben.moor
Solution
Apr 8, 2019
4
0
10
Two slots should be underneath the keyboard (1 and 2) and if you remove the bottom of your case, there should be two more (3 and 4):
https://www.notebookcheck.net/Schenker-XMG-P507-Clevo-P651RP6-G-Notebook-Review.172321.0.html

The exact model number of the RAM would be nice to know. In the manual of the Schenker there is a note for chosing the RAM correctly:
"SO-DIMM Memory Types All SO-DIMM memory modules installed in the system should be identical (the same size and brand) in order to prevent unexpected system behavior. Do not mix SO-DIMM memory module sizes and brands otherwise unexpected system problems may occur. "

Did you load the XMP profile in BIOS?

With which tool did you check the RAM for errors?

Which BIOS version is installed?

I thought I had decent googling-skills but I never found that notebookcheck.net link you provided.

Thanks!

And thanks to you I now operate my laptop with 2x 8GB of RAM without problems (... so far, but I am confident).

I can basically conclude now that my issue is a bad slot. The bad slot is the one where the first and original RAM was installed. I moved that one to the adjacent slot - solving the problem. I also found the two other slots below the keyboard and installed my new RAM there. Great. :)