Today i was cleaning out the dust from the inside of my computer. I took out the 2 sticks of ram to show my friend and put them back in. apparently i didnt snap 1 of them all the way into place. i turned on the computer and i smelt a very faint smell of that frying electronic smell..i opened it and realized the ram wasnt all the way in fixed it and now my computer wont start. it turns on the fans spin i see a light thats lit on the mobo but the monitor stays black. is it possible i unplugged something when i was cleaning or is my mobo fried? wat do i do this is aweful!
Were you observing the proper anti-static precautions when you removed the RAM? (something like this: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antistatic_wrist_strap) Have you tried starting the system with just one of the sticks in turn?
yes i always ground myself before touching the mobo or anything inside and no ive never turned it on with just 1 stick
Well, IMHO you don't necessarily need something like wrist straps unless you're going to be working on many PCs in a given day. Otherwise, all you really need to is discharge the static, e.g. by grounding out on the chassis. That's really all the wrist strap does anyway. Also, make sure you don't touch the RAM (or any components) by the gold contacts, only by the edges of the fiberglass board. That said, I don't think that was the issue anyway based on the RAM not being all the way in the slot. That's the most likely culprit. From what you're telling us, sounds like the RAM and/or the motherboard could be fried. Maybe the CPU also and other components also, though that's substantially more rare. It sounds like what happened is that the voltage from the RAM slot arced across some of the data pins since it was in the slot crooked. I would do as ferg suggests and try the system with one stick at a time, and also remove any other components which aren't necessary to get a post screen. Let us know how it goes and we can take it from there.
i tried different combinations of putting the ram in diff slots and just using 1 stick and none of em work, black screen
so what should i do disconnect like the hard drive the cd drives the rams ? just everything but video card and see if i can get a screen? i built this computer but never had a problem like this so its all new to me
Sounds like the motherboard may have been a casualty. :x: In that case, it won't post whether the RAM is any good or not. However, it's also possible that both sticks have fried, or maybe your video card. If you have access to another working system of similar specs, you can switch in your parts one at a time to see if they're still OK, e.g. RAM, video card, etc. Memtest86+ will be a great resource for testing out the RAM, since identifying bad memory can be tricky with just trial and error. If you're in a rush, just do a couple of passes on test #8. Otherwise, let it run overnight in the default (i.e. more thorough) mode. Once you've identified which parts fried and which are alright, you'll have an idea of what components you still have and which ones you need. At least then you can start looking at prices and weigh your options.
I did exactly what you are describing a couple of years ago. I didn't put one of my sticks of RAM in all the way and smelt burning... When I pulled out the stick that wasn't in all the way, I could see a burn mark on it and one in the RAM slot. I ended up having to replace that stick of RAM and the motherboard. That is very likely your scenario. After receiving the new motherboard, I replaced my video card as well, but that was only because old motherboard was AGP, new motherboard was PCI-X. Good luck! Fred
Yep, it looks like the motherboard is fried. Did you see any noticeable problems? Caps melted, or bulging? You can try unplugging the system, taking out the RAM, and removing the motherboard battery for a short while. I think you're out of luck though.
