Do you want to know how to repair Ram memory? Is it possible and what problems you can face in case Ram memory failure? This post is all about Ram memory problems and solutions.
This post is all about RAM memory repairing and trying to reveal if it is possible to repair the modules or chips of the main memory of your computer.
They are usually parts that have problems frequently and that simply discard the affected modules already replace them with new ones.
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In addition, in this tutorial you will also be able to learn how to detect that a RAM memory is starting to cause problems.
The consequences it could have and ways to diagnose memory failure using software, and some solutions towards them.
Table of Contents
Why RAM Memory can be Damaged?
RAM memory can be damaged and damaged due to several factors, some of which can be controlled by the user himself, and can make its useful life longer. The most notable causes are:
- Dirt: It can interfere with the contacts, creating a film that prevents good contact or generating short circuits if it is some type of conductive dirt.
- Humidity: It is another of the factors that can affect the hardware the most, in addition to the fact that the environmental RH is closely related to ESD.
- Temperature: Not only can it damage RAM chips if it goes over the maximum working limit or range set by the Temperature changes can also cause stress and breakage to occur on some contacts, such as BGAs.
- ESD: Static discharges are one of the biggest memory-damaging factors when they are handled without protection, such as anti-static wrist straps. In addition, with RH of 55% this undesirable phenomenon can be promoted.
- Electro migration: With chips operating at high frequencies and temperature, another phenomenon known as electro migration occurs, eroding the interconnections of the chips. This could end up damaging the chip in the long run.
- Manufacturing faults: Although memory chips are tested before they leave the factory, there could also be undetected manufacturing faults that could appear days, weeks, or months later.
- Malware: Malicious code could also install itself in RAM and cause a malfunction, although this problem is not irreparable, as in the case of dirt.
- Others: It is likely that other faults may also Such as wear of the contacts, breakage of one of them, cut in one of the conductive tracks of the PCB. And breakage of the substrate due to having forced the module when placing it or due to some blow, etc.
See Also: How to change RAM memory on PC
Symptoms
As for the symptoms that can alarm you that something is happening in your computer’s RAM memory, the following stand out:
- BSoD (Bluescreen of Death) in Windows, that is, the typical blue screen. Or kernel panics on *nix systems.
- Random crashes when you are running any kind of app. Crashing during processes that involve high memory loads, such as video games, graphic software, etc.
- In addition to crashes, you may also experience unexpected reboots.
- Crashes at startup during boot showing error messages on screen.
- A series of long beeps or beeps that can vary in number depending on the BIOS.
- Error messages that appear on the screen while using the operating system.
- When the computer appears to have booted but the screen remains blank.
- Memory data in the operating system or BIOS that does not correspond to the actual installed memory.
- Problems loading graphics.
- Corruption of data that you are using at the moment.
However, if one or more of these symptoms occur, they may also be due to other problems. Therefore, it will be necessary to determine if it is a memory error or not.
Impact
The consequences of defective or damaged RAM memory are usually not too serious. Although they are very annoying and can lead to data loss if the system crashes or restarts while you are performing some task that you have not saved.
Or if data corruption occurs, there could also be some inaccessible files that you have been using at the time.
Of course, if the memory is too damaged and the system won’t boot, it will also prevent you from being able to use the system.
But it would not be as dramatic as the storage drive crashing, losing everything you have installed and the data stored on it.
See Also: What is STT RAM Memory and What is it for
How to Repair RAM Memory
Finally if your brand new RAM memory has given way to a fault, you are surely wondering if it could be repaired in some way and given a second chance.
Well, there are some ways to recover RAM memory after a failure, but only for some of the possible problems.
If you mean to repair a RAM memory that has had a hardware failure, the truth is that technically it could be repaired, but in practice it is not done.
To repair a module problem, you should first try to locate the chip or component that has failed. Once identified, it should be desoldered, removed, and replaced with a new one, soldering again on the board. In case of some SMD it can be relatively easy, but for BGA chips you would need proper reballing equipment.
This has high costs that make it not worth too much to try to fix a RAM memory module. It’s just faster and cheaper to replace failed memory and be done with it.
On the other hand, finding the necessary parts is not easy, especially when it comes to memory chips, since there are several manufacturers and they are not all identical.
Some can be found on websites like Ali Express or similar, but it is not an easy task.
- Extreme cleaning of the contacts of the RAM memory module when they are too affected:
- Gentle cleaning of the contacts of the RAM memory module (it is also valid for any expansion card, such as a graphics card, etc.) using a simple trick with a conventional eraser:
- Another way to repair a RAM memory with a damaged contact, using a piece of soldered copper:
- Reballing a RAM module to replace memory chips, removing damaged chips using a heat gun, then soldering the new chip:
By the way reballing leads to extreme conditions, such as high temperatures that could damage or shorten the life of nearby elements. Therefore, it is not the best practice if you have other alternatives.
See Also: What are the Different Types of Computer Memory
The question is: Is it really worth repairing your RAM memory? Maybe if it is a case of slight failure, but in 90% cases it will not be like that. What do you think?
Faizan Ali is a Master in Computer Sciences and has been writing content for computing, gaming and mobile technologies since 2016. He has written content for number of online magazines, websites and blogs and now writes for “the buyers trend”. Feel free to contact him for any sort of writing for your technology related blog, website or magazine.