Did I just screw the pooch?

[Hender]

I was putting together my new system today, or at least what I have of it, and I was installing the ThermalTake DDR memory heatsinks on my RAM, but of course, I seemed to have messed up.

I did the works, heat spreader AND heatsink on each chip, but since there was so much metal there I had to space the DIMMs one slot apart just so they would fit. The system powered up OK, but I was having some trouble getting the system to power on, and it was beeping at my repeatedly, like my video card wasn't socketed right. I decided I just just go back to the way it should be, and I pulled off the spreader and heatsick on each one, when to my horror, on one of the spreaders, attached to the sticky stuff, I saw little pieces of metal. I checked my RAM, and the sticky stuff had pulled off some of the little...well, I don't know what they're called, but they're very small, and they're all over the chips. Capacitors? Do they make them super-small? They're like little bridges between circitry, very small indeed. I powered the system back on, and it came on immediately, and the right amount of memory was listed.

Did I screw the pooch here? Will I be running into problems, or will the RAM function properly without about seven of these little things?

 

[sMashPiranha]

:Q

sounds scary

If I'm understanding you correctly, you may have really screwed it up.

 

[SpeedTrap]

no but paypal does

 

[cvlegion]

I think those would be diodes. Any part of the circuitry that gets pulled off, would be, well, quite damaging to the RAM. So my guess is that it is screwed. I don't know what return policies would be or warranties. Is that your only stick of RAM? At any rate, if my suspicions are correct, you are in luck because of the current RAM prices.

 

[eLiu]

ok...which little things did you pull off...?

the ram has miniature circuits...look just like logic circuits, there are what look like resistors...these small circle things (no clue), and these metal squares (again, no clue).

Now...if some of that stuff came off...I would probably attempt to return it (although I doubt they'll take it back)...

uhh...other than that, if it doesnt seem to have any problems, then use it...but maybe keep funds ready to replace the stuff if u have problems...

-eric

 

[Hender]

They're both Crucial RAM, but only one has the missing little things. The things I ripped of are only about a millimeter long each, and they're somewhat cylidrical, so whatever they are, I hope the RAM functions without them....

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

what size stick is it? personally i would feel better and just pony up 40$ and get some new and have a neat-ass keychain. then again im paranoid. arent you just supposed to use the spreaders on those? i thought the heatsinks were for vid cards? i dont know, just asking.

 

[Hender]

Well, I just bit the bullet and bought another stick of Crucial RAM. GRRRRRRR. I wish this had happened (OK, so I DON'T wish that it had happened, but you know what I mean) before Crucial ended their free shipping promotion. I checked the other stick, and there isn't anything missing on them, so I'll just do what I can. The thing that burns me is that I bought these sticks for $115 each right when Crucial started making them because I thought prices were rising.

C'est la vie.

 

[Gunbuster]

I think you pulled off a resistor

was it this size

 

[dkozloski]

Years ago there was an outfit called Muntz TV owned by Earl "Madman" Muntz, an old used car dealer, that made, rented and sold the cheapest a$$ tv's in the world. They were everywhere like Sears and Standard Oil. They designed and built their own sets and then to get the costs as low as possible they started removing parts indiscminately from a working set until it quit. They put the last part back in and went on in another section until they had the absolute mininum stuff that would play. That was the design they used. It looks to me that all you did was duplicate what they did in a little more crude manner. I say what the hell? If it works, use it and don't worry about it. Not all this filtering and coupling stuff is needed for all operating conditions. It can't hurt anything.

 

[Gunbuster]

I once pulled 10 of the itty bitty resistors from a Fujutsu HDD and it still worked.
Poped the bigger yellow one off and it didnt (it had a bunch of bad clusters anyway)