RMA issues with RAM? Am I right, or out of line?

[Black88GTA]

I have a 512MB stick of PC133 RAM that I bought from an online retailer (who shall remain nameless at this point) on August 7 of this year (less than 3 months ago). The ram uses Micron chips, but is not Micron branded. Some of you may know that I've been having computer troubles as of late, so everything is apart. I have been testing components, most of which are OK, some had hidden defects (stuck fan on vid card, swelling/leaky caps on mobo, blown up PSU which started this whole mess) and are now being RMAd from their respective vendors. Everyone else has been great - Abit, Albatron, and Antec all seem to have excellent RMA policies.

Fast forward to the RAM. I place it in another computer, fire it up, and nothing. I then tried the 256MB stick I had in my PC in the same computer, works fine. I then examined the 512MB stick, and one of the little resistors below the chip is not there. It has simply fallen off the board :Q. I emailed the retailer about getting it RMAd, and they said that since it has physical damage, they won't do it. Nevermind the fact that I had NOTHING to do with the resistor falling off, and it did that under normal usage. NO rough handling or anything of the sort - I'm always very careful with computer stuff. I think that this level of crappy quality is completely unacceptable, especially since this ram is not even 3 MONTHS old. I've sent them a number of emails, each one getting a lil nastier than the first (which was very polite). In the last email, I asked them to supply me with the actual manufacturer of the ram, so I can take it up with them personally.

So who's right? Should they RMA it, or am I wrong?

 

[JimRaynor]

Hold on.. You don't know the manufacturer of your ram??

 

[egale]

If it is a name brand product, the manufacturer will RMA it.

 

[marmasatt]

I think they should RMA it. How would you boot one of those things off under normal use? Who is the retailer? You should share. Is that against the rules or something. If they suck, they suck. I personally don't think Crucial is all they're cracked up to be. Good product but some of their policies and their customer service suck......

 

[InlineFive]

RMA it and hope you didn't buy it from Adamant Computers. They are far and wide the WORST place I have ever worked with. I spent two months wrestling them once because my GeForce 256 was glued back together with a stick and some superglue because it looked like it was cracked. It died two days later.

 

[redhatlinux]

Sorry dude but I wouldn't RMA the RAM, resistors etc just don't 'fall off'. Physical damage causes this type of problem and re-sellers and manufacturers are not responsible. Maybe your bad PSU fried the resistor, or you caused the damage inserting the stick.

 

[Robor]

I say they should RMA it. Even if it was "physical damage" it's unlikely you did anything out of the scope of ordinary use. If a piece fell off while trying to install/remove it chances are it was loose in the first place and not your fault. IMO the part was probably defective.

Good luck with your RAM.

 

[RaynorWolfcastle]

They should accept to RMA it. Unless there is major physical damage around the resistor, it is likely that the resistor was "cold soldered" and as a result the connection was very brittle. This is a manufacturing defect and the manufacturer should be the ones to offer you the RMA

 

[Black88GTA]

Originally posted by: JimRaynor
Hold on.. You don't know the manufacturer of your ram??

Unfortunately, no. It shows up on the shipping invoice as "Micron 512MB (64x4) PC133/100 SDRAM", however when I emailed Micron about it, they said that it's not their product, but uses Micron components. My memory stick doesn't have a Crucial sticker on it . Here's the email they sent me regarding my inquiry:

Hello,

If the module you have purchased includes a Crucial Technology part
sticker, I can exchange the module for you. However, if the module has a
Micron part sticker, the exchange must occur through the retailer or
distributor of the product.

If the module is void of any Crucial or Micron part sticker, it's
possible it was made using Micron components. However, it was not
purchased from Crucial. In this case, any warranty on the product is
between you and the retailer or distributor of the module.

I haven't heard back yet from the retailer about who the actual manufacturer is. If they still do nothing about it, I'll post the name. I'll get a picture up of the RAM, brb.....

 

[Black88GTA]

OK, here are some pics of the ram. I tried to get the best shots I could.

Here's a closeup of the missing resistor. It's under the 4th chip from the left, when viewed from the side with no label.
Here's the side with the label on it.
Here's the blank side.

It appears that the chip just fell out of the weld.

Edit: replaced dinky pics w/the jumbo versions

Edit again: After looking at it closer, it looks like that chip was only soldered on one side! All of the other chips are soldered on both sides, but this one was only attached at one point. The only reason it worked before is because the unsoldered end happened to be touching the contact. Argh, this makes me mad. :|

 

[T9D]

..

 

[Black88GTA]

The pics aren't the greatest...the brown discoloration that appears on the ram isn't really there, it just appears in the pics for some reason. And the copper coloration by the missing resistor appears to be copper in the solder socket - it's not a nick or anything like that. The memory itself looks perfect, except for the missing chip.

It is fairly cheap ram - not absolutely the lowest grade though. It's sold as High-grade OEM. When I got it, I wasn't planning on doing anything too intensive with it, I just needed some basic ram cause the 256 I had didn't seem like it was enough. The ram was about $55 when I got it.