will this cause damage to my laptop?

[Dragon9]

hi

i got a hp ze4210 notebook which i just bought a stick of 256mb ddr for last nite. i had a hard time tryin to install it because the slot lays totally flat, meaning its not upright so i can just push it in.

anyway, while trying to push it into the slot with a screwdriver and napkin, i accidently hit a tiny chip on the stick of ram, which broke off and fell into the laptop.

i cant see where the tiny chip fell into so i can't fish it out. so i am really scared that if that tiny chip gets in contact with the rest of the motherboard or other parts, it could cause damage to my laptop.

is this a big problem? what should i do?

 

[microAmp]

I would think it would be a concern since it could short out two components and cause bigger problems.

I would first try to open the RAM cover and try to tilt around the notebook and see if it falls out on its own. If that doesn't work, maybe open up the entire notebook (if possible) unless someone else has a better idea.

 

[amdskip]

You should be able to get it out somehow but it will be time consuming if you have to really open the laptop up.

 

[Dragon9]

i tried to open the laptop but didnt get too far because i was scared i would screw it up somehow if i messed around with it.

i turned on the laptop and everything was working fine. but i dont know if later down the road, it could short something in there.

anybody else have any suggestions or comments? also what is the easiest way to install the ram?

i dont know exactly how to do besides tryin to push it the socket without any kind of leverage.

 

[Gunbuster]

Dont take this the wrong way but if you screwed up putting the ram in, you should NOT be taking the laptop apart

also what is the easiest way to install the ram?

you put it in the slot at an angle and then snap it down onto the tabs

 

[Codewiz]

Originally posted by: Gunbuster
Dont take this the wrong way but if you screwed up putting the ram in, you should NOT be taking the laptop apart

also what is the easiest way to install the ram?

you put it in the slot at an angle and then snap it down onto the tabs

Damn straight. You obviously didn't know that the ram in a laptop doesn't get inserted anything like the ram in a desktop motherboard.

When you install ram you slide the ram into the slot at a 45-60 board angle from the board. Not parallel with the ram slot. You should take your laptop to a person that knows what they are doing to take it apart.

You DEFINATELY don't want to leave that in the laptop.

 

[Souka]

did the piece that fell off have metal attached to it? or was just the black silicon?

Usually the chips on the memory module are attached on the sides by about 2 dozen (guesstimate) metal wires. Look at the memory module and see if there are any metal wires missing from where the black piece was attached......

if it appears that all the wires are still there, you shouldn't have any problem running the laptop.

if there are missing metal pieces, don't panic....it's unlikely that they'll short anything out. If you keep your laptop level, and the black piece stays on the underside of the laptop, you won't short anything out.

Another alternative is to send it back to the manufacturer for repair....should be less than $200 for them to fish the piece out......or save the $200 and just use the laptop until it dies, then buy a new cheapo unit (keep an eye on the HotDeals Forum here at AT)

My $.02 of wisdom.

 

[Dragon9]

thanks for replying souka

i took a pic of the tiny chip that broke off from the sodimm ram. maybe you can tell me if i have anything to worry about.

http://photos.yahoo.com/bc/shanq@sb...net/lst?&.dir=/transfer+files&.src=ph&.view=t