Funny Story

[sketchydave.livejournal.com]

I just read polarbee's post and I remembered a funny story. When I got out of college I got a job as a part time tech at Best Buy until I could find something full time. This is about the time that DDR memory had taken place over PC100. Why do I mention this, you'll find out in a minute.

My first day on the job and I had to do upgrade a computer's memory. Now at this particular Best Buy they have the "tech bench" in the middle of computers. So that customers can be all mystified when you open up their machines and ask all sorts of questions. Which is a real pain because all I want to do is be left alone and fix it.

Anyway, its an E-Machine. The customer is very happy about this because he got the very last of the older model. Apparently it had a better video card or something compared to what was coming out. So I open up the machine to put the RAM in. Now it had been a couple months since I had upgraded the memory on a PC, and the last time it was PC100. You cannot screw that up. Because it had the 3 connectors (blanking on the real name) that plugged into the slot. Small, medium, and large. But the DDR sticks only have 2 , one bigger, and one slightly smaller.

So I plug the RAM in the 2nd slot, close it up and turn it on. Hmmm...won't Post. Wait, whats that smell? I look over and there be smoke coming out of the brand new E-Machine!

I unplug it, open it up and I've fried the RAM and the motherboard. Did I mention this was my first day?

One of two things happened:
1) Defective motherboard
2) I put in the RAM backwards. Although even if I did that the result should not be fire

I'll never know because the RAM was pretty much a briquet. I was slightly mortified by this, fortunatley no one cared and everyone thought it was hillarious. Tower got sent back as defective. Customer wasn't thrilled at first until I explained that this could have happened when he was at home instead.

Comments

[gholam.livejournal.com]

Uh, there's no way you can plug a 184-pin DIMM into a 168-pin slot, or vice versa - the notches are placed totally differently, it simply won't go in unless you get the file and hammer out, so, in this case, it was definitely defective motherboard.

[tadiera.livejournal.com]

People can do it sometimes.
I know someone who put in RAM upside down. He had to force it, but he did and he totally destroyed his PC.

It's amazing what brute force accomplishes. ;)

[gholam.livejournal.com]

Upside down is somewhat possible, I actually did it once - wasn't paying attention - but the module will not go in, unless you use a LOT of force. In my case, one of the retaining clips flew, and then I realized something isn't right. Reattached the clip, put the module in the right way, everything worked.

[sketchydave.livejournal.com]

Prolly a defective board then. The clips closed without too much trouble. I did have to put some pressure on it, but not a ton. No more than a regular stubborn stick of Ram anyway.

[sketchydave.livejournal.com]

Let me clarify, I was used to putting in 168-pin into 168-pin slots. That goes in like a glove. 184-pins are more difficult. They didn't seem to snap in as nice by comparison.

So I was using the right RAM, I just *may* have out it in backwards. Although I've never been sure.

[gholam.livejournal.com]

Yep. You can't fit it into slot if you put it in reverse direction, because the notch is off-center, and won't align... the only way it'll go all the way in is by you applying enough force on both ends of the DIMM (or else it'll just seesaw) to crush either the DIMM PCB, or the protrusion in the slot that aligns with the notch.

[polarbee.livejournal.com]

Please see my post. Yes, yes you can put a DDR in backwards. ;)
Brute force and ignorance accomplishes much.

[axessdenyd.livejournal.com]

I beg to differ, I've seen it done multiple times.

[guinevere33.livejournal.com]

Wow, I've never actually gotten to toast a computer before. Although many an E-Machine has tempted me :P

[gholam.livejournal.com]

I'm afraid I did that just this week :( Got another NEC Powermate VT with a bunch of blown capacitors, took them out, soldered new ones in, put it back together, and hit short cirquit protection - guess I went somewhere I wasn't supposed to, some of these capacitors were in awfully dense spots. Broke my perfect record on Powermate VTs too :(

[anivair.livejournal.com]

Since it was an old emachine, i think it was the motherboard (or some other part of hte machine). it wouldn't be the first emachine I've heard of that caught fire (or ran the fan so hard it jumped ship or some other crappy thing).

[axessdenyd.livejournal.com]

Emachines are both awesome and never obsolete (http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v11/axessdenyd/IMG_2073_med.jpg).

It reeally hurt me to call them awesome, even in jest.

Your answer: Both happened.

[coyoteden.livejournal.com]

I've put RAM in backwards before. And this was PC-100, with the two notches!

It was a Gateway, and the tolerances on the DIMM slots were so sloppy you could snap the clips down with the stick in backwards.

I would have noticed but I was installing by feel because I couldn't get the machine out to see waht I was doing. The result was much like yours: Flaming stick, except in my case it worked fine after I powered it off and put the RAM in the right way.

[swwinchester.livejournal.com]

Yeah. We knew how to have fun back in those crappy jobs. ^_^