I always thought that the blue cover was some kind of heat sink to help cool
the ram.

Does the ram not work?  I suspect that the ram could have been damaged when
it came off, either mechanical damage or static electricity.


Dean Kukral


----- Original Message -----
From: Richard Glazier
To: [log in to unmask]
Sent: Tuesday, February 08, 2005 9:20 AM
Subject: [PCBUILD] Faulty RAM (or not)


I have an incredibly "odd" question...

I bought some used RAM locally.
Took my computer and checked the RAM onsite...

BIOS skipped the long test. (Big mistake ignoring that, but I figured it was
set
to short test, and the compter is so fast and the test is so short I
generally miss
it while the monitor wakes up...) Dumb, dumb, dumb...

I was not using that as my primary test anyway...
I stuck in my Microsoft "Windows Memory Diagnostic" Bootable CD.
(This is a special program available on the MS site.)
I ran a full memory test. The "11 test" version, and it took 20-30 min or
so,
and passed them all...  I have since let that "loop" 42 times and it STILL
passes them all...  (So much for software type tests...)

Now the "bad" part.  To understand this better, you should visit the
following link.
It is a simple WEB page (total size: 43K dial-up friendly) with two pictures
and
some more info.

http://www.s88555144.onlinehome.us/ram-question/ram2.htm

The blue covers knocked off the little blocks at the top of the RAM stick..
(That picture is of an undamaged stick...)
Those covers are a VERY bad design.

Someone on another list said they were the de-coupling caps for noise
suppression,
and if they are not there, I would have potential data loss due to switching
noise.
Make sense to me. They were there for "something".......
Second opinions?

If you have any info, but don't want to post, feel free to answer off list.

Free advise, Don't buy used RAM. It can test fine and be VERY damaged...

                                      Rick Glazier

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