From: "Dean Kukral" clipped (plus answers to your second reply mixed in.)
> 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.

>> From: Richard Glazier
>> I have an incredibly "odd" question...
clipped

Thanks for the answers, (Russ too)
(Plus CC offlist...)
I'm still one question behind so I'll answer that one here too.
The covers came with the RAM.

After testing them on-site, and getting home,
When I was moving the RAM outside the computer, I noticed parts falling out
of the cover. There were the same parts in the MB RAM slot too, from the RAM.
(I removed them from there and saved them...)

The part that worries me the most is...  HOW a stick "can" work with "major" damage...

Yes, The blue covers are heat sinks. To INSTALL the RAM, you can only push
directly on the Heat Sink.
The design is such that the covers slide down when you insert the RAM into the MB
socket/slot.  You can't push on the RAM PC board DIRECTLY like you normally
would, as you can't touch it while covered by the covers.
You can see the PC board, but it is down inside the edges of the two covers.
(Down in the space between the installed cover front and back.)
In a lot of RAM, the covers would slide down and hit the ends of 4 to 8 (or more?)
LARGE ram chipsets and they WOULD be strong enough to absorb the force applied
to the cover.  In this type RAM, those little blocks absorb the force, and snap off
easily...

To answer the other question, Yes, the RAM works (as tested only by the MS program
I mentioned), but if 36 little parts got loose or fell off "your" RAM, you might want to
get a second opinion, or start practicing how to describe the problem for complaining...
In any event, I doubt if I would ever trust it in a system I was running (as is)...
This is a system under construction and has no "OS hard drive" installed (for itself).
An old data drive is in there for a PS electrical load...

I guess the only two places I can complain is the seller, since it came with the covers
installed, and the cover manufacturer for having a design that almost guarantees
that it will scalp parts off certain types (designs) of RAM sticks...

BTW, As per my usual practice, in advance, I went to the manufacturers WEB site
looking for any special instructions or warnings about these covers, but found nothing...
They seem to not even make them any more, (wise move apparently...)
If there were warnings, I would have seen them in advance and avoided the problem,
or at least would have not allowed myself to become part of the problem...

I was also asking about what I had heard from someone on another list.
That those missing parts WOULD cause a noise problem in the RAM,
and/or unstable voltages, with loss of data as the result...

Since it is a problem that can "really sneak up on you" and is basically concealed,
I figured a builders list might find it interesting to ponder...
It is something to watch out for if a system is acting "odd", but tests fine...

                                           Rick Glazier

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