RAM can't just work it's way loose ... can it?

[elsiegee40]

or

 

A PC, the one that drives the whiteboard in our ICT Suite has been in place for 3 years without incident.

 

I discover this morning that it won't boot - 5 beeps = RAM problem.

 

Pull machine out (it's an HP small form factor mounted under the desk)and discover the case is not closed properly (which arouses suspicions)... and the RAM is clearly not seated properly.

 

Reseat and everything's fine. Question is, which did this? I have very few technically competant adults here and I cannot see the girls having the opportunity. This is most likely to have occurred during the holiday... though heaven knows why nobody commented on it not working yesterday.

 

PC now secured in place with cable ties.

[elsiegee40]

From the location of the PC, under the desktop - set back a bout 4 inches from the front, it seems unlikely, but as you say not impossible.

 

It just seems strange that the case wasn't closed properly.

 

Miss Marple on the case ... we've had a theatre group rehearsing in school duing the holiday and also there are Saturday classes in judo, dance, etc held here.

 

The suite hasn't been locked until now, but I feel a trip to B&Q for a padlock coming on.

[ahuxham]

It can indeed, my home PC did the same after a year, everything went slow all of a sudden and noticed that it was posting Single channel rather than Dual channel, so had a look, and true to word on of the sticks had dislodged even though the clip was secure. I blame vibrations from the rest of the machine

 

[mattx]

I have had around 5 Viglen Gene PCs that this has happened to - so yes. Now the ones I am refering to are hanging from under the desks so knocks are going to take place but one was firmly on a flat surface.

Some of our buildings are really poorly built and vibrations are felt when the usual stampede of pupils takes place + some of the older Viglens are not that well built....

[elsiegee40]

It can indeed, my home PC did the same after a year, everything went slow all of a sudden and noticed that it was posting Single channel rather than Dual channel, so had a look, and true to word on of the sticks had dislodged even though the clip was secure. I blame vibrations from the rest of the machine

 

 

 

I hope you're right. The caretaker's off to find a padlock and hasp in his shed just in case

[srochford]

Given that the case was loose, it does look like someone has been tampering. DIMMs can come loose if they get hot/cold but it's not common (the clips should stop them moving)

 

Old people like me will remember the good old BBC - the expansion ROMs in these could actually come out of their sockets as they heated and cooled!

[mattx]

Given that the case was loose, it does look like someone has been tampering. DIMMs can come loose if they get hot/cold but it's not common (the clips should stop them moving)

 

Old people like me will remember the good old BBC - the expansion ROMs in these could actually come out of their sockets as they heated and cooled!

 

Not as bad as the 16K Ram packs for the ZX81 !!

I ended up building a cradle [ with the help of my Dad ] to help keep mine in.

Plus I found a carton of milk which has been in the fridge for a while was great for keeping the thing cool as the heat zinc on the back was not great.....

[K.C.Leblanc]

Sounds to me like someone needed to borrow them, definatly something slightly dodgy going on.

 

I have issues with RAM needing reseating. Happened in separate tempory classrooms, that get very cold at night. When I put the base units flat under the monitor instead of standing upright it stopped happening.

[glennda]

could just be that they worked themselves lose, over eager teacher/person/thing tried to fix themselves?

[philgman]

Although it is possible that they could work loose due to cold/heat like K.C.Leblanc said, but somewhat unlikely. i would initially suspect a more human cause. We had to install security screws on our pc cases when ram started going missing a few years ago.

Now to figure out how to get people to stop stealing the batteries from the remotes!

[GrumbleDook]

I've had it where a case has been 'knocked' and it has loosened them. The thing that knocked the case was where some kids have been messing round with a football which had bounced around.

[robyholmes]

I found a Stone PC today, it was sat on its side (So motherboard was upright) and the case was still screwed up, but it was restarting (Heat problems) so i went to take a look inside and the intel cooler (775 socket) was hanging off! The plugs were turned too, has to have been a good knock to do that, and would they turn as they come off? Or has someone else been in? (I am part time, like 2 hours every 2 weeks). I think its just one of those things, still a odd one.

[Dos_Box]

It's possible it wasn't put on correctly in the first place, but those 775 colers can withstand a major cometory impact!

Or someone has been in there.

[robyholmes]

It's possible it wasn't put on correctly in the first place, but those 775 coolers can withstand a major cometory impact!

Or someone has been in there.

I thought about it not been put on to start with, but I can't see the PC been put on its side recently and its not new. And how could someone leave a PC without switching it on! I mean it would get to the BIOS screen when cold and display 'Heat Warning' and then power down. Some people hey!