recently there has been this problem that has been getting more frequent, my computer just randomly freezes up/blackscreens and then fails to post when i do a hard restart. this doesn’t resolve itself until after i open it up and play musical chairs with the ram for a bit.
shit that i have tried:
- swapped the ram around to different slots. sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t
- cleaned out the case
- wd40’d the ram pins (helped with the posting but seems to have increased crash frequency, not enough data to tell for sure)
no idea where to begin with this one, can’t tell if it’s a motherboard or a ram issue or something else entirely. the sticks are of differing sizes and manufacture so that may also be an issue. would give specs but the thing just died on me in the middle of posting this and i can’t boot in just yet. motherboard is a supermicro x9 something server board.
Don’t put WD-40 on the pins. I’d start by pulling out the sicks and cleaning the pins off with a q-tip and iso alcohol. Probably a good idea to clean out the slots now too.
Get Memtest64 and run it with both sticks. If it fails try it with each one by itself. If a stick doesn’t past the test you should be able to get a new one under warrenty. Just start an RMA request and say it failed memtest64.
If its not your ram then its probably a poorly seated CPU. Remove the cooler, clean the paste off and carefully put the cooler back on without over tightening it, or tightening one side more than the other.
i tried this at the beginning, things didn’t noticeably improve so i took it to a local shop and they gave me the wd40 treatment. will try again
It is wild to me that they put WD-40 on it. It’s a lubricant, not a solvent; it will leave residue behind. Regular WD-40 shouldn’t get anywhere near PC components, and the specific stuff they make for cleaning electrical contacts has a bunch of warnings and cautions that would keep me from using it on anything delicate or expensive.
WD40 isn’t a lubricant, it’s for “Water Displacement.” While as a liquid it can be used as one, it is a poor one. It’s whole purpose is to cover a metal part with a hydrophobic layer. It’s good at removing water from something like your sparkplugs. Maybe they thought water had gotten in and was causing issues with contact?
Seconding this. Get some 90% isopropyl and clean off all that WD-40. Let it fully dry/evaporate. The only thing you should spray on your computer parts is compressed air.