Swapping RAM killed motherboards?

[ANTant]

Recently, my friend (he builds computers for living), swapped Kingston RAM in my motherboard when the
computer was off. Of course he was touching the case frames to remove the static. When he turned on the
machine, the computer would not boot. ASUS K8V SE Deluxe motherboard was dead.

I was talking to a co-worker today who does computer hardware. He also experienced the same thing a few
months ago with his ASUS A8N-E when he swapped RAM.

Is this common? How in the world can a RAM swap kill motherboards so easily? Thank you in advance.
--
At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." --Surah 27. The Ant, The Ants, line 18
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[Dale Brisket]

Recently, my friend (he builds computers for living), swapped Kingston RAM in my motherboard when the
computer was off. Of course he was touching the case frames to remove the static. When he turned on the
machine, the computer would not boot. ASUS K8V SE Deluxe motherboard was dead.

I was talking to a co-worker today who does computer hardware. He also

experienced the same thing a few

months ago with his ASUS A8N-E when he swapped RAM.

Is this common? How in the world can a RAM swap kill motherboards so

easily? Thank you in advance.

--

Never heard of a mobo dying because of a RAM swap. I have had systems
refused to POST because the new RAM was incompatible, but putting the old
RAM back in would revive things. I'm assuming you tried the original memory
again, yes?

 

[ANTant]

experienced the same thing a few
easily? Thank you in advance.

Never heard of a mobo dying because of a RAM swap. I have had systems
refused to POST because the new RAM was incompatible, but putting the old
RAM back in would revive things. I'm assuming you tried the original memory
again, yes?

Yep, old RAM didn't work either. Also, tried replacing CPU with another
Athlon 64 to double check that CPU was still OK. Same thing. ;(
--
At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." --Surah 27. The Ant, The Ants, line 18
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[Kyle]

I suspect one of 2 things actually happened: damage to mobo from
insertion force on ram sticks or static discharge, there is no other
probable explanation. Was the box powered off yet the PS still turned
"on", as in suspend mode? Do you have a separate PS on/off sw on the
back that was in the "off" position? One other question, do the ram
sticks still work in other systems?

--
Best regards,
Kyle
| Recently, my friend (he builds computers for living), swapped
Kingston RAM in my motherboard when the
| computer was off. Of course he was touching the case frames to
remove the static. When he turned on the
| machine, the computer would not boot. ASUS K8V SE Deluxe motherboard
was dead.
|
| I was talking to a co-worker today who does computer hardware. He
also experienced the same thing a few
| months ago with his ASUS A8N-E when he swapped RAM.
|
| Is this common? How in the world can a RAM swap kill motherboards so
easily? Thank you in advance.
| --
| At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the
ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his
hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." --Surah 27. The Ant,
The Ants, line 18
| /\___/\
| / /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web
Site)
| | |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL):
http://aqfl.net
| \ _ / Please remove ANT if replying by
e-mail.
| ( )

 

[Roger Hamlett]

Recently, my friend (he builds computers for living), swapped
Kingston RAM in my motherboard when the
computer was off. Of course he was touching the case frames to
remove the static. When he turned on the
machine, the computer would not boot. ASUS K8V SE Deluxe motherboard
was dead.

I was talking to a co-worker today who does computer hardware.
He also experienced the same thing a few
months ago with his ASUS A8N-E when he swapped RAM.

Is this common? How in the world can a RAM swap kill motherboards
so easily? Thank you in advance.

The obvious question, is whether the machine was actually 'off'?. The
'on/off' switch on the front of an ATX machine, does _not_ turn off the
whole machine. There is still standby power to the motherboard (this is
normally shown by a green LED on the board). Also if the machine was 'off'
by unplugging it, then this leaves the machine without an earth
connection. The best way to turn a machine off for this, is to use a
'power strip', with a mechanical on/off switch, but leave the machine
plugged in to this (this leaves the earth connected, but removes the power
connection).

Best Wishes

 

[ANTant]

I suspect one of 2 things actually happened: damage to mobo from
insertion force on ram sticks or static discharge, there is no other
probable explanation. Was the box powered off yet the PS still turned
"on", as in suspend mode? Do you have a separate PS on/off sw on the
back that was in the "off" position? One other question, do the ram
sticks still work in other systems?

Yes, PSU was off (switch in the back that is), but power AC was still connected to my APC UPS to
power strip to the power outlet on the wall. Memory sticks are still working in a temporary
CHEAP ECS K8M800-M2 motherboard while ASUS motherboard is being RMA'ed. The PSU is 500 watts
Seasonic S12 PSU (a few months old). That should be fine, right?
--
At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." --Surah 27. The Ant, The Ants, line 18
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Please remove ANT if replying by e-mail.
( )

 

[ANTant]

The obvious question, is whether the machine was actually 'off'?. The
'on/off' switch on the front of an ATX machine, does _not_ turn off the
whole machine. There is still standby power to the motherboard (this is
normally shown by a green LED on the board). Also if the machine was 'off'
by unplugging it, then this leaves the machine without an earth
connection. The best way to turn a machine off for this, is to use a
'power strip', with a mechanical on/off switch, but leave the machine
plugged in to this (this leaves the earth connected, but removes the power
connection).

I am pretty sure the system was off with the rear switch (PSU) when that event happened. I
believe the AC cable (to an APC UPS -> power strip -> wall power outlet) was still connected as
well.
--
At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." --Surah 27. The Ant, The Ants, line 18
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Please remove ANT if replying by e-mail.
( )

 

[Gordy]

Recently, my friend (he builds computers for living), swapped Kingston RAM in my motherboard when the
computer was off. Of course he was touching the case frames to remove the static. When he turned on the
machine, the computer would not boot. ASUS K8V SE Deluxe motherboard was dead.

I was talking to a co-worker today who does computer hardware. He also experienced the same thing a few
months ago with his ASUS A8N-E when he swapped RAM.

Is this common? How in the world can a RAM swap kill motherboards so easily? Thank you in advance.

Does the power supply still operate? Tested on another computer?
Murphy's law could be against you with a coinincidental failure!

Should the BIOS be backed off to some factory default before changing
the RAM? However, pretty unlikely any BUS speed issue changes could
kill anything.

My 2 cents... not strong issues...

Gordy

 

[ANTant]

Does the power supply still operate? Tested on another computer?
Murphy's law could be against you with a coinincidental failure!

Yep. Had to use a cheap EPS motherboard for a time being to RMA the ASUS motherboard.

Should the BIOS be backed off to some factory default before changing
the RAM? However, pretty unlikely any BUS speed issue changes could
kill anything.

I never heard of this. I thought that was only for upgrading BIOS?
--
At length, when they came to a (lowly) valley of ants, one of the ants said: "O ye ants, get into your habitations, lest Solomon and his hosts crush you (under foot) without knowing it." --Surah 27. The Ant, The Ants, line 18
/\___/\
/ /\ /\ \ Phillip (Ant) @ http://antfarm.ma.cx (Personal Web Site)
| |o o| | Ant's Quality Foraged Links (AQFL): http://aqfl.net
\ _ / Please remove ANT if replying by e-mail.
( )

 

[marslee]

I have the same problem with my asus P2bF every time i remove and add
the ram.

If you still want to test it, you can do the following

I do the following to make my board POST.

1)insert the RAM, and move it left and right(to make the ram have a
good contact with DIMM slot)
2) If step 1 doesnt work, put the bios jumper in clear position for 1
hours, and retest it
3) If step 2 doesnt work, take out the battery for 2-3 hour and redo
step 2
4) If step 2 and 3 dont work, remove everthing and reinsert every
component one by one
5) If step 4 doesnt work, remove the bios chip form the socket, and
insert it after 1-2 hour
My board is pretty old, but from day 1 I have the same problem as you
described.Every time i swap the ram, the board wont boot and has no
beep at all.
I don't know whether it works on the new generation of asus board , but
worth to try it before rma

 

[DDC]

I suspect one of 2 things actually happened: damage to mobo from
insertion force on ram sticks or static discharge, there is no other
probable explanation. Was the box powered off yet the PS still turned
"on", as in suspend mode? Do you have a separate PS on/off sw on the
back that was in the "off" position? One other question, do the ram
sticks still work in other systems?

I would go for the damage when inserting the ram. If the mobo isn't
well sited in it place you could have bend the board and crack some
crucial part of the board.