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D'oh! Broken RAM lockdown tab. Replacement?

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D'oh! Broken RAM lockdown tab. Replacement?

Postby T0MMY_B0Y » Wed Jun 18, 2008 12:15 am

Hi.

I have an M3438G and was putting my RAM back in when a piece of plastic from the left hand lockdown tab snapped off.

It powers up but won't actually boot (presumably because the RAM isn't housed properly.) The tiniest piece of plastic snaps off and now my laptop doesn't work! Is it possible to replace this or does it entail replacing the whole motherboard?

Here are some pics of the offending area:

Image

Image
^ The chunk. (The little b@st*rd!)

(Please say I can just replace the housing!) ;)

Thanks in advance...
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Location: North East, UK

Postby hikaru » Wed Jun 18, 2008 9:07 am

If you don't have any special skills and tools of an electronics engineer I think it is not possible for you to exchange the housing.

What happens if you only equip the undamaged slot with RAM?
If it works then maybe you can exchange your module with a bigger one if you need more RAM.

Another possiblility could be to fix the broken housing.
I have some good experiences with two-component adhesive in connection with model making. But I don't know if the contact area is large enough in this case to reach a stable connection.
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Postby T0MMY_B0Y » Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:20 pm

If I use the unbroken slot it still won't boot up. :(

I thought of gluing it back on but the piece is tiny so I'm not sure if it will work too well. Apoxy resin maybe?

(Thanks for the reply by the way)
Amilo M3438G
2GHz CPU
2Gb RAM
2x60Gb SATA HD
T0MMY_B0Y
 
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Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2008 6:09 am
Location: North East, UK

Postby hikaru » Wed Jun 18, 2008 2:51 pm

Maybe there is more damaged than only this little piece of plastic. Did you try both modules?
It should boot with only one module, no matter in which slot it is installed.

Epoxy with the right hardener should work. Maybe you should create a small socket of glue on the main board underneath the broken plastic nose to give it more stability.
Use tweezers and a lens if necessary.

Take care that you don't touch any electric conductors with the glue.
Strictly follow the advised mix ratio and hardening time. Please consider too, that there will be some gas emission during hardening.
So I suggest to put everything in place and leave the service door open for at least one night.
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