Netbook's fried motherboard. Can the RAM be safely salvaged?

1

I gave a RAM module to a relative for using in a small netbook. The motherboard of said computer got fried (allegedly due to overheating) and I was planning on getting the module back for using in its original laptop.

Is there any risk in this? I could really use the extra RAM but I can't afford to risk a catastrophic malfunction with my laptop.

I found this related question, but it refers to electrical damage and is not that much specific.

Calculus Knight

Posted 2015-04-29T19:46:19.070

Reputation: 140

2I would visually inspect the modules first to see if there is any blackened areas or any other damage. If it looks OK, you should be good to test as mentioned by Arthur. – Cfinley – 2015-04-29T19:51:57.510

Impossible to say. Expect the module for obvious damage the test module – Ramhound – 2015-04-29T20:07:41.250

Answers

2

It's possible there was some collateral damage to the ram, but the only way to find out is to test it.

I would download memtest 86, put the old laptops ram in the new machine and then run it to make sure there are no issues.

that being said, I've salvaged a lot of ram without issues. If overheating was really the the problem with the original laptop, I can't see there being an issue with the ram.

Arthur

Posted 2015-04-29T19:46:19.070

Reputation: 1 097

Are you then implying there's no risk on inserting it and booting the laptop? I will look for telltale signs of damage, but I need high certainty to go ahead with this. – Calculus Knight – 2015-04-29T20:46:26.717

There is no risk. Very worse case scenario, the laptop won't boot. – Arthur – 2015-04-30T17:48:41.877

As soon as I try it I'll post in here with the results. Knocking on wood. – Calculus Knight – 2015-05-01T09:18:56.787

Everything went fine. It didn't show any signs of damage and it's working well. I didn't made the memory test, though. – Calculus Knight – 2015-05-22T16:15:53.637

Asked: 2015-04-29T19:46:19.070

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Active: 2015-04-29T19:48:06.783