Removed ram while computer was on

curtis_10 · Jul 31, 2018

Ok to make this short, i was ordering ram offline to make an upgrade on my PC.

When i did that, i took a stick out of my motherboard to check to see if it was ddr3

After i got to put it back in, the computer was humming and turned on. I could have sworn it was off before i pulled it out.

Just made a mistake, USUALLY i turn it off before i go to sleep. Clearly this time i didn't. And now the computer wont turn on, my friend told me i probably fried my ram, a website told me i probably fried my motherboard too.

Did i fry anything else, like processor, graphics, hard drive?

curtis_10 · Jul 31, 2018

Online sorry typo

DSzymborski · Jul 31, 2018

95% of CPUs only work with one generation of RAM and you could find out your exact RAM with CPU-Z or a million of other bits of software. You'd need to this anyway, because just knowing whether you have DDR3 or DDR4 RAM isn't enough information to add RAM anyway; sticks of different RAM frequently don't work together, so you need to match the specs as closely as you can, something you can't find out by holding it in your hand.

Unfortunately, at this point, the only thing you can do is trial-and-error, which means adding known good parts to your rig or your parts to a known good rig.

My source of confusion here is how you didn't know if your PC was on or not. With lights and fans and heat, I can't imagine not knowing, at least after you've opened it up.

jay32267 · Jul 31, 2018

MERGED QUESTION
Question from curtis_10 : "How badly did i mess up my computer"

curtis_10 :

Ok so im looking to upgrade my computer. Ram and graphics card.

Now before i go to sleep, i USUALLY turn my computer off. Could have sworn i did before i started fiddling with my PC. Took out the ram, and found out that it was ddr3. So i made the neccesary arrangements to order the upgraded ram.

So here is where things go very wrong, when i went to go put my ram back in the PC. It was humming, fans were running and everything. At first i didnt think anything was wrong, i put the ram back on and the computer powered off.

Curious i tried to power on the machine. And it didnt give, so i tried mulitple things, testing connections, reseating the ram. Everything i can think of.

Finally i asked my friend for help and he told me that if you remove ram when its on. Then of course your ram and motherboard get fried.

Well im kicking myself right now, could have sworn the sucker was turned off. Good news is, i already ordered the ram. And the MOBO might be 100 bucks maybe a little more to replace. At least when i got it at microcenter it was 120 i believe.

So i got another question, how badly did i burn this computer here?. Are other parts of question broken and fried?. Such as the graphics card?. The hard drive, the power supply, god forbid the processor.

Can someone give me insight, and if you deem necessary a smack across the face. I already knew that i should turn my computer off before messing with it. Just thought it was already turned off. Kicks can, would appreciate some answers as soon as the community is able.

What happens when you try and power it back on? Nothing?

If nothing...I'm thinking probably the motherboard is fried. I think the memory may or may not have survived. I think chances are the psu is good and probably the drives and gpu are too.

DSzymborski · Jul 31, 2018

Please avoid starting multiple threads with the same problem.

curtis_10 · Jul 31, 2018

DSzymborski :

jay32267 :

Pretty much yeah, i already the ram before this happened so its on the way
So you personally dont think anything else is gone besides the motherboard and ram?

curtis_10 · Jul 31, 2018

DSzymborski :

I just made a mistake, i was still kind of half asleep when i messed with it. So that didnt help.
My personal experience working for a computer repair shop for over a year, as long as you have the right kind of ram, being ddr3 or ddr2 etc. It should work fine. Could be wrong, but ram is as simple as it gets.

DSzymborski · Aug 1, 2018

curtis_10 :

I don't have any such belief. But you'll only find out by testing. There are a lot of outcomes that can happen when you're fiddling around with a computer while it's still running.

DSzymborski · Aug 1, 2018

curtis_10 :

This is not true at all. There's a reason RAM is sold in kits; those RAM modules are specifically tested to work together, sometimes even RAM of the same make and model will have issues, though that's less frequent. But FrankenRAM setups is a common cause of people posting here with PC issues.

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