Wasted a whole afternoon trying to fix a 'faulty' RAM stick that just needed a proper cleaning

Had a client's gaming rig that wouldn't boot. Did all the usual checks, swapped parts, and was convinced one of the new 16GB sticks was dead. Spent about 4 hours on it, which is a big chunk of my day. Right before I was going to order a replacement, I gave the RAM slot a really good blast with compressed air and wiped the contacts with isopropyl. Booted right up. Felt pretty silly for not doing that first. How often do you guys run into simple fixes like that after overthinking it?

3 comments

3 Comments

troykim3mo ago

Felt pretty silly for not doing that first" is the realest thing. I read a tech blog once that called dust "the most common intermittent fault" and it's so true.

the_karen13d ago

Saw some IT guy say once that 90% of weird computer issues are just dust or loose cables. Sounds about right tbh.

abby8363mo ago

Truth is @troykim, dust is the silent killer of so much tech. Seen it a ton with old consoles and PCs people have packed away. That blog is spot on calling it the top intermittent fault. You get weird freezes and crashes that make no sense until you open it up. Always feels so obvious after you blow it out. Should honestly be step one for any weird tech problem.