so my computer decided to be really cool last night and iced 3 gigs of ram- [of 4 gigs] i dont know how, or why (any ideas are welcomed!!)- but it seriously effed over my computer- its currently reformatting as it wouldn't boot to safe mode, couldn't load repair utility for windows as it could not find an instance of windows on the HD....originally ran XP pro, upgraded to Vista Business a couple months ago...
gotta love warranties cause dell's picking up this tab, but WTF does dell get off thinking this:




part no. # U8622 (4)

Dual In-Line Memory Module,1G 667M,128X64,8,240,2RX8

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------$476.95 each <----?!!!? really?
Invoices
View My Orders

Sub-Total : $1907.80
Shipping : DHL Next Business Day
Tax : $114.47

Order Total :
$2022.27


what do you guys think happened??? i don't want this to happen again, i've got all my data backed up on my external HD, but this is gonna be a serious PITA...

Justin

 

Well, if that is a regular desktop memory (1gb of pc667 DDR2), I can get that for about $43.99. Laptop memory would be a different story. That would be about $5.00 more.

As far as what happened, it could be anything, fom a bad MB that spiked on the voltage to the memory, to a bad power supply that spiked everything.

 

Those prices are outrageous!

That aside, I would look to the MOBO for sure. Maybe try taking the one "good stick" and putting it in a slot where the RAM failed. See if it reads it there. It could be that 3 out of 4 slots on the MOBO failed and that the RAM is fine, and the MOBO is not.

 

yea its good ol 1gb 667Mhz DDR2. desktop memory I believe- its an XPS 710.
I saw the price/ea. and just about covered my workstation with coffee

will check that as soon as I get home from work- good call- on both the Mobo, and the PS (750w).... voltage could possibly be an issue- all of my system fans have all failed thier tests from day one- they are running about 5-600 rpms higher than their desired speed- (test asks 1500 rpm, are actually running at 2,068 rpm)

 

dude, I literally just snagged a gig of Kingston Hyper 2 ddr2 667 (675mhz) ram for $125~. Same exact stuff you need.

Go to Newegg.com my friend. You are getting incredibly screwed. Return whatever you just bought.

also, did you try switching the slots on the ram like I suggested? the only problem is if you only have one stick I think it HAS to be in slot 1 to work.

 

i didn't buy any of it- warranty replacement- theres no way in hell I would have even thought about buying ram from them in the first place if i indeed was footing the bill.... if i dont give them the old ram back they will charge me but i don't see a problem there--
i will switch slots this evening when I get home from work

 

If the fans are only rated to 1500 rpm, and are running at 2000, then you have a power problem somewhere. If your fans are hooked direct to the power supply, then you have a power supply problem. If to the MB, I would bet the MB is bad or the power supply has made it bad.

 

Guaranteed compatible lifetime warranty DDR2-667 direct from Crucial is $47.99 for a 1 gig stick. A 2x1 gig dual channel kit is $95.99. Dell is smoking crack or something.

 

they are run directly from the PS- all components are run directly from the PS the fans are then hooked to the Mobo.... the CPU (behind the dedicated XPS heatsink and fan) this isn't very detailed, but it gives you a glimpse of whats inside...

 

As you say the fans are connected to the MB, I would definitely worry about the MB if the fans are running faster than they are rated. I have a fan controller and can see the difference in the fans I have. I can crank the power all the way up and they will only run at their rated speed, + or - 10%.
Do you know what brand of MB? I use an Intel and they have software that allows me you look at the different power connections . Might be worth checking at Dell or the MB maker for something like that.

 

all 4 mobo ram trays are good- units 1,2,3 are faulty- should have 4 new pieces sometime thursday- i've got a couple Nvidia apps that I run to allow me to control my fan speeds & temps- the MB had 'DELL' stamped all over it so that doesn't tell me much about who mfr'd it. will report back tomorrow.

 

It's a proprietary Dell motherboard. It's probably made by Foxconn but to Dell specs.

 

I remember my boss wanted to upgrade his ram for his dell, and it was just about 400 bucks for an older dell 1 gig ram stick... I told him to screw that and just buy a new computer with 2 gig of ram from them for 429 shipped.

 

I helped a friend fix her Dell laptop under warranty... it took months of working with Dell replacing various parts to finally find out it was a bad motherboard out of the box when it was brand new. Dell told me hardware does not make a computer randomly freeze like that laptop was doing. Dell paid enough in warranty costs with all the parts they threw at it trying to figure out what was wrong to equal what we paid for the laptop.

 

I've never seen the inside of a Dell before. That looks strange having the mb on that side of the case.
As far as the ridiculous cost of the ram goes, maybe they can claim warranty repairs on their taxes so they just jack the price up to have more to write off.