Die fast memory mod

[Technoid]

We have all read about the morons that take a hacksaw or a metal file when the new shining component fail to fit in the slot of their choosing..

Up to today I had never seen one in "real life"

A guy comes into the store and wants me to fix his p4 laptop (dell dimension 8500), which he says don't take any charge. I plug in another charger and its still stone dead. After checking the psu (which gives correct charge) I suspect that the data pin is damaged and the laptop wont start because the battery is flat.

at that point I tell him that I'll have to examine it further and that I'll give him a call when I find out exactly whats wrong. he then asks me to also see if I can make his new memory module work. I dont really check the memory at that time but promise him I'll check it out after I got the laptop running.

fast forward to today, The laptop is still dead and nothing we try changes that fact. My coworker then asks me about the module, since it apparently are a ddr2 module and not a ddr module as the ones that are in the laptop.

on closer inspection we see this:



He has taken a file and filed up the notch

So I call him:

Me: The memory you bought online, it didn't fit first, did it?

Him: uh, no it didnt.

Me: so you filed up the notch until it did?

him: Yeah (sounding really happy)

Me: Then I'm sorry to tell you that the reason your laptop is dead is that the memory fried it.

him: but thats not possible, it worked afterwards

me: with that memory?

him: err, no

Somehow I don't believe him, I think it died instantly.

what followed afterwards was the usual "but isnt there a cheap little piece we can excange?" discussion

And it ended with "I'll come and get it, and afterwards I'll ask someone else to fix it that knows how to fix em" declaration

Is there actually any situation where the correct thing to do is to attack the non fitting part with metal tools?!?

[Tjalfe]

I once took tools to a PCI card which did not stay in the slot. it was not tapered, and kept getting pushed up again by the contacts in the slot.. a bit of work with a knife, tapering the edge connector and it worked fine.. so yes, there are times when you can successfully take tools to your components
I hope you charge the guy good money to tell him he is an idiot

[dZeus]

couldn't you find a motherboard for the dell laptop on ebay? You can at least give an indication how much it costs to fix it, as he is right that someone else can probably fix it.

Whether it is worth fixing is up to the customer imo

[Technoid]

I once took tools to a PCI card which did not stay in the slot. it was not tapered, and kept getting pushed up again by the contacts in the slot.. a bit of work with a knife, tapering the edge connector and it worked fine.. so yes, there are times when you can successfully take tools to your components
I hope you charge the guy good money to tell him he is an idiot

We'll charge him the normal diagnostic fee

couldn't you find a motherboard for the dell laptop on ebay?

You can at least give an indication how much it costs to fix it, as he is right that someone else can probably fix it.

I did, in the

what followed afterwards was the usual "but isnt there a cheap little piece we can excange?" discussion

part.

Whether it is worth fixing is up to the customer imo

Of course it is, but he didn't want to pay for a new mobo, I agree that since english isn't my first language I was a bit imprecise in this statement:

And it ended with "I'll come and get it, and afterwards I'll ask someone else to fix it that knows how to fix em" declaration

he meant the motherboard.