Yesterday I installed two new sticks of RAM in a pc but when I powered it back up the only signs of life were from the cooling fans and the power light. The hard drive light flicked on for a couple of seconds and then switched off. There were no beeps nor any sounds from the hard drive. No booting up took place. I checked all the connections, they were fine, I even removed the RAM I installed but there's no life. However, I haven't yet tried it with no RAM and someone else suggested I reset the CMOS. What does that do? I had a bit of difficulty getting one of the sticks but but I didn't force it. I also took all precautions regarding static charge. Have I killed my motherboard? Andrew

the computer will not work with no ram in, but most computers will emit lots of beeping if you try to start them with no ram in.(this would not damage the motherboard) Resetting the CMOS, the new ram might be incompatible / faulty, and the computer trying to work with them may have confused the BIOS/Setup. If you clear the CMOS, it puts the BIOS/Setup back to the makers default settings which are usually good enough for the computer to start if it went wrong on other settings.. This is done by using the jumper on the motherboard which is usually near the silver coin battery. Take ram out and look in the slots, is anything stuck in there, are the metal contacts bent? Did you dislodge anything else in the case, like cables, graphics card etc.

Are you sure that the RAM you installed was the proper type for your MOBO? Did you ground yourself before touching anything inside the case? Life is more painless for those who are brainless.

Hi, The usual cause of such problems are that some connector was knocked loose when the ram was installed. Check all connectors. Good Luck, Jim

Thanks everyone for your advice. I was properly grounded when I took the cover of the chassis, which is good at least. So I should just remove the CMOS battery to reset it? Andrew

You should reset the CMOS, and it doesn't matter what method you use, battery or jumper. Once you've done that, plug in only the bare essential components - CPU, RAM (one stick), video card and PSU, no need for the HDD yet. If it posts, then power off and hook up the HDD. Do make sure the memory module is indeed fully snapped in and same goes for the video card. The Secret Letter From Iraq

It's fixed. Thanks everyone for your advice. I reseated the original RAM I had, pulled the CMOS battery and just to be sure I unplugged and replugged the connections located close to where I was working and it all came good. What a relief! Oh yes, I got rid of the out-of-spec RAM I was trying to install as well. That might have been what set the whole thing off. Lesson learned.