RAM module randomly stopped working

Question

My laptop is a Dell Inspiron e1505. It came with 2x512 MB of RAM installed, and about a year and a half ago I decided to upgrade it to 2x1 GB. I bought two G.Skill 1GB memory modules from newegg and installed them, and all worked fine.

Just last night my laptop was working fine; this morning I booted up and there was a BIOS warning saying "amount of system memory has changed". I tried reseating the modules, but that didn't fix it. Then I removed each one individually, and determined that one of the sticks appears to no longer be working. This happened very abruptly - I hadn't noticed any problems which might have been indicative of impending failure.

Does anybody have any clue what may have caused this, and if there's any hope of making it work again? The memory only had a 30 day warranty, so I can't RMA it.

Answer 1

Memory is just like any other electronical hardware in your PC. It works and it stops working after some time. If you are lucky enough, it'll last until you throw the PC out. Usually if you get a good module (like Geil, Corsair, etc) you increase that chance (and get ~5-99yr warranty). Sadly I can't think a way. Maybe you can try out in a friend's PC and if it works you can sell it to him IF he wants it even like that. (Maybe.. (so many maybe .. d'oh!) it will work.. give it a try.)

(This is my opinion/knowledge, so (obviously) just wait for other answers also, maybe there is a way I don't know about.)

Answer 2

As it turns out, the memory was covered by a lifetime warranty through G.skill, but only a 30 day return through Newegg. I successfully RMA'd the RAM through G.skill, and it's on its way now. Hopefully it will be returned replaced soon!