# Ram sticks seem loose



## and238 (Sep 19, 2012)

So i have an Acer aspire 552g and lately it's been having intermittent crashes and freezes. At first i thought it had to do with a bug in the new updates i installed from the windows automatic update, so i restored to a point before the update, but it still crashes.
Then i thought it had to do with me turning off the Vsync previously (for gaming purposes), so i turned it back on, but still, it crashes at random times. 
When i say crashes, it completely freezes on the screen it's on, with no response to any hot keys, mouse movements, etc. So i frequently have to hard reset it. Even when i try to boot it back after the crash, it gives a blank black screen that is unresponsive, forcing me to reset it again until it magically boots back up (asking to start in safe mode or normal).
This issue happens sporadically, and every diagnose ive done came up clean. 
Memtest, registry tests, i also did virus scans and spyware scans in safemode (where it usually wouldnt crash), but there were no threats. 
I even opened it up and cleaned any dust that may be interfering with the memory or hard drive. No luck...
When i take the ram sticks out, however, they come out pretty loose and quick. The ram themselves are fine, for i tried swapping with other sticks and found that they weren't the issue.

I feel like the loose-ness of the ram may be the issue causing these freezes. Is there a way to replace the slots? I am a newbie when it comes to working on the motherboard. Any advice appreciated!

BTW, here's the specs:
640 HDD, AMD phenom II quad core, 4GB DDR3, AMD Radeon 6470M


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

I've never seen or heard of "loose" RAM slots and there is no way to replace them.


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## and238 (Sep 19, 2012)

Tyree said:


> I've never seen or heard of "loose" RAM slots and there is no way to replace them.


So you think that may not be the issue? I just assumed it was since i've singled it down to that alone, by testing it. Because if it wouldn't boot up normally (with a blank screen), i would take the ram sticks out then put them back in as flush as possible, and then it would boot up normally, until (when i thought it'd get loose somehow) it would freeze again.


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## joeten (Dec 4, 2008)

Hi when you replace the ram you have to apply a firm but even pressure and when it clicks into position it should be firmly in place


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Try cleaning the contacts with a clean pencil eraser.


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## and238 (Sep 19, 2012)

joeten said:


> Hi when you replace the ram you have to apply a firm but even pressure and when it clicks into position it should be firmly in place


this was the first thing i've made sure of. i'm sort of out of ideas at the moment. tried everything, even cleaning the contacts.


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## Corday (Mar 3, 2010)

Although this URL covers some of what you've done, take a look at the bios suggestion: My Laptop Won't Boot After a Memory Upgrade | eHow.com


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## Tyree (May 10, 2009)

Have you established the RAM retainers are not damage and the RAM is actually loose in the slots?


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