3 ms·
How does RAM break? How often does it fail?
by K7PJP 5y ago
How does RAM break? How often does it fail?
- hutrdvnj 5y agoRAM is just an example. In my Thinkpad (T430) I'm able to swap out the CPU, mainboard, keyboard or screen if necessary, like in an ordinary PC. The question is, how likely is it that some component will break. From my experience it's not very unlikely over a lifespan of a few years. I mean sure you can have luck with all your computers and you never have any hardware failures, but I wouldn't count on that.
- drewzero1 5y agoThe failure mode I've seen most often is that one bit of each byte will fail to store or retrieve correctly. Memtest86 will store an FF and read back an EF, for example. Computers with this problem may boot, but crash often. The other failure mode I've seen is that a RAM module will fail to be recognized or cause a POST error, and the computer will not boot until it is replaced. Neither happens often, but I've seen each of these more than I'd like. I could imagine both issues might possibly be less likely with a solid soldered connection vs. a port which can become damaged or dusty, but I don't have enough experience with soldered RAM modules to be able to say anything about its reliability.