Step by Step Guide to Repair a Dead Memory Stick

As you all know, RAM is an important part of our computer system and without it, not even a single line can be shown on the display.

In case if your computer’s RAM got recently dead and which you also might want to get repaired too, then don’t worry about it because I have a great trick to repair any kind of RAM Stick in just only 10 minutes;

And that’s the reason why I made this tutorial too short and easy that even an OLD School Guy can fix it.

Mainly in this tutorial, I’ll suggest you to bake your RAM Stick into the Hot Oven because proving heat can Reflow the solder joints on PCB and re-join all the broken connections. I did this with my RAM once and that still working now for 8 months after baking.



#How Reflow Can Help?

Reflow soldering is the most common process used by the manufacturers and repair shops to mount the electronic components on a PCB.

Reflow is the stage of “reflowing solder” where the ‘solder’ or ‘solder paste’ changes its state from Solid to Liquid, at high heat temperature to make a complete and proper solder joint on PCB (printed board circuits).

And in this tutorial, we are using the baking method of Reflow by providing the direct heat of 200-degree Celsius to Printed Circuit Board to re-join its broken connections by melting the solder underneath the GPU Chip.

To know more about the baking method of Reflow or need to know what actually reflow is and need some proper guidance about it, then check out this link which you might have interest in; >> What Is Reflow? – Explained With Procedure

Note: If your Ram is still in under warranty then I don’t think you should try to do anything on your own. So, just remove the RAM from your computer and give it to the manufacturer’s service center or call to the manufacturer’s Customer Care for all the extra support.

Note 2: There is no guarantee that you can fix your RAM perfectly but the best part is, this tutorial work’s 95% for all the time. But make sure you only try to do it with a DEAD or FAULTY RAM.



So, Let’s See How to Fix It;

As you can see I have a set of two RAM’s and neither of one is working. My computer never boots up if I fit these RAM into my motherboard because it only shows me the black blank screen.

So, I decided to repair at least one of them;

I’ll demonstrate the full procedure below by showing you some pictures and also explains what to do and how things going to work out.

Note 3: Make sure you try to clean your RAM first, and install it back into your computer just for the testing purpose. I’m only saying this because sometimes a single dirty or carboned connection can be the reason for the No Display fault. Here is another quick tutorial to show you how to do it because there is a proper way to clean a RAM Stick. Link >>How to Properly Clean a RAM Stick?

Step 1 – Preheat your Oven to the minimum temperature of 150C for 3-5 min, and make sure you are not using any Microwave Oven because it can damage the Printed Circuit Board of your RAM.

Step 2 – Getting Things Ready: While your oven is preheating, go grab 2x 10 inches foil paper and put your both RAMs at the edge of different foil papers and then wrap it up tightly. Also, make sure you fold the empty space into upward flaps.

Step 3 – Repairing: I think your oven should be ready to bake by now. So, this is the time when you need to put your RAM Stick directly into the oven and set the timer for about 2 minutes at the temperature of 200 Degree C, and after when the 2 minutes get completed then just increase the heat for about 230 Degree C for 2 more minutes.

Step 4 – Let The RAM Cool Down: After 3 or 4 min of baking, don’t just suddenly take out your RAM from the Oven. You’ll only need to open the Oven’s door and leave it for a while to cool it down.

Step 5 – Testing: Now open your computer’s case and install the RAM back to its place, and after that you can try to start your computer. If your computer starts perfectly that means you’ve successfully repaired your RAM Stick and save a lot of money.

If not, then here are some Suggested Links;





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119 COMMENTS

  15. Please make a video.i’ve already spent more money by upgrading my system.and now i’m in a big trouble ,my new 8gb ram stick dead,so I have to fix it before my dad sees.i beg u pls help me

  22. Im seeing a lot of people worried about the metal contamination, how was your experience around this, and would it be wise to use a toaster oven instead?

  25. Hi, Mr. Madhur? Man, You are very technical and hot, i love your skills. You can’t imagine you have pinned my heart so hard. I love you very much, may God bless you soo much.

  29. Thought this was a joke when I first saw it but man, I cant believe it worked! Read your article on reflow but still, dude, that was true insight to be able to apply the concept to your oven at home. Anyway thank you so much, it helped me revive my dead RAM (laptop RAM btw – for anyone who wants to know).

    Thanks again!

  32. Awesome Technic..Mr Madhur .. Its working properly. After bake the RAM , when I see the booting screen on my screen, I laughed as lunatic.
    (Thinking.. wonderful..)

    I’m also an IT Professional in Defence Forces …
    But this …technic.. is… awesome.

    Thank you.

  33. my oven toaster is no temperature control,
    only timer control.

    this is ok?
    or i need to use oven with temperature control???

    please answer
    thankss…

  36. my ram is functional at the moment but sometimes get bsod. memtest test gives quite a few errors so guessing faulty ram ? or not?

  37. Hi Madhur, I recently upgraded my pc having 4gb RAM with an additional 4gb RAM with 64bit OS. It worked fine for 4 days. then the old ram got faulty. I tested in both the slots but didnt work. I tried the OVEN method yet it didnt work. is it a case of incompatibility. Can this RAM be repaired or should i go for a new one

  40. I currently have a Toaster Oven, without any temperature control. Only timer control, is their anyway that I can try to heat my RAM using just this toaster oven? Like set the time to and such.

  42. I put my ram, wrapped in two layers of paper towel, in the toaster oven, @ 175 deg F, for 30 minutes, to get rid of any moisture, then I just used my hot air gun on high in circular motion, around the chips, for about 10 seconds per chip. Don’t know if that was too high, or too long. Afterwards, I put back in the toaster oven, @ 150 deg F, for 10 minutes, and it works like a charm. No more vibrations crashing my laptop, after 5 minutes of playing a game, or Youtube.
    I know that a more permanent fix, is to add flux afterwards, but I’ve never used flux. Can it just be sprayed on?
    Also, only use your oven, if you never plan on eating out of it, for a while, and a couple heat ups afterwards, to clean it.
    I only used my toaster oven to preheat, and for the cooling down process. There’s should not be hardly any flux, or residue. Nevertheless, It would be a good idea to heat up the oven afterwards, and allow it to air out.
    Always preheat, and cool down. Also, must not allow any vibrations after the reflow to the oven, to cool down.
    I think the pros use two spare toaster ovens. one for preheating and cooling down, and the other for reflow.

  44. It is very good post on repairing dead RAM because everyone has computer and this information is very helpful to repair our dead RAM.

  45. There was a time when most of the people used to think that if the ram is not working then the whole system is not going to work and this is still relevant. In this context I want to say that by now we can fix or repair a dead ram and will continue the use of the system.

  46. The dead RAM sticks can be repaired by the method post has given and this can be applied by those who are working in the hardware field and learning about the methods of the hardware repairing.

  47. Good steps mention in this post to Repair a Dead Memory Stick. thanks for sharing this post. it helps the user to repair dead memory stick.

  48. You really described in detail to repair a dead RAM stick. I applied all these steps and successfully resolved this issue. Thanks.

  49. If you are feeling that your laptop RAM is going to be dead and it need an upgrade then try to update the system first. It may solve the RAM issues. But if it does not work, then remove the RAM and replace it with a new one.

  50. Hello brother, my laptop uses 2 rams of 2gb each. Last week I went to a technician he removed one of the upper sticks and cleared it with an eraser and placed it back. The system worked fine till now. But again when I am booting up the windows, the leds blink up and go off within a few seconds. Should I try to clean the second stick also or should I try your method. Also can you please tell me how to chevk whether the ram is dead. Thanks.

  54. I bought a pair of DDR3 ram off of EBay and was disappointing that one of the sticks was bad. There was no return and I thought I was out $50. I tried the oven trick on the bad stick and it worked!! Thanks 100x man you are a genius!

  56. One of my two ram sticks did not show up, I isolated the broken one, didn’t boot. I tried your method and it didn’t work. I understand why it should work and I read that IC’s can sustain damage over 250 celcious so I cooked at 220 celcious for 10 minutes.

    And to my absolute surprise it boots, fantastic article giving me the spark to do this.

    But I think I may have damaged it, my PC is really slow with high CPU use and lag for no obvious reason, currently running memtest86+ but I don’t understand how technically it is causing performance issues with no other serious issues, hopefully I can resolve it.

    Maybe you have any suggestions?

  61. I had a faulty DDR3 stick. It gave me random reboot loops after powerup and blue screens. It couldnot handle the overclock. It’s been sitting in 1st slot next to CPU for 7-8 years.
    I thought it degraded beause of CPU heat. But who woulde have been thought that it needs MORE HEAT to get fixed. IT WORKS.

  62. Holy f*ck this actually worked! I had a faulty stick that was laying on my table for half a year, tried this and it’s working!!!!!! Thank you so much, you saved me 70 bucks!

  63. Bruh thanks for telling me to try and clean it 1st. I had 8gp stick laying around for a year under my bed that wasnt working i just cleaned it and now it’s working lmao. Ty

  66. It worked on a Mac Pro 3.1, incredible. I tried once placing the Motherboard of a Power G5 in the oven, but it didn’t work. Now, surprise…it worked.

  68. I would also like to thank you! I had nothing to lose: one of my 2 Corsair DDR2 RAM sticks caused my PC not to start, and Corsair told me that they would love to help me, but they no longer make DDR2 RAM. I love my PC that I built in 2008 — it’s totally still what I want and need, and I don’t want anything newer. I had already decided to buy a GSkill replacement RAM stick but thought I’d give your method a try.

    I honestly didn’t think it would work. But: I baked it for 2 minutes on 400°F, left it inside while raising the heat to 450°F and then timed 2 more minutes. After letting it cool down, I put it into the 2nd RAM slot. And was super excited when I turned it on and heard the beep and then saw the POST running on my screen. Yeah! Thank you so much!!

  69. I have to write an update – sadly the revived RAM stick only worked for a few more minutes after I’ve finished writing my previous comment. 🙁 Too bad. Off to buy some new sticks. Thanks anyway, Madhur, for letting me learn about reflowing. 🙂

  70. Holly shit . This method is really work. At the first place i thought it was a joke
    But by anyway my Ram was pass away , so I decided put it in my Airfrier . Maximum is only 200•c .

    Firstly, i tried 200•c – yeah its a joke
    Secondly, i tried 200•c -wait A moment its boot my pc up .myy man its incredible. But after that when i shut it down and turn it up I totally blank black screen.
    3rd , 200•c 15minutes . Now its live long life .

  72. Just a reminder: check if your RAM module has lifetime warranty and just ask for a free replacement (you’ll only pay return) before you try this

  75. Wow there are some really stupid people out there. I cant believe some guy asked if he could do this in a microwave. Lmfao what an idiot! Btw, great advice. I actually alrwady knew this trick from way back in the day. As well as putting hard drives in the freezer for a temporary fix. I just started cracking up when a guy asked about the microwave and your reply was, “NO!”

  76. Also a heat gun just might work if it is done correctly. I wouldnt trust an average joe to do it, but im sure i could pull it off.

  79. I have a laptop Asus and 1module of ram had many errors, i scaned it with memtest. i made the reflow following this tutorial and once i put the memory back to the laptop and tested, the laptop doesn’t turn on again, then i tried whit another module that was working well and laptop still doesn’t turn on, i think my mother board gets damaged because of the ram which i made the reflow.

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