Possible issue with RAM or the slot itself (Acer Nitro 5 AN515-31)After switching the RAM got BSOD

The laptop had 4GB RAM soldered and a slot in which another 4GB module (ADATA) resided. I had switched out the latter with a Crucial 16GB one about a year later. For ~4.5 years there was no issue but suddenly over the last 2 weeks several BSODs occurred resulting in the laptop stuck at the BIOS (garbled display, nothing could be made out) with the LED backlight switching on and off every few seconds in an infinite loop. Hard pressing the power button seemed to have no effect.

Since one of the BSODs had displayed "Attempt to execute no execute memory" error I thought of removing the module to check and it allowed the system to reboot normally. Thereafter removing the module everytime the system got struck at the BOIS was the necessary fix. I then inserted the original ADATA module but the problem persisted to my surprise. It mostly occurred while playing games (because of high RAM demands the module was in greater use? ) However if I kept the slot empty I could play the same game with no issue albeit I had to switch to the NVIDIA GPU from the Intel GPU as otherwise with just 4GB RAM the game was just killed a few minutes after launch probably because the Intel GPU had to share the physical memory unlike the former with it's dedicated memory (Event Log showed Resource Exhaustion errors).

It's highly unlikely for 2 modules to become defective at the same time so I am thinking maybe somehow the RAM slot itself has become defective?

How can I diagnose this issue?

[Edited the thread to add issue detail]

Accepted answers

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/703439/possible-issue-with-ram-or-the-slot-itself-acer-nitro-5-an515-31

I suggest that you have your laptop diagnosed by a technician as your laptop must have a fault with the removable ram slot that needs either one of its pins resoldered or the whole thing changed. Remember that the removable ram slot has hundreds of pins that is soldered onto the mainboard with, and these can either dislodge or short out and get destroyed causing those sorts of faults which are causing the memory BSOD error blue screen, you can't fix this yourself as you need a microscope to detect and fix this problem, so be aware of that. Good luck.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

atonement

My previous experience with the local technicians in case of the previous laptop wasn't good to say the least. Some do advertise "chip-level" repair. I will try to find someone actually good. I don't hold out much hope of the RAM slot being repaired in case it's faulty. At least laptop prices are quite low at the moment though I was hoping to wait until Zen 5 launch and build a gaming rig instead. I think it's better for me to somehow put up with 4GB RAM wait out until the end of the year. I do most of my browsing on my smartphones so other than gaming the lack of memory won't be a huge issue.

All comments

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/703439/possible-issue-with-ram-or-the-slot-itself-acer-nitro-5-an515-31

You can use a module up to 16GB to replace the 4GB removable module with the same specs as the soldered RAM (max. supported RAM 20GB). Take the removable RAM module out of the slot, close the laptop and find the part number of the soldered RAM with this command: wmic memorychip list full and google that part number, buy an identical RAM module, brand, same CL, ranking and speed but 16GB.

atonement

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1268275#Comment_1268275

Yes I know about it and I had added the Crucial module myself. But if the RAM slot itself is faulty then it's no good to buy another module. I want to know if it's possible to check whether both RAM modules became faulty at almost the same time or more likely the fault is in the slot itself or some other issue entirely?

AnhEZ28

@atonement

You can use memory diagnostic to check the soldered RAM module and the removable RAM module.

Use a soft brush to clean out the RAM slot.

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/703439/possible-issue-with-ram-or-the-slot-itself-acer-nitro-5-an515-31

I suggest that you have your laptop diagnosed by a technician as your laptop must have a fault with the removable ram slot that needs either one of its pins resoldered or the whole thing changed. Remember that the removable ram slot has hundreds of pins that is soldered onto the mainboard with, and these can either dislodge or short out and get destroyed causing those sorts of faults which are causing the memory BSOD error blue screen, you can't fix this yourself as you need a microscope to detect and fix this problem, so be aware of that. Good luck.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

atonement

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1268408#Comment_1268408

I had forgotten to mention that I had run Memtes86+ which found no issues with the soldered RAM after letting it run for 1 hour. Afterwards I inserted the Crucial module and a little over an hour later I found that the system had crashed again (completely garbled display ). I didn't bother testing with the Acer supplied original module.

I will try cleaning the slot.

atonement

My previous experience with the local technicians in case of the previous laptop wasn't good to say the least. Some do advertise "chip-level" repair. I will try to find someone actually good. I don't hold out much hope of the RAM slot being repaired in case it's faulty. At least laptop prices are quite low at the moment though I was hoping to wait until Zen 5 launch and build a gaming rig instead. I think it's better for me to somehow put up with 4GB RAM wait out until the end of the year. I do most of my browsing on my smartphones so other than gaming the lack of memory won't be a huge issue.

atonement

Now the laptop doesn't boot at all if the Acer supplied ADATA module is used. So it seems that both modules as unlikely it might be got defective at the same time. Very glad that the RAM slot might not be to blame. I will try replacing the Crucial module under warranty and check.

atonement

Got the Crucial module replaced but still the laptop doesn't boot. Looks like it's the RAM slot that's defective. I guess I have to consider myself lucky that this laptop served me for 6 years considering the ill reputation of Acer products especially as longevity is concerned.

atonement

The Acer supplied Adata module worked for ~5 months before not getting detected yesterday once again. I got the Crucial module checked at a local repair shop and it worked just fine in a Dell laptop. The exact model: https://www.amazon.in/gp/aw/d/B019FRBHZ0?psc=1

Should not this work in my Acer laptop? It's identical in terms of listed specs to the Adata one. To clarify earlier the Amazon seller had sent a Crucial Basics (CB series) module which worked well for 4.5 years instead of the CT series which I had ordered. I hadn't noticed it all this time.