I have an HP computer that's been giving me a lot of problems, particularly tonight.


I took the RAM out to clean it, and when I put it back in, the computer wouldn't start and it beeped, I thought it was because the RAM wasn't pushed in far enough, so after that it worked, but it wouldn't always start when I pushed the power button. I tried moving the memory into the other slot, that didn't work very well so I switched it back and it seems to be doing alright now but, when I even so much as breathe on the computer case (move a wire, or even move the case the slightest bit) the computer will either lock up or shut down. I have to wait a minute or two and physically take the cord in the back and plug it back in, ensuring the little green light is on so I can turn it on -- and even then it doesn't always work, sometimes it just cuts the power and I have to do it again..

Is the computer shorting out? Or is it something else? If so is there any way to easily tell this without having to haul it off somewhere, any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

This may be a plug loose or Ram not seated correctly issue.

But actually what I think has happened is that whilst pressing down on the Ram you have also pushed the Motherboard down and either shorted or close to shorting the board.

Your best approach would be to unplug ALL Motherboard cables (adhearing to the manual and antistatic/power precautions) and physically remove the Motherboard from the case.

Once the Motherboard is out, firstly blow away any dust and debri, you can also use circuit board cleaner to really wash the board (then dry)

Confirm when re-mounting, that the posts are secure and all present! in the case.

Test again. (note you can bench test out of the case too)

Might want to just check that all attached cables are indeed attached and that you didn't dislodge the cpu heatsink while jamming your ram.