Laptop won't start after memory upgrade!

kb8585 · 02-23-2009, 09:29 PM

I have a Sony Vaio S460 laptop.

Recently it had been lagging really bad, and so I was advised that it might be a power supply problem, or, another solution would be to upgrade the memory.

I went to my local computer store asking about it, and he recommended trying to upgrade the memory (I currently had two 256 MB memory sticks, for a total of 512). I told him my model number, and he pointed me to a Kingston 1 GB memory stick, and said he was pretty sure that it would be compatible. Since it was only $10, I bought two of them.

Ok, so I went ahead and replaced the two 256 MB memory sticks with my newly acquired 1 GB memory sticks. But after I put the laptop back together, and I pushed the power button, nothing showed up on the screen (although the lights indicated the power was at least on).

I went back and replaced one of the 1 GB with a 256 MB, but now in addition to the blank screen, it wasn't even showing the light that power was on!

At that point, I went ahead and put the other 256 MB stick in (so this would be how it was before I upgraded), and again, it wouldn't even turn on!

I took out the memory stick from inside the computer, and tried to have the computer turn on with just the 256 MB in the other slot, no luck. I tried to turn it on with the 1 GB in the other slot (and again, leaving the other slot empty), and still, no power!

What's going on?!?! I really hope it isn't something major, but I don't understand how it could be considering all I did was swap out the memory sticks, and even then, I went back to how it was and still no power.

I'm stumped.

kb8585 · 02-23-2009, 10:26 PM

Ok, I actually may be one step closer to figuring out the problem, though I don't know what to make of the following:

I took the battery out and any other connection, and held the power button for a few seconds. After that, without reinserting the batter, I only connected the adapter to the laptop, and it turned on! I have the new 1 GB or RAM, and it was recognized on my computer. So, at that point, I thought I was in the clear.

Except there still is a problem. I shut off the computer, reinsert the battery, but I was back to the same problem where the computer wouldn't turn on! So I figured maybe it's a bad battery, and since I have another one, I went to try the other. Still didn't work. I unhooked the adapter, took out the battery, held the power button for a few seconds, hooked the adapter back in, and again, the computer worked fine.

What's the problem? How could both batteries be bad? When I initially tried to put the two new sticks of RAM, the computer would power on, but have a blank screen. After that, I didn't get anything. I may have changed the battery in both instances, but logically only one of then would be bad at this point since the computer didn't even work except for that one time.

Suggestions?

dai · 02-24-2009, 12:57 AM

when you are fitting the ram the battery should be removed
hold the ram firmly down in the slot as you click it into place

kb8585 · 02-24-2009, 01:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dai

when you are fitting the ram the battery should be removed
hold the ram firmly down in the slot as you click it into place

Yeah, I had installed the ram without the battery in the laptop, and I did make sure that it was fitted in properly (I heard the click/snap).

The RAM gets recognized, so I don't think that's the problem at this point. But I fear it's something with the power (I don't know if it's the battery or something inside of the computer -- I'm not a tech guy, but I'm assuming there is some power supply or something similar within the computer). But I don't really understand it.

I tried a couple different things to see if I could isolate the problem --

I had the computer on running on the adapter, but no battery, and I tried to insert the battery while the computer was on. The first time I tried to insert the battery when the laptop was on, the computer turned off. I went through the entire process again (remove the battery, remove the adapter connection from the computer, hold the power button for a few seconds, and then replug the adapter only), and again carefully tried to insert the battery into the laptop when it was on, and this time at least the computer stayed on. The status bar showed a full 100% charging battery.

I left it on for a few minutes, turned it off, and then tried to turn it back on. It wouldn't turn on.

I went back to the adapter only and inserted the battery while the computer was on. I took out the adapter just to see if the computer would stay on with the battery power, and it did. Except, the battery seemed to be draining really fast (as in, within a few minutes, 10% of the battery was used up despite not having anything running).

I plugged the adapter back in, and instead of shutting down, clicked restart. This worked.

So I guess it seems like once the computer is off, it won't turn on with the battery in. But if it's already on, it'll recognize and use the battery (and if it's battery only, it'll drain at a very fast rate), and it's even able to restart with it, just not a complete shut off.

dai · 02-24-2009, 09:04 PM

the battery may be on it's way out
how old is it

djwight · 04-09-2009, 01:22 PM

I had the same problem when I added a memory stick to my Dell Inspiron laptop. The battery light was on, power light was on - but computer screen black. I checked the memory sticks and they were not quite all the way in - not tight. When I re inserted them and made sure they were shoved in all the way - everything worked fine. Hope this simple solution works for others!

02-23-2009, 09:29 PM	#1 (permalink)
kb8585 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 5 OS: xp	Laptop won't start after memory upgrade! I have a Sony Vaio S460 laptop. Recently it had been lagging really bad, and so I was advised that it might be a power supply problem, or, another solution would be to upgrade the memory. I went to my local computer store asking about it, and he recommended trying to upgrade the memory (I currently had two 256 MB memory sticks, for a total of 512). I told him my model number, and he pointed me to a Kingston 1 GB memory stick, and said he was pretty sure that it would be compatible. Since it was only $10, I bought two of them. Ok, so I went ahead and replaced the two 256 MB memory sticks with my newly acquired 1 GB memory sticks. But after I put the laptop back together, and I pushed the power button, nothing showed up on the screen (although the lights indicated the power was at least on). I went back and replaced one of the 1 GB with a 256 MB, but now in addition to the blank screen, it wasn't even showing the light that power was on! At that point, I went ahead and put the other 256 MB stick in (so this would be how it was before I upgraded), and again, it wouldn't even turn on! I took out the memory stick from inside the computer, and tried to have the computer turn on with just the 256 MB in the other slot, no luck. I tried to turn it on with the 1 GB in the other slot (and again, leaving the other slot empty), and still, no power! What's going on?!?! I really hope it isn't something major, but I don't understand how it could be considering all I did was swap out the memory sticks, and even then, I went back to how it was and still no power. I'm stumped.

02-23-2009, 10:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
kb8585 Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 5 OS: xp	Re: Laptop won't start after memory upgrade! Ok, I actually may be one step closer to figuring out the problem, though I don't know what to make of the following: I took the battery out and any other connection, and held the power button for a few seconds. After that, without reinserting the batter, I only connected the adapter to the laptop, and it turned on! I have the new 1 GB or RAM, and it was recognized on my computer. So, at that point, I thought I was in the clear. Except there still is a problem. I shut off the computer, reinsert the battery, but I was back to the same problem where the computer wouldn't turn on! So I figured maybe it's a bad battery, and since I have another one, I went to try the other. Still didn't work. I unhooked the adapter, took out the battery, held the power button for a few seconds, hooked the adapter back in, and again, the computer worked fine. What's the problem? How could both batteries be bad? When I initially tried to put the two new sticks of RAM, the computer would power on, but have a blank screen. After that, I didn't get anything. I may have changed the battery in both instances, but logically only one of then would be bad at this point since the computer didn't even work except for that one time. Suggestions?

02-24-2009, 12:57 AM	#3 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,569 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Laptop won't start after memory upgrade! when you are fitting the ram the battery should be removed hold the ram firmly down in the slot as you click it into place __________________

02-24-2009, 09:04 PM	#5 (permalink)
dai Manager, Hardware Forums Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: west australia Posts: 56,569 OS: win 7 32x 64x rtm	Re: Laptop won't start after memory upgrade! the battery may be on it's way out how old is it __________________

04-09-2009, 01:22 PM	#6 (permalink)
djwight Registered User Join Date: Apr 2009 Posts: 1 OS: xp	Re: Laptop won't start after memory upgrade! I had the same problem when I added a memory stick to my Dell Inspiron laptop. The battery light was on, power light was on - but computer screen black. I checked the memory sticks and they were not quite all the way in - not tight. When I re inserted them and made sure they were shoved in all the way - everything worked fine. Hope this simple solution works for others!