Author: Joseph Burke (pcp0010301648pcs.avenel01.nj.comcast.net)
Date: 12-05-2004 09:03
If the RAM chips on your 800XL are socketed, then they can be replaced without too much skill. The problem is locating replacement chips. If you can find someone selling a dead machine for parts, you might get lucky enough to find enough functioning RAM chips inside to repair yours. You should also use a chip puller to take them out. A puller looks like a pair of tweezers with little tabs on the ends. The tabs fit under the ends of the chip. You pull straight up to remove the chip. You can improvise other means of pulling the chips, but you risk bending or breaking the fragile pins. There is a machine techs used to use to test for bad chips, but you probably don't have one of those, so you are left with swapping the chips one at a time and going through the RAM test to see if any of the red blocks are replaced with green ones. Once you replace a chip that tests bad, throw it away. Keeping bad parts around will only cause confusion later if you ever have to replace any of the chips again in the future.
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