Vostro 1310 RAM problem

Hi guys, I bought a Vostro 1310 and decided to upgrade its default RAM from 1G to 2G. I ordered 2 Crucial Rendition 1GB 1X1GB PC2-5300 DDR2-667 200PIN SODIMM Memory, but when I stick them in, only one's recognized.

One problem I noticed was that the top latch doesn't really seem to hold onto the RAM stick properly when I pressed the RAM down (I heard the clicking noise), but when I try to pull the latches apart, the new RAM doesn't spring into a 45 degree angle position... no matter what I do, the latches just don't hang onto it properly. The bottom latches worked fine, it's just the top latches that gave this problem, is this the reason why the computer only recognizes 1G or RAM instead of 2G?

 

Do you notice anything different between the top and bottom latches? It could be a hardware issue.

 

The bottom latches seems to click in more firmly than the top latches. Other than that, I haven't noticed any differences. The 1310 came with 2x512MB of RAM by default and both were recognized before I switched them to the new ones.

 

Ok, does the new ram both work when you plug it into the bottom latch? example. try one of the new ones at the bottom latch then take it out and use the other one and see if they both work. This will determine if its the RAM that is having the issue.

 

Yes, they both work on the bottom slot, but none is recognized on the top slot. I also installed CPU-Z, and it just says one of the slots is empty...

 

Take a close look at the top one, making surethe connection looks fine everywhere or spot any problems you notice. Failing that then there isn't much you can do from what I can figure except calling dell to replace the notebook.

Maybe check the bios to see if there is any option regarding how it handles the Ram, but I also have a 1310 and don't remember seeing an option like that. Though I wasn't exactly looking for an option like that.

Good Luck

 

Thanks a lot for your suggestion and help Grog140 and chun, I finally managed to get it to work, it looks like a latch problem. If the right side of the latch holds the RAM, the computer will not pick it up nor boot, but if it's the left side latch that's retaining it, the system recognizes it... I thought both latches should do their retention job, but I digress, it might be a manufacturing problem.