I think it's dead, but want a professional opnion.

Dell Insperion 530 series, Windows Vista home basic.
It belongs to a friend, was running slow. Went and cleaned it up the best I could. Got a message from her on Facebook today saying it was completely dead( she said she reinstalled Vista off her recovery disk.) It gave her a low memory error, and it said her video card was bad. Don't know much more about it than that. so, I went and picked it up and brought it home. Plugged it in and I got 4 short beeps at POST, Dell suggests it's a RAM Read/Write failure.
[/QUOTE]4RAM Read/Write failure
1) Ensure that no special memory module/memory connector placement requirements exist (see Memory Installation Guidelines).
2) Verify that the memory modules that you are installing are compatible with your computer (see Memory Installation Guidelines).
3) If the problem persists, contact Dell. [/QUOTE]
I can't get it to boot what-so-ever, I decided to open it up and blow it out and check out the internal stuff. What I found was a capacitor had leaked.
(pictures attached.)
The first two pictures are from around the CPU, the first one was closer to the leaked cap, the second was from below the CPU.
The third picture is of one of the two RAM sticks, might be a bit hard to see, but there are four pins that it has corroded and it's up on the actual silicon section.
Am I right with thinking it's dead?
Spock96

 

It would appear that one of the processor power regulation capacitors has blown, and the acid contained within has eaten away at the RAM stick.

In this case I would not recommend repairing or attempting to use the motherboard or RAM stick as who knows what other damage the acid has done.

 

Thank you collinsl. That is what I assumed.

 

One more quick thing about this......... well two.
If they wanted to put the money into replacing the motherboard and RAM, would the CPU need to be replaced also with the leak so close?

Also, would the expansion cards be okay to use?

 

Everything that works will be ok to use IMO:-D The only thing you can really test in another computer is is the cpu unless you have a board in that socket.

I guess I disagree with Collins and sach2 in that I would reuse components that have electrolyte residue on, if there's any residue clean it off with contact cleaner,visually inspect the exterior each component for damage then test.

If there is damage to the ram stick 'I can't see anything in that picture but spilt electrolyte' then I agree dump the stick.

Is there only one capacitor blown? Have you considered replacing the capacitor? You have nothing to lose but 30 mins and 20 cent capacitor,that's what I'd try first,replacing blown capacitors is one of the most common practices in electronics.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0Pn2tEjY04&feature=fvwrel

 

My friend got a laptop today to replace that and she wondered if that video card could work in her husband's desktop, that's why I was asking if they would be alright to use.

 

If after visual inspection no components on the video card have exploded or become damaged with the acid and you've cleaned the residue off I would have no problem testing the card.

I would test it in one of my computers first though to make sure it works and is stable,there is always a risk though when putting components from a faulty computer into a working computer but it's slim if visually there is nothing wrong with the component,no one here can assume that risk it's something you or they have to assume.

'Stand back maam I'm a tech. I have the authority to test this component:major' :-D

 

A+ Certified Tech.
I'll have to talk to them about that.

 

"It's dead Jim."

:-D


Couldn't resist...

 

Been awhile since I heard that, but it gave me a laugh.