MSI Raider GE76 won't turn on after dusting

Computers
1

Little note. I DID NOT GROUND MYSELF or anything to ground myself. I know! I’m stupid. I did unplug the battery to be safe. “I” wasn’t safe enough though.

After I blew off the dust i started messing with the ram card because i wanted to take a closer look at it but the black flimsy film protecter was “stuck” on the ram. I was able to peel the film off and pull the ram card off… Forgot that I was suppose to lift and pull so that could be why it won’t turn on. Although my last mistake might of killed my laptop. I didn’t get all the dust off. There were still some in between the fan blade so I decide the take 8 or 10 screws that was holding down my two fans, copper tubes, and heat sink. I lifted it up to find my processor and other things that had thermal paste on them. The late realization of what I had done I put EVERYTHING BACK! Did not care for the small bits od dust in between the fans. Tried turning it on. Didn’t work. Plugged the power supply. Nope… (Groaning in stupidity)

Can this be fixed or am I doomed?

2

Just to say off the bat I haven’t worked on this particular model, so take what I say with a pinch of salt :slight_smile:

Don’t beat yourself up on this, the likelihood of you zapping and killing the board in this manner is about as good as your odds at winning the lottery :wink: It’s insanely hard to kill IC’s and the like when they’re terminated on the board. Not saying it’s impossible, just that it’s highly unlikely.(I’ve never worn ESD strap in my life over thousands and thousands of board repairs to give you an example)

Based on what you’ve said, my best guess is one of three things.

1: The Ram as you say, perhaps you’ve damaged the connector (or the Ram itself). I’d take the Ram out and inspect the slot in question and ensure none of the pins are bent, if none are, I’d leave this Ram out for now, I’d then remove the other Ram and reseat it and see if anything changes as a result.

2: I’d take a very close look on the board surrounding the ram slot in question and if there is any components in this area, hone in and ensure nothing has got inadvertantly knocked off when you initially pulled the Ram out.

3: I suppose this is less likely but still possible - boards in these modern machines are pretty woeful and are “paper” thin, perhaps if the “suction” on the heatsink was enough when removing it potentially caused damage to a solder joint below the processor, if 1 & 2 make no difference, then it might be worthwhile putting gentle pressure on the heatsink while attempting to boot and see if anything changes.

I don’t see why removing ram would necessitate having to reset bios, but can’t hurt to do, either by disconnecting the CMOS battery (or if there is a button or jumper on the board) or by pressing and holding the power button for a certain duration. Can’t hurt right :slight_smile:

Failing all the above, maybe best to seek proffesional help. Unless you wanna delve deeper to component level?

Is there any signs of life? any LEDs? fan spin etc?