Remember when we used to test RAM with a pencil eraser?

I was cleaning out my old toolkit and found a pack of those pink erasers. It got me thinking about how we used to fix bad memory contacts by rubbing them down. Last month, I had a stubborn desktop from 2012 that wouldn't post. Just for laughs, I tried the old eraser trick on the DDR3 sticks. To my shock, it actually worked and the machine booted right up. I thought that fix died with IDE cables and dial-up. It made me realize how much we rely on new tools and forget the simple stuff that still works. What's an old-school trick you still pull out sometimes when the fancy gear fails?

2 comments

2 Comments

bethjackson6d ago

My grandpa swore by using a pencil eraser on the edge connectors of game cartridges. That trick saved my old Nintendo more than once.

grayw326d ago

Yeah but that grit can get stuck in the connector later. I always blew it out with my breath after.