Big problem while installing RAM.

[LadyWysteria]

Okay, I'm kind of panicked right now, but let me just relay my problem here to see if maybe someone knows what I've done wrong.

I have some decent experience with removing and adding hardware to the inside of a computer.  I was taught to do it by a computer science teacher and he absolutely loved my work because I was so careful and precise.  I've done it several times before with good results.  I just did it to my own computer a few months ago and was amazed at the improvement.

My mother's computer has been very slow lately, so I was going to install a new RAM.  I unplugged everything, no problem.  I opened it up, no problem.  It was EXTREMELY dusty, but I don't think this is the problem.

I had an amount of difficulty getting the RAM in but after a while, it appeared to be in (turns out later it wasn't).  I closed it up and plugged everything back in.  Here's where the problems begin.

Turned it back on.  No signal on the monitor.  Mouse didn't respond.  Keyboard didn't respond.  Mother flipped out.

Toggled with a few of the cords, nothing happened.

I opened it back up and removed the RAM, only to find that it wasn't in all of the way because her RAM slots were not compatible with the RAM I'd tried to put in.  This shouldn't have caused the lack of response from the input/output areas though, right?

After I removed the now-useless RAM and plugged everything back in, I turned it on again only to find that now, not only were the monitor, mouse, and keyboard not responding, it was paired with an awful monotone BEEEEP tone.

Now, every time it turns on, there's a BEEEP.

One thing I thought was odd was that there's one plug that plugs into a USB slot that has a small, round plug on the other end and we can't figure out where that went to.  However, I don't think that the response that I got would stem from just this one tiny plug.

Perhaps I jostled a few power supply cords? Perhaps the dust in her horribly neglected machine got into something that caused such an error?

Whatever you think it might be, please, I'm desperate.  She doesn't trust me near her machine anymore.  She's treating me like an idiot, but I've done this several times before and I've never experienced such a problem...  My computer science teacher was great, and he taught me well, but now my mother doesn't even believe me.

What should I do?

[2x3i5x]

BEEPING sounds? Check out this link to see what kind of problem you (potentially) have that's associated with the beeping sounds you have encountered with your computer... http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

[BC_Programmer]

you say, it was dusty? I would remove the RAM and clean out the slots with compressed air.

[Aardobard]

It's also possible that you boogered up the RAM slot by trying to force an incompatible DIMM into the slot.  Is there another RAM slot?  You might try reinstalling the old RAM into an alternate DIMM slot.

How did you remove the dust?  Where did you put the 'old' RAM stick while you were trying to install the new one?

[DaveLembke]

Other possibility is that the power and address/data lines were crossed by incorrect circuit path of wrong Ram. This is more of a problem if any of it was forced to +5 volts or 5 volts directly to ground sort.

More likely that the dimm socket is damaged or still dirty, however smoking the motherboard is possible.

[2x3i5x]

don't ever force something into the slot if it won't fit. Usually, they don't design compatible gadgets so difficult to put together that a you have to be superman to do it.

Maybe you've bent a pin or broken a pin in the slot. I did that to a computer once, but luckily I had a spare slot to use!

[ireland-1]

OK, firstly put in the correct RAM chip, and we will work from there.

[truenorth]

Actually i think ,based on the O/P's comments, "firstly" is to get access to the computer.That may prove to be the insurmountable part.truenorth
P.S. Given she realized she had the wrong type of ram in the machine i suspect the original may be back in (hopefully not in what is probably a damaged slot) truenorth

[2x3i5x]

and given that there is beeping sounds, computer is most likely telling original poster that it feels sick (with the hardware plugged in at the time it started beeping)

[ireland-1]

you see if she connected it in wrong and switched them around incorrectly, which caused a spark, she can cause the chip to burn, now if the chip burns, she could partially damage her motherboard, because depending on the manufacturing of it, you see if it was repaired manually it would probably be fine all of this could be down to bad soldering, however another possibility is that when she forced it she either cause the top layer (or bottom) layer up (or down) causing a slight tear in it, thus destroying her motherboard.

I have an idea, take out your motherboard and have a look at the underbelly, (where the circuits are connected) and see if you can see and dark grey solder, solder ideally should be light grey, dark grey means it got shifted while making and therefore can lead to bad connection.