Dell Inspiron N5010 RAM Issue

You bought the wrong RAM.

It sounds more likely from your description it's the slot that's bad - for which you'll need to replace the system board.

Thanks for your reply. I actually tried different RAM options (Samsung, Kingston,  Transcend, etc) with the vendor and found the same issue. I am not sure if all the RAM's are wrong. Any other ideas please?

Welcome to the Dell Community @Prakash anovadia 

With just the one 4GB installed:

Are you able to go into the BIOS and see the 4GB installed???

1. Restart your Dell PC.
2. When the Dell logo appears, press F12 key to enter One-time Boot Menu.
3. Use the arrow keys to select Diagnostics and press Enter key on the keyboard.
4. Follow the on-screen prompts and respond appropriately to complete the diagnostics.
   If the test fails, write down the error code and validation code.

Best regards,

U2

Hi @U2CAMEB4ME ,

Thanks for your reply. I checked using just one 4GB RAM and my system is not able to boot now. I checked using Samsung, Kingston and Transcend brands earlier, and it gave me startup repair/ blue screen or auto shutdown errors. When I use my original 1GB stick, I am able to boot and do the diagnostics using F12. Everything passed. The vendor says my system will work only with 1 or 2GB RAM. The 4GB ones I checked were PC3 1333Mhz 10600S CH9 SO DIMM. I am not sure if anything else needs to be matched. Do you have more ideas other than all the RAM's are incompatible? Thanks!

You're chasing the wrong horse -- from what you've described, it's not the modules that are the problem.  It's the socket.

Replace the system board.

@ejn63 If it were socket issue, then how come I am able use the system with 1GB RAM that come with my laptop? I believe it should not work at all.

It's not uncommon for a socket that is failing to work with a low-density module and fail with a high density one.  In fact, that's a very common symptom of a failing memory socket.