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RAM contact spray?

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bit:
I have four 1GB RAM sticks; Win 7 32bit uses three of them.
I recently ran a RAM stick memory check and it found errors.
I loosened each end of each stick's lock-down tab to unseat it, then reseated it.
The test found errors again.
I loosened and reseated the sticks again, and all errors were eliminated.
I believe this is supposedly due to tarnish on some of the 168 or more gold contacts?

I've never heard that it is at all advisable to use any sort of electrical contact spray on the RAM contacts, and won't without specific advice to do so.
But if so, what kind (i.e. totally clean or leaves protective film residue?), and should it be sprayed directly on the RAM contacts, or wiped on via a cloth or tissue paper?

Whenever I reseat one end of a loosened RAM stick, it takes tremendous pressure with my thumb pad to get it to drop back into the slot, and flexes the mobo.
In fact, after doing each end of four RAM sticks, twice in a row, my thumb pad was sore for 24 hours afterward.
There is no way to reach behind and support the mobo while doing this; I just have to press until it drops back into the slot and the tab pops back up into the indented spot in the end of the stick.
Is that 'normal', or are there any suggestions how to do it better?

Ath:
Step by step plan:

* Take out DIMM
* Fold a piece of ordinary printing paper
* Put the fold over the contacts of the DIMM
* Move the paper a few times with thumb and indexfinger each on a side of the paper in the length of the DIMM (like using it as sandpaper)
* Voila, Bob is your uncle!
(worked for me for 25+ years in my computer-repair history)

Stoic Joker:
^Now that's a new one ... I usually just use one of those large rubber pencil erasers.

Either way use care not to damage one of the tiny components soldered to the edge of the memory card near the contacts (I mention this only because I did it once..).

Another thing to consider is dust down in the memory slot. Use a can of air to blow out the slot when the RAM is removed to ensure that you're not packing dust back down into the slot during reinsertion.

In fact, after doing each end of four RAM sticks, twice in a row, my thumb pad was sore for 24 hours afterward.-bit (February 13, 2015, 11:07 PM)
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That sounds like an alignment issue... I've seen some tight ones...but never that tight. I usually rock the pressure end to end to -(feel for)- be sure it's not in backwards (old eyes) and to coax one end into going in first to minimize the Mboard flexing.

mouser:
nother thing to consider is dust down in the memory slot. Use a can of air to blow out the slot when the RAM is removed to ensure that you're not packing dust back down into the slot during reinsertion.
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i agree with possibility of dust, but be VERY careful using compressed air which creates moisture -- i destroyed a power supply blowing compressed air into it.  if you do use a can instead of your mouth, make sure you leave pc unplugged for a while before and after.

Stoic Joker:
nother thing to consider is dust down in the memory slot. Use a can of air to blow out the slot when the RAM is removed to ensure that you're not packing dust back down into the slot during reinsertion.
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i agree with possibility of dust, but be VERY careful using compressed air which creates moisture -- i destroyed a power supply blowing compressed air into it.  if you do use a can instead of your mouth, make sure you leave pc unplugged for a while before and after.-mouser (February 14, 2015, 09:03 AM)
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Canned air isn't really air ... It's a solvent (difluoroethylene) that vaporizes quickly. If you hold the can upside down to long the liquid that comes out will usually freeze immediately. So if your PSU was energized (and presumably hot or at least warm), then the rapid temperature change may well have caused a component to fracture and fail. But the fluid in nonconductive, so it can't really short anything out like water vapor (which I'm inferring from moisture).

Now if you're using an air compressor (I do frequently in a pinch), moisture can be an issue. But in either case the key is to keep the nozzle back at least 8-12 inches from the surfaces you're dusting ... If for no other reason than just to keep from dislodging and launching a jumper or other small component.

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