Editing Atari 65XE Troubleshooting Guide (section)

=== RAM Faults ===

{| class="wikitable styled-table"
! Symptom !! Probable Cause !! Action
|-
| Black screen, no beep || Lower RAM failure (U12–U15) || Replace suspected DRAM(s)
|-
| Garbage screen, freezes || Upper RAM failure (U16–U19) || Replace DRAM(s), check address lines
|-
| Random characters, “Error” on boot || Partial RAM failure || Swap/test RAM, check for hot chips
|}

'''Diagnosis:'''
# Touch each DRAM after 1–2 minutes – a failed chip may run hot.
# Piggy-back a known-good 4164 on each suspect chip; if boot improves, replace the underlying chip.
# Use a RAM test cartridge (e.g. Atari Diagnostics, SALT) for precise identification.