Laptop only starts after ram is reinserted

TBH it all smacks of either faulty RAM or faulty connectors. What I would do is memory diagnostic when laptop boots (Memtest X86, GoldMemory etc. - but bootable solution) and see if everything is ok. If RAM module(s?) is 100% ok, there may be something else like:

• RAM incompatibility or partial incompatibility (can be solved with BIOS update/reset sometimes)
• Damaged RAM pins or RAM socket pins (if you have multiple, it may be only one of them)
• Layered dust on connectors or some other gunk (wipe them gently with soft non static fabric and rubbing alcohol)

Check for these problems and try fixing, and see if it you get any better clue on what might be an issue.

Buy a can of electronics contact cleaner with a straw tip, Q-Tips and a can of air spray with a straw tip. Unplug your laptop and disconnect the battery, put the Q-tip over the memory slot opening and drench it with contact cleaner and wipe across all the pins quickly. Change QTips and repeat until you don’t see any residue on the Q-Tip. Do this for all the slots. Wait about a minute and blast the slots with airspray.

Wait a few minutes and carefully inspect the slots for any cotton fibers and blast them away with air spray. This should remove and corrosion or foreign matter.

Either the RAM on your system is faulty or the slot that the RAM is installed in is faulty. To check your RAM, use the Windows Memory Diagnostics utility. Open the utility by pressing the Win + R key combination and enter mdsched in the Run box. Then follow the prompts provided by the utility.

If Windows Memory Diagnostics does not see a problem with your RAM, then the problem may be with the RAM slot on your motherboard instead, and your motherboard may need to be replaced.