If you need to add more memory to your laptop, don’t despair – it’s a relatively simple procedure that just about anyone can do by following a few simple steps.
In order to add laptop memory, you must first know what kind you need. Different brands of laptops use different memory types, and adding the wrong kind can stop your machine from working and may even damage it. Before purchasing new memory, get out your laptop’s manual or specifications and see what kind of memory it has (it will have letters like DIMM, DDR2, and so forth – be sure and write these down, as they are important) and how much capacity it can hold (this will be a number like 2GB). It may also say whether your laptop’s particular memory type must be installed in pairs or not. With this information in hand, you are ready to purchase new memory.
Once you’ve bought the kind of memory that’s right for your laptop, you need to install it. To do this, look at the manual or specifications again – adding memory requires accessing the insides of the laptop, and this is not something you want to do blindly, as it could seriously damage your machine. Use the manual to figure out where in the laptop the memory is located. This is probably under a cover on the bottom, but it could also be underneath the keyboard.
Be sure to remove the battery and unplug the power cord, then open up the cover or keyboard with a small computer-safe screwdriver. Now locate the currently installed memory; it should look a lot like the new memory you bought. Next to it should be at least one open memory slot. Holding your new memory by the corners, place it in this slot at an angle, making sure it’s oriented so that the gold pins are facing down and the notch in the bottom lines up with the slot. Now press it into the slot snugly, then press it down flat until it clicks into place. If it doesn’t fit, turn it around and try again. Repeat for any more memory you are installing.
Replace any hardware you removed and turn your machine back on. The new memory should be installed and working; you can check this via the Windows Control Panel if you like. Congratulations – you’ve successfully added memory to your laptop!
