TechnoExpress.Net: Upgrading or Repairing Memory (RAM) for Laptops & Notebooks
Upgrading or Repairing Memory (RAM) for Laptops & Notebooks
Links to free HOWTOs about Upgrading, Replacing and Repairing Random Access Memory (RAM) for Laptops and Notebooks.
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This guide will explain how to take apart the laptop and exchange major components such as CD/DVD drive, memory, hard drive, wireless card, cooling fan and keyboard.
Installing RAM is incredibly simple after the trials endured in unpacking the motherboard. This guide explains how to pop out the 512MB 5300 SODIMM piece and slap in a Netlist 1GB 5300 DDR2 piece. It also tells how to strip the case of a cheap mini USB BlueTooth dongle and solder it with four wires on to the USB terminal connectors.
A demonstration of how to take the UMPC apart, how to upgrade the RAM, and how to add internal USB Bluetooth. Basically a micro USB Bluetooth module (Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR) has been connected to a 5V trace (off in standby), a nearby ground trace, and the USB signals (pins 36 & 38) available on the mini PCIe card slot occupied by the WiFi card. The Bluetooth module was stripped, wrapped in Kapton tape and installed under the palm rest.
Unlike some other netbooks, the this One hasn't been designed with easy memory upgrading in mind. The first 512MB is soldered to the motherboard, but there is a DIMM slot for more, and it's facing the base of the machine. The only snag: the engineers didn't put a hatch above it to make the slot easily reachable. Instead, you have to disassemble the machine and remove the motherboard. That may sound a daunting task, and we'd not recommend it for everyone, but it's not hard to do.
Step by step about how to upgrade the RAM to 1 GB or 1,5 GB (maximum). Inside this laptop there is a 512 MB ram soldered in the mainboard, so you can only add a PC4200 533 Mhz 512 MB / 1024 MB module.
The freakishly long process to upgrade the memory of the AAO is amazingly ridiculous. The easiest thing to upgrade is the WiFi card with a Dell 1390 card.
Tired of having a slow netbook? No problemo! The machine has room for a memory upgrade on the board. Unfortunately, the slot is hidden away under the keyboard and motherboard, so you need to completely disassemble the netbook to find it. This very nice video shows how to take the machine apart - and put it back together after upgrading [video].
The notebook is equiped with two memory banks. The first is placed at the notebook's downside and very easy to replace. Just remove the two screws from the front cover and the plate. The second memory bank is placed at the notebook's topside, below the keyboard. You have to remove the keyboard before you can replace the RAM.
Beneath the battery bay: installation of RAM, which is a new procedure that involves two little lever arms. Upgrade of the hard drive, which actually resides in the far left corner of the battery bay! As a result, the MacBook is probably the most easily upgradeable Mac laptop ever [Video].
The lower memory module seating area had failed (this seems to be a common issue with this notebook series), so this guide explains how to replace two 512MB RAM modules with one 1GB module.
You want to install some extra memory into this notebook? Well this guide can save you hours to try and find a way in to it, without using a sledge hammer.
Ultimate hardware upgrade tutorial: this tutorial is for those lucky notebook owners who are considering upgrading, or replacing internal hardware parts inside the notebook. While this notebook is no longer manufacutred, there will be some who are considering upgrading the hardware to run Vista, or for those who have just purchased one at bargin prices! To perform the RAM, HDD and CPU upgrades, you will need a philips screwdriver, a credit card, and possibly some inspiration.
Memory And Hard Drive Practically Not User Upgradeable: In its stock configuration, the laptop ships with 512 MB of RAM and an 80 GB hard drive. However, neither of the components is easily upgradeable by the user, if at all. The trouble is that the laptop doesn't sport any openings on the bottom of the case that would allow access to them.
RAM upgrade, hard disk upgrade and AMD K6-2+ CPU overclocking as well as underclocking instructions (with jumper settings and voltage table). Battery replacement (in German).
Pictures from inside the laptop. Voltages on the power supply interface and battery pinout. Circuit diagram of the 4 MB memory module. Circuit diagram of the 16 MB memory module. Motherboard outline with chip product numbers.
If you've got a slightly older noteboo, you might be feeling that the performance is somewhat lack-luster compared to more modern laptops. There are fewer upgrade options for laptops when compared with desktops but the most obvious upgrade is to increase or even max-out the installed RAM. The procedure for upgrading RAM on this laptop is very straight-forward. The RAM bay is located on the underside of the machine and requires only the removal of two screws for access.
This guide explains how you can remove and replace keyboard, memory and hard drive for the laptop. The keyboard replacement procedure is relatively simple and you can easily do it yourself at home. Proceed on your own risk.
Want better performance from your laptop? The conventional wisdom has long held that you should simply buy a new one. You can put such conventional wisdom aside: upgrading a laptop may not be for the timid or the impatient, but if you're handy with a screwdriver, and the sight of a circuit board doesn't scare you, an upgrade can be a far more affordable solution. Upgrades covered: RAM from 1GB to 2GB, HDD from a 5400RPM, 120GB drive to a 7200RPM, 200GB model, miniPCI wireless card from 802.11b to 802.11a/b/g, BlueTooth card added, optical drive, LCD screen with better resolution or matte instead of glossy, CPU from a 1.66GHz Intel Core Duo to a 2GHz Core 2 Duo T7200, graphics card nVidia 7300 with a more powerful ATI X1400.
Unscrew the two small screws holding down the STEC SSD in place. Without the screws it should pop up at a 45 degree angle. Now pull it out and replace it with 32GB RunCore SSD and screw it into place. To get the RAM upgraded flip out the tabs on the side of the memory stick to remove the DDR2 512MB stick and replace it with the DDR2 2GB stick.
Extending the EDO-RAM to 16MB, replacing the hard drive with a 1GB CF card connected to a CF-mini-IDE adapter, changing the CMOS battery, extending the battery capacity six times and building an on/off switch for the internal speaker.
Upgrading a laptop can be a costly endeavor, depending on how many components need replacing. At some point you have to decide if it makes more sense (financially) to scrap the older system for a shiny new model. This HOWTO goes an upgrade path for: a new display, a bigger hard drive, some extra memory and a DVD burner instead of a CD/RW.
This guide explains how to remove and replace the display panel from. Also you can use this guide for: replacing or upgrading the memory module installed in the internal memory slot, removing and replacing the keyboard, removing and replacing the cooling fan, cleaning the heat sink, removing and replacing the CMOS (RTC) battery.
This laptop has two memory slots. One of them could be easily accessed from the bottom but the second one is hidden under the keyboard. In order to replace the memory module in the internal slot you'll have to remove the keyboard.
The memory upgrade to 2GB makes battery run time much better. Unlike most memory changes there is no memory door. You have to remove the keyboard. Take out the battery and remove the three small screws (the only three screws) with a #0 Phillips screwdriver. The one in the recess is hard to remove because you can easily drop it into the computer, so remove it slowly and invert the machine to drop it out onto a good surface.
This upgrade is all about getting more performance out of your existing laptop. Going from a 4,200 rpm to a 7,200 rpm HDD will result in a tremendous increase in disk access. The operating system will load faster, and programs will open quicker. Also, upgrading from 512MB of memory to 2GBs will greatly help when using memory hungry programs [Video].
Here are instructions for upgrading the laptop memory in seven relatively easy steps. Upgrading memory on this laptop could be tricky because one of the memory expansion slots is located under the keyboard.
These instructions explain how to install a new CD, DVD, CD-RW, DVD-RW, Combo, etc drive in the caddy for your existing drive. While the description has plenty of pictures, this is for clarity, not because its a complicated process. In many laptops this process could involve removing and replacing as few as 8 screws. These instructions should apply for essentially any CD/DVD/etc drive which is designed to be removable and exchangeable from your laptop (so any drive that can be swapped with a floppy drive, battery, etc). Some laptops have their CD drives permanently built-in, in which case changing the drive will mean dismantling your laptop.
Revitalizing an aging notebook on the cheap: this tutorial will show you how to clean the notebook up, replace its slow and overloaded hard disk drive, install extra memory, replace the keyboard, and gave it a software tune up.
According to the official hardware maintenance manual these laptops can take up to 2GB memory total. You can install up to 1GB memory module into each slot, but before you have to take off the keyboard.
A complete step-by-step upgrade tutorial: processor (Intel-Tillamook to AMD K6-II 400 Mhz or better to K6-III), memory (128MB 66Mhz SODIMM), hard disk (30GB), optical drive (TEAC CD-ROM to DVD-ROM Torisan DRD-U424 and TFT display replacement (in German).
When it comes to adding RAM, this netbook is incredibly easy to upgrade. All you need is a DDR2 PC5300 SODIMM in 512MB, 1GB, or 2GB capacity, a mini philip's head screwdriver, and five minutes of spare time. Before you go buying a new SODIMM, you should be aware that the first 512MB of memory are soldered onto the motherboard and there is only one DIMM slot. If your netbook comes with more than 512MB preinstalled, chances are that there's already a DIMM sitting in the slot and you will have to remove it if you choose to upgrade.
This tutorial covers upgrading components and parts of the laptop and details of the technical process involved in installing them. It details several upgrades: 1. RAM: 1GB DDR 400 (PC3200) in 2x512 2. CPU: AMD Sempron 3100+ (1.8ghz) 3. Internal Wireless 4. Internal Bluetooth 5. Hard Drive: 60GB 7200RPM with 8MB cache 6. Optical Drive: QSI DVD+-RW SDW-082S 7. Heatsinks and Cooling.
You can never be too rich, too thin, or have to much RAM. With a 1GB SODIMM available for cheap, opening the chassis and adding memory to this notebook is a no-brainer upgrade.
A highly modified first generation laptop: added a second bank of 32K RAM for bank 3 utilising a 32Kx8 bit chip mounted in ROM1 socket with some slight changes to the PCB for the correct wiring. This bank is switch selected to choose between the added internal RAM and the expansion port RAM cartridge.
This guide explains how to replace the stock (serial ATA) Toshiba 120GB hard drive with 5400RPM with a speedier 2.5-inch Seagate 100GB hard drive with 7200RPM.
If you search for memory slots on the bottom of this laptop, you will not find any because both memory slots are hidden under the keyboard. In order to access both memory slots you will have to remove the keyboard. Insert a small flat head screwdriver between the keyboard bezel and keyboard and lift it up.
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