Adding memory

[Grumpy_45]

I want to increase my memory to 1 gig. Is this something a
inexperienced person can do? I have 256 in slot 1 and 256 in slot 3,
is it as simple as removing those and replacing it with a 1 gig stick?
Or is there more to installing ram? I can take it in and have it done
for a $40 labor charge.

HP Pavilion a1424n desk top
pentium 4 160 gig HD
xp home

 

[Gerry]

Installing memory is not over difficult providing you take care:
http://www.ehow.com/how_895_install-ram.html

240 pin, DDR2 SDRAM
pages 11 and 12
http://bizsupport.austin.hp.com/bc/docs/support/SupportManual/c00311110/c00311110.pdf

--



Hope this helps.

Gerry
~~~~
FCA
Stourport, England
Enquire, plan and execute
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

[deejaydee]

Hi Grumpy'
I do it an all for $20 but i am in Wales.
It as simple as picking the correct Ram for you motherboard details you will
find by using Belarc Advisor or your instruction manual

Disconnect power supply to your computer, Ground yourself to earth ,any
pipework radiator etc. If your are buying larger memory than you have
at present, remove slot 1 and replace with new, also you could use slot 2 &
4 with what you have at present , taking total mem to 1.5 Gig

when you reboot you might have to press F1 if asked to!

deejaydee

 

[Leonard Grey]

Adding memory is not difficult - for sure you can do it.

Make sure to buy the correct memory for your particular model of
computer. The major memory manufacturers, like Crucial (www.crucial.com)
have memory selectors that will show you the exact memory you need for
your computer. They will also have complete instructions for doing the deed.

Your owner's manual and your computer manufacturer's website will also
provide complete instructions, tailored for your model of computer.

Adding RAM was the first upgrade I ever performed on a computer. I was
real scared, because previously the largest upgrade I ever performed was
changing a light bulb. I succeeded and so will you. Just follow the
directions to the letter and take it slow. And don't buy RAM from places
like Costco or Walmart, and especially not on eBay.

 

[Patrick Keenan]

I want to increase my memory to 1 gig. Is this something a
inexperienced person can do? I have 256 in slot 1 and 256 in slot 3,
is it as simple as removing those and replacing it with a 1 gig stick?
Or is there more to installing ram? I can take it in and have it done
for a $40 labor charge.

HP Pavilion a1424n desk top
pentium 4 160 gig HD
xp home

It's not difficult to do, but there are two extra questions. First, will
that $40 installation fee include guaranteeing that it's the *correct*
memory, and second, that it works?

You have to purchase memory that matches what your board supports and what
is in it (unless you are removing existing memory).

HTH
-pk

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I want to increase my memory to 1 gig. Is this something a
inexperienced person can do? I have 256 in slot 1 and 256 in slot 3,
is it as simple as removing those and replacing it with a 1 gig stick?
Or is there more to installing ram? I can take it in and have it done
for a $40 labor charge.

Three points:

1. It's easy, but if you've never done it before, it might be a good
idea to have a friend with more experience help you the first time.

2. Make sure you buy memory that's compatible with your motherboard.
Not all memory is appropriate for you.

3. Why do you want to do this? Most people running Windows XP will see
little or no performance benefit by going from 512MB to 1GB. How much
RAM you need for good performance is *not* a one-size-fits-all
situation. You get good performance if the amount of RAM you have
keeps you from using the page file, and that depends on what apps you
run. Most people running a typical range of business applications find
that somewhere around 256-384MB works well, others need 512MB. Almost
anyone will see poor performance with less than 256MB. Some people,
particularly those doing things like editing large photographic
images, can see a performance boost by adding even more than
512MB--sometimes much more.

If you are currently using the page file significantly, more memory
will decrease or eliminate that usage, and improve your performance.
If you are not using the page file significantly, more memory will do
nothing for you. Go to
http://billsway.com/notes_public/winxp_tweaks/ and download
WinXP-2K_Pagefile.zip and monitor your pagefile usage. That should
give you a good idea of whether more memory can help, and if so, how
much more.