Why upgrade?
If your laptop is slow or you just want better performance, upgrade your memory. This is a quick and easy way to boost the speed of your laptop. You will see immediate results. I recently upgraded the memory in my laptop. I describe how to do this below.
Step 1 – Identify Your System
The first step is to identify your system. Document the hardware and operating system. You can get this information from the General tab of the System Properties utility in the Windows operating system. My machine is a Dell Latitude E6500 laptop. The operating system is Microsoft Windows XP Professional Version 2002 Service Pack 3. It currently has two GB of RAM.
Step 2 – Decide How Much Memory You Need
I wanted to put as much memory in my laptop as possible. My laptop and operating system will support at most four GBs of RAM. The choice was easy for me. Keep in mind that certain operating systems limit the amount of memory that can be installed.
Step 3 – Buy the Memory
Make sure you buy the right type of memory for your machine. There are online tools that can scan your computer and figure out the type of memory your computer uses. One such online tool is the Crucial System Scanner. If you are not sure which memory to buy, call up the retailer and ask them. They will be glad to help. I purchased two 2GB RAM memory modules for my laptop.
Step 4 – Install the Memory
To install memory in your laptop, you need access to the memory modules inside. The documentation for your laptop will show you how to access the modules. I followed an excellent video that explained how to install memory modules in my Dell laptop. The whole process took just five minutes.
Step 5 – Run the Computer
With the new memory modules installed, I turned on my laptop. I pressed the F2 key during the boot sequence to access the BIOS screen. The information verified that the two new modules were installed. Each memory slot showed 2 GB for a total of 4 GB. I exited the BIOS screen and let the laptop boot the operating system. Since the laptop automatically recognizes the new memory modules, the boot process will take longer this first time. Once the operating system was loaded, I viewed the System Properties window to verify the memory amount.
That is all you need to upgrade the memory on your laptop. You just need to do a little research. The rest is easy.
Source:
Crucial – The Memory Experts