Upgrading Your Laptop Memory

By Annora Smith

For most of us, our laptops are not portable substitutes for home desktop computers but are the primary tools we use to conduct business on a daily basis. Without our laptops, many of us would have very different lives and very different livelihoods. We cram them full of video downloads, favorite pictures and plenty of applications that demand more and more memory. When they slow down, it can be particularly frustrating and we want an instant fix.

Usually, laptop slowdowns are caused by insufficient memory (RAM). If you increase the amount of memory in your laptop, you'll most likely see its speed increase and performance improve. But for some of us, the idea of ferreting around inside our laptops to upgrade the memory ourselves is more than a little daunting. So, here's a simple guide to help you with the process.  Do it once, and you'll be a pro!

1.    Check the owner's manual. It will tell you what type of memory your laptop requires and how much room you'll have for memory expansion. It's also good to know how many memory cards are already in your laptop and how many slots there are altogether. To check how much memory is already installed, you can open the laptop up and take a look into it or you can run one of the free downloads available online to run on your computer to do the sleuthing for you.

2.    If you open your computer and find an empty memory slot, you're in luck! You can just go to the store and get a memory card that fits into that slot and, voila, you're done. Be careful not to exceed memory limits.

3.    However, if both slots on your computer or full, you'll need to remove one of the cards to make your upgrade. You'll most likely want to take out the one with less memory so you'll have to buy less to make your upgrade. Again, do the math to ensure you don't exceed the memory limit. And remember that 1GB – 1024MB, not 1000MB as one would assume.

4.    Remember, if you're really unsure, enlist someone else who's a bit more tech savvy for this trial run. Next time, you'll know exactly what to do and will feel more confident in your ability.

With the affordability and ease of do-it-yourself laptop memoryupgrades, it's not a bad idea to learn how to master the process because you may need more than just one memory upgrade.