Troubleshooting RAM & Computer Memory

Video Transcript

" Hi! I am Mike on behalf of Expert Village and in this segment I am going to talk about how to install memory in your PC. We are using a Dell system here but this is pretty representative of Hewlett-Packard, IBM or any other system that you might have. The first thing you want to make sure of this is that you shut the computer down and unplug it, so with Windows XP that is basically from the start menu and just do shut down. That way you ensure that you have saved any data that you have or anything you have been working with. With the computer shut off the next step is to open side of the case, look for the computers sold in the last couple of years they just pop right off, you don’t have to unscrew anything. In this case you just pull the slot on the back and the side of the computer comes right off. It is very simple. The next step is to locate in the computer case where the memory goes. Once you have purchased the memory, which looks something like this, you should be able to identify where to plug into the computer. In this case there is a slot that is right in front of you as you open it up and you can put in then there. Before we install the memory there are a couple of steps that you should do. The first thing is we want to unplug the power ?? (0125) that way you eliminate getting any shocks or anything elsewhere from inside the computer. The next step is and this is essential, but it is a good idea is to use a static strap on and put it on your arm and hook it on a piece of metal in the computer and this will make sure that there is no static electricity especially when you are working at your home in a dry environment that can damage your memory, but if you don’t have the strap that is okay or you can do is just ground yourself to a piece of metal in the computer to make sure it has no static and that should make sure that there is no damage done to the memory. The final step is actually installing the memory itself. If you look at it there is usually a key in there so it can only go in one way, so to install the memory what we do is just hold it, make sure the tab is aligned properly and just slide it in the slot and push down on either side, that is a very important step just to make sure that you have that seated completely, but if you don’t then the memory won’t be recognized in the computer and that is basically it. To make sure that it works, we are going to the plug the computer back in and turn on the power and in this case when the power is backup it should show that you have new memory, in this case it says the amount of system memory has been changed and this case all you need to is type the F1 key and the new memory is installed. You shouldn’t have to do any configuration or anything in the computer and you basically don’t. I just showed you how to install memory in a desktop system. But this is a good chance you might have a laptop as a secondary computer or even a laptop as your primary system. Memory in laptop is even easier to install. It follows the same rules that you can get it from any of the online manufacturers I talked about and you should also plug in the model number of your laptop to make sure you get the right type of memory for it, but from there it is very simple to install. In this case again we are looking at a Dell, but most of the systems are setup exactly the same way. There is a door on the bottom where if you just use a simple Philip’s Screwdriver there is one screw in there that you can just open up and it opens and there is an empty spot in there and in this case we are just going to take our memory oriented with a little tab like we talked about before, it only goes in one way, push it down, pop it in place and really that is all there is to it and with that one simple step and a small investment you are going to get a lot of speed at all your applications running on your laptop and you will be able to use new applications and even a new operating system that you would like."