[theoandtheb]

Well I'm considering doing exactly what the title says. However since I'm not that savvy when it comes to things like this, I have a few questions. The biggest one being where the ram card is located on my laptop, a Sager NP8662. I've seen a bunch of videos on youtube about upgrading/replacing ram but none of them use a similar laptop so the layout is different. They all have a separate door to access the ram card. From the looks of it, I have no door. So would I have to unscrew the whole bottom of my computer? Not necessarily a problem, I'd just like to know for sure before I do it.
 
Another question I have is about ram cards themselves. Say I've found the card I currently have and I've found the one I want to replace it with, say this one (http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820231294). Is it as simple as just taking the old one out and putting the new one in? I feel like I read somewhere that there are different types of cards with different types of intricacies and you have to get the one that is compatible with your system. Of course I've read a lot, so maybe I'm just imagining things.
 
My last question is, say that I've found the old card, replaced it with the one, and put everything back into place. Am I done? Or do I need to do something so that the computer recognizes the new card?
 
Is there anything else in the whole process that I'm totally missing?
 
Thanks for the help. I know there are a lot of questions but I hope if someone knows one aspect but not the other, someone else will know what to do.

 

[jjinh]

Are you able to take a pic of the bottom of your laptop?
 
It's easy to add or change the RAM in a laptop. Like you said, unscrew the hatch, stick in the new RAM, close hatch, done! Should automatically be recognised.

 

[crayonhead]

okay. So..Sager. There should be 2 hatches on the bottom with the centermost one as the RAM slots.
 
NOTE: The sager supports DDR3 PC3-10600, DDR3 PC3-8500 memory. Please make sure that it is this type. Sometimes, if it's not compatible with the board, it will not work. Second note. The maximum the Sager NP8662 can take is 2 gigabytes per slot, or 4 gigabytes total of memory. 
 
and on the process..It's easy.. As the person above me has said, just pop open the hatch where the RAM cards are (middle back of your computer in this case.), take them out (there are latches where the ram card connects to the motherboard, flip those up, pull out the ram chip) and put the new ones in.
 
Finally, the ram cards that on newegg that you have linked will work.
 
Happy upgrading
 
Crayonhead

 

[theoandtheb]

Yeah I'll post a picture soon. And the link I posted is (2) 4 gb cards. Crayonhead, you say that the most it can take is 4 total. So would the one I linked to not work?

 

[kenman345]

It can support 4 GB cards, meaning up to 8 GB of RAM if you have two slots (4GB x 2 Cards).  The link in your original post will work with your machine. as far as opening it up, I would suggest looking on google for a service manual or the user manual that is meant for your device. It should not be hard to find and it should have a step by step instructions with diagrams(usually) to help upgrade RAM. This is usually meant to be an end user capable upgrade for most laptops, so it shouldnt be that hard.(Read edit at end of post) Once the ram is in your machine, turn it on and your computer should say that the BIOS recognized a different part than what it knew of before. Go into the bios, save, and it should be fine. If you dont get that message, you should boot into your BIOS and in the first page, it should have information on what the computer sees. You might have to look up how to force it to see the RAM, or possibly you dont have them properly installed. Check the connection and try again. 
 
EDIT: Looking at images of the bottom of your machine, you should just have to remove a few screws to the large plastic cover on the bottom of the machine to gain access to the ram. 
 
Good luck good sir
Quote:

Yeah I'll post a picture soon. And the link I posted is (2) 4 gb cards. Crayonhead, you say that the most it can take is 4 total. So would the one I linked to not work?

 

 

[theoandtheb]

Here's a picture of the bottom of my computer. Would someone mind marking which screws I should remove? Thanks!
 

 
 
 
Quote:

It can support 4 GB cards, meaning up to 8 GB of RAM if you have two slots (4GB x 2 Cards).  The link in your original post will work with your machine.
 

Ok, that makes sense. 

 

[crayonhead]

Yep, the middle set. I didn't check the stats on the sager website, so I think I may have messed up. However, if you're running a 32 bit OS, the most the system can use is about 3-3.5 gigabytes of ram.

 

[kenman345]

See those vents and that silver screw a bit to the right of the middle (center from top to bottom and center from left to right). Take that out and remove any other screws that go through that panel. worse comes to worse you just put them back on if they didnt need to be removed. just make sure you mark off the locations of the different screws. (I use a desk organizer and a table of the different sections on a separate piece of paper, and then use blue tape to make off any weird locations/screws) That plate shouldnt be too hard to lift up. Some of the screws may be permanently installed to the panel, so you can loosen them, but not pull them out. don't worry, that's what its supposed to be like. just loosen them up and dont force the screw off the panel. 
 
 
Quote:

Here's a picture of the bottom of my computer. Would someone mind marking which screws I should remove? Thanks!
 

 
 
 

Ok, that makes sense. 

 


Quote:

Yep, the middle set. I didn't check the stats on the sager website, so I think I may have messed up. However, if you're running a 32 bit OS, the most the system can use is about 3-3.5 gigabytes of ram.

Before you go buying the RAM, what you need to do is go to "My Computer" (no offense, but I seriously hope I don't have to explain this step) then click you your "C:" drive. Usually it says Local Drive or "Windows" but it should have the "C:" beginning in the name. Click on that and look to see if you have a folder called "Program Files (x86)" If you do, then you have Windows 64-bit and you have support for up to 8GB of RAM. If you only have a folder named, "Program Files" and not another one with the name, "Program Files (x86)" then you have Windows 32-bit. That has support for 3GB of RAM, but you will just need to use a 4GB (2GB a piece pair), or a 1GB and 2GB card to get to 3GB
 

 

[theoandtheb]

Well when I open it, hopefully I'll find two slots. That would be really convenient. I'm running the 64 bit version of windows 7 so I should be alright on that end.

 

[kenman345]

You'll most likely find one slot, most computers stack them, so when you remove the top one, you will find the other RAM underneath

 

[theoandtheb]

Oh ok. I was confused there for a sec. I was responding to crayonhead and I guess you posted before I did so I didn't see what you said. Yeah, I recently updated from vista to 7 so I'm sure I'm running 64 bit. This confirms it:
 

 
 

 

[kenman345]

You are upgrading your RAM, so I assume you are wanting a speed bump. If the RAM doesnt do the trick, you can get a bit of a bump from doing a clean install of windows 7 since you upgraded from vista. Just back up your data and if you only bought the upgrade license for your machine, you do an install and then run the upgrade off the disc to install windows 7 upgrades and then it will let you activate. It's a nice little trick to make it think you upgraded, all it does is take a little bit of time and replace a bunch of files with, oh hey, the same file, so installing windows 7 on windows 7 wont negate the effect of the reinstall. I do mine once a year

 

[Planar_head]

No one mentioned this yet, but be 100% sure that your RAM is good. Run memtest86+ for 5-ish cycles (might take a while), but I dislike using an unstable computer, no matter how fast it is.
This step is especially crucial if you intend to do work on your computer -- you wouldn't want it crashing in the middle of writing a paper!

If your computer crashes in Windows, memtest will be able to tell you which RAM card is, which may be useful.

EDIT: This is a post-install step, though an important one nonetheless.

 

[kenman345]

You are correct, this step should be taken soon after install. Most RAM should be fine, but that being said, most RAM manufacturers have limited warranties and doing this now instead of later will ensure you are happy with the product.
Quote:

No one mentioned this yet, but be 100% sure that your RAM is good. Run memtest86+ for 5-ish cycles (might take a while), but I dislike using an unstable computer, no matter how fast it is.
This step is especially crucial if you intend to do work on your computer -- you wouldn't want it crashing in the middle of writing a paper!
If your computer crashes in Windows, memtest will be able to tell you which RAM card is, which may be useful.
EDIT: This is a post-install step, though an important one nonetheless.

 

 

[theoandtheb]

Thanks for the advice. Once this semester releases it's death grip on my free time, I will crack open the old laptop (not literally I hope) and see what the story is.