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Questions regarding RAM upgrade

post #1 of 15
9/15/08 at 9:57am
Thread Starter 
I would like to upgrde RAM of my HP Pavilion notebook (1GB is definetely too less), and have some questions:
1) Both slots are occupied with 512MB each. Can I replace one of them with 2GB? Are different sizes on each slot possible?
2) What parameters do I have to know to buy a new memory card - only type (DIMM2, for example) and frequency (like 800 Hz) or more?

Any help would be appreciated,

Regards
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post #2 of 15
9/15/08 at 11:31am
What is the model number?

If you do not have your laptop/motherboard manual handy, it should be downloadable from HP's site. That should list the type of RAM used and the configurations possible. The support section of HP's site may also list available upgrades, etc.

Alternately, you could check the Memory Finder on Kingston's website.
http://www.kingston.com
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post #3 of 15
9/15/08 at 1:09pm
Thread Starter 
Actually, I would not like to use HP support for this. There has to be a simple way to find out, what parameters I have to know...
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post #4 of 15
9/15/08 at 11:17pm
ddr1 or ddr2? yes you can mix. i'm running a 2gb and a 1gb for 3gb total.
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post #5 of 15
9/16/08 at 8:32am
Go to Crucial.com and let them scan the device (might require you to d/l their scanner). The resulting report will advise the type RAM, cost and how it should be done, i.e. in pairs or not.
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post #6 of 15
9/21/08 at 11:45am
Thread Starter 
Last question: how do I know what is the maximum size of a RAM module my notebook will recognize?
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post #7 of 15
9/21/08 at 12:21pm
^^ post#2 above

cheers ...
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post #8 of 15
9/21/08 at 12:47pm
Thread Starter 
Do You mean the manual? That says nothing.
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post #9 of 15
9/21/08 at 2:34pm
meaning the memory finder, or you can also follow the instruction in post#5

cheers ...
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post #10 of 15
9/21/08 at 5:17pm
lol he really doesn't want us to know what computer he has.
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post #11 of 15
9/26/08 at 7:34am
Thread Starter 
... so I put 2 x 1GB RAM modules in the slots. But for some reason windows recognizes only 1 GB of RAM.
Everest shows that the active mode is single channel (64 bit), CPU ID shows 1024 MB with #channels: single.
How do I know if there is a problem with recognition of the modules or is one of them not properly installed?

please help
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post #12 of 15
9/26/08 at 4:27pm
Your computers maximum might be 1gb of RAM. It might help us help you if you would let us know the model number of your laptop.
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post #13 of 15
9/26/08 at 4:47pm
There can also be issues with whether the RAM is single or double sided, due to the way the memory is accessed. If that is the case, it should be mentioned in the motherboard manual or on HP's website.
I've seen motherboards that had 2 RAM slots, but which could only access 3 'sides' of RAM modules (in addition to a capacity maximum), so you could use 2 single sided pieces of RAM or a single and double piece, but not 2 double sided.

Try placing each 1GB RAM piece separately in each of the RAM slots. Try 1 new and 1 old piece, and see if your system will recognize 1.5GB...
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post #14 of 15
9/27/08 at 2:19pm
Model number would be helpful.

There is a program called cpuz.exe you can download from http://www.cpuid.com/

If you download and run this program it will tell you what type of hardware is running on your computer. Look under the "Memory" and "SPD" tab to find out details of what type of RAM you have, what speed it's running at, and what slots are active, etc. This will help you in determining what type of RAM you can use.

You may or may not benefit from using matched pairs versus using mismatched pairs depending on what type of chipset and CPU your notebook uses. Again, a model number or specs would be helpful if you want answers in this forum.
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post #15 of 15
9/27/08 at 2:51pm
As I said previously, go to crucial.com and run the scanner. You may have to download a piece of software. The scanner will then run and tell you the free slots, max amount, type and cost options.

Used them many times and never had an issue.
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