Notes on Installation of RAM
Any self proclaimed computer guru will tell you more ram means a faster computer in almost every
way. That's why they try to sell you so much of the stuff when you buy a computer to begin with.
One of the most basic and most useful things you can do to improve your computer's performance is add
more ram, and with ram prices falling, now is a good time to consider doing so.
So how do you bring new life to your old computer. You go out to your local reseller or mail order
catalog a find yourself some ram. But not just any ram. If your a pc owner and you have a fairly new computer
pentium II or newer your going to want SDRAM running at 100MHz denoted by pc100 in most ads. This is the
same memory that the most recent macintoshes use, G3 series computers including iMacs, but strangely
macintosh resellers tend not to give you the markdown that you can find from pc resellers. Even though
the ram is the same. In other words, if you're shopping for more ram for your G3 mac you'll find it
cheaper in pc catalogs than you will in the Macs and it will still be compatible. These is true of
hard drives as well but that's a different section of the site now isn't it. The point of all this is,
consult the documentation that came with your computer to find out what kind of ram before you go out
and buy it. Most mail order magazines have a chart so you can simply locate your type of computer and
it will tell you what type of ram you need to order. If you've lost your documentation and can't find a
chart then you can go online to your computer manufacturer's website and find the specification sheet
for your particular computer. This sheet should include the type of ram your computer requires.
As I'll no doubt discuss in other sections there is a lot of taboo surrounding ram and other computer
components, anything under the case really, that it's really fragile and the slightest touch can zap
your computer to nothing but a conversation piece. This is indeed true but it is to be taken with a
grain of salt. Indeed, it doesn't take much to fry ram as far as static electricity is concerned.
Think of it this way. We learned in physics class that a 1 cm long spark of static electricity is about
30,000 volts worth, a dandy bit of frying potential indeed. The reason you don't get fried: static
electricity is just that, static, no movement of voltage=no current, and current is what stops your heart
when you grab a downed power line. So you can see why this taboo exists.
The truth is, unless your consistently shuffling your feet about on your shag carpet with no shoes
and the misfortune of not inadvertantly touching the case of your computer while messing around with its
innards, static electricity isn't neccessarily going to be a concern. I've swapped out a few ram chips
in my day and have never had a problem with static, not even when I wore socks on my carpet. This is
not to say this is a wise practice. In truth you should always wear a grounding strap, a neat bracelet
with a wire attached $3 at radio shack, but for the average bloke on the average day, it's not going to
be a big deal. A good way to be precautious without taking a trip to Radio Shack and wearing a funny
bracelet is to touch the metal inner case of your computer after you take the cover off, discharging any
charge you might be carrying harmlessly into the case where it can be discharged through the power cord.
The other piece of taboo surrounding ram is that it is extremely fragile, which is also true to a point.
It's fragile in the same way a glass is fragile. Used in and everyday manner it's harmless but when you
start tossing it about and seeing how much of your weight it can take it tends to have a shorter life span.
A good rule of thumb is not to push on your ram any more than you would push on your parents. You
can usually push pretty firmly without them decking you. So in the installation manual when they say:
"push gently but firmly." emphasize firmly, especially if it is a ram slot that has never had ram it it
before. Newer ram slots tend to offer a bit more resistance than older ones.
Installation Instructions |
Step 1 | Unplug the necessary cables from the back of your computer and remove any
screws which seem to be impeding the progress of pulling the cover of your maching. If you have an ibm
aptiva, I feel sorry for you, if you have a new Yosemite (blue&white) G3 just open the door. It's just that easy.
On some apple computers the motherboard pulls out sort of like a drawer, this includes performa series computers,
and some of the lower end power macs such as the 6500. Others like the LC series computers don't necessarily
have any screws and the top of the case just snaps off. PC owners you can gloat here because your method for
removing the case is usually pretty consistent.
| Step 2 | Now to locate those pesky RAMslots, a bit like locating your dipstick in your car.
Having removed the cover, you should see something large and greensish
colored with lots of shiny bits and impressive looking doodads sticking off of it. (If you become curious as to what the bits and pieces on
the motherboard are feel free to visit
the installation adendum or what the **** is all this **** in my computer anyway? Coming summer 99.)Some of these doodads
look like slots that you might slide your credit card through, others look like wider slots with little
pins sticking up in them. You might see some cards sticking in some of these slots, if you have a modem
or video card. You'll notice these expansion cards look like bigger, heftier, and more extravagantly
decorated versions of your ram, which is by now, no doubt, extremely jealous of it's larger bretheren.
And then there will be some smaller cards that look a lot like the RAMyou're installing, the same size,
the same little black hangers-on. Chances are that is the RAMthat was installed in your computer when it was
manufactured and lucky you it's there to indicate where the next RAMpurchase should go. If you're incredibly
lucky it will say RAMright on the motherboard right next to these slots thus eliminating the need for guesswork
altogether. If you've any doubt as to whether or not what you've located is a RAMslot hold the ram
you've purchased up to it. If you've purchased the correct RAMand have located the correct slot, they will be the same length
and the RAMwill have a bit (or two) where there is a divider in the slot. Sometimes RAMis seated at an angle with little brackets
so you can pretend to put it in and slide it between the brackets to see if it's the correct size.
| Step 3 | Now the fun part. You have to seat the RAMin the slot, in other words, push on it.
In some cases, with angled RAMslots, you may have to put the RAMin vertically and tip it to the angled
position to secure it. In most cases you'll push it straight down in. There may be levers at either end of the
slot, which aid in the removal of RAMlater, or little clips that hold it securely in the slot. These, for the most
part, can be disregarded other than the fact that they may make uncomfortable snapping noises when the
RAMis pushed into place. The important thing here is to be sure that the RAMis turned correctly to fit in the slot.
Make sure that any separators in the slot match up with grooves in the ram. If you can't tell, chances are when you push on
the RAMonly one side will push into the slot and the other will stick out at you wondering if you know
what you're doing. If this happens, pull it out, rotate it 180 degrees and try again. One of the directions is guaranteed to be correct.
The only thing left to do is push firmly with your thumbs on the edge and your fingers out of the way. RAMwill not go in a slot that has a
finger in it, this is a known computing fact. Some nasting sounding crackling noises can be expected upon pushing on the ram. Something akin to
crackling leaves with a more metallic edge to it. There is no need to panic when you hear these noises it is caused by little spring loaded metal
pieces in the computer that press against the metal that is on the edge you're inserting. The RAMwill make some noise that ranges from a satisfying thunk
to a snap when it has been seated properly. If you'r not sure if it made the proper noise push a little more and if the rame doesn't move, you've done it correctly.
| Step 4 | All that is left is to seal up the case and plug your cords back in and fire it up. Macintosh
users can check under the apple menu:about this computer to see if their computer is recognizing the new ram. Windows users
should be able to find similar information by right clickingon the My Computer icon and selecting Properties from the pop-up menu.
If your computer doesn't 'recognize the additional RAMchances are it wasn't seated correctly and it needs to be pushed in further.
A good way to do this is to pull it out completely and try again rather than just pushing.
AND THAT'S ALL THERE IS TO IT
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