Your daily dose of practical, easy to follow tech tips!
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Question from Chris: My family has two laptops and a desktop computer, all of which need more RAM. How can I find out which type of RAM to buy for each computer?
I checked online and there’s DDR, DDR2, DDR3, DDR4, DIMMs, SODIMMS, etc. and they all seem to operate at different speeds. It’s all so confusing! [Read more…]
Question from Randy: I have a two year old Mac desktop computer that runs great, but I heard Macs run a LOT faster if they have at least 16GB of RAM installed.
I’d love to upgrade mine to 16GB if it currently has less than that in it.
The thing is I have no idea how much RAM is in it right now. How can I find out? [Read more…]
Question from Connor: I’m thinking of swapping out all of my RAM for a better set, and I was wondering if I would need a fresh Windows install to make it work.
If reinstalling Windows isn’t required, but recommended, please tell me why that is. Thanks!
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from Benji P.: Rick, I took my eight year old HP laptop to Best Buy over the weekend to have them upgrade the RAM for me.
This machine only has 4GB and I want to bump it up to 8GB. I know it can use 8GB because I looked it up.
After some back and forth the guy told me I shouldn’t waste my money upgrading a machine that was that old and proceeded to try to sell me a new computer. I don’t want a new laptop. I like this one!
My question is do you know of a place in the Raleigh, NC area that will upgrade the memory for me? Or is this something that I can possibly do myself?
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]
Question from George.: I think I might have messed up big time Rick, and I’m hoping you can help me.
I ordered new RAM for my old (but beloved) Dell Inspiron 14z laptop, and when it arrived I was so excited that I absent-mindedly tried to install it without shutting the system down.
Dummy me, I removed the battery but forgot to shut the system down or unplug the charger. As soon as I inserted the first of new RAM stick I saw a spark. My heart just sank.
Now the computer won’t turn on. No lights, no sound, and the screen stays black when I press the power button. I tried re-installing the original RAM and even tried a hard reset. Nothing works.
I know the battery and charger are working because I tried them with my wife’s laptop (they are the same exact model).
Is there something else I can try, or is my laptop toast? I’m hoping it’s a simple fix because the warranty ran out a LONG time ago.
Rick’s answer: [Read more…]