and here's another computer question

[irish]

i have decided to attempt to upgrade my ram . i have watched the videos on you tube, read lots of instruction data and THINK i can do it myself. now, here comes the question. rather then buy another 256 i purchased a 512. i am ASSUMING i can just REPLACE the 256 with the 512... correct? then, if i have no problems doing that, i will purchase another 512 and just slip it in the second slot. I CAN DO THAT RIGHT?? FYI.. it is a DELL DIMENSION 4300 DESKTOP. so if i am wrong about my thinking... PLEASE LET ME KNOW ASAP so i don't screw things up.
thanks a bunch

 

[DaveNV]

You can't screw it up. If it's the wrong capacity for your motherboard, it just won't work. Pull out the "wrong" stick you just inserted, put the original back in, and you'll be fine.

Having said that, yes, you can just put it in. I presume you currently have one 256mb stick in your PC, right? Two slots? Put the new 512 in the second slot. Your machine should then report 768mb of RAM. Replace the first one with a second 512mb stick and you should see 1024mb.

Caveat: There was a time when motherboards expected the higher-capacity RAM was in slot 0, and the lesser-capacity stick went into slot 1. But I don't think newer machines are so finicky. If you have issues, swap your two sticks around.

The trickiest part of replacing your RAM is making sure you have the stick oriented the right way. The little notches on the bottom of the RAM stick are offset so it only fits in one way. After you've put one in, you'll be an expert. Just be sure you've unplugged the PC cord from the back of the PC before you open the cover, and touch an unpainted metal part of the chasis to ground yourself before handling the memory.

Good luck!

Dave

 

[pjrose]

The trickiest part of replacing your RAM is making sure you have the stick oriented the right way. The little notches on the bottom of the RAM stick are offset so it only fits in one way. After you've put one in, you'll be an expert. Just be sure you've unplugged the PC cord from the back of the PC before you open the cover, and touch an unpainted metal part of the chasis to ground yourself before handling the memory.

Pay special attention to the Red sentence above!

Also, do not touch your fingers to the shiny metal parts that actually get plugged in.

And, note that depending on the system, sometimes instead of sliding in the RAM you have to give it a bit of pressure to get it to snap in. This can get kind of scary. Last time I did a "snap in" rather than "slide in" upgrade, I found a video online that helped reassure me that I was doing it right. Look at the instructions that came with your RAM and call the company or check online if you are at all unsure.

 

[irish]

yes that was pretty much what the videos said,EXECPT, they said that IF UPGRADING using 2 DIMMS THEY MUST BE THE SAME SIZE. so then, don't i have to remove the 256 BEFORE inserting the 512??? REMEMBER the machine is 7 years old the the ram is SDRAM.

 

[Kozman]

The following should answer your question:

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Dimension+4300+Systems

 

[DaveNV]

yes that was pretty much what the videos said,EXECPT, they said that IF UPGRADING using 2 DIMMS THEY MUST BE THE SAME SIZE. so then, don't i have to remove the 256 BEFORE inserting the 512??? REMEMBER the machine is 7 years old the the ram is SDRAM.

If your ultimate goal is to have 1024mb of RAM, then at some point the 256 needs to come out. But if you're using only one stick now, and the second slot is vacant, then you CAN add the second one into the vacant slot. If your motherboard is that specific, it may not recognize the extra RAM in the 512 since the other one is only 256. It may only see 256 of the 512 stick. But I don't think it's that specific. And if you put the 512 into slot 0, and the 256 in slot 1, the machine should see the 512 first, and recognize the full amount, then see the 256, and still give you a total of 768mb.

If you plan to fill both slots with 512 each during this upgrade, then just do it. The sequence won't matter, since you won't turn on the PC till both slots are filled.

Dave

 

[irish]

okay, got it. thanks for the help

 

[davhu1]

Make sure the memory you are buying is compatible with your computer. Something similar to Kozman's link.

 

[The Conch Man]

I just upgraded my RAM (4 slots, only 2 used) from 512mb (2-256mb) to 1g to my old desktop puter & I mean old. There was nothing to it I went to http://www.Crucial.com to analyze my memory as they didnt have my RAM & they don't carry memory for my puter as they once did. Went to http://www.4allmemory.com & they analyzed my memory & they had my RAM (additional 2-256mb) to upgrade my RAM.

I have an Dell Dimension 8200 Pentium 4 which I bought new in January of 2001, with 512 PC800 RDRAM ECC 40ns, etc., never any problems with the puter & "NO" Virus, Worms, Maleware, Trojans, etc., cause of all the "FREE" software available on the Internet, I don't pay for any software other than my ISP provider which is Comcast & Netzero which is free.

 

[DaveNV]

okay, got it. thanks for the help

So did you do the upgrade? How was it? How much RAM did you end up with?

Dave