If you’ve ever experienced your laptop’s performance slowly decreasing over time you will know how frustrating it can be when you have to wait 20 seconds for applications to load when they used to start in 5. I’ve primarily always used Hewlett Packard laptops (and Compaq laptops before they were purchased by HP) and have experienced this slow down with every laptop. The reason is that as your laptop ages your operating system and applications ‘update’ and these updates ask more from your hardware.
More recently I have started using an HP Probook. I like the HP Probook because they have a great price point, are better built than most similarly priced laptops and offer great performance for the price. But just like every other laptop I have ever used I still experienced this slow down problem. So what’s the solution?
Aside from buying a new laptop the next best way to increase your laptops performance is to install additional RAM into your HP Probook.
I recently had to do this with my HP Probook 4545s. Which is an great model HP Probook. It originally came with 4GB of memory and I put an additional 4GB module in (I used this model
from Corsair). It was a bit of a tricky operation so I thought I would share how to take apart the unit to save you damaging your laptop when upgrading your HP Probook RAM
Unlike other brand laptops which have an easy access screw mounted panels on the base of the unit, the HP Probook houses it’s RAM slots under the keyboard. It’s a little bit different but if you follow my 8 easy steps you’ll have no problems installing your RAM;
- Earthing yourself on a nearby grounded metal object to remove any potential static discharge.
- Unplug the unit from its power adapter and take out your battery.
- Flip the unit over so it is upside down.
- Locate the battery bay and unscrew the keyboard screws.
- Remove the screws located on the rear of the unit. These are hidden behind two small stuck-on black circular covers. These screws are accessible when the Probook’s LCD screen is closed.
- Flip the unit back over and open up LCD panel as if you were going to use the laptop. Remove the rear bezel using a little bit of force. This is the plate that holds the on button towards the base of the LCD panel, remove this panel commencing from one end and working your way towards the other.
- Once you have removed the panel remove the final screws securing the keyboard.
- Remove the keyboard by tilting the laptop towards you so that the keyboard falls toward you.
The RAM upgrade bays are now viewable. You will be able to slide in and secure your RAM upgrade chips. Once you have added your HP Probook RAM reverse this process to put your laptop back together.
I always recommend people use a good name brand of RAM for any upgrade (such as Kingston
or Corsair). These two brands of laptop RAM provide a lifetime warranty on their memory, which is always nice to have.