memory Upgrade

[wisey]

1) RAM
I currently have 512 mb DDR DIMM ram and am looking to add to. Can I simply buy some more and put in the spare slot. If so, do I have to buy another 512 to balance the system or can I buy 1024. If I do this do I have to amend the RAM already in there.

2) Hard Drive
I currently have a 80gb Seagate. Can I add another drive, if so where or does whatever I buy have to go in the space currently occupied by the current drive.

Many Thanks for your help and please forgive the novice questions.

 

[2scoops0406]

1) RAM
I currently have 512 mb DDR DIMM ram and am looking to add to. Can I simply buy some more and put in the spare slot. If so, do I have to buy another 512 to balance the system or can I buy 1024. If I do this do I have to amend the RAM already in there.

Theoretically yes, however it is worthwhile matching the new DIMMs to the existing ones. If you go to www.kingston.com you can find a usually find a match here. You don't have to buy from the site, but take a note of the part number and shop around. You do not have to balance DIMM's you used to have to balance SIMMs (As far as I remember)

2) Hard Drive
I currently have a 80gb Seagate. Can I add another drive, if so where or does whatever I buy have to go in the space currently occupied by the current drive.

Many Thanks for your help and please forgive the novice questions.

Probably. Depends on your IDE cable. If you have a spare IDE connector and power source then easy, you will need to ensure that the HDD has it's jumper set to cable select, to find out how to do this read the documentation that comes with the new HDD. You can phyically site the HDD where you want within the case. You may need to set the new HDD settings to slave, again, check the documentation that comes with the HDD in order to determine the correct jumper settings.


Any problems, just get back...

 

[breezer]

I have added several hard drives to several differnt pc's i always put 2nd hd on slave, then format it

 

[Igorian]

If you can fit a drive into your case, then pretty straight forward. Setting up will depend upon your O/S.

Memory upgrades are always hit and miss. There are so many different configurations depending on the processor and chipset types.

If, by adding additional memory to the spare slot, you are enabling dual channel mode, the sticks should be matched. By this, I don't just mean the same part number, but a matched pair, bought for this purpose.

It is possible to run with unmatched sets, and your motherboard may support this option, but I often see machines where unmatched sets in dual channel mode cause erratic behavior. Can you supply details of the board and the memory you currently have. Also, your O/S?

 

[pipme]

A little tip, if you have a second hand Dell, have a look on/in the case for a 'service code' --- Use this on the Dell web site to see the shipping date, on-line specification and documentation including manuals.
useful ---
P