MacBook memory upgrade
In an earlier post (read post) I complained that the new MacBook was sluggish and the machine seemed to suffer from the ’spinning pizza of death’.
Yesterday I bought 1 GB RAM module and today I upgraded the machine.
Adding the new RAM was easy:
- Shutdown the machine.
- Remove the battery.
- Undo the three screws that hold in an L-shaped plate at the back of the battery compartment (these screws can’t fall out!).
- Remove the L-shaped plate two reveal the two memory slots.
- Use the lever above one of the memory slots to eject a memory module.
- Push in new memory module, replace the L-shaped plate. Insert the battery.
Two minor annoying things. First, the machine was configured with 512 MB RAM as two 256 MB chips. This means that I now have a ’spare’ 256 MB of RAM. Second, the new memory module had to be really pushed in. The first attempt was not enough. I got the machine back together and it wouldn’t start (only 256 MB RAM recoginsed). The best way to check is to make sure the new module is flush with the factory installed RAM.
The question is, why does Apple sell a machine that is effectively crippled? With only 512 MB of RAM onboard the MacBook was slow, clunky and prone to the ‘pizza’. With 1.25 GB RAM it is fast and a pleasure to use.
