Aug
29
Posted on 29-08-2008
Filed Under (Guides, Hacks - hardware) by KiNG on 29-08-2008

The Acer Aspire One netbook. It’s inexpensive, it’s tiny, and the base-level version only comes with 512MB of RAM. I cracked open the case, voided the warranty, and added an extra gigabyte. Watch the above video to see how. More details after the jump.

 

Tools Needed

  • Small Philips screwdriver
  • Two small flathead screwdrivers (or something similar) to get at the keyboard
  • 512MB or 1GB stick of RAM. For best results, use PC2-5300 RAM.
  • Time, patience, and a blatant disregard for your warranty

Full reading at Crunch Gear

Comments

Ampliando la memoria en el AA1 « Mi rincon en la web on 3 September, 2008 at 1:02 pm #

[...] Tenéis mas detalles sobre el proceso y material necesario aquí. [...]


ICMPECHO · Got my A1 today ;) on 8 September, 2008 at 10:46 pm #

[...] References: – Memory upgrade – User forum – Hardware forum – How to ruin a perfectly good Aspire [...]


dogsthat on 9 September, 2008 at 12:22 pm #

You are very funny. Thanks for the info, I’ll be trying this at home later this week :)

Class A+ Certified Noodler


tomc on 9 September, 2008 at 3:04 pm #

OK, I just bought the 512mb linux version of the AspireOne and have a couple of things to add the RAM upgrade. I decided to buy my AspireOne from PCWorld. The reason for this is that they offer laptop RAM upgrades for £14.95. I, having upgraded all my laptops personally, thought this would be a much better plan after watching the video ;-)

So, the RAM cost me £25 and the installation cost me £14.95. It took the guy about an hour with me telling him what he had to do, but at the end of the day, it works fine and most importantly, the warranty is still in place.

The other thing I noticed on the forums was about which ram works. It should be 4200 533Mhz RAM, but I noticed that some people had mixed results with the 667mhz RAM. The reason for this is that some 667mhz RAM is downward compatible, so if you are going to try 667Mhz RAM, make sure it is downward compatible. Anyway, have my new toy with 1.5gb RAM and just finished installing an nLited(tinyXP) version of XPSP3 and it runs like a charm :-)


tomc on 9 September, 2008 at 3:07 pm #

OH, and there are less cables to unplug in the 210mb hardisk version. You also have much better access to the RAM than with the SDD (non hard disk) laptop, just remember to unclip the speaker cable that clips over the middle of the motherboard (you’ll understand when you see it)


wetbaloney on 10 September, 2008 at 11:08 pm #

This TOTALLY SUCKS. Acer’s spec sheet is completely misleading. It references a “soDimm slot” and “upgradeable”. I would not interpret this to mean that one would have to completely disassemble the unit to add a soDIMM. This is definitely not a task for even a relatively advanced enduser. I bought this thing assuming I could add some memory myself. What a rip!

Also, that little rectangular plate on the bottom of the unit, held in by two small phillips screws — what goes in there? I thought that was going to be where the soDIMM slot was, but it isn’t. Why isn’t there anything in the documentation that says what this is. And, by the way, the documentation with this thing is just so inadequate.


duke0102 on 20 September, 2008 at 8:06 pm #

followed the vid and incredibly easy to install, took about 20min. Many thanks


machani on 23 September, 2008 at 4:45 am #

I found a slightly better (and safer) way to upgrade the RAM. I followed the approach of this guy in youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xKSpW3q0GY

His approach is to use one Philips screwdriver and a credit card. The credit card approach works great in getting the keyboard off without damaging anything. Make sure there is plenty of light.

The only thing I did different was that I did not disconnect the connector for the laptop monitor. It is not necessary since you can easily get under the motherboard after unscrewing the daughter-board. (It is necessary to unscrew the daughter-board only if you have the 120 or 160GB HDD version, not if you have the 8GB SSD version).


machani on 23 September, 2008 at 4:56 am #

I meant it is not necessary to disconnect the LCD connector from the motherboard.

It took me about 35 minutes to upgrade the RAM in this approach.


NewAspireUser on 27 September, 2008 at 7:57 pm #

Excellent job. The video is extremely helpful and made this upgrade a breeze.


[...] are also good guides available here and here  that will assist you in taking apart your aspire one and locating the wifi card.  This [...]


vitaminz on 9 November, 2008 at 1:11 am #

hi guys
i just bought a new acer aspire one laptop with 160GB,1GB Ram, 3 cell, win XP.
want to ask: can i add another 1GB DDR2 667Mhz PC2-5300 RAM into my aspire one?can it support up to 2GB memory?
thanks


[...] ist auch ein Upgrade des RAM, in meinem AAO stecken jetzt 1,5 GB Arbeitsspeicher. Kleiner Tipp zur Einbauanleitung: die weissen Halterungen für die Flachkabel sind zum nach oben klappen nicht zum rausziehen. Die [...]


HudsonSpeeder on 28 February, 2009 at 9:37 pm #

I just tried to install 2G ram (removed the 512 ) But the Laptop won’t boot. Power light comes on hard drive spins at start and then nothing. Not even a flicker on the screen. Put back 512 ram and run’s fine. This was for an Aspire One ZG5, what gives?


[...] other netbooks:Here are instructions for some other popular netbooks:Acer Aspire OneAsus EEEDell Inspiron Mini is not available (Nice work Dell!)HP [...]


normsy on 24 July, 2009 at 5:06 pm #

While you’re in there, why not upgrade the solid state drive by replacing it with a 32 GB SDHC card?


Aardvark-dk on 30 July, 2009 at 8:14 pm #

The Most genius guide seen for a long time ! I give it 4000 out of 10 !! :P
Good work m8 :)


Aardvark-dk on 30 July, 2009 at 8:18 pm #

Btw…I had to disassemble twice…I started, HDD ran, lights were on, no Screen…but finally….
I have the same question as one before me. Any1 got a 2 gig module 2 work ?


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