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LindaMuller
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RAM and Hard Drive Upgrade Questions

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I have a MacBook A1181 (Penryn) with 4GB RAM.

Before purchase I want to make sure that upgrading to a 750 GB 7200 RPM Seagate SATA will work for my machine.

I also want to add more RAM. After reading your site See here... it appears that a Penryn can accept up to 6GB of RAM.

Right now I have 2 - 2GB cards installed. Should I buy a third 2GB card - or do I need to get a 4GB and use one of the old cards to equal 6GB?

Has this worked for anyone else?

...And do you have any tips on installing other than the [outstanding] guides available on iFixit?

PS -- I have never repaired or even installed parts on a computer. But I have repaired lots of household appliances so I figure this can't be too hard! Plus I'm ordering lots of tools from you to make the job easy [ier!]

THANKS for providing the best site on the Net for repairing Macs.

Linda

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LindaMuller

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mayer
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You only have two RAM slots so you will have to pull one of the twos and replace it with a four.

*Apple officially supports a maximum of 4 GB of RAM but third-parties have been able to upgrade the system to 6 GB of RAM using one 2 GB and one 4 GB memory module.

Installation is literally a snap. Remove the battery, three small Phillips screws and your there. Just press the tabs holding the RAM in place outward and it pops up. I'll see if I can find you a video on it.

Please give me a link to the 750 GB Seagate you're looking at and I'll get right back to you.

Thanks for the video link. It was for a MacBook "Pro" but still very helpful for me to see the steps involved. Here's the link to the HD: http://www.ifixit.com/Apple-Parts/750-GB... Thanks again Mayer.

LindaMuller,

+ for helpful advice. I think that only Snow Leopard 64 bit can take advantage of the extra RAM.

remacberlin,

Sorry here's a correct installation video: http://www.videojug.com/webvideo/how-to-... That hard drive will work just fine. I would put the 4 GIG in the left hand slot first. remac is probably correct. I don't think you will see that much improvement over the four gigs you already have unless you're really using some powerful programs that require rendering.

mayer,

Thanks Remacberlin - I'm using 10.5 I could not find more info on the apple support site. Do you have a better link?

LindaMuller,

I'll try the drive without the additional RAM first to see if its really needed. These videos are really helpful in reducing my fear of getting under the hood. Thanks again - to all.

LindaMuller,

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