Laptops are not very upgradable computers and in general you stuck with hardware you got inside your laptop. But still there are some components that you can upgrade to improve the performance of you computer. One of these components is memory (RAM). In short, more memory – better computer performance.
There are a lot of different memory brands on the market and sometimes it is very easy to get lost. As a computer technician I would recommend to use Crucial – high quality, not expensive and very reliable computer memory.
Crucial offers you very good tools integrated into their website. These tools will help you to find the correct memory type and correct memory size for your computer.
If you have no idea what kind of memory is installed into your laptop you should use the Crucial system scanner. The Crucial System Scanner takes the guesswork out of upgrading your memory.
The Crucial system scanner will examine you computer and give you an idea what kind of memory you need, what memory size you should use and how many sticks you can install.
More advanced users can use the Crucial Memory Advisor tool. In this case you will have to select the manufacturer, the product line and the model of your laptop manually.
If you find this article useful, please consider making a donation to the author. Thank you!
January 10th, 2008 at 4:29 am
I added 1gb memory my toshiba A75 and used almost 1 year. Then I met the power problem and I solved it by soldering connecter. After then my laptop shuts itself immediatly or not started. When I removed the 1gb ram and it started normally. I added another 500M ram and it keep working. When I replaced the 500MB ram with another new 1GB ram, computer worked for several hours and shutted down itself immediatly and it started for for several minutes and shuts down itself. So I put previous 500MB ram and every thing goes smooth.
Can my computer has a power problem? or what.
Please help me!!!
January 9th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
Unfortunately, the only way to find out is installing another 1GB module. Toshiba doesn’t provide any information about memory brand compatibility.
January 9th, 2008 at 9:06 am
I swapped memory locations, putting the 1024 under the keyboard and the 512 in the accessible slot and I still get only 1024. Apparently the new module somehow overrides the old one.
January 9th, 2008 at 6:00 am
Thanks for the reply cj –
I’m running XP, and BIOS v.1.30. BIOS only reports 1024MB when both modules are installed. I’ve removed the keyboard once – I just need a better screwdriver to get to the 512 module. I’m going to try swapping them and see what happens.
If I bought another 1GB module identical to the first one and installed them both, would I be able to get the full 2GB?
January 8th, 2008 at 9:59 pm
Lee,
This is an unusual problem and I’m not really sure what’s going on.
This laptop suppose to run DDR2-533 and DDR3-667 should be backward compatible, so you should be fine, unless both memory modules somehow are not compatible with each other.
What OS you are running? XP or Vista?
Witch BIOS version you installed? According Toshiba, version 5.0 doesn’t support XP.
By the way, this laptop doesn’t have onboard memory. The 512MB module is installed into the memory expansion slot under the keyboard.
I’ve created a disassembly guide for this model and here are links to all disassembly guides. I’m not sure if you want to remove the keyboard, but you can try swapping memory sockets and install 1GB under the keyboard and 512MB into the bottom slot. This requires some skills.
Did you check how much memory is detected by the BIOS when both memory modules are installed. Is it still 1024MB?
January 8th, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I just installed 1GB memory in my Toshiba M105-S1021. It already has 512MB onboard. But after installation the system information only shows 1024MB total physical memory and about 365 available memory.
I ran the scan at Crucial and it doesn’t show the old memory. What happened? I thought I’d have about 1.5 GB memory.
The old memory was DDR2-533 (266 MHz) and the new is DDR2-667 (333 MHz). Does that have anything to do with it?
(I updated the BIOS before I installed the new memory BTW)
October 13th, 2007 at 7:43 pm
Adam,
Toshiba Satellite A75 notebook has only one memory expansion slot available to end users. You can easily access the memory expansion slot from the bottom of the laptop if you remove the cover in the middle of the case. You can install up to 1GB memory module into this slot. Also, you can use 256MB 512MB modules.
Memory type compatible with this unit: PC2700 DDR333.
October 11th, 2007 at 6:51 pm
Hi, I am currently in the market for a memory upgrade. I have a Toshiba A75-S226 and would like know what my optimal options are for this model. Thanks in advance.
August 9th, 2007 at 11:17 pm
I need to replace my fujitsu laptop c2010 motherboard.
Where can i get it cheaply.
July 21st, 2007 at 3:08 pm
broc wilde,
PC2100 (DDR266) or PC2700 (DDR333) should be backward compatible with PC1600 (DDR200). I searched the Crucial site for your model and they recommend 256MB PC2700.
Here’s a quote from their FAQ:
Check the BIOS version you have installed on your laptop and upgrade it to the latest version if there is any.