Upgrading a Mini Laptop

Most mini laptops, especially the upscale models such as HP mini 1000, Dell Inspiron and Lenova IdeaPad S10 are much easier to upgrade. But even if you don’t own these pricier models, you can still upgrade your netbook with the right set of screw drivers.

A mini notebook has only two things that can be upgraded; the RAM and the Hard Disk Drive (HDD). You need to find out the specifications on these two things in your netbook and then upgrade them accordingly. DRAM and SRAM are two different kinds of upgraded RAMs while ATA and SATA are different versions of hard disk drives.

Once you know the type of your RAM and HDD and decided on which upgraded version to install, the next step is to locate the RAM and HDD on your netbook. Most manufacturers have these on the backside of the unit; either on the same panel or different panels but insulated from and connected to the unit’s internal circuitry.

You may also need to open up the netbook completely to locate the RAM and HDD, so you would need to keep your screw drivers handy. Most importantly, always switch off the mini laptop before opening the unit.

Now that you’ve located the Ram and/or HDD, remove it carefully and install the upgraded version in the same way as the old ones. You need to be very careful and have a presence of mind while doing this as you don’t want to go back to opening the whole unit all over again.

Once you have installed the upgraded version and secured the screws on the unit, you need to switch on the netbook to reboot it. If it does not boot, it could mean that you have not installed the parts correctly or those upgraded versions are not compatible with your system. So now you would need to reopen the unit and install them again or read the specs on the HDD and/or Ram and find out the compatible versions for your system.

If the RAM and/or HDD are not compatible with your system then you need to recheck the netbook’s system information. To do that, you simply go to the setting tab on the main menu and click on it. It will give you the information on the Ram and HDD of your mini laptop’s system.

It’s not at all difficult to upgrade a mini laptop. But you need to have some basic knowledge on hardware so that you can pick out the right upgraded version for your netbook and install them in the correct way.