Upgrade the Ram in Your Macbook

Upgrading your ram is one of the easiest and cheapest things you can do to make your computer run faster. It greatly increases speed when the computer is running lots of programs at the same time, or when you are editing movies.

Step 1: Materials

You will need
-A laptop
-a piece of soft fabric to rest it on. Make sure that the fabric won't cause static.
-A micro screwdriver set (make sure you use the right size to avoid damaging the screw)
-Ram (I used 2 2G pieces, totaling 4G)
-A grounding strap (optional, but recommended)
-A coin
-Plenty of light

Step 2: Prep

Find a clean, dry, static free area. A small tile or wooden table is perfect. I leave my macbook in sleep most of the time, but for this you want to make sure it is shut down. Set your macbook upside down on a dry piece of cloth (make sure it won't generate static) to prevent scratching. Now go and touch a metal faucet or put on your grounding strap and connect it to a large metal object.

Step 3: Remove Battery and Cover

Now insert your coin into the slot with the lock symbols and turn it to unlock. Your battery should pop up when you do this. Now take out the battery. Carefully set the battery on the table in a way that it doesn't touch anything else. Now using your phillips screwdriver (make sure you have the right size) begin unscrewing the metal piece tat goes in front of the hard drive and ram. After you have removed the screws carefully pull on the right side of it. Once it is free you can completely remove it.

Step 4: Remove the Old Ram

Now slide the two levers from right to left. The old pieces of ram should slide out. This may take some pressure, but don't force it! Make not of the orientation of the ram. Notice the small slit it has in the left side. Pull it out completely and place it in an anti-static bag temporarily until you can put it in the new ram's packaging. Avoid touching the chips or traces. Instead pull them using the sides.

Step 5: Insert New Ram

Now carefully take the new ram out of it's packaging. You may want to blow out the spaces where the ram was to ensure a good connection, but my laptop was under a month old when I did this, so it doesn't matter. Make sure the levers are in their full open position and then carefully slide the new ram in. It may take some force, so use the back of the laptop to help push it in. As you push it in you can slide the levers over, but don't do them faster than the ram is going in. Once it is all the way in you can push them to their fully closed position.

Step 6: Replace the Cover and Battery.

Now do the opposite of step 3.

Step 7: Final Check

Now turn on your macbook. In the upper left corner of the screen there is a little apple. Ckick on it and then select "About This Mac". It should now say the new amount of memory. If not or if it doesn't turn on repeat the process from the beginning.