Memory Upgrades
June 14, 2008 – 2:14 pmToday on The PM computers show we upgraded someones Dell from 256MB of PC3200 to 2GB of PC2700. I know it is a speed downgrade, but what she uses the computer for, AOL and email, it won’t make a difference. 2GB of PC2700 is much faster than 256MB of PC3200, from a usability perspective.
The chip she had purchased for the upgrade, a 1GB no name PC3200 DIMM, was bad. I turned on the computer with the new chip in it, The machine beeped loudly several times on POST. Luckily I had ordered 2GB of Kingston PC2700 earlier that week, before she had called. I love having the right parts at the right time.
I also took the time to configure her Verizon FIOS Actiontech wireless router from the default settings to something more secure. I set up a new username and password and configured WPA2 security for the wireless. I also upgraded her anti virus software, as her Mcafee subscription had expired.
If that 1GB chip she had purchased via mail order had not been bad I would never have been called, she actually did a very good job of installing the memory, even though she professed to know nothing about computers.