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Adding more RAM to your MacBook is the easiest way to give your system a little boost, especially if you want it to be able to handle a lot of tasks at once.
The first thing you wanna do is find out how much ram you can fit in your MacBook and what the requirements are.
So you can do this by visiting Apple's website, or you can head over to a RAM manufacturer like Crucial and use their tool to find out what your computer needs.
In my case, I have a mid 2009 MacBook Pro with two gigs of RAM, but I can fit up to four gigs in each of the two slots, giving me a grand total of eight gigabytes.
That's gonna help a lot when I'm running heavy programs like Photoshop or I have like 20 tabs opened in my browser.
Okay, to get started all you need is a screwdriver that fits the screws on the back of your Mac, plus your ram.
So, the first thing you wanna do is make sure your Mac Book is powered off.
Then flip it over.
And on the back there are ten screws that need to be removed.
For that I have my Phillips screwdriver.
And you'll notice that three of the screws are longer than the others.
So just remember exactly where those go.
Once they're out the back cover should lift off really easily.
And at this point you might notice that the inside of your computer is really dusty.
You can use it as an opportunity to clean it.
And if your hard drive looks different.
That's because I replaced mine with a S.S.D.
So, the R.A.M.
goes right here.
And it's held down by two levers that you need to pull apart.
And once you do the old R.A.M.
should pop out really easily.
So there's one.
We'll do the same thing for the second one.
So now we're ready to install the new RAM.
There is a short side and a long side so make sure it's aligned properly.
And go ahead and make sure that the gold strip is completely in the slot.
Now, push down, and you should hear a click.
We'll do the same thing with the second one.
Put it in the slot.
Make sure the gold strip is completely covered, and then push down, and there's that click.
Our RAM is installed.
Now we're gonna put the computer back together.
And start it up.
We'll put all the screws back in.
The three long ones go up here by the hinge.
And we're set.
Now, let's turn it on and see what happens.
I don't expect to see a serious improvement when I'm booting up or when I'm performing regular tasks.
When the new RAM kicks in, is when I'm running a lot of heavy tasks at once.
I'm also hoping for fewer slow-downs, and less of that spinning beach ball, which usually happens when the system is trying to manage memory.
All right, if you have any questions or tips of your own, hit me up on Twitter and check out cnet.com/how-to for more tips like this.
For cnet, I'm Sharon Profis.
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