The process for upgrading the internal memory on the HP 6715s is not a difficult one. The manual however makes it more difficult than it should be by referring to other steps in the midst of explaining what you should do – so for simplification purposes I’ll outline the steps you need to follow to get the maximum memory installed in the HP6715S portable.
Some background – I got this machine a year or so ago and it has always struggled with the 1GB it came with to run Vista Business. So I have different linux distros running on it for test purposes (the latest was Mandriva 2009) after Vista started to misbehave and reboot itself repeatedly.
Well – I saw a memory upgrader package on Crucial that would bring it up to the max 4GB – under £50 and thought why not – the machine should be more capable of running Vista with a reinstall – without HPs additional buggy add on packages.
So armed with a set of fine Philips and flat head screwdrivers (Maplin do good sets for under £10) and an anti static wristband I got myself a clear work area.
Warning – no warranty is given regarding this process – if you damage your machine it is your problem – if you have any doubts get a qualified person to do it for you !!
The steps and tips for removing the exisitng memory and replacing it are given in order below
Precautions
Put on your antistatic strap and earth it as per its instructions (static really can screw up your machine and the sensitve components in it – so wear a strap – dont be a sap !)
Open the antistatic bags that the new memory came in and put both sticks in the same one – this allows you to put the parts you temporarily take out somewhere safe from static electricity.
Remove the battery from the portable and disconnect the mains supply !!
Steps
1) remove the back panel covering the memory / wireless card slots. (1 screw). This is on the base of the portable with a keyboard – memory and wireless icon to the left of the screw you need to remove.
2) remove the memory module (put it in the antistatic bags as soon as you remove it)
3) remove the black (left) and white (right) leads from the wireless card – do this gently since the connectors are very small and easily broken. Unscrew the two SMALL screws behind where you disconnected the two leads. Ease the wireless module forward and remove from machine. Place it in the antistatic bag.
4) Locate the three keyboard screws – the first and least obvious is in the compartment that you just removed the old memory and the wireless card. Its on the left of the compartment and it is the longest of the screws you will remove. The other two are easier to identify and have a keyboard logo beside them – one is to the top left of the base – the other just to the right of the memory compartment. You may need to use a flathead to tease the screws out after you unscrew them.
5) Flip over portable – open it up wide and then release the keyboard retainers with a flat blade screwdriver by moving them down. The 4 retainers are found
Between the Esc and F1 keys
The F4 and F5 keys
The F8 and F9 Keys
The F12 and scroll keys
Once release you can gently lift up the keyboard.
6) Remove the memory modeul by releasinf the two silver clips either side. Place the old module in the antistatic bag. Insert the new module – the slot in the middle need to line up with the slot in the soccket. Make sure it seats correctly and clicks into place.
7) Replace the keyboard and put the retainers back to their locked postion. Close the screen down and flip over. Replace the three keyboard screws – put the long one in first – inside the memory compartment.
8) replace the wireless module (if fitted) and put back its two small screws. Reattach the wireless leads. Black left – white right – you may want to use the flat head screw drive to gently mate the connection. Ensure that both connections are fitted.
9) Insert the second new memory module and click into place.
10) Screw on the memory compartment cover and turn machine over.
11) Plug in the battery – Reattach the power and switch on. If all is weel you will get message about memory configuration change – Select F10 to go into bios – check all the memory is recognised and then exit saving settings.
12) Restart machine and you should see your OS reporting somewhere between 3GB and 4 GBs depending on what OS you run.
Enjoy your extra memory !! See if you can reuse your old memory somewhere else too.