AMILO A 1650 memory location???

Hello all,
Just a quick question perhaps one of you knowledgeable people may be able to help me with?...

I have just bought a Fuji-siemens AMILO A 1650 laptop it has 512mb of pc2700 ddr stuffed in it but I wanna buy an extra 512mb, from crucial, to give me a 1gig of memory . (The Reason for this is coz I am building multiplayer game maps for call of duty and radiant mapping tool is memory hungry.) However I cant find any views/pics/details of the memory compartment on this machine, and yes I realise fitting it myself will invalidate the warranty (according to fuji). I am a competent pc builder/repairer and have done some repairs and upgraded laptops in the past so this is well within my scope to accomplish.HOWEVER I dont want to go prodding around and start unscrewing things just for the sake of it as afterall it is a new laptop. I cant find any details on the location of the extra memory slot position or what has to be removed to get at it, so..... anyone got any
ideas as to what I need to remove???? (maybe a small pic or something).
cheers.
TRIP

 

It should say in complete detail in the user manual how to upgrade your memory. This WILL not void your warranty. Adding and removing your stick of RAM is very easy, and you should always remove your upgraded memory whenever sending a notebook in for servicing in the case that they need to replace it and send you a new unit. It would be a shame if they got to keep your extra memory! Just remember to remove your battery from your notebook before you add or remove your memory so static won't damage any components.

 

UH...No it actually doesn't!... no pics or diagrams or s*d all...what it says, is, under the heading of "REMOVING AND INSTALLING MEMORY MODULES" (BIG exclamation mark) "The memory modules can only be removed and installed by auhorised specially trained personnel. Please contact the hotline/help desk."

any further ideas on where it shud be ???

TRIP

 

It should be under one of the few panels on the bottom of the notebook. Just unscrew them and take a look. Also remember to remove the battery before you do anything. There will be two metal brackets on the sides of the memory stick. Simply pull them away on each side and the memory should pop up at an angle and can be easily slid out of the slot. Now replace your new memory in the slot at the angle and press down and it should snap right in. Good luck!

 

I'm jumping on to this one instead of making an entire new thread. I noticed the text in the manual saying only authorised personell can add RAM to the laptop, and mailed FJ support. They said that I could replace or upgrade memory without voiding my warranty.

Well, that doesn't really help much when I don't know where the RAM is supposed to be. I don't really feel like picking the computer completely apart if I don't have to. So, does anyone have a picture or manual on how to replace/upgrade memory for the Amilo A1650?

 

On my Amilo A1630, you open the large panel on the bottom (there are 11 screws) and the ram is in the centre. I am not sure if it is the same for the A1650.

I have 2x 256mb sticks making up 512mb, so I am planning on buying a 1GB stick and running with 1280mb.

 

The memory on the AMILO 1650 is helpfully situated under the keyboard.

With the lid shut, hold the computer with its back facing towards you i.e. you are looking directly at the USB & Power sockets. Apply pressure (from the back of the pc & slightly upwards) to the black hinge covers. They should pop up.
Open the lid and with something flat (like a screw driver) carefully prise up the black plastic strip at the top of the keyboard - this is also the same piece of plastic as the hinge covers. Be careful not to damage your speakers when popping this plastic cover up i.e. don’t just ram a screwdriver in and wrench it up.

I removed all the screws underneath the PC that are in the hinge / plastic strip sort of area. I cannot remember whether this has any bearing on the removal of the keyboard.

With your screw driver gently prise the keyboard up starting at the top of the keyboard.

Gently lift the keyboard and you will see it is attached at the bottom (by the space key) by a ribbon cable. The easiest thing is to turn the keyboard upside down and rest it on the mousepad.

You will see 2 Trap doors each with 2 screws. The memory ports are under these.
Now it seems that these small screws are somehow 'welded' in and if you can remove these B%^&*ds then your a better man than me.

I managed in the end by unspringing the hinges of the trap doors and with the use of a bit of origami, managed to get one in.

NB// both slots are populated with 2 * 256 SODIMMS. This is so annoying as I bought a 512 hoping to up it to 1024. So 768 it is.

By the way the Ram you need is DDR PC2700 200-Pin SODIMM.

 

Tony M, many, many, thanks. The detailed instructions were excellent. Its exactly as you decribed. It's a Very similar layout to the old Toshiba 4000 series. (AND yes, the mini td cover screws, are a complete B**t**d to get out!!! I have a very extensive pc service/toolkit built over many years and I tried everything short of plastic explosive to get the little b**gers out I think they have used some kind of thread lock material on em to stop tampering! conclusion- they are best left as they are and like you I did some "folding" ) I have placed my order for my 2x512mb and am looking forward to setting my onbard ATI graphics card to 128mb. without a dramatic memory hit to my laptop.
Once again Thanks the info was invaluable

TRIp.

 

**UPDATE** I found that the screws are removable if you have a large handled, (like standard large screw driver handle) fine, deep, good quality, tipped, (when I say fine I mean precision/jewellers screwdriver fine) cross head screw driver. This type of screw driver is hard to come by, I might add, unless you have connections to or know any mechanical engineers. The large handle is for the pressure you need to exert on the screws, which is not good for 2 reasons, 1. if you slip, then, given the pressure you need to put on them, Its gonna cause some really serious damage to your laptop...and 2. the heads are so small on these screws theychew up real easy if you dont use a screwdriver like the type I mentioned.
Having said all that, it is possible to remove them...DO SO ONLY IF YOU ARE CONFIDENT ENOUGH OR ARE PREPARED TO ACCEPT THE CONSEQUENCES IF YOU SLIP!!
TRIp

 

Allthough an old thread I too am very thankful Tony M for your description on how to upgrade the memory on this machine. I just completed the work a few minutes ago.

After a search on google this was about the only place I could find a how too...

I was lucky to have a PH0x60 screwdriver and could quite easily open the trapdoors. I was also lucky to find out that my 1650 had only one 512mb s0dimm installed. So the 512 I bought additionally could simply be added.

Once more thank you very much.

 

Hi guys!

The above info is totally correct. I have just used it to upgrade my Amilo A1650. One thing i will say is that you do not have to undo all the screws on the bottom of the machine. Carefully pop out the top half of the keyboard from the locating lugs and the keyboard will just slide out. Just be very careful.

INVALUABLE info though. Cheers dude!!

 

Hi guys!

The above info is totally correct. I have just used it to upgrade my Amilo A1650. One thing i will say is that you do not have to undo all the screws on the bottom of the machine. Carefully pop out the top half of the keyboard from the locating lugs and the keyboard will just slide out. Just be very careful.

INVALUABLE info though. Cheers dude!!

 

To Tony M,

Many, many thanks for posting those instructions, they were excellent. You mentioned that you struggled with the small screws that were "welded" in, well, I too struggled with those, so I contacted my Father who came up with a very practical solution.
1) Use a very small screwdriver, like one that a watchmaker would use with the rotating top.
2) Press down with your thumb on the top of the screwdriver reasonably hard, ie, not so hard as you would bend the case of the laptop, but enough that the screwdriver is seated into the head of the screw properly.
3) With a pair of pliers (I used long nosed pliers), grip the side of the screwdriver and turn. Believe me, the bolts with come out - mine did with no problems.

Thanks also for your tip about the memory being 2 x 256MB chips. I purchased 2 x 512MB and my machine is running a a little less than 1GB (less the shared video memory - god I wish laptop and computer manufacturers would not use RAM for video, it is soooo cheap).

Thanks again,

Nut

 

Technical pictures of the laptop can be found here with the keyboard removed. Hope it helps.
http://www.fujitsu-siemens.co.uk/rl/servicesupport/techsupport/lifebook/Amilo%20A/Amilo_A_1650.htm