Installing RAM in a laptop without removing the battery?

I have a Dell Inspiron 15z-5523 Ultrabook and I'd like to install new RAM. The process is described in the owner's manual and seems simple enough. However, everything I've read about installing RAM says the computer needs to be unplugged from the wall and the battery needs to be removed. My laptop has an internal battery and removing it is significantly more complicated than swapping out RAM. In the owner's manual, it mentions that holding down the power button for five seconds after shutting it down and unplugging it from the wall will ground the system, but every time I've tried that the computer just boots up again normally.

My question is, does anyone have any specific experience with this laptop that could share with me how to fix this grounding issue? Or is there a way to safely ground the system without removing the battery? Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Without removing the battery (or at least disconnecting it's leads) you will be removing and replacing the RAM modules at your own risk.

I've seen a few M/B's destroyed by changing RAM with the battery installed.

If you can't do it properly, leave it for someone who can.

Btw, I'm sure someone will say you can just go ahead and do it without worrying about it. I wouldn't take that chance with any of my systems (and especially not if I only had a single system at my disposal).

Good luck.

 

Holding power button down for 5 seconds is meant to discharge power supply capacitors, that will hold voltage for as long as half an hour after shutdown and supposed to be done with AC AND battery out.
It goes without saying, that pressing power button, without taking battery out will just restart the computer and without discharging capacitors, there could be residual voltage inside components for some time after shutdown. Personally I would worry more about static electricity, than anything else and yes I swapped memory without any problems multiple times without following any procedures, but to be on safe side, of course follow the procedures. Be aware of static electricity, especially in dry place wearing wool sweater, or carpet, you could see sparks flying, hundreds of volts involved in right conditions.

 

Thanks for responding, I appreciate it.

So I swapped out the RAM, following the exact instructions in the owner's manual, and I had no issues.

There's a section in the manual called "Before you start" and it goes as follows (I abbreviated).
1. Exit all programs
2. Power down
3. Unplug from electrical outlet
4. Remove any plugged in accessories
5. Press and hold the power button for five seconds to ground the system

I went through all these steps again, and I actually used the stopwatch on my phone to time five seconds while I was holding down the power button. It booted up, showed the Dell logo on the screen, and then turned back off within 5-6 seconds, so that last step seemed to have worked or at least had some effect. Next, I followed all the steps in the manual for removing and replacing the memory modules exactly. I made sure to ground myself before touching the RAM in the computer, and the manual never mentioned removing the battery when taking the memory out or putting it back in. My computer booted up fine, Windows Memory Diagnostics gave it a clean bill of health, my computer recognized the 16GB of RAM, and I've been on it for the past hour or so with no issues.

It's possible I just got lucky, but following the steps worked, so I guess Dell had it planned out so the RAM would be easy to switch out. Removing the battery would have required removing the RAM, optical drive, keyboard, and the palm rest.

Thanks again for responding and helping a computer noob out.

 

Yeah, holding the power button down only serves to discharge any lingering energy in the laptop (assuming the battery is pulled, of course). However, you do need to ground yourself if working on a computer (discharge yourself on a grounded metal object).

 

Thanks for reporting back with your progress.

I learned something new today and though it seems to work as intended (replacing RAM for a Dell system), this is one more of those proprietary things that we might all need to get used to as more and more systems come with non-removable/replaceable batteries.

Good job for testing the RAM before putting the system to use.

Take care.

 

Or you can just unplug the battery connector going to the motherboard. Most internal batteries have a visible connector that can be disconnected. I might be wrong, so feel free to correct me.

 

That must be something new due to non removable batt. becoming more common, my Dell won't do that, it will just boot.
How come it didn't work in your first post?

 

Some of the Samsung notebooks with internal batteries had a battery disconnect switch which could be activitated by poking a straightened paper clip through a hole in the bottom. The switch was automatically closed when the computer was reconnected to the mains power. The primary purpose appeared to be to stop battery discharge while in storage but was also useful for trying to rejuvenating a sulking computer. However, many notebooks with internal batteries don't have this switch but most of these notebooks don't have separately accessible RAM slots (the Dell 15z-5523 is an exception). I would also admit that while I try to remember to remove the battery before changing RAM modules, there are times when I didn't remember that step and there weren't any ill effects.

John

 

Always a good idea to disconnect battery, but RAM is usually not an issue. I'll admit I've replaced RAM numerous times without disconnecting the battery without any issues. There is always a risk of damage, but that risk is very minimal IMHO. Unless you are dragging some metal part across the mainboard, it should be pretty safe. In many of the thin and lights, I was hesitant to disconnect the battery at all because the connector was so small and fragile I was more worried about pulling out a wire or breaking the connector than causing an issue swapping out the RAM.

The biggest thing is to make sure the laptop is actually powered off and not in some sleep mode or suspend state where the RAM is still charged.

 

I'm going to confess up to not removing the battery before replacing RAM on quite a number of systems...But then I also ride a motorcycle, smoke cigarattes, defrost my freezer with sharp objects and occasionally consume alcohol in quantities that are almost certainly destroying vital brain cells. This may mean that I may not be the best person to give safety advice...

 

I've found, especially when taking tablets apart but also with notebooks, that most of those connectors are stronger than you'd think.

 

Not after I've broken one and a wire stripped out of another, both handled with due care...