12GB ram for HP Elitebook Folio 1040 G1

Hello HP experts,

Is it possible to add a 8gb ram stick into the 1040 G1 and give it 12GB ram?

This laptop is near perfect, except that it needs more than 8gb ram.

Any insight on this, would be great! I know HP says 8gb is max...but then again, HP also said you can't add a 2nd SSD drive an 840 g1 and i know its possible.

Thanks everyone!

 

I think it's possible to install an 8GB module in its one open memory slot provided you could get the notebook open and find it.

Whether it will work is something else. HP goes as far as to explicitly state in its EliteBook Folio 1040 G2 datasheet (PDF) that "Internal component upgrades to memory are not available after factory configuration" (the G2 has the same config as your G1). Notebooks with soldered on-board memory have a history of being tricky with memory upgrades. Take a look at this thread where members were experiencing issues upgrading an ASUS UX32's memory due to it having onboard memory. They had to use some very special modules.
If you want to try your 1040 G1 upgrade, I would take a look at the 4GB module in the memory slot and get an 8GB module that matches its specs exactly, down to the timings. You can get the timings via CPU-Z.

 

hi Charles! thanks for the reply and the word of caution trying to do this

I just checked the HP service manual and directions are pretty clear on installing ram sticks.

Also, i just heard back from an Aussie HP reseller who actually installed an 8gb stick and worked. Now his Folio 1040 G1 has 12GB ram.

Then i read on an amazon thread that this other person also installed 8gb stick and worked. He states that he believes HP recommends 8gb total for battery / power usage?? (not sure on that).

HP has 1 soldered ram chip and 1 extra ram slot

Here is the excerpt from the HP folio 1040 G1 service manual:

Remove the memory module:
1. Spread the retaining tabs (1) on each side of the memory module slot to release the memory module.
(The edge of the module opposite the slot rises away from the computer.)
Component replacement procedures 47
2. Remove the memory module (2) by pulling the module away from the slot at an angle.
NOTE: Memory modules are designed with a notch to prevent incorrect insertion into the memory
module slot.
Reverse this procedure to install a memory module.
48 Chapter

 

like everything else...the HP folio 1040 G1 is a near perfect 14" ultrabook except it can't do 16gb ram like its predecessor can. the 9470m can install 16GB ram!

 

the plot thickens even more! On HP's website itself.

It lists the HP Elitebook folio 1040 as compatiple with this 8gb stick! awesome! booo-yaaaa

http://h30094.www3.hp.com/product.aspx?sku=10698136&pagemode=ca

HP 8GB DDR3L-1600 1.35V SODIMM

HP Price: $90.001
SmartBuy is available!
MFG #H6Y77AA#ABA

HP EliteBook 8400 Notebook PC series
HP EliteBook 850 Notebook PC series
HP EliteBook 8500 Mobile Workstation series
HP EliteBook 8500 Notebook PC series
HP EliteBook 8700 Mobile Workstation series
HP EliteBook Folio
*HP EliteBook Folio 1000 Notebook PC
**HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 Notebook PC Accessories for this model

 

all the posts are essential

 

yes, because i was jazzed by the discovery. why be a joy-kill?

 

Guys, I think I was the first one to try this. I bought the RAM stick from Amazon and installed without major problems except that... The 8gb stick has memory modules on both sides. That makes it much thicker than the normal 4Gb module that HP recommends.
I have isolated it with a thin plastic of the kind you find around some hard disks and it worked well for a few months, until it stopped workind.

The 8Gb modules are too thick for the 1040 very thin profile... Unless you can find one that is as thin as the 4gb ones.

 

Both the RAM slot and the M.2 SSD slot require 1-sided chips. So I wouldn't buy anything I couldn't return. The chip has to be completely flat on the back.

 

Not necessarily. The board have right beneath the memory slot some kind of recess which allows to install certain kind of double sided memory modules.

I installed a DDR3L Samsung module with 2 chips on eache side which are fitting exactly in that recess. It works. But there is a new problem .. I will talk later about.

You should not have done that. Since memory becomes quite hot, a isolation of "thin plastic" will lead to a heat related death of the memory chips. There is no other way.

If I remember correctly right beneath the recess I talked about (where some kind of memory chips are fitting), there is some structure made of metal.. maybe a part of the frame - I don't know.. but I don't think that is construction is there by accident.

That metal may provide cooling to the memory chips - especially if the surface of the chips is touching the metal.

...

I think that there is a reason why HP is telling that no memory upgrades can be done. Probably a lot of people tried to force and bend various kinds of modules in to the slot and broke their notebooks.

As i told at the beginnig the Samsung memory module is fitting and working fine but when I updated the bios with firmware version 01.32 Rev.A the notebook stopped booting and asked me to remove the unsupported ram module. Since there is no way to boot the computer in that condition I had to remove the module downgrade to Version 01.30 and insert the module afterwards.

It seems that with the new Bios HP is blocking all memory modules except maybe the one or two they support.

 

Is your 8GB stick still working? I had one that seemed to fit as well, and worked for a while but eventually failed.

 

Final:
-I extended to 12GB my business laptop HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 using a 8GB stick that does not really fit in the memory slot
-The 2d SODIMM is clearly NOT designed for any 8GB SODIMM available as of 7-march-2016
-Forcing the SODIMM puts the laptop at failure risk...but I did it as I need a 6GB VM to run on it

Give it a try at your own risk:
-BIOS must be 1.30a at most (I had to downgrade from 1.33a)
-I used Hynix HMT41GS6AFR8A-PB SODIMM...which is enforced in the chassis (remember the 2d slot is not designed for double sided SODIMM with more than 4 components on each side)

I was not able to find any DDR3 8GB SODIMM non ECC with 8x Dram component(means 4x per side) OR single sided