Can't replace Laptop's RAM?

[Jose_49]

Hi . 

 

i bought an HP 15 dy1024wm via eBay (got it at a really good price at $264 and in Mint Condition) and got an 8GB module out from Crucial's site which said it was compatible. 

 

https://www.crucial.com/compatible-upgrade-for/hp---compaq/hp-15-dy1024wm

 

But lo behold, after receiving the laptop I removed the two bottom screws just to find out that I couldn't open it! The lid wouldn't budge... It's so strange as I've looked everywhere and it doesn't say its RAM isn't upgradeable. 

 

Here's the listing. 

https://www.ebay.com/itm/203028076305

 

Now that I'm writing this message I think it's because it could be that it's a display unit, and those units can't have the backlid removed? 

 

Any ideas? 

 

I can't return the laptop as I live outside the US and it's prohibitive to me to travel or to send it back (would probably cost me around $300 to do so)

[Tidosho]

I can't even find a service manual for it, it's too new. Do the screws not release the keyboard, with everything under that? HP normally design them so they come apart bottom to top, but may have done it differently as this looks like a unibody?

 

Try pushing down on the cover, and then push backwards, or pull forwards, not too hard though.

[Tidosho]

The RAM is not upgradeable, I'm afraid, according to what I can find, there's a video here:

 

 

I wouldn't trust Crucial as far as I could throw a ton skip of their RAM. They are not accurate a lot of the time.

[Jim K Global Moderator]

It seems that you have some more screws to unscrew (under the two long rubber feet).

 

Page 26

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06510442

 

...this manual came from the following page...

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-15-dy1000-laptop-pc-series/29322765/model/34370370/manuals

 

..the reason I brought that up is because the service manual itself does not list that model.  However, that service manual is being linked to by the product page.  

[Jose_49]

Sorry guys for the late reply!!! I appreciate it a lot!!! I'll definitely check it out!!

[Jose_49]

On 7/20/2020 at 8:01 PM, Jim K said:

It seems that you have some more screws to unscrew (under the two long rubber feet).

 

Page 26

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c06510442

 

...this manual came from the following page...

https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-15-dy1000-laptop-pc-series/29322765/model/34370370/manuals

 

..the reason I brought that up is because the service manual itself does not list that model.  However, that service manual is being linked to by the product page.  

OMGGGGG!!!!! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!  My spirit went back up!!! You nailed it!! That was it!!

 

You HP Crimson monster 👹👿👺! It's my first time handling an HP device. It seems that all of the HP laptops are very cumbersome to open (HP WHY?!). You need to remove the rubber pads and then use a pry opening tool to open the freaking laptop! (I hate those because you have to be highly skilled not to screw the chasis, which, of course, I end up messing up a new computer). 

 

But to my surprise, the computer has 2 Memory Slots!, so I left the 4GB there and slapped the additional 8GB that I got (and now everything is working 🎉🎉🎉🎉)

 

Dude, you really saved me 👍. Not even HP itself was able to pinpoint me in the right direction!  This laptop is for a friend who has little money and entrusted me to get a decent machine. After seeing this at $264 I knew I couldn't be wrong. But when I saw that I couldn't open it... I felt disappointed as 4GB is a dead shot as Google Chrome hogs your RAM pretty easily. 

 

But oh boy

 

 

Take a look at that 😊. 

 

Even the SSD is replaceable (NVMe)! I now know this lappy is going to withstand the test of time for at least a couple of years (Light tasks!). 

 

 

[Jose_49]

On 7/20/2020 at 7:47 PM, Tidosho said:

I can't even find a service manual for it, it's too new. Do the screws not release the keyboard, with everything under that? HP normally design them so they come apart bottom to top, but may have done it differently as this looks like a unibody?

 

Try pushing down on the cover, and then push backwards, or pull forwards, not too hard though.

This helped me a lot, Tidosho. I didn't know that HP had a sorcery process to replace its internals. Thanks to you I went to YouTube and look for other generic 15 inch laptop, and it did point me in the right direction. 

 

Thank you so much 😊

[Brandon H Supervisor]

a lot of OEMs are going that route with their consumer laptops; making them super hard if not impossible for the average user to open up.

They don't want people to be self repairing or upgrading. They'd rather you shell out more money for them (or 3rd party) to do it.

 

It's annoying; especially when you have to remove the whole keyboard to get to the mobo on some. *cough*looking at you Dell*cough*

[Jose_49]

3 minutes ago, Brandon H said:

a lot of OEMs are going that route with their consumer laptops; making them super hard if not impossible for the average user to open up.

They don't want people to be self repairing or upgrading. They'd rather you shell out more money for them (or 3rd party) to do it.

 

It's annoying; especially when you have to remove the whole keyboard to get to the mobo on some. *cough*looking at you Dell*cough*

I see. That's a freaking shame. It makes sense why only have 4GB from the get go. 

 

Interesting, I have a Dell XPS 15 (2019) and it isn't difficult to open it. In fact, it's been the easiest XPS I've seen to repair (I can clean the fans, replace RAM, thermal paste, SSD, and wireless card without having it open completely). I think the G5 is along those lines as well. 

 

Jeez... 

[Jim K Global Moderator]

Yea, anytime companies hide screws under rubber feet (especially those that stretch across the products length)...I feel you're in for a bad time.

[Tidosho]

On 7/22/2020 at 3:02 PM, Jose_49 said:

I see. That's a freaking shame. It makes sense why only have 4GB from the get go. 

 

Interesting, I have a Dell XPS 15 (2019) and it isn't difficult to open it. In fact, it's been the easiest XPS I've seen to repair (I can clean the fans, replace RAM, thermal paste, SSD, and wireless card without having it open completely). I think the G5 is along those lines as well. 

 

Jeez... 

I agree. I just bought a G3 3779 (8th Gen i7 with GTX 1060) and getting to the inside of that is easy, just the base cover, with (I think) 16 screws. My older Precision M6600 however, the whole keyboard, AND palmrest have to come off, which is about 30 screws and a ton of ribbon cables, to get to the heatsink & fans, and the MXM socketed GPU.

 

The sad thing for me is that a lot of sub £3,000 laptops now are coming with the GPU discreet, instead of MXM card. My G3 just cost under £800 second hand, under a years use (2018 manufactured model bought by the owner in 2019), and I'm dreading having to change the entire mainboard if the GPU goes on it. My last discreet GPU based laptop (A Clevo M670SU) developed corrupt VRAM, and had to be written off. Even the newest Alienware (m17?) is like this, I download Dell's service manual archive regularly for my repair company, and it's saddening. We're supposed to be REVERSING landfill!

 

A lot of it (chiclet keyboards, vents between the inside of the hinges exhausting onto the screen causing bleed, and general shrinkage) seems to be copied from crApple. I wish the general industry would STOP following those!

[Jose_49]

18 hours ago, Tidosho said:

I agree. I just bought a G3 3779 (8th Gen i7 with GTX 1060) and getting to the inside of that is easy, just the base cover, with (I think) 16 screws. My older Precision M6600 however, the whole keyboard, AND palmrest have to come off, which is about 30 screws and a ton of ribbon cables, to get to the heatsink & fans, and the MXM socketed GPU.

 

The sad thing for me is that a lot of sub £3,000 laptops now are coming with the GPU discreet, instead of MXM card. My G3 just cost under £800 second hand, under a years use (2018 manufactured model bought by the owner in 2019), and I'm dreading having to change the entire mainboard if the GPU goes on it. My last discreet GPU based laptop (A Clevo M670SU) developed corrupt VRAM, and had to be written off. Even the newest Alienware (m17?) is like this, I download Dell's service manual archive regularly for my repair company, and it's saddening. We're supposed to be REVERSING landfill!

 

A lot of it (chiclet keyboards, vents between the inside of the hinges exhausting onto the screen causing bleed, and general shrinkage) seems to be copied from crApple. I wish the general industry would STOP following those!

That's been the case for a long time now. Once the mobo goes kapoot there's little reason to have it repaired (It usually means paying upwards of $200 to get an OEM one... Third-parties are always a gamble).