Is there a trick to installing memory in a Gateway laptop?

[demonsss]

I have been told by 2 memory manufacturers and Best Buy that my Gateway MX3228 laptop takes DDR-2 533 memory or faster. When I read in the sale paper that I could get 1 gig for only $30 I jumped on it. The first memory I tried was PNY (which I never heard of before). It was DDR-2 rated at 400,533,and 667 mhz. It should work right.....NOPE. Ok , maybe it was bad. I returned it to Best Buy and they said I could try the same thing again or get Kingston memory for $5 more. I went with the Kingston memory. I mean Kingston memory should work , right? The Kingston was rated at 533 and 667 mhz. The Kingston doesn't work either. I have heard that the mx3228 computer is upgradeable to 4 gigs, so what is the problem?

 

I did everything according to Gateway instructions but I feel that I may have missed something small, some simple way to reset the CMOS or something.

 

My daughter said "Don't you know dad? Gateway isn't upgradeable!" Apparently she heard that Gateway laptops need proprietary hardware upgrades.

Demonsss

[Phil O'Keefe]

PNY is decent RAM - if it is the right spec, it should work. Same with Kingston.

 

As far as a Gateway not being upgradable, I’ve never heard that before, but I’ve never owned a Gateway - I build my own PC’s.

 

Some systems require you to upgrade the RAM in pairs, and to use the exact same RAM in both slots. You might want to research that, and to see if you can find anything on-line about RAM upgrades for your specific Gateway model.

 

And welcome to Harmony Central!

[nat whilk II]

Quick poke around the web I keep seeing a 1 gig RAM limit for the Gateway MX3228.

 

Where did you hear that it could take 4 gig? Reliable source?

 

nat