GregHowley.com

I can hold my own when it comes to software development, web design, and windows OS tweaking, but when it comes to hardware, I'm obviously hopeless.

At first, I didn't know what type of memory I needed, so I did some research on Dell.com. I knew that my machine was a Dell Dimension somethingorother with a 1.4gb processor, but no more than that. I thought it would be no problem to find specs for a Dell Dimension that fit the bill. Oh, silly ignorant Greg...

From what I found on Dell, I decided that I needed SDRAM, and that my machine could handle no more than 512mb of memory. So I ordered two 256mb SDRAM chips from NewEgg, making sure that their refund policy was to my liking.

Last night, the two 256mb memory cards on which I'd spent the larger chunk of my birthday money arrived. NewEgg.com has some pretty quick shipping.

So after installing Firefox on Linda's computer, (and discovering to my dismay that her favorite game is set up to only work on MSIE) I set to work and cracked open the case of my Dell.

Now, I've installed a network card and a video card before, both of which were surprisingly easy, so I assumed that after having heard friends discuss how easy it was to install memory, I'd have no problem. Oh geez.

The first problem came when I realized that of all the visible slots, none appeared to be the sort for which I was looking. Call it a hunch, but it didn't seem to me that a memory card should have any kind of need to open out to the back of the case in the way that a network card or video card does. But after a brief call to my cousin Paul, I discovered a area of the case I'd never seen before - it hinged open to reveal a new portion of the motherboard, densely concealed in a jungle of cables.

There I found the elusive memory card in its natural habitat, silently stalking a dust bunny. There were four slots, all full. Two of the cards were labeled 128mb. The other two were unlabeled. Knowing that I had only 256mb of memory, I figured that the two unlabeled cards were just dummies, and attempted to replace them with those I'd purchased. Well, they wouldn't fit. Square peg into round hole. I'd bought the wrong cards.

So now I've got to figure out what type of memory I do need, which would be a cinch if I could locate the original documentation for my machine.