Upgrading RAM in ThinkPad R40

[J. E. Bennett]

Hey there, folks.

I was poking around at the sale at Lenovo right now when I realized that I don't really want anythign that they are selling, but I would like to upgrade my laptop a bit. I'd like to pick up a gig stick of RAM, but I'm not sure how/where to search for ones that are compatible with this model.

What information about my laptop do I need and where should I take it?

[rkawakami]

For memory information about the various Thinkpads, you can go here:

Memory compatibility

Some of the older information (e.g., 600E maximum) is not correct, but I would think that the newer systems are accurate. Since the R40 appears to have come with two different CPUs, you can plug in your type number here:

Support and downloads

to determine your system's configuration as shipped from the factory.

[J. E. Bennett]

I think I found what I was looking for. Thanks a lot.

[wolfman]

The information in the chart may actually be incorrect - or not completely correct anyway. From your sig it looks like you have a Pentium 4-M 2.2 gigahertz processor. From the chart, the maximum memory is 1 GB. I believe the reason for this is that when the R40 came out, 1 GB sticks were either unavailable or totally out of reach for all practical purposes (at least that's what I've heard)...

However, I also have an R40 and it uses the Intel 845MP chipset. You can find out your chipset with a utility like CPU-Z. The bottom line is that the Intel 845MP chipset supports up to 1 GB sticks for a total of 2 GB of RAM.

There are lots of posts on this subject here in relation to the A31 machines with this same chipset. If you have an R40 and the Intel 845MP chipset chances are quite high you can install 2 GB of RAM in your R40 vs the 1 GB max listed by IBM.

Good luck.