HP Notebook - 15-bs158sa - Memory upgrade

[Morgraal]

Hi all

Just a quick question about memory upgrades.

I have a HP Notebook - 15-bs158sa with 4Gb of RAM.  I belive that I can upgrade to 16Gb and was looking for 2x 8Gb compatible DDR4, but it's mighty expensive, if you can find it!

I'm hoping to substitute with some Crucial memory instead and found these 2 options on Amazon - 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-CT8G4SFS824A-PC4-19200-SODIMM-260-Pin/dp/B01BIWKP58/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_...

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crucial-CT8G4SFD824A-PC4-19200-SODIMM-260-Pin/dp/B019FREJOQ/ref=pd_lpo_sbs_...

It's been a while since I did anything with hardware and I'm after an opinion on which would be better or if there is a third option?

Many thanks in advance.

Mark

[iomare · Accepted solution]

Hi Mark,

Your notebook officially supports 16GB of DDR4 2400Mhz (2x8GB).

This is what the system has been tested with, however HP DDR4 systems will actually run with 32GB of RAM (2x16GB), so that would be the actual max.

Now there are two slots and you can use your preferred brand such as Crucial, Samsung .... So the two links you posted will work (one is dual rank and one single rank and will make no difference), You can also see on Crucial page which guarantees its upgrades:

http://www.crucial.com/usa/en/compatible-upgrade-for//hp-15-bs158sa

On page 50 of service manual you can see the steps to upgrade RAM:

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05493257

Let me know if you need further help,

David

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[Morgraal]

Hi David

Thank you for the quick and comprehensive response.

Do you know if the RAM replacement relative straightforward?

Will I need an antistatic mat?  I'm pretty sure mine went in the bin some time ago!

Many thanks

Mark

[iomare]

Hi Mark,

Your welcome. Yes the upgrade is quite simple in your model. You need to remove the battery, the optical drive which has one screw (page 37 of service manual) and the bottom cover which has some screws under rubber feet, use something such as a flat headed screwdriver to peel them back slightly to get to the screw underneath (page 45-47). Finally remove the RAM modules (page 50)

Here is link to service manual again:

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c05493257

It is not really necessary to use a mat, I usually use an antistatic bracelet. However even without one there should be no problem as long as you try to touch the RAM modules only by the edges.

You can also take a look at these HP videos for that model which can help with any upgrade:

http://h20574.www2.hp.com/Media/55BDA91E-9339-479D-B79A-52B1CBF8F1F7/col_PCPFILES/SML/FruVideo/ram_f...

One of the most noticeable upgrades you could perform is to replace the mechanical drive with an SSD which have a significant effect on everyday performance. You could also check while the PC is open if the M2 slot is present on the motherboard which would be a great way to upgrade to an SSD and at the same time keep the mechanical drive for storage.

M2 slot1

Let me know if you need further help,

David

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[Morgraal]

Hi David

Thanks for your reply.

I'm comfortable with the RAM instal now.

I have a question with regard to the possible installation of an SSD.

If it is possibel to install one, and it goes fine, how do I make it my boot drive?  Would I need to reinstall the OS on it?  

This is a bit of an issue for me as I wasnt provided with an OS reinstall disk (not that I have an optical drive) and I certainly don't want to be shelling out for a new licence!

Many thanks

Mark

[iomare]

Hi Mark,

In my last post I told you to check if the M2 slot is present on motherboard. You should do this first before buying the drive. Let me know if the slot is present, as sometimes in notebooks which did not come with M2 SSD the actual slot is missing. If it is present you can install an M2 SATA3 SSD such as the M2 Samsung 860evo.

If the slot is not present, you can replace the mechanical drive with a 2.5"SSD such as the 2.5" Samsung 860evo.

You can reinstall the OS either by using HP recovery disks which you can create in HP support assistant, migrating an image or my preferred choice is to clean install Windows 10.

Here is a small guide (copied from other posts I have replied to) on how to do this. If you are installing on M2 drive it is best to remove the mechanical drive first and install the OS and then put the mechanical drive back in:

run and create a bootable pendrive with the OS on it before replacing drive in computer. (there is explanation on the Microsoft web page on how to create the pendrive) Windows will automatically activate once installed and connected to Internet as the product key is in the firmware of your notebook. 

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

If you choose this option you will need to use the pendrive to perform a clean install of Windows 10. You might need to disable fastboot and secure boot in BIOS (probably not). So, insert the pendrive in the PC and it should boot directly from the drive. If not, turn off PC by holding power button. Press power button and immediately keep pressing ESC  until startup menu appears and then press F9 and choose the pendrive in boot menu. Once it boots from pendrive follow the procedure to install Windows. You do not need a product key as it is in the firmware. Windows will automatically activate once installed and connected to internet.

When finished installing allow Windows to completely update and find all or most drivers. You can follow this process by going into settings > Security and update > click on Verify for updates. You might need to reboot a couple of times. Once completely updated you  can go into device manager and see if there are any missing drivers (there will be yellow exclamation mark next to the device). You can find these drivers and software on HP support page for your product.

Let me know if you need further help,

David

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[Morgraal]

Hi David

I undestood what you were saying about checking, hence my questions were more around changing the drive preference.

Thanks for the advice on transferring Windows, it's much appreciated.

Many thanks

Mark

[iomare]

Your welcome Mark,

Let me know if you need any further help.

All the best,

David

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[Morgraal]

Thanks for all your help David, only took 10 mins and the SSD slot is present, so that’s my next upgrade.

cheers

[iomare]

Great! glad it worked out. Let me know if you need any further help when the SSD arrives.

In the meantime, all the best,

David