RAM Upgrade to HP Pavilion 15-ab223cl

[Rapfish21]

I purchased an HP  Pavilion 15-ab223cl about 6 months ago and finally am putting it to use. The specs are ideal for my intended use: DVD Burner, Core I5 64-bit CPU, 15.6 in. display, Windows 10. RAM is only 8 GB so I've decided to upgrade to the maximum 16 GB. However, standard documentation from HP is cryptic, at best, and useless at worst. There are a few internet sites with graphics and videos, but none appear to cover the 15-ab223cl, or upgrading the RAM requires complete disassembly of the notebook.

Is complete disassembly required? If yes, I'm not sure that I want to tackle this task on a new out of the box item. Further, I've never owned a laptop that required such drastic measures for a task that should be routine. On my previous Toshiba and Sony notebooks, and current Lenovo E431, RAM upgrade requires removing battery and memory slots cover. What was HP thinking? Thanks for any assistance you can provide, especially disassembly that can be successfully reversed.:smileyfrustrated:

[mdklassen]

From: http://www8.hp.com/h20195/v2/GetPDF.aspx/c04866028.pdf

Memory

• 8GB DDR3L SDRAM (1 DIMM)

Accessible memory slots
• Memory slot not user accessible

From: https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/hp-pavilion-15-ab200-notebook-pc-series-touch/8502667/model/911...

click "HP Pavilion Notebook (Intel) Star WarsTM Special Edition Notebook - Maintenance and Service Guide"

namely: http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c04642845

MemoryTwo SODIMM slots - NON customer accessible / upgradeable
DDR3L-1600 Dual Channel Support
Supports up to 16 GB of system RAM in the following configurations:●
16384-MB total system memory (8192×2)●
8192-MB total system memory (8192×1) or (4096×2)●

Note that this "manual" gives full disassembly information.

[Rapfish21 · Accepted solution]

Hi mdklassen,

Thanks for the quick response. Your answer isn't a surprise, since attempting to follow instructions from one of the internet videos wasn't promising. Again, what was HP thinking? Why offer 2 memory slots, when the user can't access them? This almost qualifies as a cruel hoax. Given this upgrade challenge, I will likely keep the RAM at 8GB, chalk this eposide as caveat emptor, and buy another Lenovo notebook. What a shame, given the excellent printers HP makes. Strangely, HP really is in the computer business, having purchased the remnants of SGI.

[mdklassen]

It is disappointing that you tagged your own post with "Accept As Answer", instead of tagging the response that was most helpful.

You can "unmark" your post, and then reward one of the volunteers who tried to help you, by "marking" their post, to show your appreciation for their volunteered efforts.