RAM for HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G1

[tel7]

Greetings from NZ,

I have a HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G1.  It has 4GB RAM soldered in, and an empty slot which I'm planning to install 4GB RAM into.

As I understand it, I need 4GB DDR3L-12800 1600MHz RAM.

Questions:

Q1. Is it correct that the RAM needs to be single-sided (i.e. chips on 1 side only), as Detelin says in his answer to his own question, here?

Q2. According to page "1" of the service manual, "Memory configuration is selected when the computer is ordered and is not upgradeable".  Does that mean putting RAM in the empty slot won't work?  If it doesn't mean that, what does it mean, exactly?
Q3. Should this Torq RAM work in my laptop?

Thanks.

Tel7

[banhien]

@tel7 

No, you can't upgrade RAM therefore Questions are invalid / and answers.

Regards.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, @tel7 

Yes, that link you posted indicates that you can upgrade the memory, but you can only buy the specific memory part number listed in the service manual, or the specific part number the person used in his own G1 notebook (which I cannot find).

These sellers claim to have the part number...

HP ADATA 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ SO-DIMM EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 G2 HP 747221-005. 5711045987571 | eBay

HP Micron 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ SO-DIMM EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 G2 HP 747221-005 | eBay

HP Hynix 4GB DDR3L 1600MHZ SO-DIMM for EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 G2 HP 747221-005 5711045987571 | eBay

[tel7]

Thanks for your response, Banhien.

How do you know for a fact that it can't be upgraded?

If it can't be upgraded, then why does Datelin (a customer) and Happy2help (an HP employee) say in this thread that it can be upgraded?

And why does this video show how to upgrade it?

[tel7]

Thanks for those links, Paul.

How do you know for a fact that those are the only part numbers that are compatible?  What is the source of your information?

What about this one AM1L16BC4R1-B1YS as show in this installation video, for example?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I don't know it for a fact, but if you look at the first eBay link I posted, that was also an AData chip with the same part number as the one in the video.

The bottom line is you can upgrade the memory if you buy the right memory chip.

[tel7]

OK Paul, so what was the answer to Q2 in my original question, then?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

@Detelin had already answered that question...the memory can be upgraded.

I googled the part number listed in the service manual and the 3 links to the memory I posted were found as a result of that search.

HP uses many different memory brands, and it depends on what memory they had on hand at the time as to which brand memory got installed.

So, all 3 of those memory brands could have been used by HP on the1040 G1's at one time or another.

You're going to have to decide for yourself based on the information available as to what you want to do.

I'm not going to make that decision for you.

[tel7]

Thanks again Paul.

I'm not asking you to make the decision for me.  I'm just trying to understand something here.

This is Q2 from my original post:

Q2. According to page "1" of the service manual, "Memory configuration is selected when the computer is ordered and is not upgradeable".  Does that mean putting RAM in the empty slot won't work?  If it doesn't mean that, what does it mean, exactly?

To put it another way, if the memory is upgradeable, as seems to be the case when we look at the experience of other people who have installed it, then why does the HP service manual claim it is not upgradeable?

[Paul_Tikkanen · Accepted solution]

Hi:

If the guy in that discussion you initially posted said he upgraded the memory using the part number that I can't find for sale anymore, I don't understand what more you need to know.

How can the manual be right if he upgraded the memory?  Answer:  It can't be right.

I'd be rich if got a dollar for every HP service manual error I could find.

There are many errors, and clearly the part about the memory not being upgradable in the 1040 G1 is in error.

If you notice, HP does not go into any specific detail regarding the memory you need to install.

They just give a part number and a spec of DDR3L-1600.

It's a lot easier for them to just say you can't upgrade the memory instead of giving a dissertation on exactly what type of memory you need to buy. They don't on any other PC.

So, most folks will go and buy a standard double sided 4 GB DDR3L memory chip thinking nothing about it.

I read a review on Amazon where folks installed the double-sided memory that was advertised as compatible with the 1040 G1 and needless to say, it didn't fit.

Amazon.com: Customer reviews: 4GB Memory RAM for HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 Laptop Memory Upgrade - ...

Any 3 of the memory part numbers I linked should work since they are all single sided.

I don't believe the memory you initially posted will work because it is probably all double sided.

I'd try and find the AData memory from the first link I posted.