Acer Aspire One Happy – RAM Upgrade
As with other traditions during the holiday season, being a geek you also have to expect to get at least one or more technology support request from a friend or family member. It ranges from setting up new devices (PCs, DVRs, cameras, etc…if it has a battery or plugs in…lol) or installing/configuring different applications or it’s the slightly more involved “could you diagnose, fix or upgrade” something for me. Either way, I’m always happy to oblige although it may take a little while due to my somewhat erratic travel schedule for work.
This year I brought it on myself by talking my best friend into buying a RAM upgrade for his daughters Acer netbook. It came with decent processor, but with only 1GB of RAM and as a result his daughter barely used the device as it was pretty sluggish. For $20 he was willing to see if doubling the RAM (1GG – 2GB) would improve performance. I recently purchased Dell mini’s for my wife and daughter and upgrading the RAM to 2GB made a world of difference. I started asking myself why netbooks generally only came with 1GB if the user experience was so poor. These days RAM is fairly inexpensive (to the manufacturer), but it comes down to being competitive in the marketplace and a low price point to attract customers….okay, we’re getting a little off topic….back to the RAM upgrade.
The memory upgrade on the Dell mini’s I purchased was simple and took about 5 minutes apiece, the documentation was very easy to find and it only involved three screws. As I embarked on the Acer Aspire One Happy RAM upgrade I started to get a little concerned. I couldn’t find any documentation so I contacted Acer support and it’s their policy NOT to supply their customers with this type of documentation and recommended I find an authorized repair facility…yeah right. I took to Google and found a video on YouTube that was for a similar model Acer Aspire One, not the Acer Aspire One Happy I had in front of me and it literally had you stripping down the entire netbook to the chassis as the RAM was on the underside of the motherboard…WTF? At least supply a small hatch on the bottom for easy access!
Well, as I got started disassembling I found it was a much simpler procedure than I was expecting and because I couldn’t find the instructions anywhere I thought I would share them here…
Step One
Power down the device and remove the battery. Next, with a very thin, flat-head screwdriver pop off the keyboard by pushing in the five (5) retention tabs across the top, then insert the screwdriver in between the keyboard tray and fascia to lift it out. When removing the keyboard please be aware of the short ribbon cable and small retention clip (sorry no pic, but it’s fairly self-explanatory). With the clip removed pull out the ribbon cable and set keyboard aside.
Step Two
Remove the four (4) screws labeled “Door 1” and place aside.
Step Three
With your screwdriver insert it in to the hole labeled “2” and depress the internal tab to release the large door on the bottom.
Step Four
Once you have the door removed, you will be able to easily access and replace the RAM by depressing the retention clips at the top of each side.
Step Five
With the RAM replaced and secure in its socket follow these easy steps to finish the upgrade.
- Replace the door and the four (4) associated screws.
- Insert the keyboard ribbon cable and retention clip, snap in the keyboard across the top and sides.
- Replace the battery and power up.
- Enjoy.
Disclaimer
This may void your warranty. Individual success may vary and is not guaranteed. Not liable for broken or missing parts.
Random Electrons 
It’s a really fascinating document. It is very enlightening therefore you have certainly conducted your due diligence ahead of creating this write-up for your blog. I bookmarked your blog on Digg.com so that others will have the opportunity to revisit and read your future article content.
The reason you only get 1gb is Microsoft licencing only allows 1gb to be supplied for windows 7 starter, i don’t believe there is an limitations on you upgrading this though!
Actually, MS Windows 7 Starter Ed. is limited to 2GB of RAM. See link to MS article below.
http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/library/windows/desktop/aa366778(v=vs.85).aspx#physical_memory_limits_windows_7
I was interested to know if the machine performance increased to make the effort worthwhile?
It absolutely made a difference!
Thanks Chris.
Looks like I have a task for the weekend.
very nice work, helpful, thxxx !!!
Glad to hear! Have a great weekend.
Just did the 2gb 800mhz ram chipset works awesome on windows 7 32 bit I heard you can actually go to a 4gb but it will register somethinglike 3.4gb cause windows 32 only will use that 64 can do up too 32 gb.
The 2gb for streaming movies running say WoW just fine not the HD version. Thinking of trying a 4gb see if it works. This is the N270 with a PS3 HDD 250 Hybrid HDD ( both SDD and HDD)
This is brilliant Chris, and exactly what I was looking for. This machine is so slow I have nothing to lose, in doing the upgrade myself, so I shall be off to Amazon for the RAM and then giving it a go. Fantastic!
Hi Deborah, Can you give me details of the memory that you used to upgrade to 2G? Thanks
Google the following and that should find it for you:
‘2GB RAM Memory for Acer Aspire One Happy 2 (DDR3-8500)’
I bought mine from Amazon and it’s been fine. It was really easy to install too.
Brilliant! You made it much simpler than most others. Thank you very much.
Can you kindly let me know the exact memory type or the part number that you used? Many thanks. Your preparation is excellent.
is there only one slot for the ram r 2 slots?
Just one unfortunately.