Ron Schenone

Upgrade Your Memory – Scanner Tells You Exactly What You Need

Posted by on Feb 28, 2007 | 13 Comments

Memory comes in a wide assortment of flavors and speeds, and knowing what to buy sometimes may be difficult. And without having to crack open your case, you can use a handy software tool that will show you what you need.

I had completely forgotten about a handy scanner tool from Crucial until I received an an from the company today. The scanner tool looks at your computer system, determines how many open slots are available, sees how much RAM your system will support, and then makes recommendations to you of what to buy.

What is also nice about this tool is that you can print out the results and buy RAM from another vendor or source knowing you will purchase the correct amount and speed for your system.

I used Crucial’s scanner on my Gateway laptop and it correctly identified my configuration and exactly the type of RAM I needed. I then did a comparison with other vendors and found Crucial ‘s pricing to be fair – and, at the time, it was offering free shipping when I ordered.

So give it a try and see what you think.

Crucial Memory Advisor - it’s located to the right of the main screen – “SCAN MY SYSTEM.”

[tags]memory, upgrade, software, tool, crucial[/tags]

  • marc klink

    2 out of 3 on my machines…misidentified my Amptron k7-830xlm as only able to use 1GB of mem, whereas it currently has 2GB installed [and yes, fully usable]. correctly worked on my 2 Asus A7N8X-E Deluxe motherboards.

    Funny, it also said that crucial has no agp cards compatible with this motherboard, SO I’m guessing that means they have NO agp video cards?

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Marc,
    Thanks for the information. I guess I have been lucky. This is the first I have heard about misidentification of motherboard, memory and agp.

    If anyone else has this problem, please let me know.

    Again, thank you. Ron

  • Dennis

    While Crucial System Scanner might seem like a nifty tool, be careful making recommendations without knowing whether it’s completely safe.

    IMMEDIATELY after runing System Scanner, Corel Draw 12 no longer displays color correctly. I contacted Crucial customer support to request information on program components and install locations and was advised their tech support department does not support this product and that they would TRY to see if they could find someone who could help with the problems scanner created.

    I have yet to receive a reply.

    USE AT YOUR OWN RISK!

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi Dennis,
    Thanks for the info. I was surprised that the scanner caused problems on your system. I have run it on other systems for the past few years with no problems. I even used it when I upgraded my personal laptop.

    Again, thanks for letting us know.
    Ron

  • Mick

    The system scan at Crucial says that my Dell 4500 can use up to 2 gigs of memory, but my handbook says it can only take up to 1 gig.
    Who do I beleive?

  • David

    I used this on two machines, in both cases it identifed the wrong ram type, DDR2 slots rather than DDR1 and also told us we had no ram installed. This lead us to buy the wrong RAM so not impressed by the Crucial scanner at all.

  • Bill

    I used Crucial for my e-machine and it misidentified my memory banks and how much memory it would take. It said I had 4 memory banks with two available. I only have teo and they are both filled. It said my memory was 1gb max and it is 2gb. It did get right the CPU speed and type of memory it took.

  • mike

    used the crucial scanner to identify my memory, days i have 2 X 512 mb’s ddr2 pc2 5200, manufactures (advent) and pc world (yea i know pc world advisors) where the laptop was purchased day it uses pc2-4200 not the 5200 that crucial say?? again who do i take note of?

  • mike

    ps sorry about the amount of smelling mistakes in the last rant ( yes i know spelling not smelling)

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    If I am understanding you correctly, the 5200 will clock down to 4200. Does that help any?

  • http://N/a Marty

    I have used crucial for two or three years now and I have only come across one instance where it was Wrong. There have been a few time where it has not seen the memory slots correctly. All in all it a Great TOOL. Not a perfect one. Use your head when making a purchase.

  • siilver

    So unfortunately i think i am another person with an incorrectly identified computer as well….

    here are the specs according to Crucial.com

    Maximum Memory Capacity: 4096MB
    Currently Installed Memory: 0MB
    Available Memory Slots: 2
    Number of Banks: 2
    Dual Channel Support: Yes
    CPU Manufacturer: AuthenticAMD
    CPU Family: AMD Turion(tm) 64 X2 Mobile Technology TL-60 Model 8, Stepping 2
    CPU Speed: 2000 MHz

    i have 2gigs currently which are the default. Crucial says i am using the max that my computer allows, even though, apparently i am not using any at all. oh well i am getting 2 2gig sticks soon and will see what happens

  • http://wp3.lockergnome.com/nexus/blade/ Ron Schenone

    Hi silver,
    I hope it works for you. Have you checked your spec.s on the OEM site as well?