I want to load lion on my husband's iMac. It needs one more GB memory. Will the genius bar do this? Or should I attempt it myself. I am not extremely techy. If I do it myself, how do I check what to buy? The store is so busy with the new iPhone, I can't get a person on the phone.
iMac, 2007 imac
You can do it yourself, or have any local hired geek do it for you, it's not hard.
Apple charges A FORTUNE, they quoted me $435 + tax for only $70 worth of RAM. They obviously don't want your buisness, and there are plenty of geeks around you that would likely do it for free or for some beer money. Even hiring someone to come from a computer repair shop is likely cheaper than Apple.
You need to download the free MacTracker and lookup your machine, it may be able to hold more RAM than Apple states, which will give you more performance. Also it will till you if your machine can run the Lion or not.
Keep in mind your RAM slots, just because your computer states it has 4GB doens't mean it's on one module, it could be two 2-GB. So make sure first.
Don't touch the contacts or elctronics, make sure you touch metal to discharge static on your person and disconnect the power to the machine first. Consult your manual for RAM installation instructions or iFixit, or OtherWorldComputing for pictures.
You may need special tools, usually a micro screw driver kit.
Usually Crucial.com has a excellent method to enter your machine specs in and it will tell you what RAM specs and purchasing options you have. You can use this method to get the specifications of the RAM and buy it anywhere else if you wish, just don't buy used or too cheap, shady sites or else you can't return it.
Apple's warranty/AppleCare doesn't cover the RAM you put in yourself obviously, that's covered by the company you bought it from.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HCFSZnTRggU
You need to check to see if your machine can handle Lion, it needs 4GB and a Intel Core 2 Duo or better.
Download the free MacTracker and see more specifics of everything.
Next, you must realize that your Rosetta PPC based programs will not operate under Lion, likely you will have to buy all new programs.
If you machine is dated, a lot of the trackpad gesture features you won't have.
Check the source of all your third party sofftware and hardware drivers for scanners, all-in-one's and the like to make sure they work or there are updates, or upgrades available and how much.
http://roaringapps.com/apps:table
IDEALLY, it's best to backup files and then "fresh install" Snow Leopard clean, then upgrade to Lion.
Also you should make a option bootable clone of Snow Leopard on a external drive, this will allow you to return if something doesn't work.
You can learn all of this and more at my exhaustive post here, enjoy.
It's a no brainer. See your user guide for instructions. If you're in the US or Canada, call OWC Tech Support for help on which to buy for your model and for more instructions. I think you will want to add more than 1GB.
1-800--275-4576
Adding memory to iMac. Genius bar or self torture?
