Computer Shopper 2019-11-01

ISSUE 381|COMPUTERSHOPPER|NOVEMBER 2019 105

touching the motherboard; aretaining screw
on the standoff holds the SSD in place.
Insert the M.2 SSD into the slot: it will only
fit one way, lining the connector on the flash
driveupwith the motherboard’sslot. Make
surethe standoff is fitted to the righthole: it
should be under the half-moon cutout on
the SSD.Ifnot,makeanoteofwhich hole
youneed, then remove the SSD.Next, undo
the standoff by unscrewing it. Youshould be
able to do this by hand, but if not, use apair
of pliers to loosen it very carefully.Screw the
standoff into the righthole and tightenby
hand so that it feels secure.
You’renow ready to fit the M.2 SSD.
Insert it back into the socket and you’ll see
the drivesticksupinthe air slightly.Gently
push down at the back, and insert ascrew
through the half-moon and into the standoff
fitted into the motherboard. Tightenthe
screw gently (donot overtighten) so that the
SSD sits correctly,and you’redone.

Installing a2.5in SSD in aPC
Switch offand unplug your PC and detach
both sides of the case. Slide the SSD into a
drivebay.Cases vary:some havemounting
points forsmall 2.5in drives but others don’t.
Most SSDsship with a3.5in caddy,which
youcan fit into aregular drivebay,and they
alwayscome with screws.

Plug in the powerand dataconnectors

foryour SSD.Ifyour motherboardhas

SATA3ports, makesurethe SSD is plugged

into one of these. They’ll either be labelled on

the boardorinthe manual. Make surethe

cables areneatly routed through the case so

it will be easytoidentify them if youever

need to perform maintenanceonyour PC.

If your case is designed in this way, slide

the disk tray back into the disk mounts and

secureitbeforereattaching the case panels.

InstallingWindows

Nowturn on your computer,gointothe BIOS

and makesurethat your newSSD is setto

be the primary bootdisk. Plug your Windows

10 installation media into your computer and

restart your PC or laptop. Look out forthe

option to bootfromWindows 10; if youdon’t

see this, go back into your BIOS and make

sureyou’veticked the option to bootfrom

USB, or that you’veselected the USB drive

as the primary bootdevice(options differ by

motherboardand USB flash drive).

Nowreinstall Windows 10 from scratch.

When completed, remember to download

and install the latest drivers foryour

motherboard, graphics card and any

other peripherals that youhave. You’ll

need to reinstall your applications and

also copy back your documents.

If youleftyour old harddisk in place, you

cancopythe files that youwantfromthis to

your newSSD.When you’rehappythat

everything is working, youcan reformat your

old harddisk and use it as extrastorage.

If younolonger need it, powerdownyour

computer and remove the disk.

likely,but some older computers may have
DDR3)and the maximum speed in MHz.
With this information, go and buy the
RAM youneed. It’sworth buying the fastest
memory that’ssupported, but sticking within
abudget. Forexample, 16GB of Corsair
RAM costs around £70 for3,000MHzor
2,666MHz; go up to 3,200MHzand the
pricejumps to nearer £90.

Howtoremove desktop RAM

If youneed to replacememory on your

motherboard, you’ll need to remove the

old sticksfirst. If youhavefreeRAM slots,

jump to the next step instead. Locate the

RAM on the motherboardand pull back

the clips holding the RAM in place(see

the pictureabove). Firmly pull out the

RAM modules with twofingers.

Howtoinstall desktop RAM

Pull back aclip and push one end of the RAM

until it clicksintoplaceand the clip movesto

hold the stick in place. Repeat with the other

end, and foreach stick. Reattach the case

and turn your PC on. Go into the BIOS and

makesurethe eXtreme Memory Profile

(XMP)setting is enabled. This will configure

your computer to run at the optimal speed.

ABOVE:The M.2 interfaceistinyand gives you
the neatest SSD upgrade

ABOVE:An M.2 SSD only fits into the slotone way,

so youcan’t put it in the wrong wayround

ABOVE:Ta ke care nottoovertighten the screws

too much when you’refitting an M.2 SSD

ABOVE:Installing a2.5in SSD is easy. Simply plug

in the powerand data connectors...

ABOVE:...and slide the SSD’sdrivebay back into

your PC’scase beforesecuring it

ABOVE:BuyRAMin pairs, as you’ll getbetter
performanceout of it

ABOVE:Pull back the clips to remove your

old RAMsticks

ABOVE:Clip in the newmemory modules

one end at atime