Yesterday Hewlett Packard announced it's newest Windows Home Server: the entry level LX195. The original EX470 came with only 512K prompting me to write my original 2GB RAM upgrade article. The EX470's replacement, the EX485 comes pre-configured with 2GB of RAM, so no upgrade necessary.
You would think that HP would have learned from their past mistakes, but the new LX195 only comes with 1GB of RAM. This will probably be fine for most users (which is why they were OK with it), but more RAM always helps. So without further ado, I present to you:
HP MediaSmart Server 2GB RAM upgrade redux.
- First order the RAM. Any 2GB stick of DDR2 677 will do, but I used Kingston 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 667 (PC2 5300) Desktop Memory. It only set me back $24 and included free shipping.
- Next find a clean flat surface. unplug the LX195 and lay it on it's side with the back facing you.
- Unscrew the two screws on the back of the unit.
- Slide the cover back and remove.
- Remove the two screw holding the hinged metal case in place.
- Lift up on the metal "handle" until the case locks into place.
- Remove the old memory by unlocking the two hinged plastic clips with your thumbs.
- Drop in the new memory and press down until you hear the click of both clips.
- Press in on the plastic case locking mechanism, lower the metal case and replace the two screws.
- Replace the plastic cover and the two screws.
- Power everything back up. When you go to the Windows Home Serer Console, you should now see that you have 2GB of memory.
As you can see, this was much easier than the original upgrade. With practice, I bet you could do the entire upgrade in less than 30 seconds, but you should probably take your time. :)
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7 comments:
A look at the LX195 motherboard shows that there exists a 26-pin connector. Is that the same connector as the KVM connector on the MSS EX47x series? Do you know whether this will work with the Gen1 (http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1290) or Gen2 (http://www.mediasmartserver.net/forums/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=3980) cables?
I have used it on my Gen 1 cable and it works just fine for video. Unfortunately, I can't get the USB keyboard to respond during POST so I can't get into the BIOS.
FYI you can/should get PC2-6400 DDR2 RAM
Will the usb keyboard function after startup?
What kind of performance increase did you see after upgrading the ram.. Was it really worth it?
This may help, but what's an even easier fix/performance boost for this WHS is to uninstall the Twonky Add-in. This is a well known performance killer for this device. With this one change my LX195 went from slow and clunky to fast and responsive.
LX195 upgraded with G.SKILL DDR2-800 2GB.
G.SKILL 2GB 240-Pin DDR2 SDRAM DDR2 800 (PC2 6400) Desktop Memory Model F2-6400CL5S-2GBNT
Cost: $29
Your photos were excellent, and made this work in 10 minutes. I liked the locking feature on the case when you open the silver panel w/HDD. nice touch
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