How Many Open Memory Slots Are In My Computer?

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It's a no brainier that adding more memory to your computer can increase performance and speed. But before you add additional memory, you need to know how many open memory slots are available and what kind of memory is installed in your computer.

One way to find out is by shutting down your computer and crack open the case. Unfortunately, that is easier said than done if your desktop computer is buried or the thought of opening your laptop, without breaking any tabs, more than once is something you rather avoid.

Instead, there is a much easier way to see inside your computer…without touching it.


While several tools exist that will report the amount and type of memory installed in your computer, the tool I use frequently is Crucial's Memory Advisor.

  • Just go to Crucial site (http://www.crucial.com) and click on the "Scan My System" button at the top of the home page.

crucial-memory

  • On the next page, check the terms and condition box, then click on "Download The Scanner" and save the file to your desktop.

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  • Now, locate the CrucialScan.exe file and double click on it to begin (no installation is required).
  • Next, you will see the scan in progress page…

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  • …followed by the scan results. As first it looks a little confusing, but if you scroll down to the second boxed results on the page, you will see your computer memory information, including the number of memory slots used and available.

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As you can see on my laptop that I am using, both memory slots are being used.

Additional information can be found such as the type of memory to use, max amount of memory that can be added, are matching pairs needed, etc.

While Crucial provides great information, it doesn't identify the exact type of memory that is currently installed.

To find that information, I like to use the awesome SIW (System Information for Windows) tool.

Just go to SIW site and download (http://www.gtopala.com/siw-download.html) the SIW Standalone version, which requires no installation.

After downloading to your desktop, double click on the siw.exe file to run it, then using the left navigation pane, scroll down to the Hardware\Memory section.

Here you will find the type of memory that is currently installed in your computer, including manufacturer, part number, speed, etc.

crucial-memory5

Once you have gathered all the information using both tools, you can now easily add more memory to your computer the right way without any guess work and get the cheapest price for memory here.

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Comments on How Many Open Memory Slots Are In My Computer? Leave a Comment

April 14, 2010

We appreciate you sharing this walk-through with your readers. Hopefully it will help some people! Thanks.

July 30, 2010

david @ 9:11 am #

Another great tool for memory, processor, motherboard information is CPU-Z. It doesn't require installation (although there is an installer available if you want one). It is extremely fast and very informative.

If you want a full blown system inventory, such as what SIW gives, then use PC-Wizard. It's free and doesn't have the restrictions that the free version of SIW has.

May 31, 2011

Desmond @ 12:38 pm #

Thanks for the advice

I would of probably ruin the computer trying to open the tower, looking for the memory slots

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