Baslinux mailing list

[James Miller <jamtat AT mailsnare.net>]

On Tue, 29 Jun 2004, Sindi Keesan wrote:

> Is RAM in 386s and 486 laptops at all standardized?  Are HDs?

My experience with older laptops says no to both - especially RAM.  I
think RAM was strictly proprietary (i.e., peculiar to each manufacturer)
through the 486 era.  HD's would be more exchangeable, though I think size
varied quite a bit on those older machines.  Thus, while the cable/plug
arrangment might be compatible, the sizing might forbid easy exchange of
drives.  For RAM you have another option, though: they used to make memory
expansion cards that fit into PCMCIA slots.  You're much more likely to
find these - and at reasonable prices - than the older proprietary RAM
chips.  If you don't need 1 or both PCMCIA slots, this is likely the
cheapest way to upgrade memory in an old laptop.

James