In most cases when you are buying a laptop online (either new or used), chances are that you will get the notebook shipped to you.

Usually it is shipped in a box with bubble wrap or those foam wormies or some combination thereof.  Now, when you pay for your shipping, you have the option to insure it.  I would definitely suggest it.

Let me tell you a story about the value of insuring a laptop purchased online:

A few years ago, I bought a laptop online on ebay. At this time it was my second laptop that I bought on there and I was confident that I would get what I paid for it. The total cost for the notebook and some accessories including shipping and insurance was $1250. I waited patiently until the package arrived to try out my new baby.

When the packaged was delivered, I madly opened it. Plugging the laptop in and turning it on, there was a problem. A big problem. The screen, which according to the auction ad was good, was visibly damaged. Damaged to the point where I could see it. Do you think I was happy with my damaged $1200 investment No. I made a quick call to the shipping company complaining that my package arrived damaged.

They had to send someone out to verify that my package was indeed damaged as well as verify that it was packaged appropriately. After a couple of weeks of corresponding back and forth between the shipping company and the person I bought the laptop from, eventually I received a cheque for $1200.

Had I not used the insurance, I would have had a broken laptop. So make sure, if you do buy online, purchase shipping insurance. You won't regret it.

Recently, I decided I wanted to upgrade the RAM (random access memory) in my laptop.  Digging out my manual, I found that I could install up to 1.0 GB of RAM in the laptop.  So, I went to the store and purchased two 512 Mb sticks of PC3200 DDR RAM SoDimms for my laptop.

Returning home, I installed the RAM in the bottom of the computer.  Make sure you read your manual to find out where to put the RAM and how to install it.  Once I had installed the RAM, I went to start the computer.

Nothing happened.....

Checking to make sure I installed it properly, nothing happened again.  I made a quick call to the computer store where I purchased the memory, and after talking to them, they let me know that you need to have the exact speed of RAM that is matched to your motherboard.  So, in my case, the new PC3200 RAM was not the same as my old PC2100 RAM.  Arggh!  So, make sure that you keep this in mind when upgrading the RAM on your laptop:

Make sure that your new RAM matches the speed of the current RAM in your laptop when upgrading.

I will let you know how the RAM upgrade went (with the right RAM) in a later entry.  Just make sure to learn from my mistakes. 

Recently, I was on the Canadian Dell website customizing a laptop.  This particular notebook I wanted to get 2 GB of RAM.  Just as I was going to check out I noticed that the RAM was only 533 MHz but the front side bus (FSB) of the processor was 667 MHz.  Finding that there was no option, I went on the live help and asked one of the Dell sales people if I could get the better RAM as an option.  The response they gave me is the following:

"Sorry sir, but the motherboard does not support the faster RAM and it is not an option."

Now you might ask what would that mean to me, right   Well, by not putting the right speed RAM with the right processor, what has been created is a bottleneck.  A bottleneck is a place on the computer that slows down, or hinders the machine from working at its fastest possible speed.  Think of this analogy:

"You go to a motorcycle dealer and they sell you a motorcycle with four wheel drive.  When you take the motorcycle home and try to use it, you realize that you can't: the motorcycle only has two wheels."

Needless to say I didn't buy the laptop because it ended up that it wasn't a very good deal.  Just do yourself a favor and make sure to check that the RAM speed is the right one for your CPU.