Adding memory is "fully automated".
The only way it can screw up, is if a rocket scientist changed the
configuration files in the OS, to prevent the RAM from being used.
(The odds of this happening, are virtually zero.)
If no smart people have been playing with your computer, then
all the new RAM will appear when you install it.
Note - when installing RAM, make *sure* there is no power inside the
computer. I unplug the power cord from the wall, before working inside
the computer. This warning is necessary, because if the computer is
in "sleep" mode or something electrically similar, there is still
DC power available in the memory slots. Installing new RAM in a
powered slot, can *blow* the new RAM. You don't want that. So
make sure there is no power present before installing RAM.
In years past, some merchants shipped a disposable wrist strap with
a RAM purchase. The copper "conductive" end has an adhesive on it,
and you stick that end over top of a shiny, electrically conducting
screw on the power supply (or other grounded point inside the
computer). The other end of the wrist strap, is wrapped around your
bare wrist. This brings your body, to the same electrical potential
as the computer. Since the wrist strap is "weakly conducting", any
static charge is dissipated gradually (unlike a piece of copper
wire, which discharges the current instantly, with a big spark).
So there is a bit more science to a wrist strap (weakly conducting)
than meets the eye.
This is a nice one, and this one is reusable (don't throw it away).
The alligator clip can be clipped onto a screw on the video connector
or similar, in the I/O area on the back of the computer.
Ultra Antistatic Wrist Strap $6.99
http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2479151
In lieu of owning one of those, bring the ESD bag holding the RAM,
to the same electrical potential as the chassis of the computer. Cut
the end off the bag, and remove the RAM. (Touch the *inside* of the
bag, before you touch the RAM.) Install the RAM while keeping
yourself at the same potential as the chassis of the computer case.
Don't touch the gold contacts on the RAM, (Fingerprints / static etc)
This will help reduce the risk of electrostatic damage to the RAM.
Not everyone has easy access to a wrist strap, so following some
kind of ESD procedure is better than no procedure at all.
An example of a very bad thing to do would be
1) Wear a wool sweater.
2) Rub your back against a wooden chair you're sitting in.
3) Hold the RAM in your hand, then touch the corner of the
RAM to the chassis. With a wool sweater, you can throw a
1/2" spark, while will destroy the RAM.
