Just do it yourself. Its really not that hard. Upgrading the memory is by far the easiest in that you don't need a lot of different tools to open up the casing. You just need a very tiny Philips (+) screwdriver and you're good to go. Upgrading the HDD however requires the Torx T6 driver which is not as common. You can get the whole set from Lowyat (Viewnet store) for RM25. You'll get the whole 31 piece of uncommon screw heads used by the electronic industry.

If you need to have pictures for guidance, try to google IFIXIT. They have teardowns of every Apple product released. Follow their teardown procedures to upgrade the RAM/HDD.

By the way, I upgraded my DDR3 modules with 2GB 1066MHz Corsairs for RM140 a pop. Cheap and usable. No problems. Snow Leopard seems to be smoother with 4GB.

Oooh... I didn't track the memory prices cause the last time I updated was early this year. I remember the 2GB modules were around a little over RM100. You can get it for RM140 from Cycom, Lowyat Plaza.

Crucial? Online order?

It depends what is that 'hang'. If its a total screen freeze with no way to recover other than to force OFF the computer then it could be RAM due to incompatibility or a faulty module. Guess you would have to keep changing modules until you find one that works.

Most like it is HDD. Check your software update records or whether you have installed the EFI v1.7 firmware. We have a thread discussing this. Apparently the update causes the HDD to not respond. Assuming you're using one of the new MBPs.

If you're using the new MBP, the modules are located underneath of the laptop and at the center. You will need to remove all 10 screws (+, Philips) before lifting the bottom aluminum panel. The modules are on top of each other. Current Intel Macs run on dual channel memory controllers so each slot represents one of the 2 channels.

Diagnosing memory module problems are a little troublesome in that you need to try all sorts of configurations. It would help if you have spare DDR3 modules lying around. You can first swap locations for the current modules. See if it helps. As a general rule, follow the following guidelines:

1. Ensure you populate each of the slots to take advantage of dual channel memory addressing (performance related).
2. Ensure you populate each of the slots with the same type of RAM (timing, bus speed, etc) - preferably from the same manufacturer.
3. Ensure you populate each of the slots with the same capacity of RAM (optional).

You can always use different capacity (for example 1GB+2GB) provided number 2 is satisfied. In this case, the first 1GB from each module will be addressed in dual channel while the remaining 1GB will be addressed in single channel. You will suffer some performance degradation but it shouldn't affect stability.

It would be wise to also consider that kernel panics may not necessarily be a memory problem. It could be one of your software applications or drivers. Also, I don't mean to insult but just double check that DDR3 is installed cause DDR2 is awfully similar.

I think it should work. This is not like Rambus RDRAM where you need a dummy module to be inserted. Its not a serial thing. You can run off independent channels. Are you sure the slot is not damaged?

Or am I missing something? I'm new to DDR3 but I expect them to be the same as DDR2.

OK the original unibody 13" isn't so different from the newer MBPs. Their location is the same. You should check out ifixit.com and check their teardowns for procedures. I think the original unibody doesn't require removing the bottom panel right? Check your manual.

Yeah you're right. Thats what I did for mine. Went to Lowyat Plaza and find the cheapest RAM. Ended up with a pair of Corsair 2GB DDR3 for RM140 a pop. Everyone was selling from RM145-155.

Yes, I recommend Corsair because I have been using them for 2 weeks now. No issues at all. For many times, I have tested quick boot up, reboots, damn fast sleep, shut down and wake... no problem at all. It just works. Just fill it up to 4GB total and you're good to go until next year. Then 4GB modules will be available and time to go 8GB total

But seriously, 4GB will be enough for the entire lifetime of the machine. 4GB is aplenty for heavies like video edit, photo edit, etc.

Well no worries, the RAM can wait. Its not like you're severely handicapped with 2GB of RAM. The OS still flies. When times are right, then you upgrade. You'll appreciate the increase in performance after some months of owning it.

According to the manual, MBP13 can address up to 8GB of RAM with 4GB modules on each slot. The MBP13 has 2 physical slots. But since 4GB modules does not exist at the moment (at least in major stores), we're pretty much capped at 4GB total (2GB modules on each slot). If you're in KL, 2GB modules are relatively easy to purchase at LowYat Plaza.

I would generally advise people to keep their memory channels (or physical memory slot) to be symmetrical. Meaning the slots are populated of the same type, timing, brand, capacity of module. However, this doesn't mean you can't run 1GB+2GB or 4GB+2GB or whatever combination as long as they are of the same type (DDR3).

If you go with 4GB+2GB, only the first 2GB from each channel (first 4GB total) will be addressed in dual channel while the remaining 2GB from the 4GB module will be addressed in single channel configuration. Memory timings, accesses and performance will be slightly degraded. Then again, if the machine aren't running memory intensive applications like games, etc.. it doesn't really matter.