New Macbook Pro owner. How to upgrade ram etc?

[karh]

Hey so I recently purchased a used MacBook Pro 2011 computer. It has

2gb ram
500gb hard drive
2ghz dual core processor
Mountain lion osx

Now I wanted to know if I wanted to could I upgrade the ram? I read online you could and wasn't sure how to go about it.

Do I do it myself or send it to apple? What are the approximate fees in CAD $ ? The nearest apple retail is an hour away but I have access to futureshop and bestbuy within 5 minutes.

I want to fix this machine up and wanted to know about how it works.
I wanted to get mavericks, Final Cut Pro , run. Sims 3, and 4-8gb of ram. If I completely fix it up will it affect my Microsoft office programs? And lastly am I able to purchase an apple care plan for it eventually ?

Any advice is great thank you!!

 

[iOS Gravity]

You can do it yourself. I'm not sure if Apple does it for you. An update to Mavericks is free. It won't affect your Microsoft Office Programs unless you replace the hard drive too.

 

[karh]

Ok. Do I just unscrew the bottom then? And just take it out or do I have to do a process. Should I replace it first or will using it for a bit be fine ?

 

[iOS Gravity]

Not sure about that. You try try searching YouTube for some tutorials. I don't really have experiences with this type of stuff. I forgot to mention this, I don't think that your Mac is eligible for Apple Care.

 

[Fausty82]

Upgrading the memory in your Mac computer could not be simpler. Apple has provided a built-in step by step process and provides you all of the information that you need to get it done.

1. First, click on the Apple logo in the upper left corner of your screen. This opens up the system menu. Select ABOUT THIS MAC.
2. This opens a window with detailed information about your Mac. Click the MORE INFO button on this window.
   
3. This opens another dialog box. First of all, note the exact model and release date for your Mac. In this case, we have a 21.5? iMac designated as the ?Mid 2011? model. Now click on the MEMORY tab at the top of the window.
   
4. The resulting popup gives you information about the amount of memory already installed (12 GB), the type of memory (1333 MHz DDR3 memory), the installed configuration (4 slots; 2 containing 4GB memory modules and 2 containing 2GB memory modules). It also provides you with a link to MEMORY UPGRADE INSTRUCTIONS. Click the link to the instructions.
   
5. This will cause your web browser to open the instruction page on the Apple website. Click the link to your particular Mac (Mid-2011 21.5? iMac).
   
6. Scroll down to see the instructions for installing the memory: