Advice on RAM upgrade

bricky06

So my laptop is on its last legs (random reboots) and I'm about to start typing a thesis so I'm thinking I'll borrow the parents old Dell desktop that is going unused because I'm a broke student and can't afford a new PC/laptop.

The desktop is ancient and I know the spec is lowsy but all I need it to do is run word and chrome really.

I'm a bit of a newb when it comes to tinkering with hardware so if you could tell me if I'm going about this the right way or offer advice that would be much appreciated.

Current spec:
XP 32bit
128MB ddr 266MHz
intel celeron 1.8GHz
2 ram slots on board


so would a memory upgrade like this work?

ED E

Dude, bin it. Or give it to camara. If it was DDR2 maybe then, but that things ancient.

Chances are if it came with 128 the motherboard doesnt support more than 512, 1GB if you're very lucky. HDD is gonna be a decade old by now, you dont want important work on that(constant dropbox syncs would help but still). And a slow CPU.

You'd be better looking at getting your laptop cleaned. Any nerdy friend could take a quick look and probably get her running well again if its not of similar vintage. Chances are dust is your problem :rolleyes:

bricky06

I know the yoke is ancient in fairness it's just my only real option besides typing it all up in college.

In regard to the laptop, I know a fair bit myself like, I've had it open and dust isn't the issue anyway. I think I just abused it too much over the years. Its only about 3 years old ha, not as old as the other yoke.

P.S. I'm proud to say I'm the nerdiest of all my mates

Dale Parish

From experience most motherboards I have come across that support DDR support at least 1GB; therefore you could get 2x 512 sticks (check Dell website first about RAM upgrade) for less than a fiver.. hardly anyone buys them. 128mb for XP is just that bit too little to do anything useful with.

You could even ask your university of machines they're throwing out (I know my one is always doing that) and pinch some RAM out of those.

riclad

try f8 safe mode,directory service restore mode,
do a full virusscan, it might just need a windows reinstall.IT may have a virus.
TRY f8,safe mode,vga mode.

ED E

Riclad why do you always come on and spout badly formatted random tidbits?


OP: €350 dell laptop, 6.5yrs, abused to hell. Still going strong

bonzodog2

check the max RAM that the mobo supports and get it. I'm running a 1GHz P3 on 512MB RAM and it works fine if you dont ask it to do more than it can do. I can play movies and download them and do general browsing stuff just fine.Obviously not as quick as my faster machines that I do Folding@Home on, but I'm using it right now.I remember walking round Currys one day hearing a salesman saying "you need a fast machine for the internet", and thinking "yeah, right, thats BS"

bricky06

bonzodog2 wrote: »

check the max RAM that the mobo supports and get it.

i tried doing this through the dell website but it wouldn't recognise the machines service tag... its obviously a dell board but i couldnt find a model number on it? Is there another way i can check this?

Thanks for all the info everyone btw!

ED E

Run Speccy, theres a good chance it'll pick up the mobo model. With dell though some of them have little info about them floating about. Worth 2mins though.

riclad

MY vaio laptop was crashing ,randomly, i just reinstalled windows,Now its fine, no crashes.Windows crashes,if disk space is low,needs about 4gig free space.

Dey were Sooted

bricky06 wrote: »

i tried doing this through the dell website but it wouldn't recognise the machines service tag... its obviously a dell board but i couldnt find a model number on it? Is there another way i can check this?

Thanks for all the info everyone btw!

run the scanner here and it should tell you how much ram you can install


if windows is still slow (which it probably will be on a celeron cpu) consider running a free linux os like mint or umbuntu

i'm only learning myself about these operating systems and not sure how the crossover between windows and linux word software works but i'm sure someone else here could give you better info if it comes to that

imo the ram will make somewhat of a difference on the performance but the celeron cpu will always let you down - try the linux os from a bootable disk and see how it fairs - i would not spend too much time on this a it is a very low spec system - even try the linux os from a disk before you spend money upgrading the ram - for the sake of 50 to 60 euro you could pick up a tower with a p4 or better with more ram that would be more managable . if the hard drive in your own system is still good hold onto it in case you need a replacement in the future

hope this helps - good luck with it ....

Torqay

If this is a Dimension 2350, it will take 1 GB RAM maximum, i.e. 2 x 512MB, DDR PC2700 or DDR PC3200.

If this is a Dimension 2300, it will take 1 GB RAM, i.e. 2 x 512 MB SDRAM PC133... now they cost like 50 yoyos each and this is really NOT worth upgrading, you'll get a decent 2nd hand desktop for less, some P4 HT or Pentium D.

bricky06

riclad wrote: »

MY vaio laptop was crashing ,randomly, i just reinstalled windows,Now its fine, no crashes.Windows crashes,if disk space is low,needs about 4gig free space.

I might try this, the thing is running very hot though thats the main issue I think and then it goes to blue screen and reboots.

No there's about 10Gb free space and 3Gb ram so thats not the problem either.

Thanks for the info again people, I'll have a look over the weekend.

RodgersLFC

bricky06 wrote: »

I might try this, the thing is running very hot though thats the main issue I think and then it goes to blue screen and reboots.

No there's about 10Gb free space and 3Gb ram so thats not the problem either.

Thanks for the info again people, I'll have a look over the weekend.

Have you checked the processor? If its running very hot and rebooting, and yet dust isnt the issue, the heatsink may need some fresh thermal paste. Or if the laptop has been dropped or anything, the heatsink may have come loose.

Some laptops arent too easy to take apart to get to the heatsink/processor, but this is definitely something you could check. Thermal paste is very cheap to buy, and may fix your issue.

riclad

MY pc was crashing, blue screening, i discovered the cpu,fan power cable was disconnected ,i just reconnected it.
CAN you hear the fan, are you sure the cpu fan is working.?
install this,it,ll tell you if your cpu is overheating.
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/
fan power cable may have come loose.

bricky06

OK fan is running, but I'm thinking I might try get some thermal paste and see if that helps.

Here's a screenshot of the temps I'm dealing with.

riclad

leave it in cold room,with window open, see does it crash after 60 mins,
put music,or video file on play,repeat.
my laptop was crashing,overheating,

fan,outlet was underneath, case, outlet was blocked,if i left it on chair.
whats tz00,is that the motherboard, cpu 60 is ok.normal.
see
http://www.overclock.net/t/1174133/whats-a-safe-temperature-for-cpu-overclocks

ED E

Mobo is reaching thermal limits. Thats your cause right there.


Air blast that sucka.

RodgersLFC

Thats running far too hot. Some thermal paste and clean/replace the fan will sort out that bad boy for you.

bricky06

Cool, so I'll go off and buy a can of compressed air and some thermal paste yeah?

What does tz00 refer to specifically though? Does it monitor the temp of a certain piece of hardware? Or how can I find it on the board?

Thanks for the help with this guys, It would be amazing if I could have a reliable laptop again!

Torqay

bricky06 wrote: »

Cool, so I'll go off and buy a can of compressed air and some thermal paste yeah?

Try the blowjob first, it might just be that.

RodgersLFC

bricky06 wrote: »

Cool, so I'll go off and buy a can of compressed air and some thermal paste yeah?

What does tz00 refer to specifically though? Does it monitor the temp of a certain piece of hardware? Or how can I find it on the board?

Thanks for the help with this guys, It would be amazing if I could have a reliable laptop again!

I wouldnt get too hung up on that to be honest, the temperatures overall on that are far too high. I had a laptop which was switching off every 10 mins, opened the case and found huge lumps of dust - its amazing how much dust accumulates over time, especially if you use your laptop in bed, or somewhere where the vents are covered.

Cleaned it out and its now working like new again. Good luck with fixing your machine

Capt'n Midnight

use cpuz to identify what type of memory you already have

or look up shop4memory.com to get a rough price and memory specs

it helps to post the make and model no. in the first post if you want people to meet you half way



128 is painful with XP - aim for 1GB

what apps are you running ?

because if you are only typing a document then an 8MHz PC with 360KB floppy drives is fast enough if you use a paper index to note references for later on

RodgersLFC

Crucial.com is also good for determining what RAM you need and what your motherboard can support.

uch

Capt'n Midnight wrote: »

use cpuz to identify what type of memory you already have

or look up shop4memory.com to get a rough price and memory specs

it helps to post the make and model no. in the first post if you want people to meet you half way



128 is painful with XP - aim for 1GB

what apps are you running ?

because if you are only typing a document then an 8MHz PC with 360KB floppy drives is fast enough if you use a paper index to note references for later on

Couldn't agree more, also remember to Back up Thesis to usb or online regularly once started, Worked in TCD and unfortunately saw many a Thesis lost to complacency of no backups.

Capt'n Midnight

thesis

save as with a new name at each milestone
if using microsoft word change ALL of the save options - always create backup, default to .DOC , autosave options

email to self / friends / 2nd email account

google docs, dropbox , mozy etc.

usb key / SD card