this is my laptop

Computer Make: Hewlett-Packard
Computer Model: PAVILION DV4000 (EC315UA#ABA)
Motherboard Make: Hewlett-Packard
Motherboard Model: 09BC
Motherboard Version: 35.31
CPU: Intel Pentium M 1.73Ghz
Memory: 2 slots: empty, 512 MB
Matched Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard
Matched Machine: Pavilion dv4170us
Matched Model: 53249





what would you recommend on upgrading the ram/processor/drive


and help and info will be appreciated

10/26/2007 5:13:30 PM

Why do you want to upgrade?

What are you looking to do?

10/26/2007 5:18:44 PM

planning on upgrading ram and or processor


computer is starting to freeze up along with the audio starting and stoping when I have too many applications running.

10/26/2007 5:22:05 PM

buy more ram


and a check the speed of your harddrive. make sure it's 5400rpm.




dont worry about replacing the processor. at that point, it'll be wiser to buy a new laptop

10/26/2007 5:23:45 PM

how do i check that.... im a noob i know..

10/26/2007 5:25:31 PM

some sort of system info tool.


http://www.belarc.com/free_download.html

that should do it.

10/26/2007 5:27:38 PM

did the scan and this is all that came up under drives


99.81 Gigabytes Usable Hard Drive Capacity
66.45 Gigabytes Hard Drive Free Space

HL-DT-ST DVD-RW GCA-4080N [CD-ROM drive]

ST9100822A [Hard drive] (100.03 GB) -- drive 0, s/n 3LG0WMQW, rev 3.02, SMART Status: Healthy

10/26/2007 5:37:59 PM

4200 RPM

10/26/2007 5:47:11 PM

the processor is fine. don't mess with it, even if you could figure out how.

Here are the two best upgrades to do:
1) new RAM. depending on how much you want to spend, get another stick of 512MB, or preferably, get 2 new 1GB sticks. Get 2x1GB DDR2 for $60
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Pavilion%20dv4000%20Series%20%28DDR2%29

2) replace HDD. this is a bit of a pain b/c you have to reinstall Windows and move everything over, but the HDD you have sucks.
I upgraded my Mac Mini from a 4200rpm to a 7200rpm Seagate, and it's amazing - fast and quiet.
100GB Seagate 2.5" 7200RPM $115, probably cheaper if you look around
http://www.superwarehouse.com/Seagate_Momentus_7200.1_100_GB_Internal_Hard_Drive/ST9100821AS/p/1498113

[Edited on October 26, 2007 at 5:54 PM. Reason : .]

10/26/2007 5:53:37 PM

how would i move everything over... dont i need an external hard drive to store the info in and then put back in the new one.


or would i have to buy dvd's and transfer shit over

10/26/2007 7:08:30 PM

Either way. You'll still have to re-install Windows.




Also, you could buy an external enclosure and use your old hard drive as external storage/backup.

10/26/2007 7:10:22 PM

yeah, the ^ 2nd suggestion.
If you want a new HDD, get it, and pull out the old one. Boot from your Windows CD and format and install on the new HDD.
Then after you have the new Windows installation set up, get an external HDD enclosure ($10-$20 online or at any local computer store), then plug it into the laptop USB. It will mount as another drive, then you can just transfer all your data files over. You will have to reinstall any programs - you can't transfer those from the old HDD.

Then after you've transferred everything over, you can use the old HDD as a backup drive, or as a portable drive. i would suggest getting an automatic backup program (i'm not familiar with what the best Windows ones are) and just have it backup your system daily onto the external drive.

10/26/2007 7:24:35 PM

Quote :

"You'll still have to re-install Windows."

tech talk is disappointing me.


You wont have to reinstall anything. Take the new HDD and the old one to a local PC shop. Tell them you need a clone from one to the other (there are adapters needed for this, so take it to them to save time).

they'll charge you maybe 20-30 bucks


then put the new harddrive in your system just like the old one.


it'll boot up just fine. you wont lose anything.

10/26/2007 8:16:56 PM

forget the hard drive, thats entirely too much time/effort/money when your computer only has a measly 512MB of ram...especially when ram is so cheap for your laptop through one of if not the best memory supplier out there: crucial.

http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Pavilion%20dv4000%20Series%20%28DDR2%29

buy 2 1GB sticks. you should be able to install yourself with the included instructions.

you'll be muy happy, trust me.

10/26/2007 8:24:21 PM

that's why suggestion #1 (before a HDD) was to get 2x1GB DDR2

but after that, a 7200RPM HDD would still make a nice difference compared to his current drive

10/26/2007 8:26:11 PM

Quote :

"tech talk is disappointing me. You wont have to reinstall anything."

True.

Personally, though, I would save the cash and take the opportunity to install a fresh copy of Windows.

10/27/2007 7:16:37 AM

Quote :

"tech talk is disappointing me."

yeah, really

Quote :

"You wont have to reinstall anything. Take the new HDD and the old one to a local PC shop. Tell them you need a clone from one to the other (there are adapters needed for this, so take it to them to save time)."

a number of people can do this...including myself...i'll do the drive copy and reinstall for $25

10/27/2007 2:29:43 PM

i'd still recommend a fresh install

10/27/2007 2:59:27 PM

^ why? i'm not trying to be a jerk or anything, i'm just curious as to why you think it would make any difference...i've done this on a dozen different machines and never once had an issue (i always use ghost to duplicate drives)

10/27/2007 9:10:32 PM

^ I know that cloning would work.

I just prefer to clean install when convienent...clean out the registry, get rid of extra DLLs, get rid of programs I don't use anymore, that kind of thing.

10/27/2007 10:12:48 PM

yea, im thinking starting all over again.


Just saving whatever music I have.


someone mentioned making the old drive an external drive. How exactly is that. Would I just have to by a case for it with power hook ups ?

10/27/2007 10:19:46 PM

Search for 2.5" external hard drive enclosures on newegg.


Pretty much any local electronics store should have them, too.

10/27/2007 10:29:12 PM

yeah, just last week I picked up a NexStar 3 2.5" enclosure from Intrex for $19. It's small (just barely bigger than the drive itself), quiet (mostly a function of the drive inside it), and looks great. The 2.5" drives are powered by the USB cable, so you only need one cable out of the enclosure, so it's also ultra portable.
http://www.ewiz.com/detail.php?name=CA-260SUBK

so, get one online, or head over to Intrex for some good ones, or Tiger Direct for about 20 models that you'll never be able to figure out which ones are good and which ones are bad
http://www.intrex.com/Locations.htm

10/27/2007 11:11:21 PM

i really dont know if my laptop is compatible with ddr2......


I dont want to buy the memory and then not be able to use it. How do I make sure its compatible ?

10/28/2007 1:53:13 PM

it's probably not, how old is it?

10/28/2007 7:26:16 PM

use the SIW tool to tell you exactly which RAM you have
http://www.gtopala.com/

or you can use the crucial.com memory selector, which I tried to do. But i got down to the point where it asked "Pavilion DV4000 DDR" or "Pavilion DV4000 DDR2"..... so that's not very useful.

10/28/2007 8:37:43 PM

^ awesome thx




Property Value
Memory Summary
Location System board or motherboard
Maximum Capacity 3072 MBytes
Memory Slots 2
Error Correction None
Use System memory


Device Locator Slot 2
Manufacturer Nanya Technology
Part Number NT512D64SH8B0GM-6K
Serial Number 901B0C11
Capacity 512 MBytes
Memory Type SDRAM DDR
Speed PC2700 (166 MHz)
Data Width 64 bits
Voltage SSTL 2.5V
Error Correction None
Refresh Reduced (.5x)...7.8 µs
Manufacturing Date 2005, Week 19
EPP SPD Support No

10/28/2007 10:34:55 PM

any of you know what site is good to get cheap memory of this kind.

10/28/2007 10:38:44 PM

well, unfortunately for you, DDR is about twice as expensive as DDR2 right now.
here are the Crucial prices for that RAM
http://www.crucial.com/store/listparts.aspx?model=Pavilion%20dv4000%20Series
512MB - $38
1GB - $95
here's the same Crucial RAM 1GB for $76
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820145068

so, in order of priority (based on what you can afford), you should get
- 2x1GB and pull out the 512MB stick
- 1x1GB and add it to your empty slot
- 1x512MB and add it to your empty slot

here are cheaper prices for 1GB PC2700, but some of it might be crap
http://www.pricewatch.com/notebook_memory/pc2700_1gb.htm
on that page, i wouldn't get anything cheaper than the Infineon or Micron parts

10/28/2007 11:36:12 PM

I think it would be cheaper to sale this and buy a new laptop

10/28/2007 11:55:37 PM

possibly.



i sold a similar laptop on craigslist for $300.


that was about 2 months ago.

[Edited on October 29, 2007 at 2:24 PM. Reason : not ebay]

10/29/2007 2:24:23 PM

fresh install and more ram, its very possible theres spyware crap on it slowing you down.

10/30/2007 7:21:43 PM