Re: Notebook (Laptop) Upgrade FAQ - Page 48 - HP Support Community

erico · ‎02-12-2011

Hi,

@SG572 wrote:

Hi erico. Kindly gimme some input on upgrades (max possible) for my HP DV4000 laptop. Im talking about RAM,hard drive,the works. Here are the details:

s/n: CNE5190M39
p/n: EB920EA#ABB

At present,it has an Intel(m) processor 1.6Ghz, 798Mhz and 248MB RAM.

CPU: Intel Pentium M 2.13-GHz

SDRAM 2GB Max. see Crucial website

Hard disk: You have an oldie and it uses EIDE hard drives. you should be able to use a 320GB hard disk.

You will get the most performance increase by bumping the CPU to the one I recommended (from the HP manual)

Best regards,
erico

I am a volunteer forum member, not an HP employee. If my suggestion solved your issue, don't forget to mark that post as the accepted solution. If you want to say thanks, click on the Yes button next to the "was this reply helpful?"

masmfl · ‎02-12-2011

Hi! I read your FAQ, which was excellent, but the system documentation for my model is a little fuzzy. I want to upgrade my 3gb RAM. Here are my specs:

AMD Athlon II Dual Core Processor for Notebook PC P340 (2.2ghz 1mb L2 cache)

3072mb DDR3 SDRAM (2 DIMM)

320 gb hard drive

AMD M880G with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 shared graphics

Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Viewing the system specs shows I have the following memory installed:

2gb SODIMM other 1066mhz A-Data Technology

1gb SODIMM other 1066mhz Micron Technology

I found some RAM from Newegg.com that appears to match one of the memory modules already installed:

A-DATA 2GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory Model AD3S1066B2G7-R

and

A-DATA 2GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory Model AD3S1333B2G9-R

Do you think this would be a good choice for my notebook, since it will match the current 2gb installed? Which one of these would work?

Also, if you don't mind answering a few questions? Why do the AMD/ATI models usually come with 3gb instead of 4gb? It seems odd to have two different types of memory as on my notebook, so why do they do this? And the documentation seems to suggest that this model will only accept 2gb memory modules, which limits the RAM to 4gb maximum. Can you clarify this? I think 4gb would be fine but I would like to know what the options/limitations are.

Thank you!

rucaro · ‎02-13-2011

Hi Erico,

i Tried (upgrade with t5200 processor) F 24 bios but screen is totally blank,system powerup but no screen output.. does this seem to do with new processor T5200. does it need new bios if yes can you help me find out which one to upgrade with.is there any boot up flashup bios avaiable in HP-compaq laptops.

thanks.

Rucaro

p.s.

someone posted on net how to recover bios is this valid for HP-compaq Laptops.

Re: CQ45- Insyde BIOS RECOVERY using a USB THUMBDRIVE
Quote:
Originally Posted by 0.0 View Post
The following is a discription of how I managed to
recover the BIOS on a CQ45-107TX
running the InsydeH2O EFI BIOS
using a USB thumb drive.

IMPORTANT !!!
Obtained the correct BIOS file, HP seem to provide many different BIOS's.
For instance the BIOS for CQ45-107AU is not the same as CQ45-107TX.

For the CQ45-107TX I used the Insyde BIOS version F.04 file 30F7F04.FD then

* Renamed the file 30F7F04.FD to 30F7.BIN and placed it on a USB thumb drive.

Disconnected the AC adapter from the notebook.

Removed the battery from the notebook.

Inserted the USB thumb drive into one of the USB ports on the notebook.
Didn't seem to matter which one.

Held down the 'Windows' Key and the 'B' key.

Connected the AC adapter.

Pressed the 'Power' button on the notebook.

When the LEDs came on, let go of power button and the two keys held down earlier.
On the CQ45-107TX the touch pad LED came on as amber (disabled) instead of the normal white (enabled).

After about 10 seconds the notebook started reading the USB thumb drive.
While searching for the file the notebook beeped once a second.
The number of beeps varied, depending on how big the thumb drive was and
the number of files on the thumb drive, from just one beep to many.
If the file was not found, the notebook would reset itself and try again.

If the file was found then it took about 12 seconds for the notebook to load it.
No beeping sounds heard during the loading time.

When loaded the notebook started flashing, indicated by beeps every 2 seconds.
This took about 32 seconds.

About 5 seconds after the beeping had stopped the notebook shutdown.
BIOS worked normally thereafter.

Some notes:

The BIOS files appear to be in this format
Code:

????F??.FD
| || ||_|_____ EFI BIOS file
| ||_|________ Version number
|__|___________ Model specific

Therefore I would guess if you had a CQ45-115AU and your BIOS flash file was 30FBF21.FD then you would probably rename it to 30FB.BIN for use with the USB thumb drive. But I don't know for sure.

Thumb drive formats.
A 128M thumb drive formatted with FAT16 worked okay.
A 16GB thumb drive formatted with FAT32 worked okay.

No beeping sound
It is possible that you will not hear any beeping at all in which case you should still observe the USB drive LED blinking on and off while loading the BIOS file then, if successful, the computer will shut itself down within 1 minute.

the HP Auto Update borked my BIOS so I turned to your post as I know that the cq45 and hp dv4 share the same exact specs (almost)... downloaded the correct and updated bios from the dv4 driver download site and followed these directions to a T! My PC is alive again! You're a genius! Thanks to everyone who contributed finding this out... I'm keeping my USB and call it my Crisis USB! Woohoo!

A quick note, I used the 24U .FD file (for Integrated Graphics) if you have Discrete Graphics please use the 24D .FD file

seasideclub · ‎02-13-2011

I have a HP/Compaq cq56-110us. My manual says the max memory is 2gb. But all memory companies says anything from 4gb to 8gb max. Anybody know what's up? Thanks.

erico · ‎02-18-2011

Hi,

@masmfl wrote:
Hi! I read your FAQ, which was excellent, but the system documentation for my model is a little fuzzy. I want to upgrade my 3gb RAM. Here are my specs:

AMD Athlon II Dual Core Processor for Notebook PC P340 (2.2ghz 1mb L2 cache)
3072mb DDR3 SDRAM (2 DIMM)
320 gb hard drive
AMD M880G with ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4250 shared graphics
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit

Viewing the system specs shows I have the following memory installed:
2gb SODIMM other 1066mhz A-Data Technology
1gb SODIMM other 1066mhz Micron Technology

I found some RAM from Newegg.com that appears to match one of the memory modules already installed:
A-DATA 2GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Laptop Memory Model AD3S1066B2G7-R
and
A-DATA 2GB 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1333 (PC3 10666) Laptop Memory Model AD3S1333B2G9-R

Do you think this would be a good choice for my notebook, since it will match the current 2gb installed? Which one of these would work?

Also, if you don't mind answering a few questions? Why do the AMD/ATI models usually come with 3gb instead of 4gb? It seems odd to have two different types of memory as on my notebook, so why do they do this? And the documentation seems to suggest that this model will only accept 2gb memory modules, which limits the RAM to 4gb maximum. Can you clarify this? I think 4gb would be fine but I would like to know what the options/limitations are.

Thank you!

Thanks!

Look at the installed 2GB module and get the part number to see if it matches. That way you will certain it is the correct part. Use modules that have the same bus speed. If that is not done then all modules will default to the lowest bus speed amongst the modules.

@Limitation of 4GB if using a Windows 32-bit OS definitely makes sense as a Windows 32-bit OS can only use @3.25 GB of installed RAM anyway.

Only a 64-bit OS will see and be able to use more than 3.25GB of RAM. That is by Windows OS design.

Best regards,
erico

I am a volunteer forum member, not an HP employee. If my suggestion solved your issue, don't forget to mark that post as the accepted solution. If you want to say thanks, click on the Yes button next to the "was this reply helpful?"

erico · ‎02-18-2011

Hi,

@seasideclub wrote:
I have a HP/Compaq cq56-110us. My manual says the max memory is 2gb. But all memory companies says anything from 4gb to 8gb max. Anybody know what's up? Thanks.

As long as the memory manufacturers are guaranteeing compatibility there is no issue at all. That means if it doesn't work you can return the modules. That sounds like a win-win situation to me. My own preference is to buy memory modules with a lifetime warrantee.

4-8GB will work, but be advised that only a 64-bit OS will see and be able to use >3.25GB of RAM. That is a Windows Operating system limitation by design.

Best regards,
erico

I am a volunteer forum member, not an HP employee. If my suggestion solved your issue, don't forget to mark that post as the accepted solution. If you want to say thanks, click on the Yes button next to the "was this reply helpful?"

EddieN120 · ‎02-19-2011

First of all, I want to say that erico is The Man. It's amazing to me that a person like him who is volunteering his time and his knowledge is much more useful than the people who are supposed to be working for HP! He gives answers that are more detailed and more accurate than a lot of the support staff! It's incredible. Kudos to you, sir!

I have a HP Pavilion dv6910us notebook. I want to upgrade the hard disk to a bigger one, if it all possible. Here are the relevant specs (according to HP System Information):

Product Name: HP Pavilion dv6700 Notebook PC
Product #: FE653UA#ABA

HDD Size: 186.31 GB

C: 174 GB total, 7 GB free
😧 12 GB total, 1 GB free
HDD Model: ST9200827AS ATA Device

Googling the HDD model reveals that it is a Seagate Momentus 5400.4 ST9200827AS 200 GB HDD which runs at 5400 rpm, and is 0.37" x 2.75" x 3.94" (HWD) -- detailed specs are from this link.

I would love to upgrade my hard disk to at least a 500 GB model, but 640 GB would be at the sweet spot, since after formatting and using something like Acronis to clone my Windows Vista Home Premium install onto it, I'd probably have around 400 GB free. A full terabyte would be pushing it, I think (considering the best bang for the buck). What HDDs could I use to replace my current model?

Thanks in advance!

erico · ‎02-20-2011

Hi,

@EddieN120 wrote:
First of all, I want to say that erico is The Man. It's amazing to me that a person like him who is volunteering his time and his knowledge is much more useful than the people who are supposed to be working for HP! He gives answers that are more detailed and more accurate than a lot of the support staff! It's incredible. Kudos to you, sir!

I have a HP Pavilion dv6910us notebook. I want to upgrade the hard disk to a bigger one, if it all possible. Here are the relevant specs (according to HP System Information):

Product Name: HP Pavilion dv6700 Notebook PC
Product #: FE653UA#ABA

HDD Size: 186.31 GB
C: 174 GB total, 7 GB free
😧 12 GB total, 1 GB free
HDD Model: ST9200827AS ATA Device

Googling the HDD model reveals that it is a Seagate Momentus 5400.4 ST9200827AS 200 GB HDD which runs at 5400 rpm, and is 0.37" x 2.75" x 3.94" (HWD) -- detailed specs are from this link.

I would love to upgrade my hard disk to at least a 500 GB model, but 640 GB would be at the sweet spot, since after formatting and using something like Acronis to clone my Windows Vista Home Premium install onto it, I'd probably have around 400 GB free. A full terabyte would be pushing it, I think (considering the best bang for the buck). What HDDs could I use to replace my current model?

Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the compliment!

Upgrading your hard disk to 500GB is not a problem.

I have used the WD5000BEVT Western Digital Scorpio Blue model 500 GB without any issues.

You should be able to use any of the larger 2.5" SATA 300 hard drives if you disable the native SATA mode in the bios.

That should enable recognition of the drive by the BIOS. I recommend updating your notebook's BIOS to the current version.

One thing that could be an issue is that some of the 1TB drives are 12mm in height vice the standard 8.5mm.

Best regards,
erico

I am a volunteer forum member, not an HP employee. If my suggestion solved your issue, don't forget to mark that post as the accepted solution. If you want to say thanks, click on the Yes button next to the "was this reply helpful?"

EddieN120 · ‎02-20-2011

As it turns out, my favorite webstore doesn't have the Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000BEVT 500 GB drive in stock, so I am going to go for the next highest model, the Western Digital Scorpio Blue WDBABC6400ANC-NRSN 640GB drive instead (details here, here and here).

Apparently, these higher-capacity WD drives require more than just merely formating the drive -- you need to use a program to "align" the partitions due to the Advanced Format Technology newer drives use. The program is free from WD's Website and it can clone the old drive to the new one too. Once I have the drive in my hands, I shall try it out and report my results here.

Thank you, erico!

erico · ‎02-20-2011

@EddieN120 wrote:
As it turns out, my favorite webstore doesn't have the Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000BEVT 500 GB drive in stock, so I am going to go for the next highest model, the Western Digital Scorpio Blue WDBABC6400ANC-NRSN 640GB drive instead (details here, here and here).

Apparently, these higher-capacity WD drives require more than just merely formating the drive -- you need to use a program to "align" the partitions due to the Advanced Format Technology newer drives use. The program is free from WD's Website and it can clone the old drive to the new one too. Once I have the drive in my hands, I shall try it out and report my results here.

Thank you, erico!

You are quite welcome!

Best regards,
erico

I am a volunteer forum member, not an HP employee. If my suggestion solved your issue, don't forget to mark that post as the accepted solution. If you want to say thanks, click on the Yes button next to the "was this reply helpful?"

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