Notebook (Laptop) Upgrade FAQ

[erico]

Hi,

Now why exactly would you buy something that you already own? 

As far as video goes...read the original post I made at the beginning of this thread.

regards,

erico 

[German]

Excuse me erico, maybe I didn't make myself clear regarding my actual HDs configuration.

My dv9575la already has two 120Gb HDs, and I just want to make the upgrade by replacing them by two SATA 1Tb HDs.

That was it. Sorry for the lack of information from me.

Regards,

German 

[erico]

Hi German,

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German wrote:

Excuse me erico, maybe I didn't make myself clear regarding my actual HDs configuration.

My dv9575la already has two 120Gb HDs, and I just want to make the upgrade by replacing them by two SATA 1Tb HDs.

That was it. Sorry for the lack of information from me.

Regards,

German 

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No worries. I already said that should be no problem. Make an HP Restore CD set from the Recovery manager (F11 when the laptop first starts up) and then replace the first drive. Then you can put the OS and software on the first drive. Afterwards it will be time to install the second hard disk and format it from within the Windows OS.

For all of the data you already have on the original disks there is the option of installing your old first drive in the number two drive position and importing it into the new 1TB drive. You can do the same with the data on the second 120 GB hard disk.

Here is a link to the procedure of using the HP recovery manager  Take a look at the section that says ``Three ways to recover the PC to the original operating condition`` 

later,
erico 

Message Edited by erico on 11-07-2009 12:14 PM

Message Edited by erico on 11-07-2009 12:14 PM

[wand]

How were you able to insert graphics to your reply.  I tried without success to start a forum item with an error message.  I even imported the screen capture into MS Word and it created the space, but not the graphic.

thanks,

wand

[erico]

Hi Wand,

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wand wrote:

How were you able to insert graphics to your reply.  I tried without success to start a forum item with an error message.  I even imported the screen capture into MS Word and it created the space, but not the graphic.

thanks,

wand

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There are a few ways to do it.

MS Word is definitely not the tool to use. 

You can do it through the use of  your own HTML links or uploading jpg or jpeg images from your own PC. The former, is of course dependent on how familiar you are with Hyper Text Markup Language. Doing it from your own PC is best when you have a program such as Adobe Fireworks or Adobe Photoshop. The trick is to manage to achieve the best image at the smallest possible size (in terms of kilobytes).

 The simplest way is to open a Photobucket account. Upload your graphic images to photobucket account in jpg or giff or tiff format it is easy to use the forum link from the image that Photobucket supplies to insert in a forum post.. There is a pretty decent help section at Photobucket. There are also other free image hosting sites that are just as easy to use.

It takes a little practice and determination, but you can do it.  

regards,

erico 

[Laeadern]

I have a HP Pavilion DV7 3067cl and am trying to figure out if i can upgrade the DVD-ROM to a Blu-Ray drive. http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c01890529&tmp_task=prodinfoCategory&lc=en&dlc=en&cc=us&lang=en&product=4041781 is HP's only link to it.

[wand]

Great question.  I'd like to do the same on a Pavilion tx2120us tablet pc.

[jpdoc]

(I posted this in Hardware but no reply, thought I might have better luck here on the Upgrade Page)

I have a nw9440 mobile workstation.  I would very much like to install and use 8GB ram as I use it for heavy 64bit graphics applications.  The HP laptop feature glossary FAQ site says -

"Most HP and Compaq laptops are expandable to 8GB RAM. With a greater amount of RAM, you can run more applications simultaneously and run them faster. Plus, you’ll enjoy increased performance for tasks like digital video editing, downloading music2 and gaming."

URL http://h20331.www2.hp.com/hho/cache/377186-0-0-225-121.html

There are two slots taking 200 pin PC2-5300 SODIMM 667MHz, currently holding 4GB (2x2).  I want to put in 2 x 4GB of these -

URL   http://www.memoryupgrade.pro/4gb-1x-4gb-pc2-5300-ddr2-667mhz-small-outline-dimm-upgrade.html

Given the spec I assume they'll fit fine.  The question is will the HP nw9440 BIOS support over 4GB?  I realize that the new memory wouldn't be covered under HP warranty (mine has nearly expired anyway) but  given that this was HP's top spec laptop when I bought it I'd assume it would be OK, particularly in light of the HP statement above.  I'd really like this confirmed before splashing out on the RAM.

Anyone at HP have an answer?

Many thanks in advance.

[Pranav_UK]

Please advise what hard drive I should buy as a second hard drive for my Pavilion DV8263ea notebook.

My laptop has currently a Hitachi HTS541010G9SA00 hard drive.

Should I buy a SATA drive either a Hitachi Travelstar or WD Scorpio.

What is the maximum capacity I should look at, is it 320 or 250 GB.

My laptop as Centrino Core2 Duo processor and runs Windows XP home. I want to upgrade to Windows 7.

[erico]

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Pranav_UK wrote:

Please advise what hard drive I should buy as a second hard drive for my Pavilion DV8263ea notebook.

My laptop has currently a Hitachi HTS541010G9SA00 hard drive.

Should I buy a SATA drive either a Hitachi Travelstar or WD Scorpio.  I would recommend the WD Scorpio

What is the maximum capacity I should look at, is it 320 or 250 GB. 320 Gb is  the maximum recommended for guaranteed compatibility, but many other users have used 500 GB and 1 TB SATA hard drives. I would recommend updating to the latest available BIOS. 

My laptop as Centrino Core2 Duo processor and runs Windows XP home. I want to upgrade to Windows 7. You shouldn't have any problems upgrading. Check at your laptop's support page for Windows 7 drivers. For greatest compatibility and least driver issues, install the Windows 7 32-bit version.

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regards,
erico