Pavilion zv5000 series RAM upgrade and CMOS replacement

[Spaceboy10]

My dad recently gave me his old HP Pavilion zv5201us, and it works great (It was painfully slow until I updated it to SP3, but that's besides the point).  It's got a few issues though, but nothing that's not fixable.  As mentioned in the title, it needs a RAM upgrade and a new CMOS battery.

The service manual only mentions RAM modules up to 1GB, but I found a 2GB module on Amazon.  32-bit computers are supposed to be able to handle up to 4GB.  If that's the same case with this one (and the module linked above is compatible), I'd like to buy 2 and replace the included 256MB module if possible.  If that module isn't compatible, can somebody direct me to some 1GB modules under $100?

As for the CMOS battery, information for this series online is basically nonexistent, but I ended up finding the service manual and it said nothing about CMOS replacement.  Does anybody know where I can find it?

Tl;DR

-I need 1GB or 2GB RAM modules for my Pavilion zv5000

-I need to know where the CMOS battery is

Thanks in advance!

[NonSequitur777]

@Spaceboy10,

Welcome to our HP User Forum!

Your HP Pavilion zv5201us Laptop takes the PC2100 DDR SDRAM SODIMM RAM and comes preinstalled with "256 MB non-removable memory". -To me that reads that this RAM is soldered in, but it is unclear to me if that is the case. -Please verify.

According to the specs I found, you can upgrade your HP Pavilion zv5201us Laptop up to a maximum memory capacity of 1.25 GB RAM Memory.  That would suggest that you can install an additional 1GB of new RAM, not 2GB RAM.

The specs say that your laptop has 1 "accessible" RAM socket to install memory -it already has 256 MB of "non-removable" standard memory installed.

Regardless, the better question to ask, why spend any more money on a laptop that has essentially zero performance?

Time to retire it and find something else.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, @Spaceboy10 

Please see this discussion...

Solved: cmos battery location - HP Support Community - 4906397

The notebook can support a max of 2 x 1 GB of memory.

ManualsLib - Makes it easy to find manuals online!

That is a hardware limitation, not a software one.

[Spaceboy10]

Thanks for your reply, NonSequitur777!

I lifted the keyboard from my laptop and as shown below, the RAM is socketed.

In this case, "non-removable" must mean "non-removable for people who are scared to void their warranty."  I think I might just buy 2 1GB sticks and put one in the "accessible" slot, then just try the other one in the "non-removable memory" slot (which is what I would've done in the first place, but I thought I would ask first before I wasted my money on something I can't use).

And to answer your 2nd question, I was going to buy a new-ish computer, but then my dad passed this one down to me and since I had it on hand, I thought I'd give it a shot.  Yes, it's old and not something I normally would've considered using day-to-day, but it'll work for now (it actually works surprisingly smoothly for its age).  And once I get the RAM upgraded, Linux shouldn't care about its low specs.

[Spaceboy10]

Thanks for your reply, Paul_Tikkanen!

As mentioned in my last post, I lifted the keyboard on my unit.  The thread you linked to says that it's under a mount plate, soldered to the board.  I may have missed it, but I couldn't see it anywhere.  Of course I didn't do a full teardown, but I'll explore that later.  Also, I found that after using the computer for a while, the CMOS battery seems to slightly recharge.  So I guess I can live with that for now.  Oh well, I'll end up doing a full teardown anyways to replace the thermal paste, so I can just replace it then.  And thanks for confirming the RAM limit.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

[NonSequitur777]

@Spaceboy10,

You are quite welcome!

Fair enough, the 2 x 1GB RAM sticks will work just fine as per @Paul_Tikkanen, you don't have to worry about that.  Looked around, and here are some very good deals for 2x1GB DDR PC2700, 333MHz, 184-pin RAM sticks: 2x1GB DDR PC2700, 333MHz, 184-pin RAM for sale | eBay.

Kind Regards,

NonSequitur777