Upgrade Help for 2004 Pavilion and Other Questions

[singergirl294]

I just bought this laptop yesterday (Friday, May 13th, 2022) from a business owned by a friend. I specifically chose this one because it has a built-in disk drive and, being an independent musician, that is very important (I'm tempted to say it'd be a deal-breaker not to have one, but I have learned recently that laptops are no longer made with built-in disk drives anymore, so... 😓) - and it was within my minuscule budget (they call us "Starving Artists" for a reason). However, as it stands, I cannot even install Discord - let alone my music recording program. I honestly won't be using this laptop for much (aside from basic web surfing), but the main things I 100% MUST install are as follows:

(*= I don't understand what these terms mean in any capacity - hence, the reason why they are noted in quotation marks. I am vastly under-educated in tech-savviness for my age range, and not afraid to admit to it. I'm thoroughly confused, out of my element, and at a total loss.)

• Avid (my music recording program);
• Discord (+/-79.1 MB);

• 2 PC games,

1. Genshin Impact (118 MB),

2. Wizard101 (Requires 64-bit OS; Recommends 8GB+ RAM and 30GB+ Disk Space, Supports 4GB RAM and 14GB Disk Space; for Graphics*, Recommends "Dedicated AMD or nVidia Graphics Card," but Supports "Intel Integrated, requires additional 1-2GB RAM (assuming 1024x768 resolution)").

I know that the warranty on this laptop is far past expired, and I doubt I could afford the fee for tech support, but all I want to do is speak with someone who knows about these things simply to ask questions, and I can't even get a hold of anyone from HP for just that! The current specifications on this laptop are:

• 2004 HP Pavilion dv5000 (dv5210us);
• Windows 7 Home Premium, ©2009;
• AMD Turion™ 64 Mobile Technology ML-34 1.80GHz;
• 55.7 GB Local Disk (C:) Space (43.9 GB free), 99.9 MB System Reserved (F:) Space (71.6 MB free);
• 2.00 GB RAM (1.87 GB usable);
• 32-bit Operating System;

I also have the Serial Number (s/n), Product Number (p/n), Product ID, Product Key, the two numbers above and below the Product Key, and the number on the side of the Product Key Sticker.

My primary questions are:

• Is it possible to upgrade my CPU to a 64-bit?
• Is there any way to increase my RAM to at least  6GB?
• What does all that Graphics lingo mean, and what are they referring to? Also, how do I locate my current Graphics specifications and, if necessary, upgrade them?
• Would I be able to add more Disk Space, somehow? While my Disk Space does (albeit slightly) exceed the minimum recommended availability for that one game, it would end up taking up most of said Disk Space. Besides, it would be nice to have more than what I'm presently working with, regardless.
• Lastly, the obvious, how do I safely but cheaply (ideally freely?) update to Windows 10? I'm not certain if this laptop would be compatible with Windows 11, but if not then it's truly no skin off my back. ‌‌🤓

[pbroussard]

I assume you have Windows 7 32 bit. That would be tricky to upgrade to Windows 10 64 bit for free.

But, the other things we can help you with. You'll need a larger drive, 256GB SATA ssd's are around $40, the Turion is 64 bit, so the memory we'll have to get your Product ID or Model number to see what kind of memory it has.

[singergirl294]

How much would I be looking at for the OS upgrade?

It's great to know that drive is so cheap! 😮 

Is HP Pavilion dv5000 (more specifically, dv5210us) not the Model number? If not, where do I look for it (since I looked at both of the stickers on the bottom)? 🤔

Lastly, what are the two numbers under your closing statement? I looked them both up, assuming they were probably Model numbers; the HP Envy one brought up a desktop, but the former only brought up a single image of a laptop along with at least 8 links to forums and an image of what appeared to be some sort of settings window open on a computer screen? Are they examples of your volunteer efforts? Sorry I'm so clueless... 😅

[pbroussard]

You're getting close with  dv5210us but I can't find anything on HP's site. Try using this guide- https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00033108  

Those numbers in my sig are the HP computers I own, and like most everyone else here on this forum, I am a volunteer helping people with their laptop issues.

I did find some specs on the laptop, there may be a 2GB memory limit since it uses DDR memory.

[singergirl294]

Well, I didn't find any other ideas through that link that I haven't already tried or looked at/into, but I do have the Product Number: EZ536UA

Thank you for clearing up my confusion regarding the numbers in your signature.

I hope that 2GB isn't the RAM limit! In my Control Panel, it lists those specs as "Installed Memory" - so, shouldn't that mean additional memory could be installed on top of it? What is DDR an acronym for in regards to memory? (It very obviously does NOT stand for "Dance Dance Revolution" in this case! 🤣)

[singergirl294]

I found the model number (other than dv5210us)! Why I didn't think to look under the battery before last night is beyond me, but I got it!

That said, I've also been doing research of my own, based off your recommendations along with the other information I have about my device. As far as I've seen, the model number needed to check for compatibility is  "dv5210us." I found a few options for replacement Hard Drives, as well as other helpful information.

I'm still doing research, but I figured I should check in and make note on this forum post of my progress.

[pbroussard]

As far as I can tell, the maximum memory for that model is 2GB. That severely limits what you can do with more up to date software like the OS and the few programs you listed.

[Huffer]

HP does not really provide phone support for free to anyone out of warranty and you would be lucky to find a phone support person who would know anything about trying to bring an 18 year old laptop up to some kind of current usefulness. 

The processor is a 64 bit processor you just have 32 bit Windows installed. With 2 gigs of RAM trying to install a 64 bit version of Windows would not do any good. You only need 64 bit for 4 gigs or more of memory. Even the specifications and manuals for your laptop are hard to find after all this time. But I did manage to locate the service manual:

Manual 

The memory is original DDR and I am sorry to say the max memory is 2 gigs or a pair of 1 gig chips. That was considered a lot of RAM 18 years ago. I think it might actually take 3 gigs: a 1 gig and a 2 gig module, but I recall those will not run 4 gigs of memory. So even though you have a 64 bit processor your motherboard limits how much use you can make if it. The laptop originally came with Windows XP. Although there was a 64 bit version of XP it was kind of experimental at the time and it was designed for 32 bit Windows XP. Windows 10 is not going to be an option and even Windows 7 I am going to guess is missing some needed drivers. 

The video chip is "integrated" and no upgrade is possible. It does use SATA hard drives but only in a very weird way. Its an older storage technology with converted SATA ports so will not really work well with a solid state drive. 

You are basically trying to enter the Indianapolis 500 with a Model T. I don't mean to seem unsympathetic but there are just limits to what obsolete hardware can be expected to do. You can likely use the laptop for simple slow web browsing, but it is not going to be any kind of platform to run any up to date software. I hope you did not pay much money for it. 

Happy to explain all this further.