Seeking Correct Operating System for HP Pavillion Entertainment PC

[ThosDPWhyte]

Hello, I have inherited a Pavillion Entertianment PC notebook which is very slow. I think it is running a version of Windows 10 which may be the wrong operating system. What should i do to get best performance, please?

[WAWood]

@ThosDPWhyte

Hello;

Allow me to welcome you to the HP forums!

Sorry, but I don't have very good news for you ...

This model PC came with either XP or Vista preinstalled -- and that is not good news.

HP does not stock XP or Vista Recovery Media any longer, so you would have to check with these sources to see if they still have it:    http://www.computersurgeons.com/ and http://www.restoredisks.com/

Good Luck

[ThosDPWhyte]

Thanks. What would you advise as the best course of action? I like the size of the notebook and have invested in a new battery. Regards, Tom

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi, Tom:

Please post the product number or full model number of the dv2.

The product number can be found on the same sticker as the serial number.

Use this guide if you need additional help with finding the model info...

https://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c00033108

[ThosDPWhyte]

Pavilion dv2 CNC91224LB NS546EA#ABU

Thanks

[ThosDPWhyte]

Model dv-2 1030ea

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

That model was designed to run on XP or Vista.

However, since it can run on Vista, it can run on W7 too -- 32 or 64 bit, though I would recommend W7 32 bit because the notebook can't handle more than 4 GB of memory.

You would use the Vista drivers for any hardware that W7 didn't install.

You would have to manually install the graphics driver though.

Here is an old spec sheet on the notebook if you are interested...

http://www.hp.com/hpinfo/newsroom/press_kits/2009/ces/Datasheet-HPPaviliondv2-20090104102850.pdf

Unless you have a copy of W7 that you can install for free, tell me what doesn't work on W10?

We might be able to get W10 to work by using Vista drivers or W7 drivers from other model notebooks that may have the same hardware.

I would imagine the main thing that may not have a driver installed is the graphics.

If you click to expand the Display Adapters device manager category, do you see a AMD Radeon HD graphics adapter listed there, or a Microsoft Basic Display Adapter.

If you see the latter, that means the graphics driver is missing, and that would be a major reason for the notebook to not be working right.

[ThosDPWhyte]

Firstly, thank you for this assistance. I really appreciate it.

the data I can find is

ATI Mobility Radeon HD3400

APci x64 based PC

AMD Athlon neo processor MV40 1.6 Ghz

2gb RAM

300GB Hard Drive

Windows 10pro

The notebook works but is quite (frustratingly) slow

Maybe it needs more RAM - or a faster processor?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

From the info you posted everything seems to be working correctly.

Here is the service manual.  The processor cannot be upgraded according to chapter 1, page 1.

http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c01682742

This is what I think is the main problem...the 2 GB of memory on a 64 bit OS.

Even with W7 x64 it would run painfully slow with 2 GB of memory.

Normally on most PC's you can cheaply and easily add another 2 GB memory module to give it 4 GB, and it would perform considerably better.

The problem with your model is that there is only one memory slot, and while the specs state the PC would take up to 4 GB, removing the 2 GB memory module and replacing it with a PC2-5300 4 GB memory module would cost the equivalent of $100 USD.

That is more than the notebook is worth.

So IMO you would be throwing good money after bad by buying a W7 operating system which would cost around $100 or more, or installing a 4 GB memory chip.

The only thing you could do for free would be to reinstall W10, but use the 32 bit version, which should run a bit better on a platform with only 2 GB of memory.

64 bit operating systems need more memory and disk space to run than a 32 bit OS does.  Not double, but more.

You can make your own W10 installation media by using the Media Creation Tool at the link below and you will have the option to create a USB installation flash drive (you will need a 4 GB flash drive), or save an ISO file, which you can burn to a DVD.

When you get to the part of the installation script where you are asked to enter a product key, select the 'I don't have a product key' option, and W10 will install and automatically activate once you are connected to the internet since Microsoft has a record of that PC being previously upgraded to W10.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

If you would prefer to use a DVD to install W10, I have zipped up and attached the Microsoft ISO to USB tool that would transfer the ISO file to a DVD so that it is bootable.

[ThosDPWhyte]

Thanks Paul,

For some reason the email notifying me that you had posted went to Junk.

I will look again at your advice and links in the morning. 

23.48 here in Glasgow U.k.

Kind regards,

Tom