To Upgrade or not?

[TOADintree3]

I have a HP Pavilion dv4 – 1020 Notebook PC (circa 2008). It still works fine with all its original components in place. It is very slow by today’s standards running Windows 10. Inside there is:

Intel(R) Core (TM) 2 Duo CPU   P7350 @ 2.00 GHz   2.00 GHz

4.00 GM (RAM)

300 GB HD

What can be done to upgrade and speed things up? If so how much would that cost, roughly? If the answer is RAM, is that like a 8GB and or 16GB swap with the 4GB already onboard?

If so is that a DIY task? To do that is there a DIY video somewhere which is easy enough to follow? Or should I have Geeks R Us do it instead? Regardless, in the end is this even worth doing?

Your input is appreciated. Thank you.

[IT_WinSec]

Hi @TOADintree3 

The processor and RAM are OK if they work for you.

No doubt that the slowest part is the hard disk drive. You can easily replace it with an SSD - solid state drive.

What is SSD >> https://www.computerhope.com/jargon/s/ssd.htm

SSD advantages >> https://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch001396.htm

Basically, the advantages are that SSDs are way faster, more reliable, less noisy. You will notice signifact improvement with it.

SSDs are still more expensive than an HDD but they are very very cheap nowadays compared to what they used to be even an year ago. You need SATA SSD , 2.5 inch . These can be purchased online from reputable stores or from a local tech store. My personal recommended brands SSD are Samsung and Intel

(...edited...)

Please, provide an update or feedback

[TOADintree3]

Thank you so much for your reply. Yes, SSD seems like a very good and cost effective solution. I am familiar with SSD technology but never considered if for this small laptop, until now.

If I go that route I may also consider jumping to at least 8 gb of RAM. Do you know the RAM chip I would need? Please provide a link if at all possible.

Also, thank you for the service manual tip, however, there is not an active link for it in your post. i don't know where to find that manual online?

[IT_WinSec]

Hi,

You are very welcome !

The forum had some temporary glitch about an hour ago and the link has "evaporated". I have restored it but later deleted because it was for a slightly different model.

However, you can watch here how to do it:

>> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YwYiDBtevwI

This is the link for a slightly different model >> http://h10032.www1.hp.com/ctg/Manual/c03106715

but it's the same for your model, too. Page 53 (61)

With regards to your RAM, the PC is an old model and I cannot check the RAM specs. I will need your help 🙂 Please, give a log file from your PC so that I can see its specs.

• Download and run the free Speccy  > http://www.piriform.com/speccy

Install and run the app

When it is ready, click on File > Save a snapshot

A file with .speccy extension will be generated. Please, upload it somewhere (e.g. in your Google Drive, Dropbox, ICloud or OneDrive storage) and give me URL to download/see

Looking forward to your reply

[TOADintree3]

Thank you  so much for replying again. On the manual front, I think I found one:

http://static.highspeedbackbone.net/pdf/c01522095%20Hp%20dv4%20Manual.pdf

I downloaded it, not that right now I'll try to use it, but I have it none the less.

I do not use the cloud or have the ability to do what you require to get the RAM specs, thought I might download the program and run it and see what the report says... I'm not sure what else I can do on that score. I'll try to find the specs tomorrow after I download it and see what it gives me. Then I can perhaps reply to you again and pass info on that way.

What concerns me is that if something does go wrong on this HP I may not even get GEEK R US to be able to fix it.

[IT_WinSec]

Hi,

If you do not have a "Cloud" account, just visit https://wetransfer.com/ , click on the dots, choose to upload and get a link. Eventually, give me a link to see it.

Speccy is pretty straightforward and simple to use. Just follow the steps above

I am trying my best to avoid any "goes wrong" situations and that's why I am requesting the Speccy log to see the actual specs now, so that you do not need to make extra purchases or extra services.   🙂

Looking forward to your reply. Cheers !

[TOADintree3]

Thank you again for replying.

I will try your suggestions and the upload link provided. It may take me a day or so to do this, and give it a whirl, but I will try. I will leave this thread as unresolved until I complete my steps. I'm curious what the nuts and bolts look like anyway... though I did peek some via the msinfo32 cmd in the Windows Run menu, but it sounds like what I downloaded that you linked is different and more detaled? This is all greek to me. Most of the stuff I google I don't understand.

[TOADintree3]

Well I loaded the Speccy program and took a look. Wow you really can see everything. Like an x-ray with detailed analysis and real time graphics. Anyway, I took two screenshots of the RAM section and before I try to upload them, because I really don't understand what they mean, I did find this in the Summary Category:

4.00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 @ 398MHz (6-6-6-18)

Under the RAM category which I took a Speccy shot of, I saw these sections for the two SPD modules:

Slot #1
Type DDR2
Size 2048 MBytes
Manufacturer Samsung
Max Bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
Part Number M4 70T5663QZ3-CF7
Serial Number 2187041810
Week/year 25 / 08

Slot #2
Type DDR2
Size 2048 MBytes
Manufacturer Samsung
Max Bandwidth PC2-6400 (400 MHz)
Part Number M4 70T5663QZ3-CF7
Serial Number 2187041818
Week/year 25 / 08

Is that enough infor about the RAM to determine what to look for? If not, I'll try to upload the Speccy.

[IT_WinSec · Accepted solution]

Hi,

Yes, that is enough information. Thank you.

Your memory is a bit old -> it's DDR2 type. DDR2 is slower than those which superseeded it.

You can read more about it here >> https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/DDR2_SDRAM

Your memory is of type DDR2-800, module PC2-6400, working on 400 Mhz

So, basically, whenever you search for new/more RAM, it must of of this type - DDR2-800, for laptops

You have 2 slots for RAM and now they are both taken (not free) at the moment. The capacity is 2 x 2Gb. You have total of 4 GB. Your PC supports 8 GB. So, now you need to either replace the 2 memory chips with 2 new (each of them x4) so that you have 2x4=8 GB, or

you can replace one of your chips with 4 GB and keep one of the existing 2 GB chip and have 4+2 = 6 GB

Note that DDR2 is old one and these are not new. Nowadays, DDR2 memory is second hand only or refurbished. You can only buy them from some local tech store, or from online auctions like ebay with no guarantee for quality, warranty, service.

• Best would be to start with the SSD and only later consider adding more RAM should it be needed.

Let me know if you face any difficulties.

[TOADintree3]

Thank you again for responding. Yes, the SSD sounds like the route to go... RAM if needed, as you point out, is an apparent crap shoot not likely worth the gamble unless you found some for a song and a dance.

I have all my questions answered. Thank you for resolving my problem(s).