Can I upgrade the ram of my Hp victus 15 fa0000 from 2x8gb to 2x16gb myself?

[CementGuts]

Hello Paul -

I'm not a user of this forum so please forgive my "hijack". I looked but it doesn't appear there is a way to directly message you. 

I bought a new HP ENVY x360 Laptop - 15m-ed0023dx in 2020. It came with Windows 10. It's since updated to Win11 (not sure when.)

I've been having an issue with ethernet connectivity randomly dropping and I'm doing everything I can think of to try and figure out wth is going on. I think I my have successfully manually updated my Realtek USB GbE Family Controller and the issue hasn't happened since but it's only been a few days and I've hardly been on my laptop so I can't say for sure.

Your name came up in a different thread (https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Desktop-Wireless-and-Networking/Ethernet-keeps-disconnecting/td-p/8503...) about needing to update a driver manually. I  just can't seem to find the thread where you included the link to that driver (whatever it is).

Also, it's 2024 and there still aren't any updates for Win 11 on the HP website. I know that you're not an HP employee but any advice on where to go look for updates that may be needed? Windows Update does not capture all of them, I'm sure of it.

Thanks, Paul, for any assistance you may be able to provide. You've helped people to the tune of 900+ pages in the support forums!

[CementGuts]

I wrote to you in the post titled: Re: Can I upgrade the ram of my Hp victus 15 fa0000 from 2x8gb to 2x16gb myself? (https://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Notebook-Wireless-and-Networking/Re-Can-I-upgrade-the-ram-of-my-Hp-vic...)

I'm not a technologically savvy person so I'm doing the best that I can here. I truly hope you see my post and reply.

As far as I could see, there's no way to direct message you.

Thank you!

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Hi:

When I look at the service manual and product specs for your notebook, it does not come with a built in ethernet controller, so unfortunately, I wouldn't know where you can get a driver for the Realtek USB ethernet device you are using.

HP ENVY x360 Laptop - 15m-ed0023dx Product Specifications | HP® Support

Maintenance and Service Guide HP ENVY x360 15 Convertible PCIMPORTANT! This document is intended for...

The only suggestion I can offer would be to check the device manufacturer's website for the model Realtek USB ethernet adapter you purchased and see if they have a W11 driver for it.

I do not know of any HP PCs that use a Realtek USB ethernet adapter.

Cheers,

Paul

[CementGuts]

Thanks for your speedy reply!

I didn't add anything to the laptop since I bought it so what is there, was there. And, as I said, I believe I was successful in manually updating that Network Adapter from a different post I read on Reddit having to do with much the same issue as I've been experiencing. Which, as I said, may be solved. Fingers crossed.

But it doesn't answer the question where do we look for updated drivers for the....things on this laptop (I don't know all the technical terms) since it feels like Windows Update doesn't capture them all? I ran Windows Update: it did not capture the driver update that I ended up doing manually.

Isn't it odd that the HP Support Assistant only offers updates to Windows 10? What about all of us Windows 11 users? I'm very wary of using third-party websites to seek out individual drivers. And I'm not even sure exactly what drivers I'd want to be making sure are kept updated! I feel like HP dropped the ball here. The laptop is barely 4 years old. Not 40 years old.

[CementGuts]

This may help. The laptop doesn't even have an ethernet port. So, at the same time I bought the laptop, I purchased this: Hyper - HyperDrive Ultimate 11-Port Universal USB-C Hub - USB-C Docking Station for Laptops - Space Gray from Best Buy.

Maybe it's the USB-C hub that uses the Realtek ethernet network adapter?

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome.

I agree with you.

Most HP consumer class PC's made from 2019 - 2021 support W11 and HP has not provided any driver support for them and at this point in time, it is highly unlikely they ever will.

They only have provided periodic W11 driver updates for the business class PC's made during that period and even a bit before that.

Other than finding an updated driver for the Wi-Fi/Bluetooth adapter, you won't find any W11 drivers from those notebooks that would work for your notebook.

Since the product specs indicate that your notebook has an Intel AX201 Wi-Fi adapter, you can get the latest W11 Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers directly from the Intel website for your notebook's Wi-Fi adapter.

Intel® Wireless Wi-Fi Drivers for Windows® 10 and Windows 11*

Intel® Wireless Bluetooth® Drivers for Windows® 10 and Windows 11*

Yes, the USB hub you bought would use a USB ethernet controller.

It appears that this is the manufacturer's website for the device you bought, but I don't see under support that they offer any driver downloads for it.

HyperDrive ULTIMATE 11-in-1 USB-C Hub – HyperShop.com

[CementGuts]

Thanks. I'm including a few screenshots of what (I think) are my wifi adapters.

 

 

This is what I found under Bluetooth Device:

Based on this info, do you feel it's warranted to update the drivers per your previous message? Is there a way to save the driver updates to my computer without actually applying the updates in case I need them in the future?

Again, I know you don't work for HP but I'm flabbergasted. If they don't intend to provide driver updates for Windows 11....like, what's going to happen when eventually it becomes Windows 12? Are all of us Envy home users looking at owning expensive, overly large paperweights?

Could you hazard a guess as to why they're not offering updated drivers to units that aren't even 5 years old? I know you may not know - but between the 2 of us, if there's an answer, you're more likely to know it than I am! LOL.

[Paul_Tikkanen]

You're very welcome,

The Intel Wi-Fi and Bluetooth drivers will update the Intel AX201 Wi-Fi adapter and Intel Bluetooth adapter.

They won't update those other devices in your screenshot which have native Windows drivers.

You can download the drivers and save them, but you don't have to run them.

I'm thinking that HP has a philosophy of 'if it's not broke, don't fix it' regarding drivers.

In other words, if everything is working fine on a PC there is no need to update the drivers.

The only time I have seen HP release updated drivers is if there is a known issue that a driver update addresses.

Routine driver updates are few and far between.

Since Microsoft hasn't released any info on W12, it is too early to speculate what that change is going to bring.

W12 may impose stricter hardware requirements than W11 did, such as having a minimum of an Intel 12th generation core processor.

I saw no reason for the hardware requirements Microsoft placed on W11.

It didn't matter to me...I installed W11 on all of my PCs--some having been made as early as 2008 and come nowhere near meeting the W11 hardware requirements and they work just fine.

In any event, I don't know the answer as to why HP does what they do regarding software and driver support for their PC's.

I am more upset that HP retires support for PC's more than 10 years old and you can't find any drivers for those unless you can find them from 3rd party driver websites.

I can get drivers for my Dell PC's from Dell going back to the early 1990's.

[CementGuts]

Agreed.

I updated the bluetooth and wifi drivers. So, we shall see. 

Good to know about what HP's thought process may be re: driver updates. I, too, feel like "if it ain't broke..."

That being said, it was terrifying to randomly be dropping off ethernet as I can only get fast speeds in my home using the ethernet connection. Hopefully that is resolved as a consequence of me manually updating the Realtek Family Controller driver (thank God for Reddit!)

I'm not a huge Windows fan - I think their stuff is very buggy and glitchy and they release it before its fully tested so we can be their guinea pigs. But it's all I know: I'm not an Apple fan. And - it's also BS-y: you have Win 11 running on devices where Bill Gates says it shouldn't be possible. GAH.

I was a devout Dell buyer for years.

Anyway, thank you for your help - I hope I have this sorted.

Lastly, while I have you, is there any particular 3rd-party site you feel is legit to download drivers from? I downloaded the Intel Driver Support Assistant so I have that covered, I guess. Contacting Realtek headquarters (i.e. the CEO and Head of I'm a Very Important Person) asking for assistance got me nowhere; they never replied. Someone on Reddit helped me out with getting that ethernet adapter driver updated.

Thanks

[Paul_Tikkanen]

Anytime..

Glad to have been of assistance. 

I don't know of any driver sites to find new drivers, but I use the driverscollection.com website to get drivers for PCs that HP no longer supports.