Laptop adapter interchangable w/other brand Netbook?

Hi, anyone know whether an adapter of:
14" Lenovo thinkpad can safely be connected to:
11" HP Mini which has neither an adapter nor battery?

 

I'd recommend against it. Most notebook power adapters are proprietary; even if the connector does fit, it might not be supplying the right kind of power, and could damage the notebook.

Charles

 

I see, thanks. Are non-OEM adapters via Ebay safe? I see various options & some say theirs are like OEM. Ranging between $7 & $10.
...For example, i've been buying non-OEM printer toners off Ebay, and what can i say, so far so good. I'm not saying OEM might not be superior in how long they last, but hey, they're printing.

Perhaps you know the answer to this as well - I wonder if there's a source which sells both HP-mini adapters as well as RAM, since the mini (311-1037NR) has Win10 and only 2gb RAM, so i suppose i'd need to look for a 3gb RAM? or rather 1gb to add to the 2gb?

 

I have purchased numerous aftermarket laptop chargers and batteries with no adverse results. Look at the label on the charger (or the battery) and be sure the replacement part you are purchasing has matching output specs for voltage. You can go higher on the wattage capacity, but you want the same output voltage. What I mean by capacity is you can use a 330W AC adapter on a system that normally uses a 240W AC adapter with no issues, but not the other way around. Or, you can use a higher capacity battery to extend the amount of time your laptop can run on the battery. However, your system uses a certain input voltage and you don't want to use a part that outputs more or less voltage than what your system requires as that can mess things up. You can see these specs by looking on the label in most cases. See the example in the image below.

Not sure exactly what you are asking here about the RAM. For the best performance and stability, you generally want to have matching modules rather than mixed. If you end up with an odd number, that is a dead giveaway that the memory modules are mismatched. If you have 2GB installed and an empty slot available, you should buy an exact match (look on the label of the RAM stick for the brand, part number, etc.) and end up with 4GB, not 3GB. If you do not see a label on the stick of RAM you have, remove it from the slot to have a closer look, as the label may be on the side facing the motherboard.

 

Mr. Fox, thanks for the feedback! I checked the underpart, but because it's in very tiny grey-on-black print, i can barely make out what it says. It's nowhere near the clarity of the demo pic you posted.
It seems to state:
INPUT: 18.5v 3.5a
I also can't find Wattage anywhere on the netbook.
The 18.5 specs is in the area where the battery is normally seated.

I'm not even sure if the original adapter came with 2 or 3 prongs! At least one seller states it makes no difference insofar as quality, but isn't it better to get an adapter with the same amount of prongs the original came with?

As for checking if there's an empty slot, i see 2 philips screws, but nervous about unscrewing them, for fear of what might come loose & then not reinstatable. Or is there nothing to worry about?

Do you know where to check below for volt/watt specs, and also how the ram-slots are configured?
https://support.hp.com/us-en/product/HP-Mini-311-PC-series/4011350/model/4051837/

 

The label I was referring to should be on the AC adapter itself. But, the input specs you found on the chassis label should match the label on the AC adapter. The wattage would be on the AC adapter. You would determine the AC adapter minimum wattage by multiplying the voltage times the amps (65W in this case). The aftermarket replacement AC adapter connector should be made the same as the original part. I am not sure about the prongs, but I would be cautious about using something that was designed differently with respect to the connector.

I am not familiar with the product you own, but I found this video on YouTube showing how to completely disassemble it (assuming it is the same product). The video is not in English. If this is what yours looks like, it has RAM soldered to the motherboard on the keyboard side and one slot available under the bottom cover. If it is single-channel memory, the RAM soldered to the motherboard does not necessarily need to match the RAM you add to the available slot.



Here is a short video in English that shows how to access the RAM slot.


If your system is the newer design, this video shows how to disassemble it.

 

OK, thanks, please bear with me, because upon starting the first video, i unscrewed & took pics. It will now take some time to process the pics, and i guess afterward you can advise which data it's safe not to edit out.
...update: are these pics OK to use or should i delete them?
...and based on these pics, can you tell if this thing was abused, and/or other feedback regarding my above questions?

As for all the rest of the 1st video & next ones, I think i'd be hesitant to disassemble that much, given my inexperience.

I mean does that 3rd video mean that you need to disassemble the upper keyboard to add more RAM? I can't figure it out...

 

Hi. I cannot really determine from those pictures if it was abused. I do not think there is much point in disassembling because it looks like the only RAM slot is under the cover you removed. And, that RAM slot is already filled with a stick. The videos I added only for your general information benefit to see how to take the machine apart.

If your machine is the same as the those depicted in the first and second videos the RAM on the keyboard side is soldered to the motherboard and cannot be replaced. So, to increase the RAM, you would have to replace the one stick of DDR3 you already have with a stick of larger capacity.

 

I'm not sure where on my above-pictured panel you're referring to (regarding the DDR stick), or even if its worth it, since it seems quite abused to me even internally.

Also 2gb RAM seems very cramped for Win10, and might get paralyzed as happened to many, so i wish i knew what my best option for now is.

Should i just look for an 18.5v adapter off Ebay & not worry about watts? And then test it with HDtune, if possible, as the next step, prior to deciding whether to increase RAM?

 

Oh well, here's an update. I took the plunge, and am awaiting the adapter, after which i'll see if it even powers up. I've never to date used anything as small as a netbook!

Off-topic I'd appreciate if anyone can remind me which HDtune tabs are most necessary to check

 

@Judy Smith

Let us know how the power adapter works. As Mr. Fox noted, to calculate wattage, it's amps * volts. The power adapter should state how many amps and volts it supplies.

I found a service guide for the HP Mini 311 on HP's site here. It states there is 1GB of onboard/non-removable memory, and one DIMM slot for upgrades. Up to a 2GB module can be installed in the slot for 3GB of total memory. You can get a 2GB DDR3-1333 module (NOT DDR3L-1333, so be careful) for under $20. Windows will be better with 3GB of memory than 2GB, but it's still not a lot. The notebook uses an Atom N270 processor, which will be very slow, and extra memory isn't going to alleviate that.

HDTune - I haven't used that in a while. According to their site, the basic version hasn't been updated since 2008. Probably still works, though. I think you can run a health check in there for your storage drive, that's all I'd do.

Can I ask why you want to continue using the HP? Even a refurbished notebook for US$200-250ish would be worlds ahead of it.

Charles

 

Hi, Charles, so sorry I just saw this post now. Thanks so much for your feedback, and indeed this is VERY slow. (Each letter i'm typing now takes maybe 1/2 min. to display in this box! Also, the display is weirdly wide & squat. And it isn't able to be dimmed, even though I clicked the display section of Win-10. The brightness-slider remained Grey and was not movable from its position at the far-right of slider....
...My eyes are KILLING.

...As you can see, I got this working, so the Ebay adapter works - though the plug fits loosely rather than tightly in the TrippLite. (note the USPS dope had delivered it to someone a few blocks away from me despite the tracking number, but those people contacted my BIL who delivered it to me today...

The reason I bought this was because I was looking for something cheap, lightweight and not-wireless nor requirement to touch the screen, which fries my fingertips. It's for purpose of "backpacking" with this to someone a few blocks away to show photo's and video's. This was cheap ($25 plus $9 warrantied adapter bought separately) and had Win-10 loaded on it, so I figured i'd get a taste of Win-10 too.

But now you're explaining about the processor being slow, that's a letdown. I thought it was Win10 plus the 2gb RAM slowing it down.

I'll post my HDtune pics below - do they look OK? And is this redeemable, and worth doing so? Because if this had been much dimmer & not so slow - I might like it. I didn't test printing yet, nor other nitty gritties.

 

The HD Tune results look fine, the SMART sensors are reporting no general problems. So the machine is working fine, but it's slow as you noted. For $25, I can't argue it was a bad deal. I don't think it's worth expanding the RAM to 3GB, though.

Dell often has small laptops and Chromebooks going for $149 or so in their Outlet. In fact, the other day they had some going for $99. If you decide to upgrade, one of those would be light years ahead of your machine.

Charles

 

Thanks! I'll have to check it out via my alt. latptop, cuz it took forever until your link would display on this netbook. My question is - whether there's any that's equivalent to the specs of the one i'm on now, which is lightweight, and has several usb ports & internet port?

I prefer wired, so as not to fry my fingers via touchscreen, and my brain ia WiFi.
( Tha's "via" but that's the way this netbook is typing due to slowness.

If i'd bring this thing to BestBuy, could they improve it with a faster processor and RAM?
What might that cost?
...alternatively, would replacement with Linux help?

I should also emphasize (in case I didn't yet) that I have the slowest Optimum internet svc. due to my budget, so wouldn't a high-speed processor (and RAM) be overkill?

 

The processor in that notebook is soldered/non-replaceable. Even if it were replaceable, the platform is so outdated at this point that there wouldn't be a good-enough upgrade to make it worthwhile.
Any notebook in the Dell Outlet (I linked in my last post) will be much faster than your current notebook. You might consider a Chromebook, they don't require as much hardware to run smoothly as a Windows machine.

Charles

 

Charles, thanks again! I think i'll ask further pertinent questions on the "which notebook to buy" forum, as it's more relevant & notebook shopping is difficult for me (understatement).