Aspire 5315 CPU Step-by-Step Upgrade Guide

A day after I flash, I dont seem to have any problems (at least I came across so far) so I will stick with 1.43 for now

Shame X3100 tv-out cant handle native resolution and 1024x768 and higher tv-out output, but well better than nothing ah

 

haha, yeah it is a small world. hope your upgrades all go well. as far as ram goes, it doesn't matter which one is in which, they are both equal

 

Upgrade went well. Windows didn't want to start with 3gig of RAM, but had no troubles with 2 gig.

Not sure that the temerature control works OK, I did some real heavy video rending, and PC Wizard claimed the CPU never went above 25 degrees celcius.

It's running much faster. Now it is a great laptop for little money.


Next step is a bigger hard drive (at the moment, 250g seems to be the sweet spot imho) and windows XP.

 

give this a try for temps, if you haven't already http://www.p35-forum.de/files/nhc_2.0_pre_release_06.zip

 

some users have reported 3gigs of RAM working.... but the 2 gig stick has to be in a certain slot... i have seen this on a few different ACER models..

but i can't recall which slot the 2gig stick needs to be placed in... just try one, if it fails then try it in the other...

BTW w/ the 3gigs of RAM DOES the laptop POST and try to boot,, and then toss up blue screen errors?? i seem to recall that was the way it happened to others...

but i have seen some OLDER acer's (maybe even 5315's w/ OLD BIOS) that would not even post with more than 2 gigs installed

 

BigO - just how outdated are the drivers provided by Soulpass tutorial for Windows XP (feature, performance, reliability wise) compared to the Vista ones?

Also, how does the "restore OS+etc" system works on the 5315? The HP i used to have, had a partition with an image, that I backedup on a DL dvd and worked pretty well (when I needed to restore it that is)

Cheers

 

in response to Rudzer.... (sorry for the length and the delay in answering)
answering most important question first!!!

HAVE YOU MADE THE RESTORE DISKS YET??

if you have not made a set of recovery disks yet,, i recommend doing it ASAP, and when you make the disks be sure not to forget to make the DRIVERS & APPLICATIONS dvd/cd (i'm not sure but i think they are included in the factory image,, but it's better to be safe than sorry)

the 5315 and all current acers have a "hidden" partition you can view using DISK MANAGMENT (just to verify it's there... DO NOT ACCESS IT)
the partition is named PQSERVICE and it is used by the ACER EMPOWERING TECHNOLOGY's eRecovery application to allow users to burn a set (or sets) of RECOVERY CD/DVD's (depends on your burner and media).

the partition is also accessed by the D2D recovery process to restore the factory image to the C: partition by pressing ALT + F10 at the main boot-up (white ACER screen).... which thru the magic of a custom MBR (master boot record) begins to boot the PC off of the HIDDEN partition and begins to REBUILD the C: partition and return it to factory status.. (d: partition & data are not touched by either method of FACTORY RESTORE)


i'm not sure if the author of the soulpass site has updated the drivers since creating the site??

but i know there are updated chipset, video, wifi, sound that have been released by the repsective manufacturers...... and those are all less 60 days old.. (not on soulpass or acer)

i keep planning on putting together a Zip file with the current driver, but it seems like they are constantly updating certain drivers... sound driver is the wost.. i know i've had 10 different versions installed,, and i've skipped a few versions here and there

i have had NO PROBLEMS related to drivers... i do tend to stay up to date as far as my drivers are concerned,, and i know i have newer drivers than ACER has posted publicly...

i think i have had 3 BSOD lockups since installing XP back in january. i use the PC 8 or more hours daily... and love the stability and functionality of XP PRO... i tried VISTA, gave it 2 months... and then found the soulpass site. i know i'll never take XP off this PC, VISTA was too much pretty and not enough usability for me and my taste.. (might have been due to VISTA BASIC) but i currently have an ACER w/ VISTA HOME PREMIMUM on it and it doesn't seem any better! (looks pretty and a very good OS if you are trying to keep the average user away from system files and such,,, but that's not who i am or what i need)

if you are used to WINDOWS XP, then you know what to expect from it,, and the 5315 performs extremely well with XP PRO installed. it's a totally different PC as compaired with the sluggish performance of VISTA on 1.6g Celeron system w/ only 1 gig of ram.

XP allows you to run more than just an OS... it frees up system resources so you can use applications

if you need links to updated XP drivers let me know,,, but honestly most came from the OEMs (intel, realtek ect)

BTW don't waste DUAL LAYER DVDs when making the RECOVERY DISKS,, the ACER eRECOVERY application can only burn 4Gigs of DATA on the FIRST dvd... the software claimed that bootable DVDs are limited to 4g of data per some dvd standard.... so it's gonna take 2 DVDs to make the factory image, and 1 more DVD for the DRIVERS & APPLICATIONS disk

 

So let me see if I got it rigth (and thanks alot for the ultra-extended post), there is no such thing as a DEFAULT PARTITION/SETUP, I need to use the eRecovery to make one and then save it?

Edit: Ignore the above, I found a 11GB hidden partition that I assume has the above (has no name), what you suggested though was to make a backup besides keeping this one there correct?

 

before doing anything else

make a set of RECOVERY DISKS.... this is done by using the ERECOVERY application.... to access it push the GREEN E button...

then click on the CD icon..

see if it makes sense that way!

**you need to make the FACTORY RESTORE DISKS and then make a seperate DRIVERS AND APPLICATIONS DISK using that same application!

 

I'm onto it!

Before the end of the day hope to have a full blazing Windows XP install

Its not like i'm even gonna miss Aero, since its missing on Vista Basic and uxtheme is a wonderful little thing

 

exactly.....

now as far as that hidden partition goes,, it's a good idea to leave it,, but if you are not going to go back to VISTA i understand why you would get rid of it... (my HDD is one big partition)

 

Will a T5750 overheat less then a Celeron 530?

 

a T5750 will generate MUCH LESS HEAT...

a T8100 or T8300 will be even more cool...

my T5450 is currently at 35c & 42c on each core... after being on and surfing for HOURS.. a T5750 should be similar to the T5450 (maybe even a tad cooler)

 

Why are they cooler?

 

better design... that's why the T8300 are better than the T5450's newer more effiecient design...

read about CPUs

search for CPU GUIDE in the NBR FORUM BELOW

 

Yes, it tries to boot and I get blue screen errors. I placed the 2 gig stick in the bottom slot (where the 1 gig stick was originally) and the 1 gig stick in the top slot.

 

did that resolve the issue or are you still getting blue screens??

if you still get blue screens what BIOS version are you using??

 

I upgraded my BIOS from 1.19 to 1.43 last night, and I had the exact same problem with the wireless card not being detected, yet showing up in Device Manager. A reboot cleared up the problem, but this never happened before with the original BIOS version. I just installed the latest wireless drivers that were mentioned in this thread, so I'll see if that cures things. If not, I'll try playing with the power management features.

Oh, if anyone has problems with their touchpad jumping around, install the latest ALPS drives from the Acer EU support site. It cleared that right up for me!

 

Using the two memory sticks installed with 2gig in the bottom slot and the original 1 gig stick in the top slot caused the blue error screen. This was fixed on removing the 1 gig stick, but leaving the 2 gig stick in the bottom memory slot.

I haven't tried the opposite configuration (putting 1 gig in the bottom slot, and 2 gig in the top slot), as I have decided to "upgrade" to XP, and therefore 2 gig RAM will be perfectly adequate.

I am using 1.34 bios.

Thanks for your interest and help.

 

if you ever find the bottom access pannel removed, try the ram in the opposite config.. (1 gig on bottom and 2 gig) and see if you still get the blue screens...

i'll talk to Quilty997 (he reported success,, but i can;t recall which ram was in which slots... but i do know he was using BIOS version 1.40 or higher but not sure of the exact version.

 

I let my system hibernate overnight, and the wireless came up properly when I resumed it a few minutes ago. Hopefully this is a permanent behavior and not just a fluke.

 

I was going to follow these steps for an ACER Travelmate 5320 because it also has the GL960 chipset. I was going to put in 2x1GB PC2 5300 ram and a T7800

That is, untill I realised that acer europe has no BIOS updates for this model on windows vista. It is recomended that you update the bios to put in a newer CPU, how essential is this. Does anyone have any advice for this model or have any experiance. Please help. I have also made a seperate post specific to this issue, but got a poor fist responce. HELP! PLEASE...THANKS

 

i was having the same issues as you, but now with the new drivers it's all fixed. since then I have done a reinstall of vista and xp and the wireless is still fine with no other changes in vista

 

what bios version is currently in it? seems a bit strange that there would be no updates for vista, considering bios has nothing to do with the os....

this site has bios up to ver 1.43, so put that in first, then new cpu ftp://ftp.acer-euro.com/notebook/aspire_5320/vista/Bios

 

Thats for the Aspire 5320 not the travelmate 5320...

The travelmates equivilent is here ftp://ftp.acer-euro.com/notebook/travelmate_5320/bios/ but i am wories to use it because on the acer-europe site, the BIOS are listed by operating system: eithe for XP or Vista

This one is listed for XP only. Any further ideas. I'm kind of clued in due to 3 hours of extensive reading last night. But i'm not getting anywhere...

 

oh, sorry...what version have you got now? i am in australia and used the euro site for my latest bios, no probs whatsoever

btw, here are the vista ones ftp://ftp.acer-euro.com/notebook/travelmate_5320/vista/Bios/

 

Its definitely the other way round - the 1Gb needs to be in the bottom slot and the 2Gb in the top slot, at least that's what worked for me. I was using BIOS 1.40 initially and am now on 1.43, with no problems.

 

Thankyou very much! had real trouble finding this... and it was there all along

I'm going to flash this tonight with the 1.32 BIOS and treat it like a 5315. Can't see there being any diffrence with the same chipset and BIOS settings from same manufacturer... can you?

I'm going from 2x512MB 533Mhz PC2-4200 RAM, M 540 1.86Ghz 1MB 533FSB CPU

Straight to 2x1GB 667Mhz PC2-5300 RAM, T7800 2.6Ghz 4MB 800FSB CPU

Very excited, will let you all know how it turns out. Thanks again for help from everyone. David

 

thanks for finally making an appearance ,,, i wish i had a 2 gig to test with ,, luck you!! how is your system doing??

i must be looking at the wrong ACER MODEL... because the TRAVELMATE i looked at last night was a i945 chipset and used SOCKET M CPUs,,
but if you have a CELERON M540 then you have a SOCKET P system...

and maybe that system has been so stable they have had no need to update the BIOS,,, (highly doubtful,, but possible) i gotta run some errannds and pay some bills...

i'll dig into this deeper later tonight

 

hi BigO , my system is running very well (ie i'm bored and wondering what else I can change!)

Luckily, I have an AMD based HP system to tweak in the meantime and my family tour starts next week, no doubt kicking off a round of upgrades and maintenance .

I'll be curious to see what you turn up to help out DaiTrialZ, if he's really got a system with a 960 chipset then his upgrade options might be very limited indeed, if the Intel documentation is correct. More positively, if his upgrades work ok he could open a glorious new era of upgrading on yet another machine variant!

 

Am curious too, I've held back on the processor order ... just to see what additional help i can get...

Just ordered myself a 3GB kit of Kingston Hyper X PC2 5300 667Mhz though and its going straight in. updated my BIOS to 1.32 sucessfully after reports of problems with 1.34

can i just verify that its 1Gb on the bottom and 2Gb on the top with these chipsets. Also when i replcae the ram, will Vista 32 bit just detect it automatically... or do i have to uninstall drivers, etc?

What about a new processor, will Vista update frimware automatically or is that an uninstall and reboot too? Thanks again, David

 

1) Memory

On the 5135, that's the configuration that worked for me (1Gb bottom, 2Gb top) - but mine has a 965 chipset and that is quite different to the 960 variant (though the same family).

According to Intel only 2Gb is supported by the 960 chipset, whereas 4Gb is supported by the 965. In the 5135 however, using more than 3 Gb or putting the chips in the wrong slots will cause BSODs when Vista is trying to load. The chipset can see the memory but the BIOS doesn't seem to be able to pass the data to the OS .

Vista should happily detect and use the memory that the chipset and BIOS give it access to.

2) CPUs

I've played with a few cpus in a 5135, as have many people on here, and generally the new cpu will work when you drop it in. However, in my experience to get all of the features of the more recent cpus you need to reinstall Vista as the cpu features are detected at the time the OS is installed and services (like power management and fan control) are configured accordingly.

When I went from my Celeron to a T5550, this didn't seem to make any difference and the new cpu ran as cool and quiet as the original, presumably because they had similar power management features.

Things didn't go so smoothly when I tried to use a T9300. This overheated very quickly after being dropped in (ie crashed the system when being stress tested) and it took a clean install of the OS to get it working acceptably.

The spec for the 960 chipset says it only supports single core Celeron processors (the 965 supports the duos) so your upgrade options may be limited.

3) Are you sure you have a 960?

Which software is reporting that you have a 960? Some are more reliable than others and I don't think any of them are perfect.

When your memory arrives you will be able to try it out and if it works then who cares what it says in the documents !

Good luck!

 

I wonder if there is a way to invalidate the processor configuration in a Vista install? I know that it's possible in XP to remove certain registry entries that cache the current system information and force it to be redetected at next boot. This is especially useful if you want to do a motherboard swap without reinstalling.

 

with RAM you have to do nothing...

BUT MAKE SURE TO REMOVE THE BATTERY AND UNPLUG THE AC FROM THE LAPTOP... then press the power-button to drain any residual power out of the motherboard...

then remove the access pannel cover,, and remove old ram and place new ram in the order specificied by Quilty997... 1gig closest to the MOTHERBOARD, and the 2 gig closest to the bottom cover (the outside slot)

replace the cover, and then reboot... the BIOS handles all the RAM detection, and windows draws it's info from the BIOS..

NO DRIVERS are NEEDED FOR RAM..
even when upgrading the CPU you don't have to do anything to change the CPU drivers, the BIOS also reports this change to windows and then windows automatically detects the new CPU type and installs the proper drivers (unless you are dealing with AMD cpus, in which case you may have to actually download and install the AMD CPU DRIVER)

 

i may be wrong but i think all 5315s actually contain a i965.... the thing is when a celeron is installed it shows up (even in the INTEL CHIPSET ID TOOL) as an i960 (or gm960) but after upgrading to a CORE2DUO the chipset is magically changed into a i965 (i think it's that the celeron can't tell the difference or utilize the advanced features of the 965... so it only sees a i960 despite the fact that it is actually a i965)

and acer doesn't want to advertise the LOW-END laptops like the 5315 as containing an i965 because (A) it could hurt thier sales of higer end notebooks which the obviously make more profit on, (B)it keeps them from having to support all the features of the i965 such as support for 4g of RAM, (C)it would tip off the knowledgeable tech people like us that the laptop is EXTREMELY UPGRADEABLE.... and i'm sure i'm forgetting a few other major reasons they don't wanna advertise the CHIPSET as what it actually is.

 

i think the easyist way to do this might be to just REMOVE EVERYTHING FROM THE SYSTEM section of the device manager before shutting down... then perform the HARDWARE SWAP and it should detect the new hardware and begin installing the drivers automatically (unless the drivers are not included in the windows INF folder,, in which case you have to install those drivers when prompted to do so)

 

BEFORE FLASHING YOUR BIOS....

please download PC WIZARD 2008.... here is the homepage with info on the program.. it will tell US lots about your laptop's hardware, CPU, CHIPSET, motherboard, and all kinds of stuff


run that program and then we can check info about your system!!!

 

Im going to run that now and report, will update within the hour

 

I would say check out Everest Pro, since it specifies exactly which northbridge & southbridge etc etc, the motherboard is using. And it is very precise, since with my old mobo it showed i940 and with the new mobo, it shows i943.

Intel's chipset indentification utility is crap, and Intel states that 'It is neither designed nor intended to be used as a chipset verification utility nor does Intel guarantee it to be free from defects or errata.' It just gives an idea of the chipset installed.




The Intel thing is pretty screwed up..

 

COOL..
if you could take a screen capture and attach it as a thumnail (by clicking the advanced button instead of quick post,, you can easily add a pic to the post w/o the hastle of uploading files then linking to them.

here is a handy app for making quick screen shots if you don't have one

i agree w/ you about everst being better,,

but i wanna see what his MOBO's code name is, and i know pcwiz has all that info on the MAIN screen so it's very easy for the user to make a quick capture that has the info i want to double check all on it's default main page..

like the pic attached... yea, i know i'm lazy

 

Well what do you know looks like Acer or intel are lying through their teeth...

Even this bottom of the range travelmate has A GM965 not a GL960!

Is this good news? Do you need anything else to tell me what I can and cannot run in terms of ram and proccesors? Let me know what i need to do or any tests you want me to run. I'm new to all this, but generally a quick learner...

This means it will take 4GB 667Mhz DDR2 and a T7800 right?

David

 

I think you will be able to upgrade to the Penryns, but stick with 2 or 3GB DDR2-667 memory.


Penryn support was added in the v1.22 and improved in the later BIOS releases.

To correctly identify your chipset, I would advise you to run Everest Pro

 

I will do now before i fanally hit the hay. Any reason why 4GB RAM is a bad idea? Will it not run ok? or just not used?

Are the penryns the T7xxx or what?

 

Your notebook seems to have a GL960, and Intel's specs (page 17 of document 316273) shows that this chipset can address a maximum of 2GB. It seems that while the chipset can recognise more than 2GB of RAM, it probably chokes when using 3GB, and has a headache if confronted by 4GB.

The Penryns you can install are the T8100/ T8300/ T9300/T9500. (Go for any of the 2 bolds)

See if you can confirm which chipset you actually have using Everest and what is the max ram support reported in it. If it is the GL960, you can install the 2+1GB=3GB memory in the specific way mentioned in this thread and stick with a 32-bit OS.

 

im really confused that your saying I have a GL960 because that sceenshot from wizzard shows GL965, whats going on, did i skip a page?

Also that link takes me to everest home addition, is that what u want me to use, or pro edition.

Sorry if im being a muppet but this is above my station. Do you want a sceenshot from everest pro to be able to tell me exactly what RAM and proccesor combos i can use? will that be enough? and is it just the front page u want again?

Sorry - confused.com

 

I don't want a screenshot, download everest home edition and see if it shows adequate info about the motherboard, and states which chipset is installed and what is the max ram support....
If you can give me your email address, I can mail you the proper version of everest pro..

 

My heads just gone. I've attached the report as a txt file, will you have a quick browse. I think ive got a i945 chipset?

What does all this mean? Socket M or P? and RAM? OMG?

Thanyou for all your help, David

 

Download this - Everest Pro

 

The report above is saved as a txt file outputted from everest Ultimate edition!!!

I'm gonna do it again with everest pro now... not sure if it will be any different

 

Just check which Northbridge is reported in the Motherboad > Chipset Section and then compare the result with any GL960 user in this thread....to confirm if you have the GL960 or the 965GM