Aspire 7720G major upgrade

Yep :0) Place for both, no problem.
The only annoying thing, you need to disassemble the top cover (remove keyboard, etc...) to put bluetooth module. There's a small white connector directly on the motherboard to plug it.

You need SR71-E (Mini Pci-e) not SR71-15 :

https://www.ebay.com/itm/202653804871

Specs : http://site.microcom.us/sr71_e_ds.pdf

 

@DoZe Looks like the link for the 4.1 Blackedition is dead. Could you please update that?

I tried to search as 7720G blackedition 4.1 but error comes up.

 

Below is the error I get when trying to install driver. Any help would be very much appreciated.
Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
9600M GT 1,024MB DDR2

 

This is the latest available and modded Bios for 7720G, flashtools included.
You need to create a bootable USBkey, of course.

 

Back again to RAM expansion.
In many forums several users reported either 2x4GB either 4+2 GB configuration supported by PM965, using one or two 4GB SODIMM DDR2 @400MHz modules.
Before buying anything I would like to be quite sure to not throw out money...
Could anyone give me a hint about that?
Thanks in advance.

 

Hi all!
New problems on my 7720G...

1. I don'know when and why, but system with windows10-64 doesn't find any BT module. I never used it before, so I can't say if the problem was born after the WiFi card swap or with W10 installation. A system scan doesn't find any trace of the module and, yes, it has been enabled in BIOS settings.
   
2. Hot buttons do not operate in any way. I've tried to install hot button software but it's impossible because it isn't recognized by Windows 10. So BT activation button it's not functioning.
   
3. Subwoofer is not active. No way to activate it. Original drivers cannot be loaded in any way (obviously!)
   
4. After the WiFi card upgrade (from standard 3945abg to present N-6205 abgn) system has a strange behaviour. Hibernate is active, system goes correctly sleeping but, at the restart, the Hibernate state is not reloaded. After a few seconds in booting, system hangs before activating wifi. Reset (ctrl-alt-canc) is needed in order to reboot system, and hibernation data are lost. Same at normal boot after power off. System hangs in boot process just before wifi activation, before the orange led is lighting. Again, a normal ctrl+alt+canc resolves and boots system again. In order to make things more complicated, I've noted two other weird things:

• If system restarts after a Windows upgrade, there is no need to restart.
• If system restarts after a low battery event and consequent forced power off, the reboot doesn't hang neither recovers from hibernation.

​

My system is a 7720G with Bios 1.45 Black Edition.
Speccy reports:

• Operating System Windows 10 Pro 64-bit
• CPU Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T8100 @ 2.10GHz
  
• RAM 4,00GB Dual-Channel DDR2 (5-5-5-15)
• Motherboard Acer Poyang (uPGA-478)
• Graphics 256MB NVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS (Acer Incorporated [ALI])
  
• Generic PnP Monitor (1440x900@60Hz)
• HD1 223GB KINGSTON SA400S37240G (SSD)
• HD2 232GB Western Digital WDC WD2500BEVS-22UST0 (SATA)
  
• Optical Drives PIONEER DVD-RW DVRKD08RS ATA Device
• Audio Dispositivo High Definition Audio + NVIDIA Virtual Audio Device (Wave Extensible) (WDM)

Any suggestion in order to make my system function again will be appreciated a lot.
Thanks in advance.

 

Back to showing the 7720 some love. I am now ready to proceed with all my 7720 upgrades. I need this machine for the firewire port for my old DV camera. So, I am getting ready to order the black keyboard, new lid (i freakin cracked mine one day), a t9300 processor, 8gb of DDR2, a 240gb ssd and a 1tb ssd. I think I can breath more life into her yet! I love the fact that this notebook (I am typing on it now), was made the exact same month as my macbook 3.1. The macbook is now a paperweight with no way forward with OS updates. So basically its useless. Safari does not work correctly, Chrome does not work correctly, apple won't even let me download software I paid hundreds of dollars for from their store on it. Meanwhile, on the same vintage acer I am now installing the latest version of windows 10, it's fast right now, and even moreso when I am done. I can run all the latest software on it albeit somewhat slower than a current machine it's not horrible. Hell, the macbook right now, using a mouse it even brutal as it skips and is not smooth. Planned obsolesence at its best.

I can't wait to get this ole thing finished up. I will post pics and a writeup as I go along with it!

 

Dont get me wront, but why dont you just buy a new camera?
A go pro might be an interesting aquisition, and no need to dump money into a 10y old laptop, to use a tape based camera..

 

No because there are lots of videos I have of my son when he was a baby and I want them put on our storage to keep them safe and to watch them on our tv. I have the computer running now with a fresh install of 10 and it's fast. No where near showing it's age. Unlike the paperweight that is my 2007 macbook. I have a go pro, 2 fujifilm cameras that do video, as well as other items. But my son likes using the tape based system because of the camera. It gives 480p resolution videos which is not bad, has various features not found on cheaper tape based systems and has a 1000x zoom feature. I am going to be ordering a few filters to put on the front of it plus a rig mount for led light, microphone and easier handling. It is fun to use older stuff! This acer is a killer laptop that works great. Once I pop in the 8gb of ram, and t9300 with a newer SSD it should be a great laptop for many more years.

 

What's peoples battery life on the 7720? mines at 2 hours 15min at 97%. I think I am going to get a new battery. Also, I need to replace the spinny drive for storage with a new SSD. I am going to say screw it and get the kingston 2tb a400.

 

If you still have videos on tape, then I understand, but just a bit, if you have newer laptops, a video capture card might be a more usable tool, at least you could use it on more things than just one camera, but if you have use for the laptop, then go for upgrading it.

 

I can't see not using it at this point. I am typing on it right now, and it's really fast. I am super impressed. I thought with 1909 it would be laggy like the mac, but it's smooth. Its going to be even better with the extra gear put in it.

 

Hi Kojack!
My 7720G is abandoned, let to be covered by a thick layer of dust because of VGA broken.
I didn't try to resuscitate with oven trick, because some skilled people told me that it could be resolve for a short time the issue but it will not fix it and, the first time I will use heavily the VGA or the PC will get a little shock, it will freeze again.
So I decided not to spent money on a vga replacement and i've managed to buy a new system but....
My eyes are not young and I struggle to see with high resolution 15" displays and HDReady 15" it's insufficent for many applications and web pages... so
I've decided to resume my broken 7720 e buy a new VGA.
I will check for a 9600M GT with 512MB, if compatible with my BIOS:
Now, I was interested to upgrade my RAM because 4MB with windows 10 are few and not able to support new applictions, so I ask you wich type of 4GB modules did you buy, and if you can double check if your configuration is equal to mine, specially in chipset version.
Thank you in advance and sorry to bother you.
Happy work with your 7720G!

 

I don't have the g version. Just the regular 7720. My chipset will be different. The ram modules I will be using are probably the only ones I could find, on eBay. I think they are hynix branded. Good luck bringing your old iron back to life. It really is a great system for doing stuff besides gaming.

 

Thank You Kojack.
Could you kindly check if your chipset is the GM965 Express (as stated by official documentation) rather than the PM965 Express sported by my own 7720G?
I've red somewhere of some people beeing successful in using 4+2 or 4+4 DDR2 configurations in their 7720G systems, but unfortunately I didn't find it again, probably they were stored in an old web site no more available.
Thank you in advance,

 

I will fire it up and look in a little while. Honestly, unless you plan on gaming, 4gb is enough I think. The system zips along quite nicely on w10 1909.

 

Coming back once again for the RAM thing.

I purchased the Crucial 8GB 2X 4GB DDR2 PC2-5300 667MHZ Laptop Memory Sodimm Speicher Ram 200pin

Problem is when I put only one module (1x4GB), system is running. However, when I plug the second one, I get just a black screen.

The most strange thing is that its running perfect with Crucial 1x4GB and Hynix 1x2GB = 6GB of RAM.

I cannae understand, since the chipset recognises the single module of 4GB, why doesnt recognise both of them??

Any suggestions to make them work? I think if I purchase all possible brands and start mixing them, it might work with a combination.

 

I suppose that number and size of single memory chips matters.
Or, more probably, system sees 4+2 GBytes but, if you run a memory test, it will stop at 4GB...
BTW, according to Intel datasheets and literature, GM965 and PM965 share the same memory controller. GM965 has integrated graphic that access to the RAM via memory controller, mapping on it the basic amount of 128, 256 or 512 MB of shared memory.
This is the only difference.
It seems very weird that some system could run more than 4GB on these chipsets, because there is a bit register lenght (36 bit) that limits addressing to 4 GB (32+4 bit dedicated to ECC/CRC).
But this is controversal because some BIOS implementation could override CRC/ECC bit usage leaving 1 or 2 more bits to addressing..
Any way, if your systems does not hang with 4+2 arrangement, check it deeply with some memory tool.
So, I wouldn't spent more money in memory upgrade, assuming that 6 GB is the maximum...It will be better than 6 GB...

 

As I said, my system now is running with 6GB of RAM. Slots are reading the 4GB module individually but once I put both 4GB modules, I get just a black screen. Nothing is booting up. How is that possible?

I guess if I combine a different brand, I might get the system run on 8GB...

 

Hmmm, maybe it blocks 8gb regardless, and let's 6gb slide. If that's the case, I will just keep 4 and move along. It really does work good right now. Once I get the 2 new SSD in there, with a new battery and keyboard, I should be good to go.

Another question. Does the mhz of the ram matter alot?

 

Sure.

 

Hi all!
A simple question
I've just bought a new VGA card and I'll manage to swap with the broken one.
I'm wondering if I could use a copper shim between GPU and radiator instead of thermal pad, and speculate over its thikness. This could help heat transfer but if too thick, it will be stress the chip, if too less it would not able to dissipate, regardless of the presence of thermal paste.

Or is it better to substitute the thermal pad with a new one? And if yes, which thickness should I use?
I noticed that the VGA card is enveloped into a thick aluminium sheet, over which there are 3 thermal pads, and other 3 pads are glued on the dissipator.
I'll check if that pads are corrispondant to some hot component on the board, but I suppose that aluminium sheet contributes to the overall cooling of these cards, so heat can be easily transferred to radiator. Is it correct?
Thank you in advance

 

OK. Can you be a little more specific? Will the machine run much faster, or a little faster?

Oh, I would use high quality paste.

 

Downloading 2004 via windows update right now to see how the old beast likes it.

 

Sorry, just got this. Yes, I have the GM965. Not sure if that would make a difference or not on if my machine will take 8gb of ram or not. I am going to buy it from a place where I can return it.

 

Just wanted to chime in and ask if it's worth getting one of those. I just found one that looks okay-ish and I have enough money for it.

Is it worth dropping a T8300, Intel 4965AGN WiFi, 9600M GT 512M (assuming I can find a patched BIOS in that regard, I have the icl50_1.45_black_edition_40 file on HDD but IDK if it's patched for 9600M GT), 4GB of DDR2 and 2 HDDs inside it? Or should I pass?
I have lots of leftovers from other laptops so sourcing all stuff shouldn't be an issue.

 

Honestly, after a few weeks of work on a younger system with i3 2nd generation and 8gb I rebooted my 7720g and... no, it isn't worth enough. The only thing I'm liking a lot it's the display, for me the right dimension with the right resolution.
But it's my humble opinion.

 

Noted. Will prolly just get that one then, drop a generic Core 2 Duo from the T6xxx range and maybe a 9500M GS (since it's just 8600M GT at that point, which is a PnP combo with the 7720G) and call it a day lol. Just needed a interim lappy to fiddle with until I can source a LCD for an Aspire 2930 I got for cheap.

 

Yeah, they are getting long in the tooth now. I use mine for taking DV videos off my camera. Other than that, it sits in the corner. It is still quite usable, but not near as speedy as my dell at this point.

 

I've tried to boot from an Ubuntu USB key. Well, it remains very usable and quite fast.
I should try to install on a ssd device in order to verify if a Linux installation could extend its life.
BTW, some of the devices (ie, internal BT) are not recognized even by Ubuntu installer.
More in the next days.

 

what driver do you use for geforce 9650m gt? I have troubles using 342.xx and 341.xx drivers...context menus become black after installation..

 

Hi, I have been modifying a 7720g with the lots of help from this thread and I want to thank all of the contributors.

I got everything working great and decided to to a format and fresh re-install of windows 7. After reformatting, the system would not post with both ram chips installed. It starts up fine with either of the 2GB sticks installed in the lower slot, and even on system memory with neither installed. However, if any stick is installed in the upper slot, it will not post, just a black screen. Before I did the format it always worked fine with the same 2 ram sticks.

I did some googling and found that in some bios versions there is a setting that can enable or disable a DIMM slot by changing "memory settings" under the "advanced" tab in the bios menu (I believe the term they used was "Row is enabled"). I have tried NetRoller3D's bios v1.45 both the black and MXM editions, as well as Camiloml's from bios-mods version, but I can't find aything that allows me to change the state of a DIMM row.

I have no idea why or how anything changed when I did the reformat. I did not change anything in the bios or flash to a different version until I started trying to solve the problem. Is it possible with this motherboard to access the settings I need to re-enable the second DIMM row?

Thanks for any insight.

Paul.

 

I forgot to mention in the previous post that when I used the "wmic" tool in windows on the advice of a post from another forum, it only gave information for a "BANK 0" with a 2gb capacity at location "DIMM 0" and did not mention the other bank. It is for this reason that I believe the slot is somehow "turned off".

Thanks.

Paul.

 

I don't know anything about wmic tool, but as far as I can imagine, this could be the only cause of the malfunction. Had you tried to re-enter the right info about both slots/banks?
Anyway, I've broken my 7720G display screen (well, my little Rottweiler ran over the power supply cable pulling the computer down of the table...) and I'm not interested to fix it. I have two more laptops, newer and faster than 7720G and I don't use it anymore. If interested, I could send you free (only delivery costs) the whole package with 4GB RAM and new videocard and battery.
Let me know, if interested, before I'll throw it in a waste dump.
Bye

 

Hi Tarkonte, thanks for the reply and the generous offer, you are very kind. I am definitely interested, but I am in Canada, I don't know how far that would be to ship. Could you send me an email at [email protected]?

Thanks very much!

Paul.

 

Sorry, I didn't answer your question. I don't know how to access the settings to enter the right information about the slots/banks, the "wmic" tool in windows seems to only be able to provide information about the memory, as far as I know it can't be used to change anything, but if anyone knows more I would appreciate any information.

Cheers!

Paul.

 

Hi, don't mean to spam the forum, but does anyone have any advice for my problem?

Thanks!

Paul.

 

Did you try reseting BIOS settings to default, to begin with?

 

Hmm.. I actually did not. I installed several different versions, but I never did try the "reset to default" option. I will try this next time I'm at the computer and report back.

Thanks for the suggestion!

Paul.

 

Well I tried resetting the bios to default but the computer still won't post with a dimm in the top memory slot. Either dimm still works fine in the lower slot.

Thanks for the idea anyway.

Paul

 

Me too. Same problems with latest driver (up to 179.x, this version is the last release workly. If you do not knew, you can install this on 7720g )

I would like to install v.342 drivers but I have the famous issues of compatibility (black screen, crash system, etc..) In this forum I was reading about to flash the vbios or similar... can you guys help me?

same problems with windows 10...

 

Hi, there
First let me say that I am thrilled that so many people want to keep their old hardware alive .
Believe it or not I am the original designer from the Acer aspire gemstone serie . Which started with the 5920...
Here
https://twitter.com/omolody1/status/1367446439853518848?s=21


years later I am helping a relative to revive the laptop .

i am was wondering if any of you used the second mini pci express to put a decoder card type Broadcom bcm 970012 or 15? And saw some improvement ?

I cleaned the laptop upgrade to original bios ,1.45. updated to a Samsung 860 ssd 1tb and 2x2 gb. Put a wlan card Typ intel ac 7290 Under win10 64bits
Thoughts of putting a t9500 and a 9600gt ddr3 to replace the t8300 and 8400mgt...but I think the performance will be barely more than 15% improvement for about 80€ (45€CPU +35€GPU)

the Laptop works Fine , but win10 put the regurlarly the cpu at 100% for a few second ...which triggers the fan ...the cpu never gets warm over 55degree but I didn’t find any utility to control the fans (apparently no sensors reading ) any advice welcome!

 

Go ahead and try. Will probably work just fine, unless there's a specific whitelist (though I am 101% sure there isn't any)

For CPU + GPU... that might b a tough one. Personally I'd go for T8300 + HD4650 if you don't want to upgrade the CPU. Otherwise a T9500+ HD4650 might be better. It is pretty much plug-n-play if you can source the Acer OEM card, the only cosmetic issue I noticed is BIOS sees 0MB of VRAM - Windows sees all 1024MB of the VRAM. The HD4650 is supposedly 83% faster than the 9600M GT, according to UserBenchmark, though I'd take that with a grain of salt.

I'm waiting for my college classes to go online, just so I can go back home and get onto some sweet projects - including my 7720G and a recent trash find of a HP DV9730EL (C2D w/ 8600M GS 512MB variant)

 

Hi, haven't posted for some years in this thread. Owner of a 7720g dead now and for sometime after some attemps to change the original 8600 nvidia which is not working any more either. I no longer believe I could find a replacement that could work for a long time due to the original "sin" when manufacturing them.

I love the machine so I'm planning to give a try to external gpu trough EXP GDC beast and expresscard but I'm not really sure if it could work without an installed and working GPU to boot first.

As far as I could see no one has tried this with this model altough it says it is compatible with acer 5720g wich is almost the same model as the 7720g, only smaller.

If someone has tried before or have done valuable research on it please let me know so I can move forward with the project.

Will let you know if it works in the next two months or so if I manage to gather all the stuff needed.

This would be the "Frankestein variant" of an upgrade for this model but could be the only way to keep it going for most of us. The idea is not to spend more than 100 bucks on the whole solution.

Cheers,
Martin

 

I'd go with a HD4650 honestly. Acer OEM'd HD4650s will work just fine on both 5720 and 7720, save for the 0MB that's shown in the BIOS (Windows will detect the correct size.)

 

I'm trying to fully restore my 7720g. I'm waiting for a radeon 4650 1gb mxm and an extension bracket to replace the intel wifi with a broadcom one which also has integrated bluetooth. I tried 2*4gb ddr2 so-dimms but it couldn't post with both installed. I settled with 1*4gb +1*2gb for a total of 6gb ram. For storage I installed a 500gb Samsung evo SSD and a WD 7200rpm 500gb secondary drive. I have a core2 duo t9300 from another laptop. I installed it and it got recognized. The only problem is that eist doesn't seem to work. The cpu seems to be stuck at it's maximum speed and vid. I have the latest bios (1.45). If I install the original t5750 or a core 2 duo t7300 it seems to work normally. Has anyone encountered this problem before? Any suggestion? I'd like to have eist to minimize heat output and prolong it's life.
Has anyone ever found a replacement screen with better viewing angles and/or brightness?
I'd like to use this laptop to play older games from windows xp era.

 

Go to device manager, and uninstall/remove your CPU and reboot, then see if works.

 

Thank you I'll try it!