Adding RAM to an old Dell C640?

Have an old Dell C640 that I use for various tasks when my main laptop is not available (say my wife's using it), or when I need a RS232 port to upgrade some of my home theater stuff.

It currently has 2 256mb RAM sticks. At work there is an old 512mb RAM chip which would fit in the model. My IT guys also have a 1 Gig stick they think might fit.

Was wondering:

1. If the 1 gig fits, is there any reason not to go with 1 Gig plus 512 mb? I.e., have 1.5gigs approx. of ram vs the standard 1 or 2?

2. If the 1 gig doesn't fit, any issues with going with 1 512mb and 1 of the existing 256 sticks?

Thanks!

 

There shouldn't be any problems with either of the options but the effective frequency of your memory will be the lowest frequency of the two memory sticks( if their frequencies do not match).

 

Check somewhere to see if that model supports more than 1.5Gb of ram.
Older laptops like that might only take 512m or 1g.
I know that because my old inspiration 2650 only supports up to 512

You'll know if you try it and the computer won't show anything on the screen when you boot up.

 

I had a bunch of Latitude C640's with 1gb of memory installed. Each had 2 x 512mb in the memory bay.

I tried installing a 1gb memory card in one of the sockets and it did not power up. The system has a maximum memory support of 1GB.
for the harddrive, it has an LBA issue, where it can only read 137Gb, so if you plan on upgrading the harddrive, either get a drive smaller than 137Gb, or partition the drive.

K-TRON

 

Thanks. Actually in the "Dell Community" forum I found an instance where an individual upgraded to 2GB RAM for the same laptop as I thought the same thing. He provided a screen shot from the F2 Setup page showing the same C640, CPU, and 2 GB of RAM.

Anyhow, if it doesn't work, I'll stick to 1gb. Should be better than my 2 256's anyhow. Not sure XP really requires more than 1GB in any event and I think Vista would be too much of a hog for that machine.

Thanks!

 

BTW, one other issue I have is that the system originally had Windows 2000 on it. When I upgraded it to XP, it still retains something from 2000 in that when I boot it up it has a screen where you have to select XP or 2000 before it loads. Selecting 2000 doesn't get you anywhere so you always have to select XP.

Is there anyway to fully format the drive and reinstall XP without having to format it via the XP setup discs (which simply won't remove the Windows 2000 thing)?

I'd like to completely wipe the laptop and start fresh.

Tx

 

Yeah, so long as you dont overwrite the partition that contains win 2000 on it xp wont touch it.

 

BTW, here's the pic of that guys BIOS/Setup Screen:

http://i257.photobucket.com/albums/hh223/msvara/P1010281.jpg

He mentions

I couldn't locate that part # on ebay though so not sure what kind of RAM it was.

 

Have you located a part number yet?

 

Ended up buying 2 sticks of these ...

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16820134038

I actually can't believe just how fast this laptop is now going from 512mb to 2 Gigs. Note that the Dell site says this lappy can only handle 1 gig, but it takes 2 gigs just fine (unlike an old HP I'm working on for my father in law!).

Now, I also installed a 5400 RPM drive (got a free one from work), reinstalled windows, new drivers, etc. The thing boots up faster then my dual core Vista laptop I purchased last year (T5250 if I recall). Unreal.

Really hindered by the Radeon 7500 card unfortunately. Nothing that can be done about that. Although, I wonder if I can switch the settings so the vid card uses as much of the RAM as possible given 1 gig of RAM is prob sufficient for XP?

Cheers.

 

Oh, also use Pagesys defragger from Windows, Windows Bootvis, TuneXP and CCCleaner to speed it up. And of course defragged the entire disk, deleted some bloatware from startup, etc.

Really pleased with this now as a second laptop.

 

Thanks, this ram works too:

Crucial 1GB DDR PC2700 SODIMM CT12864X335

1 gig is fine for most things in XP. I think disk access is more of a bottleneck than video. The 7500 has 32mb of fixed v-ram.

 

i guess my bios version is too old, cause 2gb did not work on mine.
I will try upgrading the bios and see if it will read my 2x1Gb kit of corsair Pc3200.

K-TRON

 

Nice, does it recognize the PC-2700 speed? Thought it would just downclock it to PC-2100 anyhow?

Yeah, upgrade the BIOS and you should be good to go.

 

K-Tron - what the heck do you do with all those computers/laptops!?!?

 

Plan world domination, what else?

 

I'm running the latest (A10) bios and yes the ram is being underclocked. Works great!

 

that is correct, i plan for world domination
No,
actually i had the laptop about 5 yrs ago, I had a whole lot of c640's. I sold all but two. One I gave to my younger brother who is 12, and the other is a parts machine.
I will check out the bios upgrading next time i go home, upgrading from 1gb to 2gb will be a nice upgrade for it.

K-TRON

 

I know this thread is a few months old but I'm very very glad I found it. I registered here just to say thanks for the info. My poor c640 is a bit sluggish running XP and 512mb of RAM with the programs I have installed. I thought I was stuck at 512mb for life because according to Dell, the max this laptop can support is 512 + 512, but the problem is that one of the RAM slots are bad, so I can only use one.

The only way I can use a second stick of RAM is if I jam something between the RAM and RAM cover, because as I screw the cover back on, the object in the middle will put pressure on the RAM which allows it to work IF you don't bump or move the laptop at all. The pressure method worked most of the time but it wasn't worth all of the bluescreens I was getting any time I moved the laptop so I no longer use that slot.

I'm really happy to know that you CAN install a 1gb module! Also, thanks for linking a RAM module that works!

 

Yeah, with the expanded RAM (I use 2 gigs) and a 5400RPM drive, my C640 is super fast now. If only the graphics card wasn't so sub par.

I don't mind it as my second lappy now when my wife is using my newer one. It's great for internet surfing, or Microsoft office use whereas before it was super sluggish.