Inherited Compaq n1015v - how to 'boost'?

Hi there,

Basically inherited one of these off someone, think its got a joyful 256mb RAM (if that) and not a massive HDD.

Does anyone know where I can get some parts (pref the UK) to update this with, or even tell me whats updateable?

Plus if anyone has tips on the actual process, would be muchly appreciated!

 

the ram and hard drive will be changeable

 

According to web info I can find about your laptop it seems it can take up to 1GB of ram.

One or two of these:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/512MB-Hynix-D...ryZ80201QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

..should give you a huge boost in performance.


Also a new hard disk should also give you a boost. Seagate Momentus 5400.3 drives are about as fast as it comes without going 7200rpm and aren't too expensive either. I wouldn't get a huge one as your laptop might not recognise it. Make sure you get IDE/ATA100 interface as well (i.e. not SATA150/300).

 

Cheers!

I've read that doing the ram is simple... no idea about the hdd though.

 

Hi

I had the same laptop and I upgraded both the HDD and the RAM. The majour boost was when I changer the original the 4200rpm harddrive to a 5400rpm one. It easy to do. I used the laptop with 1gig and with 512mb of RAM. You'll need the 1gig if you want to use lot of applications at the same time otherwise the 512mb is more that enough.

Make sure for the ram to go with PC2700 or even with the PC3200 instead of the PC2100. This wont make the laptop any faster but will speed up the graphics card a bit.

Both upgrade are dead easy and worth it so go for it.

 

It might not support those. It was built for pc2100 ram so using that would be the safest upgrade. There's no garuntee pc2700 or pc3200 ram will work, but you could try googling for examples of people using those in your laptop.

 

Whats the hard drive replacement process like?

I believe the ram is, open case, lift up some latches, put in new ram. Is the HDD change a bit more in depth?

 

I'm hoping the slower ram will be cheaper too. I'm not looking to revolutionise the thing, but to make it a bit sharper with 1GB would be cash well spent!

 

As long as he gets DDR and not the DDR2(which is incompatible), it will be fine. The memory controller will operate at it's highest possible speed or the slowest module in system, whichever is less.

DDR is costlier than DDR2 these days.

Get a pair of used 512MB on eBay, then dump your 256MB back on eBay. Since you're outside the US, eBay is about your best bet. PC2100 or higher on eBay. If it's higher than 2700, double check with the seller that it's a DDR and not DDR2.

I'm running a 1GB module I got new form outpost.com and a 512MB used module I got on eBay.

You might be able to get your laptop to utilize a 1GB module and your existing 256MB, but 1GB module is much costlier than two 512MB modules.

 

Not necessarily. That's like saying that putting 800MHz ram in any DDR2 laptop will be fine because it's DDR2. That's not the case at all. There are plenty of DDR laptops that aren't compatible with DDR-400, or at least do not support DDR-400 officially. DDR-333 (pc2700) is often interchangeable with pc2100 but DDR-400 isn't always.

For safety stick with pc2100. Unfortunately I doubt it'll be any cheaper than pc2700 or pc3200.

 

If I haven't done it I wouldn't have sujested it. The PC2700 will difinitely work.

For the price the PC2700 is about the same price as the PC2100 if not cheaper.

For the harddrive:
1- unscrew the screw then gentely slide the harddrive caddy horizontaly for about 5-6 mm. Then lift up th caddy.
2- the harddrive is hold on the caddy by 4 screws, just unscrew them.
3- do the revers of the steps above for new hardrive.

 

The documentation for the Compaq evo1015 suggest that the laptop can be upgraded only to a max of 1gig (2x512). It may support more (i.e. 2x1gig) but it's not guarranteed. So unless your willing to buy one module of 1gig and test it I'll stick with the 2x512.

Another upgrade which is easy if your compaq hase only a cd player or a dvd player without a burner is to uprade it to a DVD player with a CD burner or a DVD burner. The only trouble is that the bezel on the compaq is not standard so you have to be carfull when you select the replacement drive.

Finally you'll find here all you need to dismental the laptop and upgrade the parts
http://h20000.www2.hp.com/bizsuppor...support/SupportManual/c01124220/c01124220.pdf

 

Oh thats great, thanks!
I'm having to cancel my m1530 order, so giving this thing a facelift now is going to be a real priority.

 

Oh one more thing, I take it that its a standard 2.5" HDD thats in this thing? Are there limits on the size you can put in? Or on the speed?

Also, I can see I have a Fujitsu in here at the moment, is it deffo a 4200rpm?

 

the HDD is a standard IDE 2.5". The 4200rpm HDDs are very slow. Go for a 5400rpm. If you can spend a bit more the 7200rpm will be even faster.

 

I'd thoroughly recommend Seagate Momentus 5400.3 hard disks. They are about as fast as it comes without going 7200rpm, plenty fast enough for XP and are quiet and don't heat up. I noticed a marked improvement going from a 60GB Fujitsu 5400 to a Seagate Momentus 5400.3.

 

Oh now here is a stumbler. I've got no recovery discs/XP discs whatsoever with this notebook.

Getting rid of HDD = getting rid of OS.

What do I do in this occasion? I mean I could get a *ahem* version of XP Professional, and I've got the product key on the sticker with the laptop, give MS a call to transfer (actually HDD doesn't require this does it?). Would I have to worry about anything driver wise though?

 

If you have a product key on your laptop I'd suggest downloading and burning an image of the xp pro oem disc. This is not illegal as you are using your own product key. Best to also download your drivers from the website and put them on a usb stick before re-installing windows.

 

Right, I think I'm ready for action then!

Cheers!