Upgrading a Compaq nx7000 for Vista

I´m brand new to this forum, so please be kind to the newbee. My problem: I purchased a new 120gb hard drive and installed Vista Ultimate but I had failed to check if my Compag mx7000 was Vista compatible. It seems (if I´ve understood things correctly) that the graphic card just can´t hack it and I would imagine that memory size could be an issue (I´ve got 512mb now). So now to my questions: The 7000 has an ATI Mobility Radeon 9200 graphic card. Can I upgrade to, say, the 9800 (is it a Vista compatible g-card, other cards that would do?)? Would this plus memory increasement allow me to run my new, Vista installed, hd on the 7000? I´ve got the service manual and some background in electronics so changing parts is not a problem for me- if I can get the parts I need. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

You can't upgrade the GPU, 512 Mb of RAM isn't gonna cut it.

You need to revert back to XP.

 

I can upgrade the two 256mbs´s to 512mbs so 1024mb should be enough for Vista, correct me if I´m wrong.

 

Ok, but there's still no point in struggling to run Vista when you can run XP just fine.

 

I need the extra space on the new HD, and V Ultimate has features that XP doesn´t.

 

If you upgrade to 1 GB of RAM, and turn Aero off, you'll be able to run Vista. It won't be pretty, but it'll run.

 

And if I upgrade to 2GB of RAM? And any help on graphic card upgrades? Thanks for the tips so far.

 

It'll run better, but you can't upgrade the GPU.

 

This may sound like a real newbie (and to be honest, I am) question: why can´t I upgrade the graphic card (GPU?)? There must be cards with the same voltage and size requirements but with a higher performance level that I could replace the old card with, or?

 

We actually castrate people who ask that question. I had a real hard time giving you an answer the first time, over screaming at you to read the gaming stickies, but READ THE GAMING STICKIES.

 

Sorry, Lithus, my google search sent me straight to this page, so I went direct and registered and came back to this page without checking out the rest of the forum-my baddie. I´ve spent a little time checking out the different threads and have (I hope) a little better idea of what´s going on. O.K., GPU upgrade is a no-go, but can I run Aero with a 2GB upgrade (I hate being a newbie and having to ask what must be for you really stupid questions)? I can afford the memory uppgrades but not a new laptop. Thanks for your patience.

 

it's not a matter how much memory your video card or your system has for it be able to run aero, but if you video card is vista AERO compatible. There are several hardware requirements for it, one of the to be Pixel Shaders 2 ( version 3). So if your video card doesn't have this, it's not gonna run aero.

Sorry.

 

Thanks for the bad news, kekinash. So the ATI mobility radeon 9200 just doesn´t have what it takes to run Vista Aero? If so, that sucks, but thanks for your help anyway, guys. I should have been more observent and checked out compatibility issues before buying the HD and the Vista Ultimate (although, the guy that sold them to me is a professional computer technician and therefore, I think, should have known better). Live and learn.