Adding ram to Laptop

[trelarah]

Is it possible to add more ram to a laptop? Specifically to a old COMPAQ Armada 1750 (Pentium II, 128mb, Windows98)?

If so, what type of ram should I use?

[mrmister1]

You can add RAM as long as you have room for it. Also, you have to make sure you have the correct RAM. Here is a list of compatible memory.

[Statica]

I found these cheaper if you're going to buy 128MB RAM. I would advise you to check with compaq on what is the maximum RAM, or if there is a BIOS upgrade to the same. Both Kingston and Crucial and reliable, but they quote different values for max. RAM.

[HyperTF]

You can get PCMCIA cards to upgrade RAM cant you? Edit: hrmmm not so sure now!

Just remember in the back of your mind you need the equal amount of RAM to harddrive space (preferably more) to be able to use hibernation.

[mairving]

According to Crucial, 160Mb is the maximum memory that will go in that laptop. So it's probably not worth an upgrade.

[Statica]

Yep but Kingston (mrmister1's link) says that it's 288 or 320MB - best to get it confirmed from Compaq. I think Kingston is giving a generic value for Max RAM based on the entire list of systems.

[mairving]

Originally Posted by Statica Yep but Kingston (mrmister1's link) says that it's 288 or 320MB - best to get it confirmed from Compaq. I think Kingston is giving a generic value for Max RAM based on the entire list of systems.

Could be true. Crucial didn't show a 256M module. Regardless, it only has one memory slot, so you would have to remove the current installed module.

[mrmister1]

Definitely check with Compaq first.

[trelarah]

FYI - I am buying this laptop from a friend, and I will be primarily using it for taking notes in class, and watching movies on flights and trips.

How do I go about "checking" with Compaq about the max. amount of ram I can have? Isn't there another way for me to check this out?

[mairving]

It will probably work for taking notes. I doubt that you will have much luck with playing movies. Does it even have a DVD drive? I don't know what you are paying tor it but after you add RAM it probably won't be worth it. You can get a Dell Inspiron for around $598 with a free printer. Not much upgradability but still much better than the old Compaq.

[trelarah]

When i said movies, i meant .avi format (700mb on a reguralr cd-r). I'm buying it for $100 Cdn. And I was going to wipe it of windows 98 and put Mandrake Linux on it.

[sdkfz]

I went to Compaq.com and fond that there are a whole bunch of slightly different versions of this laptop, I pickd the most generic

http://www.hp.com/cgi-bin/cposupport...0Custom%201750

I had trouble pulling the manual, but it may be the filtering software at work.

[trelarah]

not too sure what link to click on when i goto that page sdkfz

[mairving]

I think that the only way to tell for sure is to get the laptop and either look on the bottom at the part number or download Compaq's diagnostic which will tell you all about it. It would be difficult to run Mandy with 128M. It would be swapping to the disk constantly providing you are running X.

[trelarah]

Thanks mairving, I'll try looking on the bottom for the part number.