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Memory for a HP Pavilion

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BC|Wulf

Member
Joined
Feb 24, 2004
I had my computer in work the other day doing some updates on it, and a co-worker said his sons computer was getting really slow. I told him I would take a look at it and see what I could do.

Man was this computer slow. It reminded me of my old Pentium classic and this had a P4 celeron in it. Well come to find out HP ***** their customers by only installing 128MB of ram in it and then trys to make you run XP with it. Not to get into the business side of it, but for $50 bucks more they could have at least put in another 256MB of ram.

My question is is there specific ram that HP needs, or is it not picky. It is the Pavilion 532w. I pulled the info sheet from HP's website and it uses PC2100 DDR. He is not overclocking the comp, not that he could anyways, so I was just going to get 1GB of the cheapest PC2100 on NewEgg, but am worried it will not work in the comp. Anyone else had experience doing this?

Thanks in advance!
 
BC|Wulf said:
so I was just going to get 1GB of the cheapest PC2100 on NewEgg, but am worried it will not work in the comp. Anyone else had experience doing this?

Thanks in advance!

DON'T because they (HP) come with locked BIOS and you will never get it working trust me. I tried cracking that safe long time ago and no luck. Only way you could add more RAM is if you get exact same sticks.
 
Would 2x512 work and jsut chuck the 128mb that was in there? According to the datasheet it can only support up to 1gb anyways.

So you are saying there is no way to get into the BIOS? Man the more I deal with manufactured comps, the more I hate them. The exception to the rule is Dell, I still like their laptops!

Thanks for the info!
 
BC|Wulf said:
Would 2x512 work and jsut chuck the 128mb that was in there? According to the datasheet it can only support up to 1gb anyways.

So you are saying there is no way to get into the BIOS? Man the more I deal with manufactured comps, the more I hate them. The exception to the rule is Dell, I still like their laptops!

Thanks for the info!

You can get into the BIOS and change the boot sequence, that's about it. Everything else is locked and I'll tell you why, because if you decided to upgrade you need to purchase stuff (in your case RAM) directly from them.
 
What a bunch of crap....oh well. Guess if he wants a faster comp he will have to contact HP and pay their super inflated price for ram.

I should start my own computer company, with what they charge I could be rich!
 
I have added RAM to 3 HP computers in the past. Admittedly, they were a P-1, P-II, and P-III, so I obviously haven't worked on the newer ones, But, I think you could probably add another stick of RAM. I would not go with a 1 gig stick since the mobo might not support that, but another 128 stick or a couple 256 sticks should work. Doubling the RAM (another 128 stick) would certainly help, but I bet it needs reformatted and Windows reinstalled too.
 
I was checking HP's website and they give a procedure on how to install ram, and give the info required for the type of ram needed. I think I will just buy a stick and if it works great. It says it will support to 1gb, so I figured on adding a 512 stick to the 128. Hopefully I do not have to resintall windows on it. Did you have to on teh ones you worked on batboy?

Thanks!
 
I've never had to reinstall Windows with just a RAM update. The vast majority of the newer BIOS will automatically detect the new RAM. What I was referring to was if the system has started running slower than it once had, then the registry is probably trashed and might need a reformat. If your friend buys new RAM and it still runs doggy, he might not be happy.
 
Very true batboy. I did remove a ton of spyware from the computer also.

I did get a chance to clean the layers of dust off on the inside and discovered that his MB has a batch of crappy capacitors. They are oozing and bulging, time to find the soldering iron!

I also pulled the memory stick that was in there and it is Hynix PC2100. Have to see how much mem he wants and may end up replacing both.
 
Been awhile, but I did buy 512mb of PQI valuram and it work perfect. He is up to 640mb of ram, whiched helped speed up his computer some, but I am still fighting with spyware. i am going to do a clean install of windows to solve that though. Thanks for everyones help.
 
It shouldn't matter what memory you get, as the bios will just read the SPD on the sticks and use the slowest settings. Not a big deal.

Glad to hear you got it going though.
 
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