Upgrade Questions

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FuzzRacer

New Member
Ive been doing some research and can't seem to find a clear cut answer to some things, so I decided why not ask people who own vista platforms.

Im currently running windows Vista 32bit home premium on a compaq presario F762NR The max memory I was told that I could install was 3gb ( oddly HP's online manual told me 2gb) I want to take full advantage of the dual channel capability on my laptop but can't if one slot is 2b and the other is 1gb, is it possible to just run to sticks of 2gb?

My second question is about harddrives, Mine came with 120gigs but I want to upgrade. I was told that I could only go as high as 160gigs, is this true? and once I do upgrade the harddrive do I have to format the new one, and how would I go about doing that, Mine didn't come with recovery disks but Ive made some from the software provided with the laptop.

Any help would be appreciated and Thank you in advanced.
 

My Computer

System One

Hi FuzzRacer and welcome to Vista Forums :party:

Answering your questions in order:
Firstly, memory. Your computer has a 32-bit version of Vista installed. 32-bit versions can only address a total of 4GB of memory. This includes addresses that are mapped into this space by I/O devices and other hardware. As a result, the maximum amount of physical memory that can be accessed is usually between 3 and 3.5GB dependant on the hardware. If you wish to make use of dual channel mode (assuming that it is supported), I would go for 2 sticks of 1GB capacity. That should be sufficient for a 32-bit version of Vista.
Secondly, hard drives. Although Vista can utilise high capacity drives natively, they need to be supported by your BIOS. There is also a limitation as to how big a hard drive you can get in a 2.5" format without exceeding the recommended power consumption. The recovery software should be able to format the drive automatically if required. Alternatively, you can install a retail version of Vista, either full or upgrade - see the following Tutorials: http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/117366-clean-install-full-version-vista.html or http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/68767-clean-install-upgrade-vista.html. If you choose that route, you should download and save to a CD/DVD the necessary drivers (see links below). Note that both 32-bit and 64-bit drivers are available, so you could take the opportunity to upgrade to 64-bit and 4GB of RAM.
32-bit: Select software and drivers*
64-bit: Select software and drivers*
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Hi beiniam,

The drivers are solely for the Compaq Presario F762NR. Other models in the Compaq range will probably have different drivers. That is why it is essential that we have full model numbers, so we can locate the correct information.
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Thanks, Im not sure what type of motherboard I have so I can check into it's limitations. I do know that my comp runs Phoenix Technologies bios, so that's a start.
Would I be better off running the dual channel 1x1 or 2x1 I was figuring since im gona buy memory I might as well just max it out, Id rather have the fastest of the two, as for hardware im not running anything extreme, just what came with it.
 

My Computer

System One

Hi FuzzRacer,

Although Phoenix Technologies manufacture the BIOS, it is the motherboard manufacturer that customise it so that it works with the hardware on the board. Updates for this critical component should therefore be obtained from the motherboard manufacturer, and all instructions pertaining to this MUST be followed to the letter. However, unless there is a pressing reason to upgrade, I would leave well alone as you could be left with an expensive doorstop if the procedure fails.
I would be inclined to run using 2 x 1GB sticks, unless you elect to install 64-bit, in which case you can install 2 x 2GB sticks. Personally, I found that a total of 2GB of RAM was perfectly adequate when I had the 32-bit edition of Vista. I only moved upto 4GB when I decided to take the plunge and change to 64-bit when I had my rebuild a few months ago (October 2008).
Here is the main Technical Support page for your laptop: Compaq Presario F762NR Notebook PC*
 

My Computer

System One

  • Manufacturer/Model
    Dwarf Dwf/11/2012 r09/2013
    CPU
    Intel Core-i5-3570K 4-core @ 3.4GHz (Ivy Bridge) (OC 4.2GHz)
    Motherboard
    ASRock Z77 Extreme4-M
    Memory
    4 x 4GB DDR3-1600 Corsair Vengeance CMZ8GX3M2A1600C9B (16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce GTX770 Gaming OC 2GB
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition on board solution (ALC 898)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ViewSonic VA1912w Widescreen
    Screen Resolution
    1440x900
    Hard Drives
    OCZ Agility 3 120GB SATA III x2 (RAID 0)
    Samsung HD501LJ 500GB SATA II x2
    Hitachi HDS721010CLA332 1TB SATA II
    Iomega 1.5TB Ext USB 2.0
    WD 2.0TB Ext USB 3.0
    PSU
    XFX Pro Series 850W Semi-Modular
    Case
    Gigabyte IF233
    Cooling
    1 x 120mm Front Inlet 1 x 120mm Rear Exhaust
    Keyboard
    Microsoft Comfort Curve Keyboard 3000 (USB)
    Mouse
    Microsoft Comfort Mouse 3000 for Business (USB)
    Internet Speed
    NetGear DG834Gv3 ADSL Modem/Router (Ethernet) ~4.0 Mb/s (O2)
    Other Info
    Optical Drive: HL-DT-ST BD-RE BH10LS30 SATA Bluray
    Lexmark S305 Printer/Scanner/Copier (USB)
    WEI Score: 8.1/8.1/8.5/8.5/8.25
    Asus Eee PC 1011PX Netbook (Windows 7 x86 Starter)
Lol yeah it would be a nice doorstep, I think I will just run 1x1 I just didn't want to wonder if it would have gone faster running the 3gb max on memory, Ive checked out that page before but it didn't really get into who makes the board. Ill keep looking, I decided on the harddrive upgrade when I find that out although Im leaning towards the just upgrade to 64bit
 

My Computer

System One

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