Windows 7 - free/cheap upgrade to Windows 10?

EveryWhere

DIYhelp76 wrote: »

Many thanks.

I will definitely consider the new RAM but at the moment the speed change is literally like a step out of the dark ages!

I'm so glad because was seriously thinking I might have to get a new laptop but just for the £65 investment in the SSD I think/hope this laptop should last many more years. Plus the drive came courtesy of Amazon vouchers from the Santander refer a friend scheme, so all good!

To anyone else who is considering buying a new laptop for similar reasons, I'd say definitely give this upgrade a go - I was worried I might botch it up but it was much easier than I feared, with all the help and guidance on here.

Seriously....less of the cogitating. Fit the RAM :money:
It costs as little as £1 for 1 x 2GB

64 bit Windows should really have a minimum of 4GB of RAM. Which in turn will allow more RAM space to be allocated to video/graphics memory. Don't be so painful.

https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=200pinsmbpcpn&categoryName=ddr3-laptop-204-pin&superCatName=computing&title=2-gb-pc8500-ddr3-1066mhz-204-pin-memory

or 2 x 2GB for £1.50; https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail?id=smem2qaa&categoryName=memory-laptop-ddr3&superCatName=computing&title=2-gb-pc10600-ddr3-1333mhz-204-pin-memory

Best to buy them whilst they are cheap.

It literally takes a minute or two to swap the RAM. Much easier than swapping the HDD.

Go directly to the 3:00 point on the video;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmt4zhTlOhs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tmt4zhTlOhs

Fitting ample RAM will also reduce the wear on your relatively expensive SSD and make it even quicker overall.

We are talking about £1 to £1.50 here.

EveryWhere

If you are feeling flush, go the whole way to the max of 8GB of RAM for £12; https://uk.webuy.com/product-detail/?id=smem2q2aa 2 x 4GB RAM

That will take your device to where it should be. Even if fitting the SSD has already made a huge difference.

poppellerant

I agree with EveryWhere, max out the RAM capacity while it is cheap. RAM prices are liable to sudden price increases and you will end up kicking yourself later if you don't upgrade it.

I am well aware that this is perhaps well beyond the realms of this thread, but your laptop certainly seems to have potential should you desire a further performance increase in the future. This could be established with a CPU upgrade, as demonstrated by a user on the HP forums, here.

DIYhelp76

Thanks .... so I upgraded the RAM to 8GB and laptop is positively flying along now! And it was as easy as you all said to make the swap.

I have sticks of old RAM I don't need any more and will try to sell on - do they keep hold of any of my personal data - do I need to "clear" them in some way before selling on?

grumpycrab

DIYhelp76 wrote: »

I have sticks of old RAM I don't need any more and will try to sell on - do they keep hold of any of my personal data - do I need to "clear" them in some way before selling on?

RAM (memory) doesn't keep data - disks hold data.

EveryWhere

DIYhelp76 wrote: »

Thanks .... so I upgraded the RAM to 8GB and laptop is positively flying along now! And it was as easy as you all said to make the swap.

I have sticks of old RAM I don't need any more and will try to sell on - do they keep hold of any of my personal data - do I need to "clear" them in some way before selling on?

Can imagine that it's now a pleasure to use.
It's as GC states.

DIYhelp76

Many thanks - yes it's AMAZING to use now :T

I forgot one more, hopefully final(!) question. The old disc drive I removed I now have in a USB drive caddy thing. When I plugged it in into the laptop it doesn't seem to be working properly/visible in file explorer.

I wanted to keep that just for storage/backup. Is it somehow trying to act still as a "boot drive" as it still has all the original programs etc on it (i.e. old Windows etc)?

Is there a way I can plug it in but stop it trying to boot and wipe off all the program stuff, just keeping my personal files and photos?

Many thx!

EveryWhere

DIYhelp76 wrote: »

Many thanks - yes it's AMAZING to use now :T

I forgot one more, hopefully final(!) question. The old disc drive I removed I now have in a USB drive caddy thing. When I plugged it in into the laptop it doesn't seem to be working properly/visible in file explorer.

I wanted to keep that just for storage/backup. Is it somehow trying to act still as a "boot drive" as it still has all the original programs etc on it (i.e. old Windows etc)?

Is there a way I can plug it in but stop it trying to boot and wipe off all the program stuff, just keeping my personal files and photos?

Many thx!

Does it have USB two connections on one end of the cable? If so, plug them both in.
It won't be acting as a boot drive. Are you suggesting that a Drive letter is not being produced on plugging it in when the laptop is already on?

ated19

Hello EveryWhere and Grumpycrab,

Thanks both for your helpful replies.

I'm determined to get started on this without many more months intervening! Thanks for the You Tube video - there is a "hatch" and it seems straightforward...