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HP Mini 200-2100 - how to upgrade?
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Philip Herlihy
Apr 21, 2021, 7:24:58 AM4/21/21
to
I have this tiny notebook running Windows 7 "Starter". It has a 256GB spinning
disk (7200rpm) and just 2GB of memory. The Crucial scanner reports that the
max memory is 2GB, though I've found other machines which could use more than
their supposed limit. I'd like to give it to someone, but I'm reluctant to
hand over a machine running something that's full of security holes, so I'd
like to upgrade it to W10, which still seems to work free.
Why would a machine have a limit of 2GB - what are my chances of getting a 4GB
stick to work (under the limitations of a 32-bit machine, of course)? Which
would be the better investment: a 4GB memory card or an SSD (similar sort of
price!). Opinions greatly valued - it seems a shame to scrap it.
--
Phil, London
disk (7200rpm) and just 2GB of memory. The Crucial scanner reports that the
max memory is 2GB, though I've found other machines which could use more than
their supposed limit. I'd like to give it to someone, but I'm reluctant to
hand over a machine running something that's full of security holes, so I'd
like to upgrade it to W10, which still seems to work free.
Why would a machine have a limit of 2GB - what are my chances of getting a 4GB
stick to work (under the limitations of a 32-bit machine, of course)? Which
would be the better investment: a 4GB memory card or an SSD (similar sort of
price!). Opinions greatly valued - it seems a shame to scrap it.
--
Phil, London
GB
Apr 21, 2021, 7:53:14 AM4/21/21
to
run that OS is 1GB.
On a 4GB machine the maximum that 32 bit W10 can see is only about 3.2GB.
Then, there's the graphics. Does the notebook have shared RAM for the
graphics?
My old Dell C2D machine has shared graphics and 4GB of RAM. All W10 can
see is 2.7GB of the RAM. It actually ran pretty well, although the i7
machine (with 24GB of RAM) I use now is noticeably better.
An SSD revitalised the old Dell.
Philip Herlihy
Apr 21, 2021, 12:04:03 PM4/21/21
to
In article <s5p3n9$ma5$1...@dont-email.me>, NOTso...@microsoft.com says...
Thanks for this. Process Explorer reports 2.3 MB (sic) GPU Dedicated Memory,
and 2.7 MB GPU Shared Memory. System Information reports 2GB Installed
Physical Memory and 1.99GB "available".
It's surprisingly useable - now that it's finished looking for, downloading and
installing updates! (Atom processor.)
I guess what I'd still like to know is whether a manufacturer's stated "Limit"
is a real limit, or whether it's just a lack of foresight at the time of what
people might try to do with the machine? I don't want to find myself
discarding a 4GB card which I couldn't send back (having installed it to try
it) and which wouldn't be useful elsewhere.
My own guess is that the SSD would make more difference than an extra 1.5
(useable) GB of memory on this tiny machine, so thanks for that account.
--
Phil, London
and 2.7 MB GPU Shared Memory. System Information reports 2GB Installed
Physical Memory and 1.99GB "available".
It's surprisingly useable - now that it's finished looking for, downloading and
installing updates! (Atom processor.)
I guess what I'd still like to know is whether a manufacturer's stated "Limit"
is a real limit, or whether it's just a lack of foresight at the time of what
people might try to do with the machine? I don't want to find myself
discarding a 4GB card which I couldn't send back (having installed it to try
it) and which wouldn't be useful elsewhere.
My own guess is that the SSD would make more difference than an extra 1.5
(useable) GB of memory on this tiny machine, so thanks for that account.
--
Phil, London
Raj Kundra
Apr 21, 2021, 12:46:01 PM4/21/21
to
will be too expansive or rare, so Mfr went with 2GB and no one likes to
admit that it will run 4GB and loose business.
Take the bottom covers off to see which ram is fitted, my guess PC2-5300
ish.
I can always lend you to try one :-))
GB
Apr 21, 2021, 12:47:25 PM4/21/21
to
On 21/04/2021 17:04, Philip Herlihy wrote:
Crucial say the RAM is not upgradeable, the chances are very high that
it isn't.
Theo
Apr 21, 2021, 12:50:31 PM4/21/21
to
Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
> I guess what I'd still like to know is whether a manufacturer's stated
> "Limit" is a real limit, or whether it's just a lack of foresight at the
> time of what people might try to do with the machine? I don't want to
> find myself discarding a 4GB card which I couldn't send back (having
> installed it to try it) and which wouldn't be useful elsewhere.
It's an Atom, which Intel and Microsoft hobbled:
> I guess what I'd still like to know is whether a manufacturer's stated
> "Limit" is a real limit, or whether it's just a lack of foresight at the
> time of what people might try to do with the machine? I don't want to
> find myself discarding a 4GB card which I couldn't send back (having
> installed it to try it) and which wouldn't be useful elsewhere.
https://support.hp.com/ie-en/product/hp-mini-210-2100-pc-series/4346353/document/c02680446
Microprocessor 1.66GHz Intel Atom Processor N455
https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/49491/intel-atom-processor-n455-512k-cache-1-66-ghz.html
Max Memory Size (dependent on memory type) 2 GB
(although I'm surprised it has 64-bit support)
> My own guess is that the SSD would make more difference than an extra 1.5
> (useable) GB of memory on this tiny machine, so thanks for that account.
Theo
Adrian Caspersz
Apr 21, 2021, 1:41:09 PM4/21/21
to
On 21/04/2021 12:24, Philip Herlihy wrote:
Get a small micro Windows Pro 10 PC, the minimalist kind of sub £100
thing that connects to a TV set and wireless. eBay/Amazon is littered
with them. Lose it in the back of a TV, or what not.
On the laptop, install a minimal OS (or keep the current Win7) that can
run a terminal services client, and connect to the above via wireless.
Performance may be decent - I do pretty good video on my
Linux/Remina/Core2Duo setup from a Win10 desktop.
Or you could lose the micro PC entirely with some cloud or self hosting...
What was that dream years ago with thin clients?
--
Adrian C
Raj Kundra
Apr 21, 2021, 2:32:35 PM4/21/21
to
Philip Herlihy
Apr 22, 2021, 6:33:24 AM4/22/21
to
In article <s5pks8$pm7$1...@dont-email.me>, r...@kundracomputers.co.uk says...
Thank you, Raj - that's most generous. However, Theo (see below) has tracked
down that there is a 2GB limitation in what the processor can address. I can't
imagine what would be the thinking behind that - most likely some "market
segmentation" dodge, I'd think. So that limit is indeed a hard one.
Much appreciated, nevertheless.
--
Phil, London
down that there is a 2GB limitation in what the processor can address. I can't
imagine what would be the thinking behind that - most likely some "market
segmentation" dodge, I'd think. So that limit is indeed a hard one.
Much appreciated, nevertheless.
--
Phil, London
Philip Herlihy
Apr 22, 2021, 6:35:35 AM4/22/21
to
In article <ieb6dk...@mid.individual.net>, em...@here.invalid says...
Thanks for this. Ideally I'd give this machine to someone with simple needs and
who is technically naive, so that idea, interesting as it is, isn't one that
quite fits what I'm hoping for.
--
Phil, London
who is technically naive, so that idea, interesting as it is, isn't one that
quite fits what I'm hoping for.
--
Phil, London
Philip Herlihy
Apr 22, 2021, 6:49:56 AM4/22/21
to
In article <S5y*1x...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>,
theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk says...
Aha - that's the key issue then. It is indeed an N455 processor (System
Information) so there is truly a 'hard' limit of 2GB. I can only guess things
looked very different back then. According to "System Requirements" Windows 7
has a minimum RAM of 1GB, and Windows 10 2GB. As it is, running W7 it runs
surprisingly well (to run at all with 2GB is surprising to me these days). If
W7 was still supported I'd certainly leave it as it is, but I couldn't hand
over a machine to someone with W7 now.
At the moment the W10 installer is stuck (?) at the screen "Making sure you're
ready to install - This may take a few minutes: please wait" and has been for
about 15 hours. It took overnight to apply a whole bunch of updates that were
still available, so I'll leave it overnight again before giving up.
It'll just seem such a shame to scrap this little jewel of a machine - bright
blue case!
Once again, thank you, Theo, for getting to the heart of a problem again - much
appreciated.
--
Phil, London
theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk says...
Information) so there is truly a 'hard' limit of 2GB. I can only guess things
looked very different back then. According to "System Requirements" Windows 7
has a minimum RAM of 1GB, and Windows 10 2GB. As it is, running W7 it runs
surprisingly well (to run at all with 2GB is surprising to me these days). If
W7 was still supported I'd certainly leave it as it is, but I couldn't hand
over a machine to someone with W7 now.
At the moment the W10 installer is stuck (?) at the screen "Making sure you're
ready to install - This may take a few minutes: please wait" and has been for
about 15 hours. It took overnight to apply a whole bunch of updates that were
still available, so I'll leave it overnight again before giving up.
It'll just seem such a shame to scrap this little jewel of a machine - bright
blue case!
Once again, thank you, Theo, for getting to the heart of a problem again - much
appreciated.
--
Phil, London
Theo
Apr 22, 2021, 7:27:09 AM4/22/21
to
Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
> Thanks for this. Ideally I'd give this machine to someone with simple needs and
> who is technically naive, so that idea, interesting as it is, isn't one that
> quite fits what I'm hoping for.
Have you thought about installing ChromeOS?
> Thanks for this. Ideally I'd give this machine to someone with simple needs and
> who is technically naive, so that idea, interesting as it is, isn't one that
> quite fits what I'm hoping for.
https://www.neverware.com/freedownload#intro-text
It says:
Processor and Graphics: Components made prior to 2007 will likely result in
a poor experience. Additionally, the following graphics hardware does not
meet performance standards on CloudReady: Intel GMA 500, 600, 3600, 3650
Yours has a GMA3150. I think that should be OK - it's an Intel-designed
GPU, not a PowerVR one they bought in from Imagination, which have
troublesome drivers. Graphics performance might not be the best, though.
Worth a try?
Theo
GB
Apr 22, 2021, 7:49:02 AM4/22/21
to
That is stated to run in 1 GB, and in my experience it certainly does
run in 2GB.
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-system-requirements-6d4e9a79-66bf-7950-467c-795cf0386715
GB
Apr 22, 2021, 8:26:29 AM4/22/21
to
Can I ask whether the user would actually notice the difference between
windows and linux?
https://itsfoss.com/lightweight-linux-beginners/
Adrian Caspersz
Apr 22, 2021, 9:43:58 AM4/22/21
to
On 22/04/2021 13:26, GB wrote:
>
> There are lightweight versions of linux that will probably be okay.
>
> Can I ask whether the user would actually notice the difference between
> windows and linux?
>
> https://itsfoss.com/lightweight-linux-beginners/
The non-technical user probably wouldn't but the technical person remote
>
> There are lightweight versions of linux that will probably be okay.
>
> Can I ask whether the user would actually notice the difference between
> windows and linux?
>
> https://itsfoss.com/lightweight-linux-beginners/
supporting any issues would, Windows being somewhat more familiar to most.
--
Adrian C
Philip Herlihy
Apr 22, 2021, 10:31:46 AM4/22/21
to
In article <s5rnrd$ii4$1...@dont-email.me>, NOTso...@microsoft.com says...
I hope so too! I just ran the "media creation tool". Which is still running
...
Good to hear W10 works with 2GB - thanks!
--
Phil, London
...
Good to hear W10 works with 2GB - thanks!
--
Phil, London
Philip Herlihy
Apr 22, 2021, 10:35:16 AM4/22/21
to
In article <T5y*ID...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>,
theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk says...
Certainly something I'd like to try at some point - I'm cluttered up with
several old machines I can't bring myself to scrap, including one old desktop
now runningh W10 (last time I powered it up!) which gives enough time to cook
breakfast after pressing the power button before it's ready to log on. Once
it's up, though, it's surprisingly useable.
This particular notebook would suit a friend who wants to tinker with Windows -
if I can get it running acceptably.
--
Phil, London
theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk says...
several old machines I can't bring myself to scrap, including one old desktop
now runningh W10 (last time I powered it up!) which gives enough time to cook
breakfast after pressing the power button before it's ready to log on. Once
it's up, though, it's surprisingly useable.
This particular notebook would suit a friend who wants to tinker with Windows -
if I can get it running acceptably.
--
Phil, London
Philip Herlihy
Apr 22, 2021, 10:38:57 AM4/22/21
to
In article <s5rq1k$2hg$1...@dont-email.me>, NOTso...@microsoft.com says...
Interesting article. The chap I have in mind for this notebook would want to
be using some version of Windows, though, as he's seeking to learn about it for
his CV.
--
Phil, London
be using some version of Windows, though, as he's seeking to learn about it for
his CV.
--
Phil, London
Philip Herlihy
Apr 22, 2021, 10:39:37 AM4/22/21
to
Daniel James
Apr 24, 2021, 9:44:05 AM4/24/21
to
In article <MPG.3aeb61529...@news.eternal-september.org>,
Philip Herlihy wrote:
> ... there is a 2GB limitation in what the processor can address.
version to support 'netbook' style machines with very low resource
limits so that these could be sold with Windows without pushing the
price up too much. There was a raft of cheap hardware with cobbled
specs that imposed these limits in order to qualify for a Win7 Starter
licence.
The requirement for low-resource hardware was to stop people buying
Starter and running it on machines that were actually useful.
This was shortly after the release of things like the Asus EEPC
machines that were released with Linux for not much more than the cost
of a Windows (XP Home, at the time) licence, and Microsoft were
wriggling to hold on to market share.
Unfortunately they were largely successful, and low-power laptop-style
machines running Linux virtually disappeared until they were reborn in
the form of Chromebooks.
--
Cheers,
Daniel.
Philip Herlihy wrote:
> ... there is a 2GB limitation in what the processor can address.
> I can't imagine what would be the thinking behind that - most
> likely some "market segmentation" dodge, I'd think.
Exactly so. Windows 7 Starter was brought out as a cheap Windows
> likely some "market segmentation" dodge, I'd think.
version to support 'netbook' style machines with very low resource
limits so that these could be sold with Windows without pushing the
price up too much. There was a raft of cheap hardware with cobbled
specs that imposed these limits in order to qualify for a Win7 Starter
licence.
The requirement for low-resource hardware was to stop people buying
Starter and running it on machines that were actually useful.
This was shortly after the release of things like the Asus EEPC
machines that were released with Linux for not much more than the cost
of a Windows (XP Home, at the time) licence, and Microsoft were
wriggling to hold on to market share.
Unfortunately they were largely successful, and low-power laptop-style
machines running Linux virtually disappeared until they were reborn in
the form of Chromebooks.
--
Cheers,
Daniel.
Raj Kundra
Apr 24, 2021, 12:43:59 PM4/24/21
to
LAPTOP is next big thing, I vaguely remember having these in stock,
adding 4GB modules and selling them at good profit. I am shipping memory
to you to try, so you got nothing to loose? All you have to do is take
bottom cover and see which ram is installed.
Philip Herlihy
Apr 24, 2021, 1:05:31 PM4/24/21
to
In article <VA.00000d9...@me.invalid>, dan...@me.invalid says...
Thanks, Daniel - very interesting.
--
Phil, London
--
Phil, London
Philip Herlihy
Apr 24, 2021, 1:10:02 PM4/24/21
to
In article <s61hse$lh1$1...@dont-email.me>, r...@kundracomputers.co.uk says...
Well that's an offer too generous to refuse. I'll open the thing up as soon as
I can get it to finish cleaning up after an abortive attempt to get it to
upgrade to W10 (I just this minute cancelled the "checking you are ready to
install" (or something similar) screen which had been stuck there for 3 days.
Now "Setup is cleaning up before it closes" - I hope I don't have another 3
days to wait.
It never occurred to me to check my now-elderly Dell Venue 8 tablet, which it
turns out has an Atom processor and 2GB of RAM. It's not quick, but it's quite
useable.
Once it's done, I'll message you my details. Thanks!
--
Phil, London
I can get it to finish cleaning up after an abortive attempt to get it to
upgrade to W10 (I just this minute cancelled the "checking you are ready to
install" (or something similar) screen which had been stuck there for 3 days.
Now "Setup is cleaning up before it closes" - I hope I don't have another 3
days to wait.
It never occurred to me to check my now-elderly Dell Venue 8 tablet, which it
turns out has an Atom processor and 2GB of RAM. It's not quick, but it's quite
useable.
Once it's done, I'll message you my details. Thanks!
--
Phil, London
Philip Herlihy
Apr 24, 2021, 2:26:52 PM4/24/21
to
In article <MPG.3aee6145a...@news.eternal-september.org>,
thiswillb...@you.com says...
The post-cleanup after the aborted upgrade looked to be taking as long as the
upgrade-not, so I forced a shutdown, at which point the machine started
installing updates (again). That may have been the problem perhaps? I'll try
the whole thing again.
--
Phil, London
thiswillb...@you.com says...
upgrade-not, so I forced a shutdown, at which point the machine started
installing updates (again). That may have been the problem perhaps? I'll try
the whole thing again.
--
Phil, London
Andrew
Apr 25, 2021, 10:05:55 AM4/25/21
to
emergency use. Not sure if a cheap laptop, notebook or 'pad'
will suffice but I see that Currys still sell Win10S machines like
this one, which claims tohave 4GB, but they don't seem to bother
wth physical LAN ports any longer
https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-15s-eq1516sa-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-3-128-gb-ssd-silver-10207946-pdt.html
Philip Herlihy
Apr 25, 2021, 2:49:24 PM4/25/21
to
In article <s63svv$112c$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, Andrew9...@mybtinternet.com
says...
Brexit has hit the pound, and right now demand has never been higher.
--
Phil, London
says...
>
>
> Hmm. I am lookimg for an extra PC to supplement my desktop for
> emergency use. Not sure if a cheap laptop, notebook or 'pad'
> will suffice but I see that Currys still sell Win10S machines like
> this one, which claims tohave 4GB, but they don't seem to bother
> wth physical LAN ports any longer
>
> https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-15s-eq1516sa-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-3-128-gb-ssd-silver-10207946-pdt.html
Laptops seem to have increased significantly in price in the last few years.
>
> Hmm. I am lookimg for an extra PC to supplement my desktop for
> emergency use. Not sure if a cheap laptop, notebook or 'pad'
> will suffice but I see that Currys still sell Win10S machines like
> this one, which claims tohave 4GB, but they don't seem to bother
> wth physical LAN ports any longer
>
> https://www.currys.co.uk/gbuk/computing/laptops/laptops/hp-15s-eq1516sa-15-6-laptop-amd-ryzen-3-128-gb-ssd-silver-10207946-pdt.html
Brexit has hit the pound, and right now demand has never been higher.
--
Phil, London
Andrew
Apr 26, 2021, 10:00:40 AM4/26/21
to
much prices have increased in the last 5-ish years.
The next problem is what to replace my desktop with, when the
time comes. It's last upgrade was a new M/B/processor in 2011
with Win7/32 Pro oem (now Win10 free upgrade). The M/B has
firewire and I have a slide scanner that I prefer to keep.
Intel and Apple seem to have dumped firewire though :-(
GB
Apr 26, 2021, 10:14:13 AM4/26/21
to
On 26/04/2021 15:00, Andrew wrote:
> The M/B has
> firewire and I have a slide scanner that I prefer to keep.
> Intel and Apple seem to have dumped firewire though :-(
>
Loads of internal cards for firewire available.
> The M/B has
> firewire and I have a slide scanner that I prefer to keep.
> Intel and Apple seem to have dumped firewire though :-(
>
Andrew
Apr 27, 2021, 8:50:23 AM4/27/21
to
switch to a laptop.
Do external PCIe extender boxes work with modern laptops?
Theo
Apr 27, 2021, 9:42:56 AM4/27/21
to
Andrew <Andrew9...@mybtinternet.com> wrote:
> Not if I retire the desktop (or it expires) and I
> switch to a laptop.
>
> Do external PCIe extender boxes work with modern laptops?
It's possible to go from a miniPCIe slot to an external box, but typically
> Not if I retire the desktop (or it expires) and I
> switch to a laptop.
>
> Do external PCIe extender boxes work with modern laptops?
the cabling is awkward - the mPCIe slot is likely on the underneath (and
often occupied by a wifi card), making the arrangement fragile and
non-portable. Similarly for M.2 NVMe slots.
You can get Thunderbolt PCIe cages, mainly intended for external GPUs.
They're quite large and pricey though.
Apple have a Thunderbolt 2 Firewire dongle, so I'd suggest that plus their
dongle to convert Thunderbolt 2 to Thunderbolt 3. IIRC the Firewire chip in
their dongle is the LSI643 which should have drivers on all popular OSes.
The stack of Thunderbolt protocol stuff shouldn't get in the way, although
you may have to tweak the BIOS settings for Thunderbolt security if you OS
doesn't support that properly (most do, now). It's not super cheap to go
this route, but a lot neater and more compact. You may find the parts
cheaper on ebay though, as Thunderbolt 2 is rather outmoded these days.
You need to buy a laptop with Thunderbolt 3 or 4, as cheaper laptops often
only have USB-C but no Thunderbolt.
Theo
Andrew
Apr 28, 2021, 3:40:02 PM4/28/21
to
Theo
Apr 29, 2021, 7:48:02 AM4/29/21
to
Andrew <Andrew9...@mybtinternet.com> wrote:
> Ok, thanks for that
It's worth saying as a followup that there are things on ebay labelled as
Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapters, but they aren't. The TB2 port can also work as
Mini Displayport, and the TB3 port is a USB-C which can also carry
Displayport. So passive mDP to USB-C adapters are being labelled with
'Thunderbolt' even though they're nothing to do with it. They're no good in
this instance where you aren't plugging in a monitor.
So unless you read the description very carefully, stick to the Apple
adapter. I've taken one apart and it does the right kind of conversion
(and it won't do Displayport).
Theo
> Ok, thanks for that
It's worth saying as a followup that there are things on ebay labelled as
Thunderbolt 2 to 3 adapters, but they aren't. The TB2 port can also work as
Mini Displayport, and the TB3 port is a USB-C which can also carry
Displayport. So passive mDP to USB-C adapters are being labelled with
'Thunderbolt' even though they're nothing to do with it. They're no good in
this instance where you aren't plugging in a monitor.
So unless you read the description very carefully, stick to the Apple
adapter. I've taken one apart and it does the right kind of conversion
(and it won't do Displayport).
Theo
Philip Herlihy
May 1, 2021, 7:48:51 AM5/1/21
to
faint signs of life (WiFi led on, gentle fan movement) but the display was
entirely blank and dark, even after a couple of minutes. Tried carefully
reseating the module - same. With the 2GB module replaced, it booted
immediately. So that Atom processor - and so this notebook - does have a hard
2GB limit on memory. I'm surprised it runs at all (currently W7 still).
Talking of that - I keep trying to upgrade it to W10, but it stalls at the
screen "Making sure you're ready to install". I left it for 48 hours at one
point, but it just sits there with spinning dots. I tried starting the Media
Creation Tool as admin, checking if new drivers are available, SFC, but nothing
so far has made any difference. A lot of people online have had the same
experience, but no single solution stands out. It would be a shame to retire
this little jewel of a machine (the case is a rather lovely blue, and it's
physically in perfect condition).
--
Phil, London
Jeff Gaines
May 1, 2021, 7:57:19 AM5/1/21
to
On 01/05/2021 in message
<MPG.3af750795...@news.eternal-september.org> Philip Herlihy
wrote:
>Raj was as good as his word, and the 4G module arrived.
He is a scholar and gentleman of the highest order as many of us know from
experience :-)
--
Jeff Gaines Wiltshire UK
Though no-one can go back and make a new start, everyone can start from
now and make a new ending.
<MPG.3af750795...@news.eternal-september.org> Philip Herlihy
wrote:
>Raj was as good as his word, and the 4G module arrived.
experience :-)
--
Jeff Gaines Wiltshire UK
Though no-one can go back and make a new start, everyone can start from
now and make a new ending.
Koopa
May 1, 2021, 8:35:42 AM5/1/21
to
Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
>
>
> Talking of that - I keep trying to upgrade it to W10, but it stalls at the
> screen "Making sure you're ready to install". I left it for 48 hours at one
> point, but it just sits there with spinning dots. I tried starting the Media
> Creation Tool as admin, checking if new drivers are available, SFC, but nothing
> so far has made any difference. A lot of people online have had the same
> experience, but no single solution stands out. It would be a shame to retire
> this little jewel of a machine (the case is a rather lovely blue, and it's
> physically in perfect condition).
I’ve got an old Dell Latitude D430 with 2GB RAM running Windows 10 32bit.
>
>
> Talking of that - I keep trying to upgrade it to W10, but it stalls at the
> screen "Making sure you're ready to install". I left it for 48 hours at one
> point, but it just sits there with spinning dots. I tried starting the Media
> Creation Tool as admin, checking if new drivers are available, SFC, but nothing
> so far has made any difference. A lot of people online have had the same
> experience, but no single solution stands out. It would be a shame to retire
> this little jewel of a machine (the case is a rather lovely blue, and it's
> physically in perfect condition).
Philip Herlihy
May 1, 2021, 2:23:51 PM5/1/21
to
In article <s6jhur$11nj$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, ko...@troopa.net says...
Fingers crossed, then! Raj has kindly sent me some suggestions directly - if
anything works, I'll report back.
--
Phil, London
>
> Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Talking of that - I keep trying to upgrade it to W10, but it stalls at the
> > screen "Making sure you're ready to install". I left it for 48 hours at one
> > point, but it just sits there with spinning dots. I tried starting the Media
> > Creation Tool as admin, checking if new drivers are available, SFC, but nothing
> > so far has made any difference. A lot of people online have had the same
> > experience, but no single solution stands out. It would be a shame to retire
> > this little jewel of a machine (the case is a rather lovely blue, and it's
> > physically in perfect condition).
>
> I?ve got an old Dell Latitude D430 with 2GB RAM running Windows 10 32bit.
> Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
> >
> >
> > Talking of that - I keep trying to upgrade it to W10, but it stalls at the
> > screen "Making sure you're ready to install". I left it for 48 hours at one
> > point, but it just sits there with spinning dots. I tried starting the Media
> > Creation Tool as admin, checking if new drivers are available, SFC, but nothing
> > so far has made any difference. A lot of people online have had the same
> > experience, but no single solution stands out. It would be a shame to retire
> > this little jewel of a machine (the case is a rather lovely blue, and it's
> > physically in perfect condition).
>
Fingers crossed, then! Raj has kindly sent me some suggestions directly - if
anything works, I'll report back.
--
Phil, London
GB
May 1, 2021, 2:58:41 PM5/1/21
to
Koopa
May 1, 2021, 3:24:13 PM5/1/21
to
GB <NOTso...@microsoft.com> wrote:
>
> If you are running 32 bit windows, 2 GB should really not be an issue.
Just checked mine to make sure I am running the 32bit version as I haven’t
>
> If you are running 32 bit windows, 2 GB should really not be an issue.
booted the machine for a few years...
https://imgur.com/52EzqWr
Theo
May 1, 2021, 3:52:07 PM5/1/21
to
Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
> Raj was as good as his word, and the 4G module arrived. The laptop showed
> faint signs of life (WiFi led on, gentle fan movement) but the display was
> entirely blank and dark, even after a couple of minutes. Tried carefully
> reseating the module - same. With the 2GB module replaced, it booted
> immediately. So that Atom processor - and so this notebook - does have a hard
> 2GB limit on memory. I'm surprised it runs at all (currently W7 still).
I told you so ;-)
> Raj was as good as his word, and the 4G module arrived. The laptop showed
> faint signs of life (WiFi led on, gentle fan movement) but the display was
> entirely blank and dark, even after a couple of minutes. Tried carefully
> reseating the module - same. With the 2GB module replaced, it booted
> immediately. So that Atom processor - and so this notebook - does have a hard
> 2GB limit on memory. I'm surprised it runs at all (currently W7 still).
> Talking of that - I keep trying to upgrade it to W10, but it stalls at the
> screen "Making sure you're ready to install". I left it for 48 hours at one
> point, but it just sits there with spinning dots. I tried starting the Media
> Creation Tool as admin, checking if new drivers are available, SFC, but nothing
> so far has made any difference. A lot of people online have had the same
> experience, but no single solution stands out. It would be a shame to retire
> this little jewel of a machine (the case is a rather lovely blue, and it's
> physically in perfect condition).
The trouble with searching is that 'Windows 10' from 2015 is essentially a
different OS from 'Windows 10' in 2021, but the searches can't tell the
difference.
What you could try is running the upgrade process in Windows 7, rather than
trying to install from scratch. I suspect the issues are likely to be
drivers - you know the ones on Win7 work, and I think the installer will
carry on using them if it doesn't have a newer driver in Win10. Whereas the
Win10 install image won't have the drivers and so can't make progress.
Another thought would be to try an older version of Windows 10:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Windows_10_version_history
because maybe things stopped working at some point. You then may or may not
be able to upgrade to the latest from there.
(For example IIRC they abandoned some Bay Trail Atom tablets, so they were
shipped with Win10 but can't install the latest)
Theo
Philip Herlihy
May 2, 2021, 12:34:15 PM5/2/21
to
In article <S5y*zX...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>,
theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk says...
In fact I have been trying to upgrade from within W7. I download the Media
Creation Tool, and pick to the option to upgrade this computer, rather than
create media for another. I'm veering towards trying the latter approach.
What's annoying is that it insists on downloading W10 each time, and then
cleaning it off again after I abort once it has hung.
I'll work through the drivers, including a later BIOS, and have another go, but
I may have to give up.
--
Phil, London
theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk says...
Creation Tool, and pick to the option to upgrade this computer, rather than
create media for another. I'm veering towards trying the latter approach.
What's annoying is that it insists on downloading W10 each time, and then
cleaning it off again after I abort once it has hung.
I'll work through the drivers, including a later BIOS, and have another go, but
I may have to give up.
--
Phil, London
Koopa
May 2, 2021, 1:35:56 PM5/2/21
to
Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
>
> I'll work through the drivers, including a later BIOS, and have another go, but
> I may have to give up.
Create a Windows 10 installation disc and install from that, chances are
>
> I'll work through the drivers, including a later BIOS, and have another go, but
> I may have to give up.
that you won’t encounter the freezing problem I had when doing it this way.
You’ll need your Windows 7 product key to activate 10.
Theo
May 3, 2021, 10:41:06 AM5/3/21
to
Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
> In fact I have been trying to upgrade from within W7. I download the Media
> Creation Tool, and pick to the option to upgrade this computer, rather than
> create media for another. I'm veering towards trying the latter approach.
> What's annoying is that it insists on downloading W10 each time, and then
> cleaning it off again after I abort once it has hung.
In which case I'd try getting hold of the ISOs for the 6-monthly releases of
> In fact I have been trying to upgrade from within W7. I download the Media
> Creation Tool, and pick to the option to upgrade this computer, rather than
> create media for another. I'm veering towards trying the latter approach.
> What's annoying is that it insists on downloading W10 each time, and then
> cleaning it off again after I abort once it has hung.
Windows 10, both 32 and 64 bit, and trying them one by one to see what
installs. Your machine has a CPU from the Pineview family - I found some
chatter say that 64-bit 1809 will work. Microsoft have dropped support for
various Atoms along the way (not yours, that I could see) so it may be that
an older release will install where the current one won't.
Theo
Philip Herlihy
May 4, 2021, 12:06:09 PM5/4/21
to
In article <s6mntp$1kp0$1...@gioia.aioe.org>, ko...@troopa.net says...
>
> You?ll need your Windows 7 product key to activate 10.
Thanks - a good reminder to unearth the key *first*!
--
Phil, London
>
> Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
> >
> > I'll work through the drivers, including a later BIOS, and have another go, but
> > I may have to give up.
>
> Create a Windows 10 installation disc and install from that, chances are
> that you won?t encounter the freezing problem I had when doing it this way.
> Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
> >
> > I'll work through the drivers, including a later BIOS, and have another go, but
> > I may have to give up.
>
> Create a Windows 10 installation disc and install from that, chances are
>
> You?ll need your Windows 7 product key to activate 10.
Thanks - a good reminder to unearth the key *first*!
--
Phil, London
Philip Herlihy
May 4, 2021, 12:11:00 PM5/4/21
to
In article <xal*Fl...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>,
theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk says...
Thanks - interesting ideas. However, the only motivation for upgrading to W10
is to get "up to date" in terms of security, so being stalled at an older
version of W10 just kicks the can down the road for me.
I'll image the thing, then try a few more drastic options, before (I suspect)
giving up! If I costed the time I spent on such adventures I could justify
buying a new one!
--
Phil, London
theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk says...
is to get "up to date" in terms of security, so being stalled at an older
version of W10 just kicks the can down the road for me.
I'll image the thing, then try a few more drastic options, before (I suspect)
giving up! If I costed the time I spent on such adventures I could justify
buying a new one!
--
Phil, London
Jaimie Vandenbergh
May 5, 2021, 5:54:50 AM5/5/21
to
On 4 May 2021 at 17:10:58 BST, "Philip Herlihy"
> I'll image the thing, then try a few more drastic options, before (I suspect)
> giving up! If I costed the time I spent on such adventures I could justify
> buying a new one!
"Time wasted having fun is not wasted" but on the other hand if it's not
fun...
Cheers - Jaimie
--
All the things I really like to do are either illegal, immoral, or
fattening.
- Alexander Woollcott
<thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
> In article <xal*Fl...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>,
> theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk says...
>>
>> Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
>> > In fact I have been trying to upgrade from within W7. I download the Media
>> > Creation Tool, and pick to the option to upgrade this computer, rather than
>> > create media for another. I'm veering towards trying the latter approach.
>> > What's annoying is that it insists on downloading W10 each time, and then
>> > cleaning it off again after I abort once it has hung.
>>
>> In which case I'd try getting hold of the ISOs for the 6-monthly releases of
>> Windows 10, both 32 and 64 bit, and trying them one by one to see what
>> installs. Your machine has a CPU from the Pineview family - I found some
>> chatter say that 64-bit 1809 will work. Microsoft have dropped support for
>> various Atoms along the way (not yours, that I could see) so it may be that
>> an older release will install where the current one won't.
>>
>> Theo
>
> Thanks - interesting ideas. However, the only motivation for upgrading to W10
> is to get "up to date" in terms of security, so being stalled at an older
> version of W10 just kicks the can down the road for me.
If it is stalled, time to move to another OS on that hardware then.
> In article <xal*Fl...@news.chiark.greenend.org.uk>,
> theom...@chiark.greenend.org.uk says...
>>
>> Philip Herlihy <thiswillb...@you.com> wrote:
>> > In fact I have been trying to upgrade from within W7. I download the Media
>> > Creation Tool, and pick to the option to upgrade this computer, rather than
>> > create media for another. I'm veering towards trying the latter approach.
>> > What's annoying is that it insists on downloading W10 each time, and then
>> > cleaning it off again after I abort once it has hung.
>>
>> In which case I'd try getting hold of the ISOs for the 6-monthly releases of
>> Windows 10, both 32 and 64 bit, and trying them one by one to see what
>> installs. Your machine has a CPU from the Pineview family - I found some
>> chatter say that 64-bit 1809 will work. Microsoft have dropped support for
>> various Atoms along the way (not yours, that I could see) so it may be that
>> an older release will install where the current one won't.
>>
>> Theo
>
> Thanks - interesting ideas. However, the only motivation for upgrading to W10
> is to get "up to date" in terms of security, so being stalled at an older
> version of W10 just kicks the can down the road for me.
> I'll image the thing, then try a few more drastic options, before (I suspect)
> giving up! If I costed the time I spent on such adventures I could justify
> buying a new one!
fun...
Cheers - Jaimie
--
All the things I really like to do are either illegal, immoral, or
fattening.
- Alexander Woollcott
GB
May 5, 2021, 6:21:58 AM5/5/21
to
On 05/05/2021 10:54, Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote:
> If it is stalled, time to move to another OS on that hardware then.
>
I still have a Dell Inspiron Mini 910, bought in 2008.
> If it is stalled, time to move to another OS on that hardware then.
>
This is a very small notebook with an Atom CPU, 1GB RAM and 8GB SSD. It
runs really quite nicely with Ubuntu linux. It's quite quick to boot,
and applications are quite snappy. I'm obviously not attempting any
heavy video editing on it.
From a practical point of view, the applications it runs are easy
enough to get the hang of for someone used to Windows. The OS graphical
user interface is slightly different to windows, but it's again easy
enough to get the hang of.
I suggests that Philip checks out some lightweight versions of linux to
install on his machine, rather than struggling with windows.
I could upgrade the Dell, with more RAM and a bigger SSD, but I can't
see any sense in spending money on a machine that sells on ebay for £20-30.
Theo
May 5, 2021, 11:08:21 AM5/5/21
to
GB <NOTso...@microsoft.com> wrote:
> On 05/05/2021 10:54, Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote:
>
> > If it is stalled, time to move to another OS on that hardware then.
> >
>
> I still have a Dell Inspiron Mini 910, bought in 2008.
I recently recycled one of those.
> On 05/05/2021 10:54, Jaimie Vandenbergh wrote:
>
> > If it is stalled, time to move to another OS on that hardware then.
> >
>
> I still have a Dell Inspiron Mini 910, bought in 2008.
> This is a very small notebook with an Atom CPU, 1GB RAM and 8GB SSD. It
> runs really quite nicely with Ubuntu linux. It's quite quick to boot,
> and applications are quite snappy. I'm obviously not attempting any
> heavy video editing on it.
browsers, and I think there was some problem with video codecs that made
that slow. But if you only have a handful of tabs open it was OK.
> I could upgrade the Dell, with more RAM and a bigger SSD, but I can't
> see any sense in spending money on a machine that sells on ebay for £20-30.
(BIOS wasn't happy with them). Plus it has a PATA mini-card SSD, so
replacement SSDs were rather pricey (I ended up removing the SSD and booting
it off a mini USB thumb drive). The 2GB RAM stick was standard DDR2 SODIMM
IIRC.
It was OK, but today outclassed in every way. I couldn't think of any use
I could make of it, especially without a good battery.
But if I had a 'customer' for it, I'd go for a lightweight Linux like
Lubuntu.
Theo
Adrian Caspersz
May 6, 2021, 3:38:20 AM5/6/21
to
On 05/05/2021 11:21, GB wrote:
> I suggests that Philip checks out some lightweight versions of linux to
> install on his machine, rather than struggling with windows.
The problem is that whoever he gives it to, that person will require
> I suggests that Philip checks out some lightweight versions of linux to
> install on his machine, rather than struggling with windows.
eventual support from someone that won't know Linux. Not that it's
problematic - but it's a fear ....
Pass it down as it as a family heirloom for the "retro office" craze
that will surely succeed "retro gaming"?
I've got an old Epson MX-80 dot matrix printer sheltering somewhere...
the screaming pins, for 30 years they've been asleep :)
--
Adrian C
Philip Herlihy
May 6, 2021, 6:34:22 AM5/6/21
to
In article <ifhknb...@mid.individual.net>, em...@here.invalid says...
I'm still hoarding a machine which runs Windows 98...
--
Phil, London
--
Phil, London
GB
May 6, 2021, 1:38:02 PM5/6/21
to
0 new messages