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Presario 1200XL CPU RAM upgrades?

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Gregg E.

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Mar 6, 2003, 5:47:06 AM3/6/03
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What faster CPUs will work in a Presario 1200XL laptop? Specifically
the model 12XL300 which has 64meg RAM built in and currently has a
600Mhz Celeron in its socket. Surprised me to see a laptop with the
same Socket 370 CPU ZIF socket as desktops use! This is a "flip chip"
Celeron in it now.

What is the maximum RAM this can be upgraded to? Compaq's info is
quite confusing. Some of the 1200 series are listed as being able to
use up to 320megs and some top out at 96! Doing a search of the whole
Compaq site only gets TWO hits for 12XL300 but there is more info
deeply buried (ie, not indexed in their search) but I didn't find squat
about RAM for this specific model. None of the many manuals that came
with the laptop say anything about memory upgrades except pointing
out the very obvious that the one door on the bottom is where upgrade
memory goes. (Is this the "laptop for dummies" or what?) I woulda
thought that a manual titled "Beyond Setup" would y'know, actually
go a bit more "beyond" into the territory of what the laptop's
maximum upgrade capacities are and how to get there.

I wouldn't mind having one of these laptops, but absolutely not
this bottom of the line model! I've NEVER seen such an absolutely
lousy dual scan LCD in all the 20+ years I've been working on computers.
What reject bin did Compaq get this display out of? They even have
a FAQ entry on how bad the display is on the 12XL300. It's "normal"
of course... The JBL speakers are good, except they mysteriously
quit working overnight while the laptop was sitting in its bag.

HH

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Mar 6, 2003, 9:44:12 AM3/6/03
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For info about your questions, check the Compaq FAQ, reposted weekly to this
NG
Also, 12XL...and 1200XL are different series. I have a 12XL 300. Max RAM is
320, but if you want to slap a 250MB SODIMM in it, be sure it is a Compaq
tested SODIMM. I have 192 in mine running XP now.
HH


"Gregg E." <gre...@valint.net> wrote in message
news:3E67272A...@valint.net...

Thomas Cular

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Mar 6, 2003, 1:26:20 PM3/6/03
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I have a 12XL3 that I successfully changed to a P3 1.1 Ghz, the chipset
will recognize the processor and change the FSB. Obtain a processor that is
in a FC-PPGA package NOT the FC-PPGA2 (there is a clearance problem
with the heat spreader. Be sure to clean all of the thermal tape from the
heat
spreader with a solvent that leaves no residue (acetone is good), use a good
thermal compound and follow the directions.

You can add 1-256 megabyte ram module in addition to the 64 that is
factory installed giving you 320, if you set your video memory at the max
of 8 meg and you'll have 312 meg available. It was a lot cheaper than a new
machine, perhaps that's why Compaq doesn't offer any information or
support for upgrades. You didn't say which operating system you are using,
but if you still have the originally installed Win ME, you should think
about
changing. Some will tell you that no drivers are available for the original
hardware (modem, sound card, display drivers) that Compaq used, if you
are thinking of changing OS, let me know and I will point you to the correct
drivers.Hope this is useful to you.

"Gregg E." <gre...@valint.net> wrote in message
news:3E67272A...@valint.net...

Gregg E.

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Mar 7, 2003, 6:28:58 AM3/7/03
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HH wrote:
>
> For info about your questions, check the Compaq FAQ, reposted weekly to this
> NG
> Also, 12XL...and 1200XL are different series. I have a 12XL 300. Max RAM is
> 320, but if you want to slap a 250MB SODIMM in it, be sure it is a Compaq
> tested SODIMM. I have 192 in mine running XP now.
> HH

It says 1200 on the top of the case, 12XL300 is on the bottom and in one
place on the Compaq site it has the 12XL300 listed in the dropdown AFTER
selecting 1200XL series. So don't tell me the 1200XL and 12XLxxx are
"different".
It's just the typical Compaq obfuscation. (Also practiced by most other
computer companies.) 12XL300 is a model number for a specific set of
hardware options in the 1200XL series, but the number on the case is
just
1200. The XL is only known from the 12XL300 sticker on the bottom of the
case.

Thanks for the RAM info. I'll be sure and pass it along to the owner
of the laptop. Would you happen to have a guess as to why the speakers
quit working? They were working fine both before I took it apart,
while I had it apart and after I put it back together. They quit working
AFTER I put it in the bag and it sat overnight. The headphone jack
works, but I didn't connect anything to it until after the speakers
quit.

A few companies have gotten with it and put in their site search index
the part/model numbers EXACTLY how they are on the actual products,
thus when an owner enters the numbers as they appear on their PC or
part, they'll actually get info instead of "Nothing found, go away,
we don' wanna talk to you no more." I've had quite a few e-mail
discussions with various companies about that. Seagate was one. Not
saying they did it because of my prodding but their search for info
on hard drives started out with none of the listings exactly matching
how the numbers were on the drives. They'd use a space, a slash a hyphen
etc but on the drive it would be different. Made it difficult to
find the info. But in recent years they went through and fixed that.
Seagate also put the search right on their main page. When many people
go to the website of a manufacturer of PC components, they are either
A. researching a component purchase or B. have a component and are
seeking
info on settings or to download the drivers. Therefore it's smart to
place easy access to that info and software on the main web page instead
of burying it. :)

Gregg E.

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Mar 7, 2003, 6:41:02 AM3/7/03
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Thomas Cular wrote:

> support for upgrades. You didn't say which operating system you are using,
> but if you still have the originally installed Win ME, you should think
> about
> changing. Some will tell you that no drivers are available for the original
> hardware (modem, sound card, display drivers) that Compaq used, if you
> are thinking of changing OS, let me know and I will point you to the correct
> drivers.Hope this is useful to you.

I found all the latest drivers for WinMe on the Compaq site, once I
found the right page and selected 1200XL series instead of 1200 series.
The badge on top is 1200, NOT 1200XL! But the sticker on the bottom
is 12XL300. Typical Compaq obfuscation and inconsistency. I ought to
know since I used to do in-field warranty repairs for Compaq, Dell, HP,
Gateway 2000, and Packaged Hell *ahem* Packard Bell. ;)

Anyway, I stuck with WinMe because that's what came on it and the
customer alread had the COA for WinMe etc that came with it. They
just got the typical OEM screwing over with no actual WinMe CD-ROM
supplied. So I *ahem* rectified that oversight. ;) Now the laptop
has a squeaky clean install of WinMe _without_ the burden of all
the useless preinstalled junk they didn't use. I did backup the
SYSTEM_SAV D: partition's contents. Fortunately all those apps can
be individually installed simply by unzipping them to the hard
drive and running Setup. :)

Unlike other outfits like HP where
the restore CD covers a dozen different models, uncompresses tons
of goodies then checks the BIOS to see what model it is then deletes
90% of the stuff the owner isn't supposed to have. Hmmm, the last HP
I worked on was also a WinMe box with a Klez variant so nasty it
was able to block the latest version of several antivirus apps
from being installed or working after being installed. Since it
had a CD-RW I just copied off the few important files the owner
needed then I blasted it with the recovery CD, installed the
latest McAffee AV he'd bought (that the Klez was able to foil)
then immediately installed the latest McAffee update and the
latest drivers from HP. THEN I popped in the CD-RW to replace
the important files. Fortunately only one was infected and
uncleanable.

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