Help for an idiot to upgrade dell inspiron laptop pls

donkey

Solid State Member
Messages
18
I have been reading how to upgrade my dell inspiron 4000 laptop.

i am aware that i can change the memory (currently MEM 256MB SDRAM (2 X 128) and was thinking about buying two:

256MB PC133 SDRAM SODIMM 144PIN LAPTOP MEMORY HYNIX IBM

Question: will this be compatable as it is the same number of pins....and do i just have to slot it in and thats it?? or is it more technical than that.


................

Also i want to upgrade the hard drive, from its current 20gb to preferably 80gb.

Question: can i just buy any hard drive and replace the old one? or will there be compatability issues?

Also, do i need to do anything to the old or new hard drive before i can pull one out and put the other in? i mean is the MS windows stored on the hard drive? do i need to copy specific files to the new hard drive before it can work, or make any system changes to use a new hard drive etc?

as you can see i dont know much about this, but want to give it a go. Any info appreciated.

Thanks.

current system details:
1 C I4000 1GHZ SXGA 14.1"BASE 5
1 C MEM 256MB SDRAM (2 X 128)
1 C FAT32 HDD FILE FORMAT (W9X)
1 C MS WORKS SUITE 2001 UK
1 C I4000 DELUXE NYLON CARRYCASE
1 C I4000 20GB ATA100 HARD DRIVE
1 C ACTION TEC 56K INT COMBO NIC
1 C I4000 8 CELL PRIMARY BATTERY
1 C 8X DVD DRIVE MODULE I4000
1 I PC INFO APPL INSP UK
1 C INSPIRON FLOPPY DRIVE I4000
1 C WIN ME SOFTWARE DRIVER I4000
1 C DVD SW SOLUTION FOR I4000
1 C INSPIRON 4000 KEYBOARD UK
1 C SHIPPING ASSY -INSPIRON 4000
1 DELL E- SUPPORT WRAPPER 1.3
1 C MS WINDOWS ME INSPIRON
1 C NORTON ANTI VIRUS 2K UK
1 I AOL- 7 ISP FI UK
1 C I4000 SXGA 14.1" LCD
1 C DMI ENHANCEMENT
1 C DELL NET SOFTWARE BT
1 C CD-RW DRIVE INSPIRON 4000
1 C PALM M100 PDA UK
 
I'd consider an external hard drive rather than replace your 20 with an 80. Eventually you'll want to upgrade to a new laptop ... you'll be able to bring along the external to your next pc ... or any pc for that matter.

About your memory ... if the pins are the same, I'd think you'd be ok. I'd still consider your long term plans though ... your laptop is pretty outdated. New laptops are becoming more and more inexpensive by the day.

Look at it this way. Cheapest memory I found at newegg is $31 + $5 shipping. $36 x 2 = $72. An external hard drive would be around $80-$200 depending on size. So you could easily be at $200 before all is said and done. Save another $400 and pick up a laptop deal at BestBuy or something with newer technology. Just a thought.
 
If i wanted to sell my old laptop, can you tell me what part i need to remove?? (i.e. is it the hard drive that would keep a record of all my history on the machine such as financial records etc? or is it the mother board?

if it is the hard drive then i can just replace it with another new 20gb cheap one and sell the machine??
 
harddrive keeps all info. But you can always just do your best to delete it, reformat and repartition etc. The data can still be recovered, but it's going to be very hard. But if you want to change the hdd it's possible.
 
donkey said:
If i wanted to sell my old laptop, can you tell me what part i need to remove?? (i.e. is it the hard drive that would keep a record of all my history on the machine such as financial records etc? or is it the mother board?

if it is the hard drive then i can just replace it with another new 20gb cheap one and sell the machine??


Correct, it is the hard drive that keeps all your information. Depending on how much you want for the laptop depends on the size of the hard drive you want to put back in it.

For example: A 20GB hard drive in a laptop is going to be much less after XP and Office etc have been installed so if you would like MORE money id suggest replacing with a bigger hard drive. Again this just depends on how much youd like to sell it for. Hope ive helped.
 
thanks guys, ive just purchased a 120gb samsung drive 5400rpm - should do nicely i hope
 
will i need to do anything to get the laptop to recognise the new drive when i swap it? or will xp installation disk do all the work for me?
 
As long as its the right kind of hard drive, Windows XP will recognise it.
 
Thanks. Any ideas what else is upgradable on the above laptop?

I have purchased memory and hard drive, was wondering what else can be easily changed to make the machine faster and more efficient?
 
Back
Top Bottom