Memory Upgrade for Compaq Presario 5BW285

Hi Everyone,

I have a Compaq Presario PC Model 5BW285. Pentium III 866 Mhz with 128
MB RAM

I have noticed that the PC is very sluggish with lots of disk
thrashing. Upon checking the available RAM using the MS System
Information utility, there is very little left! 384 KB out of 128 MB.

The motherboard has a "double sided" 128 MB PC-100 SDRAM module. What
are my options to upgrade the RAM? Can I add a 128 or 256 MB PC-133
SDRAM module to the 2nd slot? or should I replace the old module with
a 512 MB PC-133 module?

Is it OK to mix PC-100 and PC-133 together? Can I use "single sided"
SDRAM in the Compaq motherboard?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

Scamelsands

There are 2 things that slow a pc crap and not enough memory
If you are using 2000 or XP go buy 512 of sd ram that is 2 x 256 double
sided ram
if you are using win 98 or above go to start run and type msconfig
go to the startup tab
then go here and see what you do and don't need running
http://www.sysinfo.org/startuplist.php
this is a big web page and takes a while to load

"ozcamel" wrote in message
om...
Hi Everyone,

I have a Compaq Presario PC Model 5BW285. Pentium III 866 Mhz with 128
MB RAM

I have noticed that the PC is very sluggish with lots of disk
thrashing. Upon checking the available RAM using the MS System
Information utility, there is very little left! 384 KB out of 128 MB.

The motherboard has a "double sided" 128 MB PC-100 SDRAM module. What
are my options to upgrade the RAM? Can I add a 128 or 256 MB PC-133
SDRAM module to the 2nd slot? or should I replace the old module with
a 512 MB PC-133 module?

Is it OK to mix PC-100 and PC-133 together? Can I use "single sided"
SDRAM in the Compaq motherboard?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

Scamelsands

Each of the two DIMM slots can accept up to a 256MB SINGLE DENSITY (low
density) PC100 DIMM. A 512MB DIMM will not work. A low density 256MB DIMM
will have 8 chips on each side of the DIMM in most cases.
The suggestion about checking on what is running in the background is a good
one.
HH

"ozcamel" wrote in message
om...
Hi Everyone,

I have a Compaq Presario PC Model 5BW285. Pentium III 866 Mhz with 128
MB RAM

I have noticed that the PC is very sluggish with lots of disk
thrashing. Upon checking the available RAM using the MS System
Information utility, there is very little left! 384 KB out of 128 MB.

The motherboard has a "double sided" 128 MB PC-100 SDRAM module. What
are my options to upgrade the RAM? Can I add a 128 or 256 MB PC-133
SDRAM module to the 2nd slot? or should I replace the old module with
a 512 MB PC-133 module?

Is it OK to mix PC-100 and PC-133 together? Can I use "single sided"
SDRAM in the Compaq motherboard?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

Scamelsands

just remember to check a place like crucial for info on memory. there are
limits on memory you can install. my old computer for instance can only
accept 256mb. double check this before you pop the memory out of its package
to put in the computer because you may have wasted 80 $ on it.

"HH" wrote in message
...
Each of the two DIMM slots can accept up to a 256MB SINGLE DENSITY (low
density) PC100 DIMM. A 512MB DIMM will not work. A low density 256MB DIMM
will have 8 chips on each side of the DIMM in most cases.
The suggestion about checking on what is running in the background is a
good
one.
HH

"ozcamel" wrote in message
om...
Hi Everyone,

I have a Compaq Presario PC Model 5BW285. Pentium III 866 Mhz with 128
MB RAM

I have noticed that the PC is very sluggish with lots of disk
thrashing. Upon checking the available RAM using the MS System
Information utility, there is very little left! 384 KB out of 128 MB.

The motherboard has a "double sided" 128 MB PC-100 SDRAM module. What
are my options to upgrade the RAM? Can I add a 128 or 256 MB PC-133
SDRAM module to the 2nd slot? or should I replace the old module with
a 512 MB PC-133 module?

Is it OK to mix PC-100 and PC-133 together? Can I use "single sided"
SDRAM in the Compaq motherboard?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

Scamelsands

I would add 2 sticks of 256meg/100mhz, giving a total of 512. If your board
is the same as my 5BW, it will only run memory at 100mhz. You can also use
133 if it clearly states it is backwards compatible. Sometimes Staples or
Office Max have sales/ rebates. Crucial is supposed to be the best, but I
am happy with what I got (K-Byte)...


"ozcamel" wrote in message
om...
Hi Everyone,

I have a Compaq Presario PC Model 5BW285. Pentium III 866 Mhz with 128
MB RAM

I have noticed that the PC is very sluggish with lots of disk
thrashing. Upon checking the available RAM using the MS System
Information utility, there is very little left! 384 KB out of 128 MB.

The motherboard has a "double sided" 128 MB PC-100 SDRAM module. What
are my options to upgrade the RAM? Can I add a 128 or 256 MB PC-133
SDRAM module to the 2nd slot? or should I replace the old module with
a 512 MB PC-133 module?

Is it OK to mix PC-100 and PC-133 together? Can I use "single sided"
SDRAM in the Compaq motherboard?

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.

Scamelsands

I'd check them out online to see. I know that Staples has a $100 cash
back rebate through 3/05 which would be an even better deal.