# Solved: Presario c700 + Windows 7



## Velstyx (Jun 5, 2010)

Hey guys i'm looking to upgrade the operating system on my Presario c700 notebook from Vista Home Basic to Windows 7. From what i've seen it's a lot lighter on resources and in the next couple of months i want to upgrade my RAM.

Would Windows 7 Ultimate, Home premium, Professional, etc. be more suitable? 32 bit or 64 bit?
How much RAM would i be able to upgrade to? I've heard 2GB and +4GB from different sources.

HP Compaq Presario c763TU
Intel Celeron 550 2.0 GHz
1GB RAM
Mobile Intel 965 Express Chipset Family
Windows Vista Home Basic 6.0

Any help would be great


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

The Crucial Memory Advisor will tell you the max. RAM your system will take, the slots you have, and how the slots are now used.

If the max. is 4 GB I would advise just buying for a total of 2 or 3 GB and using 32-bit Windows. There is really no point in going beyond 2 GB RAM and 32-bit Windows unless you have a specific need or use for more memory.

Run the Windows 7 Upgrade Advisor to see if it has anything useful to say.

For most people the Home Premium version is the most suitable (because of price), but some people have a need for one or more features that can only be found in Professional or Ultimate.


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

Here is the support and software site for the *Compaq Presario C763TU* laptop.

The "Drivers And Downloads" section has drivers available for Windows Vista(32-bit and 64-bit), but not for Windows 7.

I really don't know if the Windows 7 CD will have drivers available for all the devices in your laptop.

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## Velstyx (Jun 5, 2010)

Thanks for those links guys, i already knew that i have 2 RAM slots, one is being used by a 1GB (i'm assuming DDR2)

But the Crucial Memory Advisor stated that i can only hold a maximum of 2GB RAM, when i've had 3GB RAM working perfectly fine. After trying 4GB RAM, it wouldn't start up Vista (because its 32 bit?)

And as much as i dislike Ed Bott, im not TOO worried about the RAM after seeing THIS , i just need to be able to run Autodesk 3DS Max 2010 smoothly- which during the next year or so will be the primary function of my notebook

I went to Yahoo Answers before coming here for help with the OS (i dont know... it was late and i dont think straight when im tired) and was told that most of the Vista drivers should work fine on 7... wasn't quite sure on that one, any comments?

Okay..... just finished that Windows 7 upgrade advisor- i'm good to go for the 32 bit version, but will need to make a custom install for the 64 bit version (???) as well as at least 1GB more RAM to meet optimum requirements


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

> But the Crucial Memory Advisor stated that i can only hold a maximum of 2GB RAM, when i've had 3GB RAM working perfectly fine. After trying 4GB RAM, it wouldn't start up Vista (because its 32 bit?)


I'm sure Crucial is capable of making a mistake, but I wonder. When you had 3 GB are you sure they were all used? I'm wondering if the 1 GB chip was working but the 2 GB wasn't? Many people have 32-bit Vista or Windows 7 with 4 GB (we know because they always complain about only ~3 being used). Maybe Crucial was correct and neither of your 2 GB chips were working?



> but will need to make a custom install for the 64 bit version (???)


From Vista 32-bit you can do an "upgrade" install of Windows 7 32-bit, which preserves your programs and any corruption. To go to 64-bit you have to do a "custom" install, which is the current fashionable word for "clean" or "fresh" install. Personally after spending money for another OS I want to format the drive and do a clean or "custom" install no matter what.

Almost always for a computer running Vista either Windows 7 will find drivers that will work fine and/or you can use the Vista drivers.


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## Velstyx (Jun 5, 2010)

> I'm sure Crucial is capable of making a mistake, but I wonder. When you had 3 GB are you sure they were all used? I'm wondering if the 1 GB chip was working but the 2 GB wasn't? Many people have 32-bit Vista or Windows 7 with 4 GB (we know because they always complain about only ~3 being used). Maybe Crucial was correct and neither of your 2 GB chips were working?


I vaguely remember trying each stick by itself, now that i think about it, it's possible that they weren't working (they were brand new though- straight out of the packet).

So how would you recommend i go about this? 2x 2GB RAM? DDR2? (saw some 2GB DDR3 Notebook RAM on ebay yesterday- i did get a little excited). I need to keep in mind that my notebook is about 3 years old now, although upgrading OS and RAM might be cheaper in the short run- eventually im going to have to bite the bullet and buy a new one. Pity, i've grown fond of this one


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## TerryNet (Mar 23, 2005)

Unless you are positive that Crucial is incorrect I'd just go with 2 x 1GB RAM.

I can't advise on whether the cost of Windows 7 is worth it to you. After using the Release Candidate for a few months I decided that I liked it enough better than Vista to spend the $50 by ordering in July a year ago. I'm glad I did, but in truth I did not really gain anything; Vista was and is still capable of doing everything I want to do.


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## flavallee (May 12, 2002)

Velstyx:

I've checked several memory sites for the *Compaq Presario C763TU* laptop, and they all say it uses 200-pin DDR2 PC2-5300 SODIMM modules and supports a maximum of 2048 MB(2 GB) of RAM.

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## Velstyx (Jun 5, 2010)

Thanks for the help guys, ive decided to go with 2x 1GB RAM (Micron seems like a good choice- only $$25-30AUD) and Windows 7 Home Premium 32 bit

This site is proving to be useful


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