Upgrade your old notebook smartly

          It is not at all complicated to upgrade a Notebook, like many people think. We show you step by step how you can make a 2 year old Notebook faster than a few brand new gadgets - and even save a lot of money by it. The Notebook technology is barely different from the standard PC, only a little more compact. Thus you can exchange most of the components like a desktop computer. The largest performance boost is brought together by an SSD using a RAM expansion. The ROM drive replaces the slow-functioning Notebook hard disk and with additional RAM the system can work much more efficiently. Another problem of old Notebooks is lagging HD videos. There is a special HD decoder chip that you can install into a free Mini-PCIe-Slot. In this way you can even make low-performance Netbooks fit for real multimedia fun. Contrary to the popular belief you can also exchange the optical drives of mobile computers - be it, to replace a defective DVD writer or upgrade a modern Blu-ray drive. The highly shining display also irritates often, which had still impressed by its brilliant contrast in the electronic market when reflections eclipse the display content. A suitable protection sheet ends the irritating reflections. With a few tweaks you can upgrade suitable Notebooks with a UMTS Chip for the mobile Internet access and GPS operation. More recent mobile computers display videos and images wireless on the television using our upgrade. For all devices that are older than two years we basically recommend an internal purification, after which, thanks to the better cooling, again becomes smoother and should then work for years without any problems.

EXPAND THE RAM 

SELECT THE RIGHT RAM 

When the Notebook with Windows 7Nista has less than 2GB and with XP less than 1GB it should be increased. For a 64-bit system we recommend 4GB or more. The right type of RAM for instance, can be found with the scanner of crucial.com/system scanner. To expand the RAM open the correspondingly labeled base plate.

 REMOVE THE OLD RAM

 Press both retaining brackets from the sides till the RAM module snaps out. If only a chamber is covered, install an equally big module. If two modules are plugged, replace both by the same type.

 INSTALL THE RAM MODULE 

Adjust the new bolt using the groove between the strip lines, push it in the direction of the connecting board and press it downwards till the bolts are fixed. To check press [Windows] + [Pause] and see the system properties, where under "Installed RAM" the capacity is displayed.

REPLACE THE HARD DISK WITH AN SSD 

 SECURE THE SYSTEM

 Before the SSD installation, create an image of your system on an external USB drive. Under Windows 7 or vista go to "System and security - Secure and restore", and then click on the left column on "Create system image". Select the USB drive there as the backup destination as well as the backup partition. Then on the same page of system control burn a system repair data carrier on a blank CD or DVD. 

IMPROVE THE HARD DISK 

For our Notebook, the hard disk is laterally installed. To change it, open the flap, pull out the disk and remove the rubber buffer as well as the drive cage. For many other Notebook manufacturers the hard disk is under the base plate. In that case loosen the attachment screws, push the plate to the side to solve the SATA connection and take it out. 

INSTALL THE SSP 

Attach the rubber buffer and the drive cage at the SSD and install it. Reboot the computer from the system repair data carrier created earlier and perform the restoration process where you give the backup on the USB drive as the source.

Install an HD-DECODER 

FINDTHE MINI PCIE SLOT

 If the Notebook has a second Mini- PCI-Express-Slot (the first is occupied by the WLAN module), a Broadcom-Crystal-Hd chip can be installed here that lets the processor decode HD videos. For our Notebook, remove the screws from the lower side of the cabinet, loosen the attachment clips of the handball overlay fold it away in front. Then take out the keyboard to uncover both the Mini-PCIe-Slots. 

 INSTALL THE CHIP 

The slot that the HD decoder occupies is actually provided for a UMTS receiver. The card slot lies under the UMTS antenna plugs. Put the Broadcom- Crystal-HD chip in this slot and fix it. This chip is available for about 40 euros (RM160) in eBay or Amazon shops. 

 ACTIVATE HARDWARE ACCELERATION

Install the driver for Crystal HD by broadcom.com. The Windows Media Player of Windows 7 then uses the accelerator chip automatically. That is also valid for the latest version of Adobe Flash Player. Use: Even weak computers can now play HD videos. If your computer itself possesses a powerful CPU the chip reduces the fan noise and the energy intake.