need help/advice about upgrading an etower 633ids

[zerostrike]

hi, i recently came into an etower 633ids that someone threw out, even though it works fine, and im planning to do some upgrades on it. i have already installed a new hard drive, next up is ram, and maybe cpu.

ram: it says max 256, but ive read that if i get double sided 256, i can get a max of 512. could someone pleases explain?

cpu: the cpu is already better then my main computer, but can it be upgraded?

video card: should i install a new one, or is the one in it good enough? im asking becuase when i watch something in my media player, and go to open another file, you can see the picture through the letters.

bios: dont know much about this, but ive read that the hp pavilion 3.07 bios is better(what does the bios effect anyway?)

lastly, they threw out the monitor too, is it safe? becuase while i was searching for info, one person said that theyres cuaght fire.

anyway, sorry bout all the questions, but i want to learn a bit about the hardware, so im making it a project to upgrade the pc. thanks for any help

[merlin_2]

Link:>http://parts.emachines.com/emachines/sys_lookup.asp

[Raptor]

1. ram: it says max 256, but ive read that if i get double sided 256, i can get a max of 512. could someone pleases explain?

2. cpu: the cpu is already better then my main computer, but can it be upgraded?

3. video card: should i install a new one, or is the one in it good enough? im asking becuase when i watch something in my media player, and go to open another file, you can see the picture through the letters.

4. bios: dont know much about this, but ive read that the hp pavilion 3.07 bios is better(what does the bios effect anyway?)

5. lastly, they threw out the monitor too, is it safe? becuase while i was searching for info, one person said that theyres cuaght fire.

1. What type of memory is installed? You should obtain the mainboard manual, it can tell you what memory can and can not be installed and in what combinations.

2. What socket is it and what is currently present?

3. What do you want to do with the computer?

4. More information about the BIOS can be found here

5. Did the monitor catch fire once? I wouldn't try using it again unless you like your desk medium-rare.

[Computer_Commando]

eTower 633ids Support Information

Specifications
Microsoft® Windows® Milennium Edition
Intel® Celeron® 633 MHz (w/128KB L2 Cache)
Intel® 810 Chipset, 66 MHz FSB
64 MB SDRAM (1 DIMM available for upgrade up to 256MB)
15 GB HDD 1
Built-in 12x Max. DVD-ROM; 3.5" 1.44 MB FDD
Intel® Direct 3D 2x AGP (shared memory)
56K ITU v.90 PCI internal Fax/Modem
Intel® 82801 AC '97 Audio
Keyboard; Mouse; Stereo Speakers
2 USB ports (1 is on front bezel); 1 Serial; 1 Parallel; 1 Midi/Game; 2 PS/2; Audio In & Out, Microphone In; 3 Expansion slots - 2 available  

Use it "as-is", add memory to 256MB, more is not necessary for a Celeron 633.

[zerostrike]

well, ive upgraded the ram to two 128MB pc100/133 sdram. had a problem with updating the bios, but thats fixed now.
next i gotta upgrade xp to sp1 or greater so i can see my whole hard drive.

as to the motherboard, the emachines site says this:
Cognac Micro ATX (ATX V1.2 form factor) motherboard, TriGem, Korea Intel Socket-370 (370pin PPGA Socket) for Intel FC-PGA Celeron CPUs Integrating on-chip Graphics controller and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH): Intel FW82810, as well as Intel I/O Controller Hub (ICH) and AC 97' Controller: Intel FW82801 onto the motherboard eliminates the need for more expensive graphic and audio add-in cards.

as to the monitor catching fire-it wasnt mine that caught fire, but someone elses. i just found out i will have to replace it anyway, half the time the screen flickers

lastly, im having a little trouble with the video. i have not tested it much, so i dont know if its just this media player. i install vlc media player, play a file, puase it, and when i go to open a new file, the letters are see-through. would getting a new video card fix this?

[Raptor]

and when i go to open a new file, the letters are see-through. would getting a new video card fix this?

Most likely software related. Or perhaps a bug in the program.

[Computer_Commando]

...would getting a new video card fix this?

I challenge you to find the one it has!  (LOL)

[zerostrike]

I challenge you to find the one it has!  (LOL)

the one it has? a crappy built in one i think

[Computer_Commando]

It only has 2 slots.  You want to use one for a video card and the remaining one for...what?

Use it the way it is and be happy.  If you're trying to make a Porsche out of a Kia, it's cheaper to buy the Porsche.  Even if successful, it's still a Kia.

[Raptor]

Use it the way it is and be happy.  If you're trying to make a Porsche out of a Kia, it's cheaper to buy the Porsche.  Even if successful, it's still a Kia.

You would be the only person on earth with a Kia that looks like a Porsche, though.

[zerostrike]

well, thanks for the help. also, im upgrading the harddrive on my main computer, a compaq presario 5170, and im having a bit of a dillema. current configuration- 2 gig C drive on cable select, empty, 20 gig D drive on cable select, everythings on this one. what im trying to do-upgrade to a 200 gig harddrive.

i remember when i was installing a new hard drive on the emachine, i tried to install the 200 gig in the compaq and had some trouble-more info when i next attempt it.
any advice on how to install it? basic things i should know but probobly dont?

[Raptor]

The Hard Disk Drive may be rejected by the Compaq.

It may be far too large for the BIOS as well if it came with a 2GB HDD.

[zerostrike]

The Hard Disk Drive may be rejected by the Compaq.

It may be far too large for the BIOS as well if it came with a 2GB HDD.

how would i make sure? would there be any way to fix it if that were the case? and i dont know about the HDD, or its size. if i cant get it to work, what would be the max size i could get?

[Raptor]

I can not tell.

You will have to mount it and see if it as accepted and entirely seen by the BIOS.

[zerostrike]

I can not tell.

You will have to mount it and see if it as accepted and entirely seen by the BIOS.

would i need to enter setup to do that? becuase theres a password needed, and i cant remember what it was set as

[Computer_Commando]

...would i need to enter setup to do that?...

Yes.

Compaq Presario 5170 Desktop PC - Product Specifications
This is a PII-350 made in Sept., 1998.
Original hard drive was 10GB (that breaks the 8GB barrier).  There are other barriers at 32GB, 137GB.
Most likely it will not see a 200GB hard drive, it might see part of it.  There is a BIOS update, 2.38 Rev. A, 11/1999.

Time for you to read this: Operating System and BIOS limitations - 137GB, 32GB, 8.4GB

[Raptor]

would i need to enter setup to do that? becuase theres a password needed, and i cant remember what it was set as

You do not need to enter the BIOS setup, but for consistency's sake it is the most adviseable thing to do. You can also install Windows and see how much Hard Disk Drive space it can find during the partitioning part.

[zerostrike]

new info:

i tried installing it once to see what the max it saw was, and to my surprise, it saw 186 GB, though it didnt see the remaining 14 GB, so i tried to reformat and partition the hard drive so the remaining 14 GB were in a 2nd partition, but when i went to install windows, it didnt recognize the partitions. i tried to reformat once more, becuase 186 GB is better then nothing, and it got past the first stage when installing, but when it rebooted to go to the second stage, i ran into problems.

if the d drive was out(the 20 gig), i got the message hall.dll is missing or corrupt, if it was in, i got the message NTLDR is missing. i tried reformating and installing once more, same message. please help, if i have to start fresh and reinstall everything, then fine, but ive got to get it running again to start at all

[Raptor]

You will never be able to make use of the full 200GB. 184 is most likely as much as your PC can see.

[zerostrike]

ok, i can live with that, but now my problem is getting it working again. i wish i had stuck with it when i got it running, but i didnt and now im having trouble getting it to work again. any clue whats messed up? it worked that one time, but now its saying NTLDR is missing, how do i resolve this?

[Raptor]

See if the following article is of use: NTLDR is missing.

[zerostrike]

im still working on the hard drive, but i have one last question in regards to upgrading- i need to upgrade the cpu on the emachine, i view media files, and as is, the ones that the compaq cant play, i transfer over to the emachine becuase it has higher cpu, but there is a series or two that i cannot veiw even on the emachine, and im likely to stumble on more in the future. so how can i upgrade my cpu? currently its 633MHz(the compaq is only 300something)

[Raptor]

so how can i upgrade my cpu?

You need to know the socket of the mainboard.
You need to know with what CPUs the mainboard is compatible with.

Both information can be found in the mainboard manual.

[zerostrike]

as to the socke, that info is on the emachines site-

Cognac Micro ATX (ATX V1.2 form factor) motherboard, TriGem, Korea Intel ""Socket-370 (370pin PPGA Socket) for Intel FC-PGA Celeron CPUs"" Integrating on-chip Graphics controller and Memory Controller Hub (GMCH): Intel FW82810, as well as Intel I/O Controller Hub (ICH) and AC 97' Controller: Intel FW82801 onto the motherboard eliminates the need for more expensive graphic and audio add-in cards.

as for compatability, where could i find the manual for the motherboard? trigems site is no help(looks like theyre updating theyre site or something), and i dont know where else i could look

[Raptor]

On the mainboard manufacturer's web page.

[zerostrike]

well, any other way? like i said, it seems trigem is doing something with theyre site, so i cant find anything there.

[Raptor]

Use a search machine to search for motherboard name and manual. This often turns up useful results, even if the mainboard manual can no longer be found on the manufacturers website.

[zerostrike]

well, i think i found it. here is the info on cpu.(with underscore to keep spacing intact)

first, under general description-
"Processor
• Intel Socket-370 (370pin PPGA Socket)
__- Intel Celeron 400/433/466/500MHz processor @66MHZ Host clock
__- Intel TBD @100MHZ Host clock"

and here is what it says about upgrading
"COGNAC motherboard provides the 370pin PGA370 socket that is not backward compatible with ZIF socket-7 processors The Processor’s VID pins automatically program the voltage regulator on the motherboard to the required processor voltage. The motherboard supports processors that run internally at 300/333/366/400 /433/466/500MHz.

Supported Intel Celeron Processors (PPGA Socket Type)
• Host Clock 66MHz ___: Celeron 400MHz
____________________: Celeron 433MHz
____________________: Celeron 466MHz
____________________: Celeron 500MHz
____________________: tbd
• Host Clock 100MHz ___: tbd

Supported Cyrix Goby Processors (PPGA Socket Type)
• Host Clock 66MHz ____: tbd"

[Computer_Commando]

PII-350 can be upgraded to PII-450 and some PIII's might work.  Check out the tables here:

Intel - Pentium II - 32-bit - consumer

Intel - Pentium III (Katmai) - 32-bit - consumer

[zerostrike]

thanks, i looked, and its a bit confusing. anyway, im guessing that the mobo can supoort higher then the manual says(500 MHz), since the one in my compuer is 633 MHz, and the last revision was in 1999. is the PII-350 the one currently in there, or is it 350MHz?