Upgrading RAM memory on the Toshiba Tecra 8000

I have though about upgrading the memory on my Tecra 8000 laptop for some time. Right now I have two 64MB SODIMMs installed in the two available memory banks, but this is just barely enough for a “modern” system. Right now I have the old Windows 2000 installed, and it’s not enough. Even when I had Arch Linux installed, 128MB RAM was not quite enough to run GNOME, which is why I used Fluxbox instead. So today I placed the order.

Yet one might wonder whether more memory is really worth the investment? Well, the 128MB pc66 SODIMMs required cost €74, which is quite acceptable compared to the value of the laptop. I could probably use pc100 modules as well, and save a little money there, as they are cheaper. But since I’m ordering online, I really *must* have complete assurance that the modules will work, or else it may end up costing me more time and money than it’s worth.

But I also bought a new hard drive for €70 just a few days ago, which adds to the cost. Is the upgrade worth the total sum of €144? No, I don’t think so. But this is not the way I look at it. The hard drive can just as easily be removed again and with a special casing be used as an external storage device. So whenever the laptop becomes unusable, for reasons other than hard disk failure, I can easily salvage the drive and use it just fine without the laptop.

I have never removed/installed SODIMMs before, so should be interesting to see if I can do it without breaking anything. One thing old hardware is good for: learning!

[UPDATE]
Read more about how the memory upgrade is going over HERE

Toshiba Tecra 8000 with Toshiba MK4032GAX works!

Well, I bought the new 2.5″ 40GB drive today, and am very pleased to say that it works great! I did have a little trouble getting it going at first, but I’m not sure why that was. Maybe the connector was not properly connected, whatever. Anyway, it all works just fine now. Not only does the laptop feel a little bit faster thanks to the replacement, but this hard drive also produces much less noise. For completeness, here are the relevant specs of my laptop in case anyone else wants to try this: Pentium II 400 Mhz, Intel 440BX. However, first a warning: you are responsible for your own hardware. So if it does not work for you, then I am afraid that is your problem and not mine.

Buying a notebook in the Netherlands without Windows XP pre-installed

As the title suggests, this post is for all my fellow countrymen looking for a laptop that does not come preinstalled with any software. It is extremely difficult to find PC hardware stores in this country, but also in many other countries, that will sell you a computer without Windows XP. But I finally found a webshop here in the Netherlands that sells “barebone” Asus, Compal, Gigabyte and MSI notebooks. And much to my surprise, they allow their customers to decide for themselves whether they want Windows XP installed!

The store is called laptops4u* (*see update below), and while I am not currently planning to buy a laptop, if I ever do decide to buy one, there is a good chance it will be from this store (unless I choose a Macbook of course). My only problem is that you *must* buy the pixel guarantee, which will cost 49 euros extra.

I say “must”, because if you _don’t_ buy this guarantee, you will invariably receive the next defective laptop to be returned by the other person who _did_ buy the extra guarantee. And I think the amount of money you are paying for the laptop ought to be more than enough, to get a pixel-perfect screen! But maybe that’s just me.

[UPDATE]
The link to the laptops4u store is no longer working, as they have gone bankrupt. Thus, I have removed it.

Only Sony

Less than three years ago I bought a Sony television, for well over €500,-
The model in question is called KV25FX30, which apparantly is Sony’s way of saying “25 inch screen”.

Then something truly amazing happened. It broke. For no apparant reason, so I sent it over to be repaired. Allthough it is no longer covered by the warranty, I did not expect the repair to cost too much as it is still an almost brand new TV. Well it certainly looks brand new anyway. Then, after three weeks, we get a call from a technician, telling us what this thing is going to cost us: €270,-

Excuse me? Two hundred and seventy euros? I don’t even want to know how much that is in US dollars. But if you want to know, it’s THIS MUCH! A quick search revealed that this is MORE than what the TV is worth. A complete write-off, in less than three years! That’s amazing.

But this is not our first Sony TV. We had another one before this one, which was outlasted by every other TV we have owned: a Philips and two Panasonics.

And then I remembered the news. Dell recently recalled 4mln batteries, and shortly thereafter Apple recalls 1.8mln batteries. Guess what they all have in common? They’re all made by Sony! And which company installed a rootkit on computers, when you played one of their CDs? Again, Sony!

Maybe it’s just me, but I’m starting to see a nasty pattern here. Or maybe it’s because I’m just very angry right now, I don’t know.

The new hard drive

After some searching on the web, I have discovered that buying a new original 10GB replacement for the broken hard disk drive would cost me more than the laptop itself is now worth, as I suspected. This is not an option.

But having taken a closer look at the “caddy” containing the drive, a newer drive should fit. It will be thinner than this one, but as long as the corner holes for the screws are in the same place, it should be fine.

I have also searched for info on hard drive capacity limitations. I am now almost 100% sure that the laptop can utilize hard drives with a capacity up to 137GB. Since the 40GB drive I have selected falls well within this limit, it looks like all possible obstacles preventing me from buying this thing are gone.

The day after tomorrow, I shall purchase the new drive and see how it goes.