Bought New Compaq Presario V5233ea

dhanesh

Aug 28 2006, 02:27 AM

Ahh .. i finally have my own laptop that i dont have to share with anyone. And i get to do all the experiments i want on it .. muahahaha ..

Newayz, I bought the Compaq Presario V5233EA. Actually it was re-released in the middle east due to consumer call. >> LINK <<.

I know the days when i used to see people with a Compaq Presario, and believe me, here they used to be treated like sh*t. But that was then, Low Specs, nothing to give away free and no value for your money. I wanted to go for a Lenovo C100 i think, dunot remember the model. But it had the basics of what i needed : 256MB RAM, 80GB HDD, 128 (Shared) [Didnt want this, but no choice $$] .. and the usual wifi, bluetooth etc at a price of AED.3499 ($952.76) (Exact at the time of 2 Months)

Now, compare these Presario Configs with Lenovo :

QUOTE

>
Product Name V5233EA Product Number RE312EA#ABV Microprocessor 1.60 GHz Intel® Core™ Duo processor T2050 with Intel® Centrino® Duo Mobile Technology Microprocessor Cache Level 2 cache 2 MB Memory 1024 MB DDR2 667 MHz (2 x 512 MB) Memory Max up to 2 GB Video Graphics Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 950 Video Memory up to 128 MB (shared) Hard Drive 100 GB 5400 rpm Multimedia Drive Super Multi DVD Writer (+/-R +/-RW) with Double Layer support Display 15.4” WXGA High Definition BrightView Widescreen (1280 x 800) Fax/Modem High speed 56K modem Network Card 10/100 LAN Ethernet integrated Wireless Connectivity Intel® Pro/Wireless 2200 802.11b/g Integrated Wireless LAN Sound Altec Lansing® speakers

3D Sound Blaster Pro compatible sound 16 bit integrated Keyboard 101 key compatible keyboard Pointing Device Touch Pad with dedicated vertical and horizontal Scroll Up/Down pad PC Card Slots

One type I or II PC card slot
One ExpressCard/54 slot (also supports ExpressCard/34)

External Ports

6-in-1 Memory Reader (xD, SD, Smart Media, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro, Multimedia Card)
1 VGA port
3 USB 2.0 ports
1 IEEE-1394
1 RJ 11 modem connector
1 RJ 45 Ethernet connector
S-video TV out
Remote control infrared port (Remote Control optional)
1 Headphone-out w/ SPDIF Digital Audio, 1 Microphone-in port
Cable docking connector

Dimensions 25.90 cm (L) x 35.78 cm (W) x 3.5 cm - 4.4 cm (H) Weight 2.98 kg (6.6 lbs) Power

65 W AC Power Adapter
6-cell Lithium-Ion (Li-Ion) battery

I got all this for AED.3499 ($952.76) , and i guess most of you would agree that these configs are WAY better than what the other manufacturers give. I just hope i made the right decision

Regards
Dhanesh.

yordan

Aug 28 2006, 09:30 AM

Congretulations !
I wish you a lot of pleasure with your new computer !
Just a small advice. If your system has been delivered pre-installed, create right now your recovery CD.
If your system has been delivered with installation CD's, make a backup of the installation CD's. I have seen a poor guy here in astahost forum who crashed his original CD's and was unable to re-install his PC.
And, of course, if your system is a Windows system, shrink your C: partition to 10 giga and make a PowerQuest DriveImage or a Ghost10 backup right now, in order to be able to quickly recover from an unwanted system modification.
And after that, start enjoying ! You have disks enough, you can test a lot of interesting things. What will you startup with ? Playing with Knoppix ? Installing Crosoft games ?

dhanesh

Aug 28 2006, 11:21 AM

Thankx for the Head start Yordan

..

The lappy came pre-installed so i made a recovery DVD's first thing. Now since i have the recovery CDs i guess i can do this ?

1) repartition c: = 80gb & d: = 6GB with partition manager to a 50 / 25 / 25 partitions ? 50 for windows and 25 for testing and learning suse ..

2) after partitioning the drives to the above mentioned sizes .. can i use a standalone cd to install XP ? as in the OEM cd. with sp2 ? or do i always HAVE to use that annoying compaq recovery cd with compaq written all over my desktop and taskbar icons .. i have the idea that a standalone XP sp2 install would take less space than the XP that comes with the compaq system ...

3) will the hardware be compatible ? .. yes ofcourse it would .. i know .. but just asking

.. need to be shure ...

The last time i tried experimenting .. it cost me 1800DHS .. thats almost 490$ ..

... i tried to cut a USB cable and join it with a nokia charger pin ... err .. basically a usb charger .. but homemade .. the result was not pretty

.. so u see .. my boredom can cost me quiet alot sumtimes ...

4) NETWORKING ! thats a completly different topic .. and will make a new post about it .. but just for the info .. if i connect my laptop to my home PC via a USB cable (male - male) can i transfer and share files or connect to the internet via my desktop as a server .. ?

Regards
Dhanesh.

Jeigh

Aug 28 2006, 11:38 AM

As long as you cp cd is a full install cd and not some recovery or upgrade disk then there would be no reason you couldn't wipe that puppy clean and install your own copy of xp on it. You're probably right about it taking less space since alot of systems come with useless bloatware preinstalled on them.

Yes the hardware is compatible, any modern hard drive is easily partitionable. (have fun learning linux

)

No clue about the network over usb idea but I'm sure it's possible in some way or another to some extent... whether or not its good enough for what you want, who knows.

Regardless seems like you have a nice new toy so enjoy

I almost bought a compaq lappy when I was on the verge of getting myself a notebook computer a few months ago. They seem to have done a good job of escaping from how bad they used to be.

dhanesh

Aug 28 2006, 12:30 PM

QUOTE(Jeigh @ Aug 28 2006, 03:38 PM)

As long as you cp cd is a full install cd and not some recovery or upgrade disk then there would be no reason you couldn't wipe that puppy clean and install your own copy of xp on it.

Its 2 DVD's bro .. how can it not be a full install CD ? ok now thats got me thinkin .. how do i check if i can go ahead with the format and re-partition etc with the DVD's i have knowing they are for Full install.

Gosh .. out of all the geeky computer stuff you know these days .. sumtimes u look like a total jerk with stuff you havent laid your hands on .. and to be honest .. i have worked on laptops .. but no one ever gave me one to experiment on

.. lets see what comes of this baby ..

Regards
Dhanesh.

Jeigh

Aug 28 2006, 01:04 PM

2 dvd's? those sound almost more like some type of restore stuff, I mean, I have a full windows xp pro corp that is a single cd, not multiple dvd's...

try just throwing one in and seeing what comes up when it autoloads. Should give a description of whats on the disk well enough to realize if its straight windows or some other junk.

dhanesh

Aug 28 2006, 03:58 PM

QUOTE(Jeigh @ Aug 28 2006, 05:04 PM)

try just throwing one in and seeing what comes up when it autoloads. Should give a description of whats on the disk well enough to realize if its straight windows or some other junk.

Hehe .. came from office and did just that. Aight Its weird .. no Autorun ..

DVD 1
DVD Name : 12
Files inside : I386 Folder , PRELOAD Folder , Master.log
Total Files : Three.

I opened Master.log and this was its content.

QUOTE

[Master]
Language=english international
ImageType=2
Win_ver=2
CDs=2
Files=29
Size=5767949988
Size_CD0=3807212370
Size_Excl=0
SP1=no
CheckCRCAfterCopy=Yes
VolumeName=
ShutdownFromRAMDrive=2
RemoveUnusedShutdown=0
Win_Size=6425520
INPVer=3
DriverCabName=driver.cab
i386Attr=32
Size_CD1=1960737618
[Branding]
Brand=COMPAQ
BrandName=Compaq
Title=PC Recovery
BrandPC=COMPAQ
BrandModel=Presario
UserLabel=
RecoveryLabel=PRESARIO_RP

DVD 2
DVD Name : 22 .. Weird !
Files Inside : Same files as DVD 1
Total Files : Three

This is Master.log for DVD 2

QUOTE

I was going to partition the HDD tonite but i guess its delayed untill i am completely shure i have the capacity and contents to recover back to original.

Another thing, how do i check if my HDD is IDE or SATA ? Someone told me that SATA is hard to detect on Partion Magic and Ghost. It can be a pain. Whereas IDE drives are pretty much simple to work with, basically the ones we used a year ago and i have worked on them. But SATA seems to be fishy, is it rite ?

Regards
Dhanesh.

P.S : Does it matter if i run the PC Recovery DVD on my laptop or my Desktop ? I guess not, cause i didnt find any setup.exe or autorun.exe in the root. I ran the DVDs through my Desktop.

dhanesh

Aug 28 2006, 08:06 PM

Ok .. Just an update about my Lappy problem. I tried the HP Live chat and asked them my questions. This is the Chat log if any one has similar problems and is interested

QUOTE

Chat Transcript Begins Here
------------------------------
Esther
Hello Dhanesh.

Esther
Welcome to HP Total Care for Presario Notebook. My name is Esther. How may I assist you today?

Dhanesh S
hi esther

Dhanesh S
i just bought a compaq presario v5233ea yesterday and i have a few questions i'd like to put forward

Esther
Sure, I will do my best to assist you.

Dhanesh S
i'll get started already

.. first off .. i switched on my laptop and the OS loads up .. the next thing i did was to create a PC restore disk .. so i used 2 dvds and created them

Dhanesh S
i'd like to know that are those dvds complete OS install ? like a windows full installation ? because i wanted to partition my HDD .. and after i do that .. could i use those dvds to install the OS ?

Esther
Yes, the recovery DVDs which you had created will have the Operati ng system as well as the pre-installed drivers and softwares. <!-- D(["mb","

Dhanesh S
they rnt one of those restore only dvds rite ?

Dhanesh S
ohh cool .. so i can be shure that i have a FULL / LEGAL version of windows with me on those dvds ?

Esther
Yes, you are right.

Dhanesh S
secondly .. i'd like to know if the HDD was IDE or SATA ?

Dhanesh S
the reason i was asking this is that i would be using partition magic to partition them, and one of a friend told me that SATA drives have a problem getting detected etc with "partition magic" and "norton ghost"

Esther
Your model comes with SATA hard drive.

Dhanesh S
so i guess if i want to partition, i have no choice other than using "fdisk" ?

Esther
Please stay with me.

Dhanesh S
shure thing.

Esther
You can disable SATA supp ort in BIOS then try to partition if not the only option is to perform Fdisk.

Dhanesh S
ok, could you guide me on how to disable SATA support in bios ?

Esther
1. Restart the computer and start tapping F10 key. 2. Choose System Configuration tab. 3. Disable SATA native support. 4. Save and Exit the BIOS by pressing F10 key.

Dhanesh S
will just try that out ..

Esther
Sure.

Esther
Is there anything else I can help you with?

Esther
I am not in hurry but want to make sure that we are not missing anything.

Esther
Thank you for using HP Total Care and giving us an opportunity to serve you through Real-Time Chat. A copy of our chat session will be e-mailed to you shortly.

Esther
Have a nice time.

Dhanesh S
again one last time .. i am really sorry about this .. but the 2 dvds i made when i first started the laptop .. they are the full Windows XP OS rite ? cause if i format and then i boot up with the dvds and it turns out to be a restore .. i have to buy another copy of windows .. <!-- D(["mb","

Esther
The Recovery DVDs you had created has the Operating system as well as Drivers.

Dhanesh S
ok, thankx a bunch

Esther
It's not a problem. We are here to assist you.

Esther
Is there anything else I can assist you with today?

Dhanesh S
no thank you

Esther
Thank you for using HP Total Care and giving us an opportunity to serve you through Real-Time Chat.

Esther
If you require any further assistance please do not hesitate to get back to us. We will be glad to assist you.

Esther
Have a nice time.

Esther
Bye Dhanesh.

Dhanesh S
shure, and thanks again, bye esther

--------------------------------------------------------------
Chat Transcript Ends Here

Well that solves 2 of my questions, now time for experiments .. muhahahah

...

Regards
Dhanesh.

yordan

Aug 29 2006, 09:01 AM

Just be aware of one important thing, I was very surprised last time I used these recovery CD.
They are real install CD's, everything is correct, everything is legal.
However, you must know something.
This recovery CD will be able to re-install the system exactly as when it came from the factory.
Last time I did this, because I lost my operating system on C: disk, I had important data on the D: disk.
The re-installation re-installed everything. Unfortunately, the re-installation started with a re-partition, so I finished with a single c: partition on the whole disk, and all my data on the previously named D: disk disappeared.
So, be careful, manage to permanently have a copy of your own data. I suggest, daily or weekly but at least weekly, put all your personal files (Your winword or Excel texts for instance) on a DVD-R. So, if you have to re-install because you lost your /etc/lilo.conf file, your personal data will never be permanently lost.

QUOTE

3) will the hardware be compatible ? .. yes ofcourse it would .. i know .. but just asking .. need to be shure ...

The hardware is compatible as long as you don't modify anything. You plug something in the USB socket, if it works you're happy, if it does not work your may download a driver, but you should never cut a cable, take the soldier iron and modify the cabling, you may experience smoke going out your brand new PC.

Grafitti

Aug 29 2006, 05:11 PM

Tell me.. where did you buy that? I'm guessing dubai because of the AED, but just checking. as in Karachi i'm still looking to find something that good in that price range. I've got a Presario 2568CL that i bought in the states 3 years ago for $1000, and it's about time i upgraded.

Latest Entries

ehdward

Sep 10 2006, 04:54 PM

Hi Dhanesh! I am very much interested in this laptop you bought. My brother is in Dubai and will be probably buying this for me. I checked out the specs you displayed and everything he mentioned is the same...even the price, except for one thing.....he said that it included a 256 MB dedicated videocard. How true is this?

yordan

Aug 31 2006, 02:16 PM

QUOTE

u say shrink .. u mean you split rite

No, when I say shrink, I mean "use Partition Magic in order to reduce the partition size".
When i install the system from the recovery CD's, the partition C: is 80 giga wide.
I use Partiton Magic, I choose "change size" and instead of 80 I put 20.
Then, I have a Windows c: partition which is 20 giga wide, and my disk has 60 giga free.
Then, I use the Windows disk manager in order to create my new partitions, which are 20 and 20 and something.
So, once Windows has booted, Windows has no problem creating new partitions and reboot after that. If I wand to work with Linux, I leave the last 20 gigs of my disk unpartitionned, the Linux installer will create the Linux partitions and manage the multiboot.

dhanesh

Aug 31 2006, 01:43 PM

QUOTE(yordan @ Aug 31 2006, 05:27 PM)

Then I reboot, I see Microsoft works fine, except I can access a small part of my disk.
Now I use the Microsoft Disk in the Control Panel to create more partitions and format them. And that's all.
Just try this way next time you will experience a giant crash, and tell me if my system works for you.
Regards
Yordan

Hmm, when u say shrink .. u mean you split rite ? Anyways, thankx for that tip .. i'll try it out anyways because what i have now is just an experimental install. My partition now is like 50, 25 , 25. Didnt think of using windows to partition lol. But then again, if i enable SATA right now, i doubt i'll have an easy nite re-installing.

Its worth a try tho, I'll post up my results

..

Regards
Dhanesh.

yordan

Aug 31 2006, 01:27 PM

My hard disk is a ST380013AS, which is probably a SATA disk, and I have no problem.
I do trings a slightly different way, maybe you could try it.
I first install from the recovery CD. Then the system works fine, everything is OK except the system partition is too big. Then, I use Parition Magic only in order to shrink the system disk to a decent size (I say 10 or 20 gig should be enough).
Then I reboot, I see Microsoft works fine, except I can access a small part of my disk.
Now I use the Microsoft Disk in the Control Panel to create more partitions and format them. And that's all.
Just try this way next time you will experience a giant crash, and tell me if my system works for you.
Regards
Yordan

dhanesh

Aug 31 2006, 01:11 PM

lol, Yeah shure yordan . Thank You

I used 5 DVD's for a backup, how ? .. Well the first 2 were used for the PC Restore CD that the laptop asked me to create when i first switched it on. AND .. lol .. the 3 other dvds have a complete backup image of the entire 2 drives. Which i managed to do through Acronis.

Well after backup was done, i had to start partition. Guess what, it didnt go well

. Actually Partition Magic Detects and does the partition. But the main problem comes when it restarts. Being a SATA drive, it does not detect the Windows OS after reboot. Hence the NTLDR error.

I used a hell lot of normal cds to burn boot up dos disks so i could get into dos and fdisk it completly again. But my frustration got more stronger everytime i realized i had no floppy drive. Ohh well .. i used a custom partition program that runs on startup. but it STILL gave the darn error NTLDR. Tries my other option of poping in the Windows XP CD and trying to partition tru it. but after the first screen it tells me that the HDD Was not detected lol.

Went to BIOS, and disabled SATA lol. NOW the damn thing can install XP. I went to the compaq site and saw the drivers available for download. Downloaded all of them and just now installed XP and installed the drivers. I dont see any ( ? ) in the Device Manager. So i am guessing that all installation went fine ..... I think ...

Till now no problems, and i am working on the networking, but i am nicely screwing up both my pc's with random blind clicks. I guess i'll stop now and just wait for professional advice.

Thankx again for helping me setup my Laptop guys.

Regards
Dhanesh.

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