[Macboatmaster]

well according to the spec I see the ram is
Memory expansion options

User expandable to 1536 MB (1024 MB in user accessible bay and 512 MB in internal bay)
http://support.gatew...s/4651sp3.shtml


The other point that comes to my mind is, that I cannnot confirm , but are drivers available for windows 7 for that Gateway, as if they are I did not find them

If not windows 7 attempts to load the best it can find, but to be sure, the system is going to run, you need the correct drivers for the chipset etc.

So I suppose the real answer to the question is YES, I would try it with XP

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ok in process of doing so.....its going to take longer then expected because both of my cdroms for them have issues and need fixed....soon as thats done ill post results

and in response to your thoughts about chipset driver....no there are no windows 7 drivers available.... when i was running 1.25gb ram i switch from xp to 7, dual booted in fact, and was so impressed with 7 and how much more responsive the computer was, it even seemed faster as well. the lack of drivers never bothered me before


as for the internal bay...well in gateway's infinite wisdom they made the internal memory bay accessible by only trained professionals(meaning you have to disassemble the laptop almost completely to swap the chip). my 1gb chip ran there for 2 years after i found that out....

hmm...i think im going to post pictures of how this is set up....

Edited by Alysher, 30 August 2012 - 01:01 PM.

[Alysher]

ok in process of doing so.....its going to take longer then expected because both of my cdroms for them have issues and need fixed....soon as thats done ill post results

and in response to your thoughts about chipset driver....no there are no windows 7 drivers available.... when i was running 1.25gb ram i switch from xp to 7, dual booted in fact, and was so impressed with 7 and how much more responsive the computer was, it even seemed faster as well. the lack of drivers never bothered me before


as for the internal bay...well in gateway's infinite wisdom they made the internal memory bay accessible by only trained professionals(meaning you have to disassemble the laptop almost completely to swap the chip). my 1gb chip ran there for 2 years after i found that out....

hmm...i think im going to post pictures of how this is set up....

Edited by Alysher, 30 August 2012 - 01:01 PM.

[Macboatmaster]

as for the internal bay...well in gateway's infinite wisdom they made the internal memory bay accessible by only trained professionals

that is not unusual many Sony laptops are the same.

I know, that is why its says 1024 user accessible and 512 internal bay

[Alysher]

that is not unusual many Sony laptops are the same.

well IMHO this makes upgrades MUCH harder!

anyways i promised pictures....here they are....keep in mind that i had already taken the lcd off prior to this...which requires removing the power button panel, keyboard and first shield

starting with having the lcd and power button panel off....



now the keyboard comes out....easy



now the shield comes out....



any one see the ram yet.....



there it is....dear gods now i have to take the palm rest off...



OH come ON now....guess i have another shield to take out



then the hd caddy



and the media reader board......



FINALLY i can get at the memory module....

as you can see...there is no *approved* method of removing or installing this ram chip with out completely disassembling the laptop....which "REALLY SUCKS"

the reason approved is stared is cause there is one method out there that i know about that uses a bent paperclip to push the lock that is hidden by the media reader....defiantly not approved!


edited with a running commentary

Edited by Alysher, 30 August 2012 - 06:10 PM.

[Alysher]

ok, so i got windows xp loaded up on my old amd mobo for this laptop and so far have had no issues. i did a bench test with hd and cdrom so i could install windows, then ran prime95 for an hour and memtest86+. not once did i have it freeze or give me a BSOD. the only thing i could not test is the video ram(this mobo model actually has separate VRAM) cause the program recomended wont run with out SP3.

so now ive rebuilt the laptop completely and am reinstalling xp with SP3 and all drivers. as soon as i get the new testing done ill post updates...

any any one with any suggestions for stability testing please post as well! i want to make sure that this laptop wont freeze on my neice!

[Alysher]

ok, so after doing a complete rebuild and reinstalling xp, along with the chipset drivers, the 7426gx motherboard is very stable and is running properly!

if any one else has any suggestions as to any other stability tests please post!

also, as to the issues with the first two motherboards, im going to call it that the motherboards were bad and call this solved for now. when i get a new board for my other case and have any issues with it i will start a new thread...

so for any moderators out there, we can call it solved!