Dinarius = digital interest
28 November 2007

ZV6000 Never Faster

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locate the second RAM bay – adding 1GB stick, now laptop will not start – 28NOV07 – And finally, the RAM for the dv6000 HP Pavilion laptop arrives. MemoryX.net invoices it as ABQ 1GB 200p PC2700 CL2.5 16c The price is a rather unforgiving $79.98 plus tax and $9.00 (!) shipping. Ouch. After all the stories and visits, I was terrified that I would join you all in another story of black screens, no boots, no nothing. I’m happy to extend a hand to you and say, DO THIS! Below is the 256 stick that I replaced with the new 1GB stick just thirty minutes ago.

A 256 stick that shipped with another totalling 512 for the machine.

The confusion that we’ve all had over this must be the result of the speed of the RAM that some folks are installing. Just today, a little Compaq was due for a 1GB stick of 200p RAM and when it was received, no boot, no sound, no nuthin’. I and my cohort nodded knowingly, pressed the power button for five seconds and noticed that the speed of the 1GB was markedly different than that of the 512MB we were replacing. Below is the picture of the successful 1GB stick installed in the primary RAM bay (not the one we all have trouble finding).

For what it's worth, this is the back of the 1GB from Memory Ten that WORKED.

While the laptop did seem to drift and daydream when I turned it on for the first time, the fright this put into me evaporated as soon as I saw the Windows boot.ini taskbar. It meant that my problems would now shift to different, Microsoft flavors instead of slow performance flavors. And when I went to photograph and scan the RAM for you, I am happy to say that this in one little HP Pavlion zv6000 that’s never been faster.

Once Windows finished loading its services, I right-clicked My Computer to verify the new GB.

Need more help? Found something cheaper? Leave a Comment for us zv6000 lovers.

FOR THOSE OF YOU KEEPING TRACK

We took at look at SuperPi in a recent GoodMP3 podcast (10:00 minutes and not dreadful to listen to ) and previously, the dv6000 calculated Pi to 2MILLION decimals in 3“22.094” and with the added RAM (new picture below) Pi to 2M decimals was trimmed to 2’00.953” Sweet.

While the memory Ten 1GB stick doesn't show it, the CL2.5 shows on the invoice.

Installed in the easy-to-find RAM bay, the PC2700-2533 CL2.5 1GB stick sticker shows its numbers. Not shown is the CL2.5 that the Memory Ten invoice references.

12 Comments for ZV6000 Never Faster

  1. Thanks for the info! What was the URL of the site where you purchased your 1GB stick? I really would love to replace one without having to remove my keyboard.

    Comment by Joshua on 1505 days ago #

  2. E-mailed answer - those chumps don't discount for the mention! ;) Future questioners, we happily e-mail answers and promise that NO spam comes from Dinarius.

    Comment by BryanA. on 1503 days ago #

  3. Nice I just got a used zv6000 and I want to upgrade this bad boy to 2 gigs so what kind of memory did you get and was it cheap? Thanks I love HP!

    bryan - A: *Users seem to have 90% success rate with PC2700 DDR333 200-pin RAM. My own was Swissbit purchased online from a retailer with a generous return policy. It worked perfectly but I paid a rather premium price of $85 for a GB. It working was worth the extra twenty bucks.*

    Comment by Richard on 1499 days ago #

  4. If you’re looking for spare parts and/or extra RAM for your ZV6000 just visit:

    http://www.replacedirect.com/nl/laptop/hp/pavilion/zv-series/zv6000-series.html

    bryan - A: *Expensive and in Euros. Have them send a couple or three sticks over to us in Miami to sponsor a give away raffle of sorts - If it works, we'll Super Pi test it, endorse them and send out a stick to someone in need - otherwise I don't know if I can endorse these guys on a site that doesn't advertise. You know, labor of love and all...*

    Comment by Peter J. den Hoed on 1498 days ago #

  5. Well, I bought a 1GB stick from Kahlon (PN KJEW702) that they identify as 1 GB Memory (PC2700) for HP Pavilion zv6000 Series. After replacing the 256 KB stick in the user friendly location, I’ve had varying levels of non-success. One time I actually got into Windows and had it working for a little while before it froze. Most often it will freeze at different parts of bootup. Because of how inconsistant the failures are, I assume that the stick itself is perfectly good, but that its timing doesn’t work with the system (but I really don’t know if my assumption is correct). I’d appreciate any suggestions you may have.

    bryan - A: It just so happens that FA (from an earlier Comment) got to the strange heart of this. Density. Low density sticks are working just fine - high density sticks cause all the problems that we have. How to determine between the two is my next task and the article is coming as quick as possible. Thanks very much for the RAM model number and maker!

    Comment by Jonathan T. Baker on 1495 days ago #

  6. Ok guys i also have a dv6000 which ram works 100% of the time…i mean i found about 5-6 companys that make the ram which one …which one :p

    Comment by anthony on 1443 days ago #

  7. I installed two Kingston 1.0GB DDR PC2700 333MHz. They work individually in either the hard to each or easy location but do not work when paired together. The PC just crashes when both sticks are in and won’t boot up.

    Comment by Andrew on 1417 days ago #

  8. It would seem that we’re having our best luck with OCZ over Kingston and Swissbit over ‘budget’ RAM. MemoryX or Memory Ten seems also to sell RAM that works.

    For the Kingston double-install above, PER made a comment http://www.dinarius.com/commentable/article/pavilion-zv6000-ram#c000040 there that describes overclocking to compensate for a buggy RAM Divider. I don’t pretend to have come up with that! Also, PER mentions that he followed the ZV6000 Manual which one of the three articles we’ve written here links to. If you can access BIOS but not boot up, look for the number 15 (RAM Divider) and modify it to 12 or check where else to overclock after making notes of your original settings and keep rebooting to see if the changes let you boot to Windows.

    And of course, be sure that you have the latest BIOS.

    Comment by BryanA. on 1416 days ago #

  9. I did a similar upgrade, but I only added a 1gb stick into the expansion port, which I got from memorygiant.com. My system says I now have 1.12 gb of ram, and now my zv6000 calculates Pi to 2M place values in 2m26sec. Not bad at all… I was wondering though how to remove the keyboard to access the primary memory slot? Any tips?

    Comment by C Thomas on 1357 days ago #

  10. Hi Bryan, I’m still confused after reading all these zv6000 posts. I’ve had my zv6000 since 2005 and it works well. I have two 512MB DDR SDRAM sticks which I want to scrap for two 1 Gig sticks. Mine is the Athlon64 3500+ 2.2GHz. (By the way, my SuperPi score for 2M is 1’53” with just the 1 Gig, so I’m hoping for amazing grace with 2 Gigs RAM.) You say the Swissbit worked for you but i don’t know if you’re implying that both they’ll work in both slots simultaneously? Between all the pics, I’m not sure which one your recommending. I’ve found all your zv6000 info very helpful. Can you email me where you purchased your 1Gig RAM (the “retailer with the generous return policy”). HP wants $130 a pop for the 1 Gig sticks. Thanks

    Comment by Neil on 1323 days ago #

  11. Neil and I have been on the case within the last 24 hours. The Super Pi is really helpful for simple benchmarking and the price update is that the price is DOWN to $70 from a group that guarantees operable sticks.

    Comment by BryanA. on 1322 days ago #

  12. I used 2 sticks of:
    1GB PC2700 DDR SO-Dimm 200Pin – Model #VS1GSDS333 / CORSAIR / Lifetime Warranty
    FRYS.com #: 4054652
    Price: $ 48.99
    After Rebate: $ 23.99

    I picked mine up in-store but it’s available at Frys.com as well. Sadly,the rebate only ran for 1 week but even the $48.99 regular price is the best I’ve seen.
    Thanks again for the ZV6000 memory upgrade procedure, reallyy helped me do it fairly quickly with no problems.
    Ships Free

    Comment by Dan on 1275 days ago #

Favorite's the ARTICLE, not the SITE.