Laptops About Samsung N150 Netbook

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Emil

Forerunner
First of all let me apologise if this thread is in the wrong place. mods please correct this.
My daughter purchased the Samsung N150 in Doha, Qatar for the primary purpose of keeping in touch with us via Skype, email, etc. She also occasionally uses it for movies.
The netbook is quite slow especially if she tries to open the browser while skype is on or any such simple multi tasking. Sometimes it just hangs up if she has more than one application running. Then she has to remove and put back the battery. I am unable to help her from here because it just doesn't have the power to handle run Teamviewer or similar. She took it back to the dealer who told her there is nothing wrong with the netbook and it must something about the way she uses it.
She took it to her IT dept and the guy there activated the AV that was supplied with the netbook and uninstalled Avira hoping that would speed it up a bit. Not sure if that has helped. He also told her to remove Windows 7 with which it came and to install XP instead. Finally he said to increase RAM to 2 GB.
Please confirm:
1. if the N150 will run better using XP instead of Win 7.
2. could this really be because of insufficient RAM? How could Samsung sell something like this if it doesn't do the basics out of the box? I don't want to increase RAM unless I am reasonably confident that the problem may be resolved.
3. if I do increase the RAM (when she visits in December) anyone knows if the N150 supports 2GB RAM, if the pre-installed 1 GB is a single stick or two sticks, do I just add a 1 GB stick or do I have to remove the existing and add 1/2 sticks totaling 2 GB?
4. How easy is it to access and change the RAM in the N150?

Any help from those familiar with the Samsungs will be welcome. Guessers please don't.
 
1.Windows 7 is definitely little heavy for a netbook with atom processor and 1GB ram compared to XP. Also XP will also run a lot faster than the Win7 for the hardware provided.

2.Samsung recommends windows xp home

3.Most probably N150 supports 2GB RAM but it has only ONE slot for ram,so you can't use 2 RAM sticks

4.Not much difficult I think.
 
Hi, Emil Sir,

1) If u keep the 1GB RAM, XP is a better option. If u upgrade to 2GB RAM, Windows 7 Starter Edition would be fine.

2) Actually, it's the Intel Atom processor that is a bit underpowered for Win 7. But a RAM upgrade will definitely help. Again, only if u are keen on using Win 7 instead of XP.

3) The N150 does support 2GB RAM. But there is only 1 slot for the RAM stick. So, u'll have to buy a new 2GB RAM stick & put it in place of the 1GB stick. Also, the RAM compartment is easily accessible at the bottom of the netbook. U just have to remove one screw.

4) Like I said before, it is pretty simple & straightforward. Just 1 screw to open up the RAM compartment cover & then u replace the RAM & replace the cover & the screw.

Now for some additional gyaan..... ;)

My sister also has a N150. I upgraded her RAM to 2GB on day one. No effect on warranty as I inquired with Samsung ASC before doing the upgrade.

Windows 7 Starter edition works great on her Netbook. She uses it primarily for internet on the go.

But if ur daughter has a lot of startup programs or background tasks (like too many Chat Clients) running on her netbook, it becomes an overkill. So, ask her to check that first.

BTW, I recommend upgrading the RAM to 2GB & using Windows 7 Starter Edition. But the other option would be to retain the 1GB RAM & install XP SP3. And either proposition is reasonably sound.

Hope this helps. :)
 
Thanks Nehal and Ravi.

I might go with increasing the RAM mainly because the Netbook came with a license for the Win 7. If we switch to XP she will need to buy a fresh license. Better to spend the bucks on the RAM then isn't it?

Nehal the additional gyaan is sure to come in handy.

Some more questions:

1. It may be implied but it is not completely clear in your above response. Was your sister's N150 slow to begin with before you changed the RAM?

2. What is the specification of the RAM? Is it DDR2 or DDR3 and what speed is required?

3. Does Samsung CC respond reasonably to inquiries of this nature on the phone?

PS. Are you a full-fledged practitioner of your profession now?

PPS. Pls drop the "Sir"
 
Ok....

1) I cannot say it was slow..... It came with only the OS. So, unless I had the other apps installed, there was no way of guessing actual performance. But I changed the RAM before installing the other applications. So, Sorry, I cannot say for sure whether it was slow or not before the upgrade.

2) The RAM I used was DDR2 800MHz from Transcend. U need a standard 200 pin DDR2 SODIMM Memory module. U can opt for Kingston or Transcend. U can get it in 667MHz speeds as well but I recommend getting the 800MHz one. Obvious performance gain.

3) I cannot be sure about that as well. Best option is to mail Samsung with the details of ur query & they reply in a few days (2-3) time.

Also, using mails is a legally correct option as in case u confirm Warranty validity after RAM upgrade over phone & later they dishonour the Warranty, u have no evidence. But if u use mails, u have documentary proof that they had consented to honouring the Warranty irrespective of RAM upgrades done by u.

Also, the RAM compartment is not sealed with a tamper proof seal or anything. So, even if u open it up, u don't void the warranty.

P.S.: Nope not yet.... I have one more exam to go. Also, I don't intend to practice as a Lawyer. I intend to join the IPS. I took up law only so I could be a more competent IPS Officer having thorough knowledge of Law. :)

P.P.S.: I cannot call u by ur name..... atleast not now..... after having met personally!!!

Hehehehehehe!!! :)

BTW, yes, it is better to stick to Win 7. Neway, Win XP is now outdated & u would end up spending more for a XP license than for the RAM upgrade. And u can always sell ur old RAM module here on the TE Market...... that'll help reduce ur upgrade costs.
 
I too bought a Samsung N150 a few months back from Cromas. It came with Windows 7 Starter and 2 GB Ram.

By default it was loaded with a lot of bloatware which used result in a longer boot time and sluggish performance at times.

I uninstalled most of them and removed all except samsung backup service from the startup. Replaced McAfee trial provided by them with Avast. Windows 7 also has Windows defender (i don't know if it works or not always keeps updating itself) and you can try Microsoft security essentials which is pretty light.

The difference in performance here might be because of the RAM. But despite that in my case if the system is in standard mode youtube videos or farmville games stutter or lag. Nothing which can't be fixed by using Fn+F8 and switching to speed mode for the selected application. You can change the mode to performance mode if required but that will reduce the battery life.

I have managed to plug it into my lcd tv through vga and watch s*crtm*th 720p rips.

So I think you try checking out the mode, if you select Power Saving mode then the netbook crawls and I think this is what might be happening to you. So do check the mode before upgrading RAM.
 
Irrespective of the running mode, I still think that 1GB RAM is a bit low for any version of Windows 7.....

@ prabs: BTW, what exactly is s*crtm*th 720p rips??? Sorry, I really couldn't make it out..... :(
 
@nehaladsul: I meant secretmyth's 720 rips.

I have seen Windows 7 run smoothly on PCs with 1 GB ram and AMD Sempron 2500 @ 1.4 Ghz which is not very far from an Atom processor.

I would also like to mention that I have used teamviewer through my N150 to help my cousin fix a malware problem on her pc (the only problem here was every thing looked microscopic). So I think the OP should definitely try out teamviewer and the 150 is more than capable of handling it.

The only time my N150 hung up on me was when I was playing crimson skies on it but, holding the power trigger for a few seconds allowed it to reboot with the warning screen of normal or safe mode. So there is no need to remove the battery.

@rareravi: Samsung recommends Windows 7 starter for netbooks these days infact most companies do.
 
@all

Well I am running IntelD410PT with 1 GB ram using Windows 7 Ultimate. Haven't faced any issue. Am I missing something?

+LT
 
1GB RAM is not good for windows 7, i have windows 7 home premium in 3 machines, and when ever i check resources used it never shows less then 1.7 GB even after boot. So if its just 1GB RAM its using pagefile which makes speed so slow because HDD I/O is way less then RAM, So better you upgrade to 2GB which is more then enough. atom CPU is enough powered to run windows 7 if you dont have to do DB/CAD of any type.

You may also try ubuntu remix, if u dont want to add more RAM, 1GB is more then enough for ubuntu remix, which is specially a netbook edition.
 
^^ Actually, Windows 7 Starter Edition is supposed to work well on Netbooks. In fact, it is much lighter on the resources than Home Premium.

But I have noticed that even Starter doesn't perform really well on Netbooks. I tried XP SP3 on an Aspire 1 & checked the performance for the blank OS. Then I installed Win 7 & checked the performance for the blank OS.... Win XP SP3 was much better than Win 7 on a netbook with 1GB RAM.

Moreover with SP1 being rolled out for Win 7, I guess it's going to up the ante for netbook specifications.
 
Thanks to all you guys. So I understand the N150 takes a standard DDR2 RAM module which works on the normal mATX/ATX mobos right?

I can only do the upgrade in the last week of Dec when she visits India for a week. I don't want to switch to Ubuntu as she would have to go through a learning curve which is pointless in her case.
 
NO NO NO......!!! :O

It needs a 200 pin DDR2 SODIMM Memory module..... In layman terms, the Laptop Memory Module.

The DDR2 RAM u are talking about..... the one for mATX/ATX mobos is a 240 pin DDR2 DIMM. It won't fit a laptop.
 
nehaladsul said:
NO NO NO......!!!

It needs a 200 pin DDR2 SODIMM Memory module..... In layman terms, the Laptop Memory Module.

The DDR2 RAM u are talking about..... the one for mATX/ATX mobos is a 240 pin DDR2 DIMM. It won't fit a laptop.
Click to expand...

sorry i mixed it up. So that's clear now.
 
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