Solved Acer Aspire One AOA150/ZG5, can it run 2GB or more RAM?

Zukaro

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Is there any way to get an Acer Aspire One AOA150/ZG5 running with 2GB+ of RAM? I've heard it's not possible and the reason for that is the on board 512MB of RAM, so I was wondering if theres any way around this.

The reason I'd like to increase my RAM is so the thing can run Windows 7. Currently with 1GB total it's able to run it but BSoD's whenever I do anything such as downloads. I've added some virtual RAM but it doesn't seem to help much.

I tried ReadyBoost with a 4GB SD Card, it didn't do anything either. My computer still BSoD's.
 

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Windows 7 Home Premium x64 / Ubuntu 12.04 LTS...Intel Core i5 760 @ 2.80GHz4GBNVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Built by Myself
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 / Ubuntu 12.04 LTS x64
CPU
Intel Core i5 760 @ 2.80GHz
Motherboard
Asus P7P55D PRO
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung SMBX250, TOSHIBA TV
Screen Resolution
Samsung: 1080p, 1920 x 1080|Toshiba: 1360 x 768
Hard Drives
500GB SATA HDD
500GB SATA HDD
Case
Cooler Master HAF 922
Cooling
Fan-cooled
Internet Speed
Down:12Mbps|Up:1Mbps
Is there any way to get an Acer Aspire One AOA150/ZG5 running with 2GB+ of RAM? I've heard it's not possible and the reason for that is the on board 512MB of RAM, so I was wondering if theres any way around this.

The reason I'd like to increase my RAM is so the thing can run Windows 7. Currently with 1GB total it's able to run it but BSoD's whenever I do anything such as downloads. I've added some virtual RAM but it doesn't seem to help much.

I tried ReadyBoost with a 4GB SD Card, it didn't do anything either. My computer still BSoD's.

According to this source 1 gig max. See pix.
 
Last edited:

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Win 8 Release candidate 8400[email protected]4 gigsNvidia 9600M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavillion dv-7 1005 Tx
OS
Win 8 Release candidate 8400
CPU
[email protected]
Memory
4 gigs
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia 9600M
Sound Card
HD built-in
Monitor(s) Displays
17" Wxga
Screen Resolution
1440x900
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none
Internet Speed
45Mb down 5Mb up
k; is there any way to run Windows 7 on just 1GB of RAM without it BSoD'ing constantly?

(like, what I tried was adding virtual memory and using a 4GB SD card for that ReadyBoost thing, but that didn't work)
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium x64 / Ubuntu 12.04 LTS...Intel Core i5 760 @ 2.80GHz4GBNVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Built by Myself
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 / Ubuntu 12.04 LTS x64
CPU
Intel Core i5 760 @ 2.80GHz
Motherboard
Asus P7P55D PRO
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung SMBX250, TOSHIBA TV
Screen Resolution
Samsung: 1080p, 1920 x 1080|Toshiba: 1360 x 768
Hard Drives
500GB SATA HDD
500GB SATA HDD
Case
Cooler Master HAF 922
Cooling
Fan-cooled
Internet Speed
Down:12Mbps|Up:1Mbps
k; is there any way to run Windows 7 on just 1GB of RAM without it BSoD'ing constantly?

(like, what I tried was adding virtual memory and using a 4GB SD card for that ReadyBoost thing, but that didn't work)

Ababsolutely. Im doing it now. If it is BSOD'ing it isnt because of the lack of ram
 

My Computer My Computer

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Win 8 Release candidate 8400[email protected]4 gigsNvidia 9600M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavillion dv-7 1005 Tx
OS
Win 8 Release candidate 8400
CPU
[email protected]
Memory
4 gigs
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia 9600M
Sound Card
HD built-in
Monitor(s) Displays
17" Wxga
Screen Resolution
1440x900
Cooling
none
Internet Speed
45Mb down 5Mb up
This machine has been running Windows 7 0n 1GB RAM for a year with no BSODs. I will add that it is running the x86 flavor.
If there are BSODs, try deciphering the problem(s) via Event Viewer or with BlueScreenView.

Edit: Is this machine configured as multi-boot?
 

My Computer My Computer

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Windows 7 Pro x86; Pro x64; Home Prem x64; an...Pentium 4 @ 3.42GBATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Old (2004) Gateway laptop
OS
Windows 7 Pro x86; Pro x64; Home Prem x64; and others....
CPU
Pentium 4 @ 3.4
Motherboard
Gateway
Memory
2GB
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Sound Card
SigmaTel C-Major Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Element 19 in. LCD HD TV
Screen Resolution
1360x768
Hard Drives
Intel SSD 3200 80GB; Seagate Momentus XT (Hybrid) 500GB
PSU
HP monitor PSU - Spliced;lol
Cooling
Coolingpad
Mouse
MS TouchMouse Arc & Mouse
This machine has been running Windows 7 0n 1GB RAM for a year with no BSODs. I will add that it is running the x86 flavor.
If there are BSODs, try deciphering the problem(s) via Event Viewer or with BlueScreenView.

Edit: Is this machine configured as multi-boot?


Yes, I've got Linux Mint 12 dual booting along side Windows 7. However, for a time I did have Windows 7 on there only and it still BSoD'ed just as frequently.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium x64 / Ubuntu 12.04 LTS...Intel Core i5 760 @ 2.80GHz4GBNVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Built by Myself
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 / Ubuntu 12.04 LTS x64
CPU
Intel Core i5 760 @ 2.80GHz
Motherboard
Asus P7P55D PRO
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung SMBX250, TOSHIBA TV
Screen Resolution
Samsung: 1080p, 1920 x 1080|Toshiba: 1360 x 768
Hard Drives
500GB SATA HDD
500GB SATA HDD
Case
Cooler Master HAF 922
Cooling
Fan-cooled
Internet Speed
Down:12Mbps|Up:1Mbps
...try deciphering the problem(s) via Event Viewer or with BlueScreenView.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Pro x86; Pro x64; Home Prem x64; an...Pentium 4 @ 3.42GBATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Old (2004) Gateway laptop
OS
Windows 7 Pro x86; Pro x64; Home Prem x64; and others....
CPU
Pentium 4 @ 3.4
Motherboard
Gateway
Memory
2GB
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Sound Card
SigmaTel C-Major Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Element 19 in. LCD HD TV
Screen Resolution
1360x768
Hard Drives
Intel SSD 3200 80GB; Seagate Momentus XT (Hybrid) 500GB
PSU
HP monitor PSU - Spliced;lol
Cooling
Coolingpad
Mouse
MS TouchMouse Arc & Mouse
Last edited:

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 8 Release candidate 8400[email protected]4 gigsNvidia 9600M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavillion dv-7 1005 Tx
OS
Win 8 Release candidate 8400
CPU
[email protected]
Memory
4 gigs
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia 9600M
Sound Card
HD built-in
Monitor(s) Displays
17" Wxga
Screen Resolution
1440x900
Cooling
none
Internet Speed
45Mb down 5Mb up
...try deciphering the problem(s) via Event Viewer or with BlueScreenView.

Just an FYI. Blue screen view often ceremoniously blames OS files. WinDbg is the gold std
Thanks for this.
Although BlueScreenView has been a great boon to me and many others, I will give WinDbg a whirl.;)

Edit: After installing .net 4 (required) and running the SDK (WinDbg) installer (which failed 3 times), I have decided to stick with BlueScreenView (no installation necessary-just point and click) for now. I shall try again at a later date....
Final Verdict: SDK is not for the average PC enthusiast-like me.:picnic:
 
Last edited:

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Pro x86; Pro x64; Home Prem x64; an...Pentium 4 @ 3.42GBATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Old (2004) Gateway laptop
OS
Windows 7 Pro x86; Pro x64; Home Prem x64; and others....
CPU
Pentium 4 @ 3.4
Motherboard
Gateway
Memory
2GB
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Sound Card
SigmaTel C-Major Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Element 19 in. LCD HD TV
Screen Resolution
1360x768
Hard Drives
Intel SSD 3200 80GB; Seagate Momentus XT (Hybrid) 500GB
PSU
HP monitor PSU - Spliced;lol
Cooling
Coolingpad
Mouse
MS TouchMouse Arc & Mouse
...try deciphering the problem(s) via Event Viewer or with BlueScreenView.

Just an FYI. Blue screen view often ceremoniously blames OS files. WinDbg is the gold std
Thanks for this.
Although BlueScreenView has been a great boon to me and many others, I will give WinDbg a whirl.;)

Edit: After installing .net 4 (required) and running the SDK (WinDbg) installer (which failed 3 times), I have decided to stick with BlueScreenView (no installation necessary-just point and click) for now. I shall try again at a later date....
Final Verdict: SDK is not for the average PC enthusiast-like me.:picnic:

You dont need SDK to install WinDbg, and many "enthusiasts" are being led astray. With more than 10,000 DMPs under my belt I see them doing useless installs, driver updates, and procedures by its use.

Should you ever want to install WinDBg I would be happy to help you.

WinDbg (when attached to the local machine) runs rings around BSV, who crashed, etc.

It is the gold standard for the serious user.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 8 Release candidate 8400[email protected]4 gigsNvidia 9600M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavillion dv-7 1005 Tx
OS
Win 8 Release candidate 8400
CPU
[email protected]
Memory
4 gigs
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia 9600M
Sound Card
HD built-in
Monitor(s) Displays
17" Wxga
Screen Resolution
1440x900
Cooling
none
Internet Speed
45Mb down 5Mb up
As to the OP's original question, the Atom processor used in the AOA150 can only address a max of 2G RAM but for whatever reason Acer decided to limit the netbook to a max of 1.5G. I have an AOA150 that has been happily running Win 7 Pro for several years with 1.5G of RAM and ran Win 7 previously before that with 1G of RAM so can verify that your BSOD's are not caused by insufficient RAM.

Insufficient RAM would be indicated by extremely poor performance and high disk activity as the OS attempted to swap parts of memory to disk in order to compensate for the lack of physical RAM.
 

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W10 Pro desktop, W11 laptop, W11 Pro tablet (...3.7Ghz 8700K i7, i7-11800H, i7-1065G716G desktop, 16G laptop, 4G tabletAMD Radeon RX580, RTX 3060, Intel Iris Plus
Computer type
PC/Desktop
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Home Built desktop, Dell G15 5511 Gaming laptop,MS Surface Pro 7 tablet
OS
W10 Pro desktop, W11 laptop, W11 Pro tablet (all 64-bit)
CPU
3.7Ghz 8700K i7, i7-11800H, i7-1065G7
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ASUS TUF Z370-Pro Gaming in desktop
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16G desktop, 16G laptop, 4G tablet
Graphics Card(s)
AMD Radeon RX580, RTX 3060, Intel Iris Plus
Sound Card
High Definition Audio (Built-in to mobo)
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung U32J59 32" (2x), 15.6", 12"
Screen Resolution
3840x2160, 3840x2160, 1920x1080, 2160x1440
Hard Drives
500G SSD for OS; 2T, 10T & 15T HDDs for Data on Desktop, 1TB SSD laptop, 128G SSD tablet.
PSU
Corsair CX 750M
Case
Antec 100
Cooling
CM 212+
Keyboard
IBM Model M - used continuously since 1986
Mouse
Microsoft Pro IntelliMouse
Internet Speed
400M down 8M up
Antivirus
Windows Defender
Browser
FireFox
Other Info
Built my first computer (8Mhz 8088cpu, 640K RAM, 20MB HDD, 2 360K floppy drives) in 1985 and have been building them for myself, relatives and friends ever since.
You dont need SDK to install WinDbg, and many "enthusiasts" are being led astray. With more than 10,000 DMPs under my belt I see them doing useless installs, driver updates, and procedures by its use.

Should you ever want to install WinDBg I would be happy to help you.

WinDbg (when attached to the local machine) runs rings around BSV, who crashed, etc.

It is the gold standard for the serious user.

I see....
I have gotten as far as installing WinDbg but have no idea what to do with it. Let me read-up and if there are any questions I'd be glad to forward them your way.;)

Thanks,
joodoo
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Pro x86; Pro x64; Home Prem x64; an...Pentium 4 @ 3.42GBATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Old (2004) Gateway laptop
OS
Windows 7 Pro x86; Pro x64; Home Prem x64; and others....
CPU
Pentium 4 @ 3.4
Motherboard
Gateway
Memory
2GB
Graphics Card(s)
ATI Mobility Radeon 9700
Sound Card
SigmaTel C-Major Audio
Monitor(s) Displays
Element 19 in. LCD HD TV
Screen Resolution
1360x768
Hard Drives
Intel SSD 3200 80GB; Seagate Momentus XT (Hybrid) 500GB
PSU
HP monitor PSU - Spliced;lol
Cooling
Coolingpad
Mouse
MS TouchMouse Arc & Mouse
You dont need SDK to install WinDbg, and many "enthusiasts" are being led astray. With more than 10,000 DMPs under my belt I see them doing useless installs, driver updates, and procedures by its use.

Should you ever want to install WinDBg I would be happy to help you.

WinDbg (when attached to the local machine) runs rings around BSV, who crashed, etc.

It is the gold standard for the serious user.

I see....
I have gotten as far as installing WinDbg but have no idea what to do with it. Let me read-up and if there are any questions I'd be glad to forward them your way.;)

Thanks,
joodoo

No problem it is as much art as science. You are going to need several gigs of symbols
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Win 8 Release candidate 8400[email protected]4 gigsNvidia 9600M
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
HP Pavillion dv-7 1005 Tx
OS
Win 8 Release candidate 8400
CPU
[email protected]
Memory
4 gigs
Graphics Card(s)
Nvidia 9600M
Sound Card
HD built-in
Monitor(s) Displays
17" Wxga
Screen Resolution
1440x900
Cooling
none
Internet Speed
45Mb down 5Mb up
Registered to reply.

The AOA-150 maximum RAM is 2GB.

The problem lies in the 512MB RAM chip soldered to the MOBO.

If you can find a 1.5GB RAM chip, that would work. (LOL, does not exist.)

Or, de-solder the factory RAM from the MOBO without breaking it and then use a 2GB stick. Nobody has really tried because, why would anyone for only 512MB more of RAM?

I have ran many flavors of Win7 on my ZG5, and the only time I've encountered BSODs is when there is a driver conflict. It is possible to run flawlessly.

:geek:
 

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Windows 7 Ultimate x64
OS
Windows 7 Ultimate x64
Registered to reply.

The AOA-150 maximum RAM is 2GB.

The problem lies in the 512MB RAM chip soldered to the MOBO.

If you can find a 1.5GB RAM chip, that would work. (LOL, does not exist.)

Or, de-solder the factory RAM from the MOBO without breaking it and then use a 2GB stick. Nobody has really tried because, why would anyone for only 512MB more of RAM?

I have ran many flavors of Win7 on my ZG5, and the only time I've encountered BSODs is when there is a driver conflict. It is possible to run flawlessly.

:geek:



I've managed to fix the problem (should probably has posted saying I fixed it :P).
I updated all the drivers and it works now.
 

My Computer My Computer

At a glance

Windows 7 Home Premium x64 / Ubuntu 12.04 LTS...Intel Core i5 760 @ 2.80GHz4GBNVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
Custom Built by Myself
OS
Windows 7 Home Premium x64 / Ubuntu 12.04 LTS x64
CPU
Intel Core i5 760 @ 2.80GHz
Motherboard
Asus P7P55D PRO
Memory
4GB
Graphics Card(s)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 460
Monitor(s) Displays
Samsung SMBX250, TOSHIBA TV
Screen Resolution
Samsung: 1080p, 1920 x 1080|Toshiba: 1360 x 768
Hard Drives
500GB SATA HDD
500GB SATA HDD
Case
Cooler Master HAF 922
Cooling
Fan-cooled
Internet Speed
Down:12Mbps|Up:1Mbps
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