Danger in upgrade of legacy hardware

[spwango]

Hey all,

I have a friend who recently obtained a Pentium-classic level HP Vectra box. In my pile of old parts, I have a 166MMX Pentium CPU (this box has a 120) and some spare RAM. Unfortunatley, I don't know the status of these parts. Both the processor and SIMMs have been sitting for years in a cardboard box. Do I risk injuring the origional system by modifying it in such a manner?

Thanks for any info,

spwango

 

[tippmann]

You shouldn't have any problems trying out the parts... As for the 120 to 166 upgrade - you will have to check HP's web site to see it that model will go to 166... Then again it won't hurt anything to just stick it in and see if it will boot....

 

[nightowl]

Yeah, you won't hurt anything if you put in your 166 and see if it works. The 166 will work fine at 120. As for the ram, you should not have any problems with that either.

 

[bacillus]

ensure you take antistatic precautions before handling those pieces of hardware!

 

[spwango]

Thanks for the info...I don't mind monkeying around on it a bit--both the SIMM slots and the processor socket have reasonably easy access...I just don't want to blow up what they have now that works.

Thanks

spwango

 

[GregMal]

Correct me if I'm wrong.....but doesn't the 166mmx take dual voltage.
It may not work if the MB doesn't handle the dual voltage.....
Greg