Gateway w350a

Hi, new to the forum. I had an old Gateway w350a laptop lying about. I decided to install Ubuntu on it to speed it up a bit and maybe get some use out of it. I typed the model into youtube and apparently it's one of the few laptops where you have access to practically everything by unscrewing a couple of panels at the back. I wonder what I could replace there for a price that would be worth my while.

This laptop wasn't in great condition, I got quotes on fixing it but it just wasn't worth it due to the age so I did it myself. I have replaced the keyboard on this along with the dvd drive and put in a usb 2.0 express card into it because 2 of the 3 usb ports are broken. That's as far as my DIY knowledge goes. I don't know much about computers really. I don't know if you can stick any old RAM or pci express card into this so that's why I'm here to see if something can be done by myself and if it's worth my while. Or even to play around with it and learn a few things for a few bucks. Thanks for reading

 

If the computer is running,
Go to Crucial.com and if you're in UK. click on Go to GB site...
when that opens... click on
Crucial System Scanner
Down load the 'small' App - run it and it will offer you various 'sizes' of RAM.
NOTE the TYPE of RAM - DDR, DDR2 & etc
Because Crucial can be expensive - try to find the same type on Amazon... make sure you check you are looking at the RIGHT type on Amazon... because they are keyed differently and WILL NOT FIT - if you order the wrong size.

Can I recommend that instead of UBUNTU which can be 1- 2 Gb in size, you try Linux Lite
from - http://www.linuxliteos.com/
it is Very much like Windows XP in appearance and only about 800Mb and will easily fit onto at 2 GB USB stick... (or onto small DVD - I got some tiny DVD's from a computer fair)...

Linux can be run from USB or DVD as a try before you DON'T buy (it's free!) so you can see what you're getting into... but it will NOT save files or changes made, until you INSTALL it.

Chances are you might not have to get a new Hard drive...

There are TWO types of PCI Express cards - as long as you get one similar to the one that already fits your Laptop they will work... A USB 3 PCI Ex card will need a separate psu because you Laptop is unlikely to provide enough power...

Hope this is helpful