Is it advisable to increase the ram of windows 7 from 1gb to 4gb?

Hi @realken1 ,

Software always works better with more RAM and it puts less strain on the HDD which may be utilized as “virtual” memory if there isn’t enough, but then it is slower than having sufficient RAM only.

Your model laptop has 2 memory slots and can handle up to 4GB of RAM i.e. 2 x 2GB.

It’s not only what the CPU can handle but also what the motherboard can handle as far as speed goes

For 4GB the memory required is 2 x 2GB PC2-5300 (667MHz DDR2) memory modules -example only

If you have 32-bit Win 7 it can only handle 4GB of RAM anyway, 64-bit Win 7 can handle more but your laptop can’t.

Here’s a link to the Dell Vostro 1700 owner’s manual. Scroll to p.164 to view the necessary pre-requisite steps and then the procedure to replace the RAM