1

Dell Inspiron B120

General

Recommended Use Small business
Width 14.0 in
Depth 10.5 in
Height 1.4 in
Weight 6.4 lbs
Color Black
Notebook type Mid-size laptops (6-7.5 lbs.)
Screen type Wide-screen

Processor

Processor Intel Celeron M 1.4 GHz
Data Bus Speed 400.0 MHz

Cache Memory

Type L2 cache
Installed Size 1.0 MB

RAM

Installed Size 256.0 MB
Technology DDR SDRAM

Storage

Floppy Drive None
Hard Drive 40.0 GB
Storage Removable None
Hard drive type Standard

Optical Storage

Type CD-RW / DVD-ROM
Read Speed 24x (CD) / 8x (DVD)

Display

Display Type 14.1 in TFT active matrix
Max Resolution 1280 x 800

Video

Graphics Processor / Vendor Intel GMA900

Audio

Audio Output Sound card
Audio Input Microphone

Input Device(s)

Input device type Touchpad,
Keyboard

Telecom

Modem Fax / modem
Max Transfer Rate 56.0 Kbps
Protocols & Specifications ITU V.92

Networking

Data Link Protocol Fast Ethernet,
Ethernet

Expansion / Connectivity

Expansion Slot(s) 2.0 Memory,
1.0
Interfaces 3.0 x Microphone - VGA,
1.0 x Display / video - RJ-45,
1.0 x Modem - Hi-Speed USB,
1.0 x Ethernet - RJ-11,
1.0 x Hi-Speed USB,
1.0

Power

Power Provided 60.0 Watt

Battery

Technology Lithium ion
Installed Qty 1.0

Operating System / Software

OS Provided Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition
Software Dell Media Experience,
Drivers & Utilities,
Corel WordPerfect
2
  • 2
    Even with XP, it probably runs very poorly with only 256MB of RAM. Try to get it up to 1GB. I usually consider 2GB the minimum for Windows 7 and Vista.
    – KCotreau
    Jul 5, 2011 at 1:48
  • 2
    This is too localized - we can't go around telling everybody if Windows 7 will work on their exact configuration. Take a look at the Windows 7 System Requirements if you want to know if Windows 7 will work on your computer.
    – nhinkle
    Jul 5, 2011 at 3:15

3 Answers 3

5

No. You do not meet the RAM requirements.

5
  • is there a way to increase it?
    – jj38e
    Jul 5, 2011 at 1:32
  • what operating systems would work?
    – jj38e
    Jul 5, 2011 at 1:35
  • @jj38e I recommend just sticking to XP, its the last lightweight Windows operating system. If not, maybe its time to try Linux, starting with a Distro like Fedora < fedoraproject.org > which is very beginner friendly. Jul 5, 2011 at 1:37
  • 1
    It might be possible to increase it, but at this point, its not worth it. You would need to update more than 2 parts to get a satisfactory experience. stick with XP or a linux distro,
    – soandos
    Jul 5, 2011 at 1:41
  • 1
    According to Crucial, he can get up to 2GB but that doesn't look like the same laptop at all. It doesn't look like the same type of RAM that a Celeron 1.4 GHz would support. Not that I really know, however.
    – Bacon Bits
    Jul 5, 2011 at 2:28
1

The requirements to install Windows 7 are:

1 gigahertz (GHz) or faster 32-bit (x86) or 64-bit (x64) processor

1 gigabyte (GB) RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)

16 GB available hard disk space (32-bit) or 20 GB (64-bit)

DirectX 9 graphics device with WDDM 1.0 or higher driver

Your processor barely meets the requirement, you will likely find it to be very choppy and slow running Windows 7. Your also below the RAM requirement, as you only have 256mb. Your graphics card is probably fine, and hard drive is fine.

Based on my experience with Windows 7, I HIGHLY recommend not installing it on your machine. You will find it very slow and will struggle performance-wise. You may be able to upgrade your RAM, but your CPU will still be very sluggish with it. I have seen others try to do some on similar hardware, and ended up removing it quickly.

Note that, although RAM is upgradable in a laptop, CPU is usually not, especially one this old.

1

If you can increase your memory, that would help. crucial.com has a scanner that will tell you what your computer can hold and offer possible configurations. Also verify if you system will have drivers support. If they don't offer any support or drivers for Windows 7 then it may be difficult to use all parts of the laptop, such as touchpad or wirelss.

Lastly, with the hardware you have I would suggest that you stick with Windows XP or try a Live CD of Linux (Ubuntu, Fedora, etc....). Linux is just as easy to use these days, tons of help on the web, and it doesn't require the massive hardware requirements that Microsoft Windows needs. They also have greater hardware support for some older hardware.

1
  • This model only has drivers for DOS and XP. Jul 5, 2011 at 1:44

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .