Member Avatar for joseluis7696

Hi!. I'm new to this site and I need help.

I have a Thinkpad 390E PII 333 MHz, 6GB HD, 128 Mb RAM, 2.5 MB video memory (Neomagic video card).

The video memory is too small to run some applications I need and I would like to increase it.

Anybody knows if this is possible and how to do it?

Thank you for your help!

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by caperjack

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Short answer: the NeoMagic graphics used in the 390E is a fixed, board-mounted video adapter, so there is no supported, user-level way to “add” VRAM. was right to suspect a hardware limit and correctly checked the BIOS — that model does not expose a VRAM size selector. (thinkwiki.org)

Workarounds that often solve the practical problem (an application demanding >=4MB) without hardware surgery:

  • Run the program at a lower resolution or lower color depth (set from Display Properties on Windows 9x-era systems). (manualmachine.com)
  • Use software rendering or a compatibility mode in the application if available.
  • On Linux/X.Org, the neomagic driver lets you reserve overlay/offscreen memory; adding an OverlayMem value can help video playback or overlays. Example xorg.conf snippet: 
Section "Device"
    Identifier "Neomagic"
    Driver "neomagic"
    Option "OverlayMem" "829440"
EndSection

See the neomagic driver notes for details. (manpages.org)

If the app still refuses to run, the realistic choices are replacement or remote execution: use a newer machine (or a desktop) that has >=4MB VRAM, or run the app remotely on such a machine. Physically adding VRAM would mean board-level rework (replacing VRAM chips or the whole system board) and firmware/trace redesign — technically possible only with specialised BGA rework and BIOS/driver hacking, and rarely worthwhile. (blog.silverpc.hu)

Practical checklist:

  • Confirm what Windows/Linux reports for video memory (Display/Adapter or Xorg logs).
  • Try the lower color-depth / resolution test first. (manualzilla.com)

References: ThinkWiki Neomagic MagicMedia256AV (NeoMagic/NM2200), IBM ThinkPad 390 maintenance/spec pages, the neomagic X.Org manpage, and notes on why VRAM is not a user-upgradeable component. Links:
Neomagic MagicMedia256AV
IBM ThinkPad 390 specs / HMM
neomagic(4) driver manpage
Why VRAM cant be upgraded (overview)

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Member Avatar for caperjack

hi on the back of the laptop is a nd cover ,covering the ram chip remove it ,usually one or two screws ,inside you will see the memory chip ,get the info off the sticker and get exact replacement ram ,the laptop will only go to 256 meg ,so depending on what is in it now [it could be 2, 64meg for a total of 128meg ,]if that is the case you will need to ger 2, 128 meg chips to get it to 256meg.

http://www.google.ca/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls=org.mozilla%3Aen-US%3Aofficial&q=Thinkpad+390E+ram&btnG=Search&meta=

Member Avatar for joseluis7696

Thank you. But I want to increase the video memory, not the RAM memory. The video memory is currently 2 MB and I need at least 4MB to run an application.

THe video card is NeoMagic MagicMedia 256AV. But I do not know how to access the video card and also if the memory for the video card can be upgraded

Member Avatar for caperjack

Thank you. But I want to increase the video memory, not the RAM memory. The video memory is currently 2 MB and I need at least 4MB to run an application.

THe video card is NeoMagic MagicMedia 256AV. But I do not know how to access the video card and also if the memory for the video card can be upgraded

of course you do ,sorry i misread that ! only thing i can say is maybe there is a place in the bios to change it to 4 meg ,its not likely you will be able to change it on the motherboard

Member Avatar for joseluis7696

Unfortunately there is nothing in the BIOS Menu about video memory. I think this option is ther only when the video memory is shared with the RAM, as is the case in another laptop I have. But maybe in this Thinkpad is set to 2 Mb by hardware, I do not know.

Member Avatar for caperjack

well it is hardware,and i don't think you will find anyway of changing it as it is built into the motherboard.did a search and find you asking this in 2 more fourms and getting the same answers !
also found this ,which confirms my suspicion
NeoMagic NM 2200 video chipset with 2560k video RAM

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