Laptop suggestions

[uthfull]

@vishalrao:
Thanks a ton buddy.
They give you everything. All the CDs are included. The OS, the drivers, the MediaDirect thing, McAffe, Roxio... they've included everything. The only benefit of using the restore option is that restoring from the image is fast but then having to remove all the bloat takes up the same time. And from what i've read on other forums, its a hassle repartitioning the 1520 without somehow screwing up the media direct thing. I don't thing I'd be using the restore option. I wanted to dual boot the notebook with Ubuntu.

@Sushubh:
That's what I had read everywhere. Dunno why they messed up with me.

Some shots of the Dell website :

Dec 3rd
http://img254.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dellsupportorderstatus1vo3.png

Dec 7th
http://img254.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dellsupportorderstatus1ol1.png

As you can see, they don't really update. I'll be posting the about the whole thing on my blog too. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

@ItsMe:
Here's the config I ordered :
https://broadband.forum/computers-technology/18433-laptop-suggestions/5/#post129868
Try reading the thread from the start... you'll see a lot of options there.

Also try searching through Notebook and Laptop Reviews ... have a look at their forums and reviews.
You may also go in for a vostro instead of an inspiron.

 

[Sushubh]

media direct. anyone use that? it fails to run most downloaded media content for me. and i prefer to run movies under vista. no idea why they gave it a dedicated button and how to get rid of it... and also, ur machine has a 10 GB partition? with the restore files? is it safe to remove that and use that partition?

 

[ItsMe]

Thanks @uthfull, will be great if you could give your opinion on 8600M-GT

 

[uthfull]

@Sushubh:
I've read you can add codecs to media direct for it to play other types of media files. I forgot where I read it. Well its pretty much useless too.
The Media Direct that runs from within Vista is useless. But there's another instance of MD which runs whn the notebook is powered off and you press the Media Direct key. It resides on a 2GB hidden partition. So that means 10GB restore partition and 2GB MD. 12 GB of space is used up by the Dell progs. I couldn't find any thread on the internet which tells you how to remap the functionality of the MEDIA DIRECT KEY once you erase MD from your system. And I've read its better to keep the 2GB MD partition as that contains the diagnostic utilities and blah blah and it messes with new partitions if removed and the button is accidently pressed. Restore partition can be integraetd into the main OS partition through the Windows Setup. If you use the in built disk management utilities then you cannot consolidate the freed up space. You have to create a 10GB seperate partitin.
I took the trouble of going with a fresh install of VISTA and loading all the drivers myself. The Notebook runs faster and more resources are freed up and the notebook works with the full functionality. So even I'm thinking of doing away with the restore partition as its pretty useless. Agreed everythings preconfigured but who needs the bloat. You practically have to wade through the entire PC removing he unneeded stuff.
I've also noticed the synaptics drivers causing a big delay in the startup. My sidebar won't load quickly with the synaptics running. I disabled it and the boot was faster. I tried the generic drivers from the manufacturer and not the DELL drivers but even they cause delay during boot. So I'm pretty much stumped here.

@ItsMe:
The Windows Experience gives it a subscore of 5.2. I'll keep you updated. Right now I havent been able to play around much due to exams.

Deleting the restore partition :
PC Restore partition: remove? - Notebook Forums and Laptop Discussion

Media Direct removal:
How do I completely remove MediaDirect from my 1420? - Notebook Forums and Laptop Discussion

 

[vishalrao]

i just noticed: happy bday uthfull

 

[uthfull]

thank u sir... sorry im a bit late.. wuz kinda busy with my exams..

 

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