Installing Windows 2003 Server on a Dell Latitude

After getting no assistance whatsoever from Dell Technical Support (Believe it or not, Dell does not market any laptop that an run any server-class OS!), I tried and tried.

 

And, I had 75% success. I was able to get all but "USB Device" installed. So, the only warning item on Device Manager is "USB Device".

 

Does anybody have any idea what driver will address this? Unlike other drivers thyat are clearly named as to what they are (sound, modem), I cannot find a driver that is named "USB Device".

 

And, so much for the award winning Dell Technical Support Team! Shame on you! You guys have become so complacent because of your size! You don't even know the capabilities of the products you make! It's high time you guys hide behind your small letters and say that you will support only the OS the system Dell laptops and desktops since 1990!

 

You don't even seem to read these forum messages!

 

 

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vvenk wrote:

After getting no assistance whatsoever from Dell Technical Support (Believe it or not, Dell does not market any laptop that an run any server-class OS!), I tried and tried.

 

And, I had 75% success. I was able to get all but "USB Device" installed. So, the only warning item on Device Manager is "USB Device".

 

Does anybody have any idea what driver will address this? Unlike other drivers thyat are clearly named as to what they are (sound, modem), I cannot find a driver that is named "USB Device".

 

And, so much for the award winning Dell Technical Support Team! Shame on you! You guys have become so complacent because of your size! You don't even know the capabilities of the products you make! It's high time you guys hide behind your small letters and say that you will support only the OS the system Dell laptops and desktops since 1990!

 

You don't even seem to read these forum messages!

 

 

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Have you heard of "Have a computer! And will travel!" Strange as it may sound to you, I am a consultant that makes a living off my lap top. I cannot afford to lug along a server-class machine wherever my work takes me to.

 

For your information, the internals of a laptop do not have anthying intrinsically different from a desktop that precludes it from being used as a Server Class machine.

 

And, I have been running Windows Server OS (Windows 2000 Server and now Windows 2003 Server) at least since 1999 on laptops (HP, Dell, Compaq, IBM).

 

In my effort to work with Dell's official policy of not supporting any OS other than the one the machine was shipped with, I called up  Dell Sales and asked them to suggest a laptop capabale of running Windows 2003 Server! And, they said Dell does not make any!

 

And your comment further underscores my point that Dell employees do not seem to understand the capabilities of the computers it makes!

 

Believe me, Latitude is capable of running Windows 2003 Server. I will be happy to help educate your technical support in this regard. Of course, for a fee.

 

It's one thing to not support old OSs and applications that are not bought from dell. But I sincerely believe that OSs do not fit this exclusionary category. All current shipping OSs, at least one class (Windows) should be supported.

 

But who am I to think I am the David capable of changing the attitude of a Goliath, Dell? The only thing I can and will do is exercise my right as a consumer and not buy any Dell product until Dell changes its technical support policy. And, if anybody asks for my advise, I assure you that Dell will not be on my list.

 

 

 

Have you tried XP drivers?  Did you install the bluetooth drivers?

 

The BLUETOOTH device is on the USB buss.  You might narrow it down by turning the bluetooth module off in the BIOS,  If your exclamation point disappears, you got it.

 

I ran server 2003 on my 620 in Virtual PC fine, though it uses generic drivers for some things.  Bluetooth was not an option, I believe.

 

You will figure it out, I'm sure.  There is no reason that it won't run on your laptop.

Aha! I get a response that actually makes sense to me and seems to help me resolve the problem!

 

Oops! It's not from Dell Technical Support but a good-hearted Community user! It figures!

 

Thanks for your suggestion. And, that in deed was the culprit. Can you suggest which driver may fix the issue? It's not really high on the priority since I can live without Bluetooth.

I'd try the xp driver for bluetooth.  If it doesn't work out of the box, you may have a compatability mode in 2003 - try running the setup out of that with compatability set to win 2000.

 

 

You may also be able to just point the update driver search to the extracted folder (c:/dell/drivers/R117967/) - just remember the name # number of what you downloaded).

 

You may also be able to find a 3rd party driver to work - do some poking around.

 

YOU WILL HAVE TO TURN THE BLUETOOTH MODULE BACK ON (IN BIOS) BEFORE INSTALLING THIS DRIVER.

 

Good luck and let us know the results!

 

Ps.  U should not have to live w/o bluetooth - It's becoming a very important item on laptops.

 

 

Mr. Incognito:

 

Thanks a lot for your help. I will let you know if this solves my issue.

Dear Mr. Incognito:

 

Thank you so much. Bluetooth was indeed the culprit device and your url helped me initialize it.

 

Venki

Ding ding ding, a little internet search fixed your issue.

 

See it's not that we do not know how to fix the problem..it's we only support your original OS.

 

Go on and buy any other name brand computer you wish, and I know for a fact you wont get anything different.

 

I worked for IBM for 3 years supporting thinkpads, gateway for 2 years, and HP for 6 months... I know how the companies work...and I still am not too sure of why you would want to run a portable as a server...I know for a fact that your set up could of been achieved through other means...and by other means I mean with an OS that is not made for SERVERS. 

 

And also a portable faces a huge numbers of limitations that dont exist for desktops..especially if (for whatever reason) ran as a server.

 

PS - Good luck with the other brands...I know for fact I will never buy anything other than DELL.

It sounds an awful lot like you are taking credit for something you:

 

1.  Had nothing to do with resolving...

2.  Took it even further and beat the guy up on (without offering any help).

 

Crawl back under your bridge, Troll.

You started it.

 

If you are actually a Dell employee, then you surely must understand how to "deal" with upset, and sometimes even irate, customers.  This guy was clearly frustrated and needed help - That's it.

 

The last thing you need to do is fuel the fire with insensitive remarks.  Your ability to deal with the situation at hand is key in keeping him as a customer.  While we know that the Customer may not always be right, he is the person paying the bills.  He pays Dell, Dell pays you, and you keep your lights on at home.

 

You may only be a small link in the Dell chain of command, but a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.

I need a laptop that is capable of running the following applications:

1. IIS

2. MS SQL Server 2005 Suite

3. Oracle Server

4. Weblogic

 

Please educate me. All these applications require a Server-class OS to run.

 

Well if you absolutely require those programs to run..then by all means do so.

 

Never came across someone needing to run a portable server.

 

I personally run 03 server at home...and would ever think about putting that bloated OS on a portable.

 

Good luck though.