Glad to hear that, rocket99! Any details on specs you'd like to share? I think I chose reasonably well for us, although more RAM is inevitable down the road. Again, glad its working well for you :) .
Looks like you also opt'ed for the CD's which have XP.....
All you need to do is pop the red cd (xp) into the computer, power on, press
F12 when the blue dell bar at the top shows up. Select Cd for the boot option.
If you've installed XP before, it should be old hat...select new install, and
then make sure you DELETE the partitions on the hard drive...there will be two.
One "main" partition, and approximately an 8 gig partition which contains what's on
the drive, which allows you to nuke a messed up computer and put everything back the
way it came from the factory. After you dump both partitions, just create a new one
using the entire drive, quick format the drive and you're off to the races. After
it completes the install, you can put in the blue cd (drivers) and install things
like the chipset .inf files, video, sound drivers etc...
When I buy a new laptop, I usually will go online and buy a 2nd hard drive. I'll setup the factory drive how I want it (I use mine for work a lot), then pop it out and put it in a protective case, and install the clean drive and set it up. With a spare drive
caddy (easier on the E1505 drives since they are SATA), if the hard drive wigs out
for whatever reason (and you know how they will if you are doing something important)
then it's a matter of popping out one and installing the backup. I use a drive imaging program about twice a week to make a backup copy of the drive, so the data on both
drives is close to accurate. I do field service work and keep over 50 user, parts, and service manuals on my computer, along with service histories, so keeping the computer up is a biggie with me. I used a 5100 inspiron for over 2 years and it was in a "wheelie cart" case bouncing over stairs, in and out of heat/cold and if the
E1505 works as well as that one, I'll be VERY satisfied!
Good luck on the reinstall.....a clean registry does a computer good ya know ;)
p51d007: great post and I follow. Good system you have going there with the second drive. Very smart. Also glad to hear your previous Dell was a workhorse...I also hope for the same with this one.
I've got 2 external HDs (an 80gb and a 250gb) hooked up to my 4300 (has its own 200gb). Use Acronis True Image for drive images. The 80gb holds my OS images (I dual boot Win98 and XP on the 4300). Plan to image the e1505 OS to the external also. Want to keep her clean, as you said, and am not really interested in keeping the factory install setup. I picked up the driver files (chipset, video, audio, network cards) from Dell's website. Also something called Dell Software System Utility. Not sure what it is...need to investigate this one further. I expect the drivers on disc also, but playing it safe. Arrives today!!! :smileyhappy:
It's kind of a dell version of "automatic update", it looks at the dell site for updates, and downloads, and/or installs them for you. I don't use that one, I use a registry hack so I can use the OEM ATI video drivers, since the Dell ones are usually
older than the released ones from ATI.
I also use Acronis True Image, great program! I've got nothing against Norton Ghost, but I haven't used a norton product for years. Anytime I see "suite" in a software
package, I see "bloat" also LOL.
Glad you like your 1505, I know I love mine!
p51d007: Sounds like I don't even want the Dell Systems Utility:smileymad: !!! As for the video drivers, I'm thinking of using the ATI Omega drivers found here: http://www.omegadrivers.net/
Here's a quote from ATI about them:
"ATI supports the enthusiast community wholly. Omega Drivers are in fact a good example of ATI's user community at its best. What they are in principle are CATALYST drivers with different settings enabled via registry keys and other such methods. This provides users an alternative to ATI's CATALYST default settings. While there are a few different modification drivers out in the community our relationship with the creator of the Omega Drivers is of the highest working standard. The author of these drivers is part of the CATALYST beta driver testing team and also in direct contact with ATI. In fact we would go so far as to say that if a user chooses to go the mod driver route they go with the Omega Drivers."
The E1505 arrived and she's just a beauty, I'll say that. More to come shortly. :smileywink:
ronss: Sounds like a nice machine and a good plan :smileyhappy: . A 7200 drive is a nice upgrade. What brand are you getting? I generally stick to Newegg's WD offerings, but then I don't know much at all about the notebook world.
I plan on some upgrades of course in due time...probably RAM first, followed by HDD. Maybe a year or two away. No need to rush it! Gotta pay for this first :smileytongue: .
7200 rpm sata notebook hard drives are rare, but this one should work
good luck with your notebook,,,i just bought some hynix memory off ebay,,$39,,,exact same kind that came with the notebooks,...should get it today....\\
rocket999
11 Posts
0
June 6th, 2006 15:00
GreyMack
2.2K Posts
0
June 6th, 2006 15:00
GM
dkimpel
38 Posts
0
June 6th, 2006 16:00
rocket999
11 Posts
0
June 7th, 2006 00:00
Core Duo T2300 1.66Ghz; 1GB ram; 80GB hard drive; integrated graphics. This machine is fast and exceeds my expectations.
p51d007
52 Posts
0
June 7th, 2006 00:00
All you need to do is pop the red cd (xp) into the computer, power on, press
F12 when the blue dell bar at the top shows up. Select Cd for the boot option.
If you've installed XP before, it should be old hat...select new install, and
then make sure you DELETE the partitions on the hard drive...there will be two.
One "main" partition, and approximately an 8 gig partition which contains what's on
the drive, which allows you to nuke a messed up computer and put everything back the
way it came from the factory. After you dump both partitions, just create a new one
using the entire drive, quick format the drive and you're off to the races. After
it completes the install, you can put in the blue cd (drivers) and install things
like the chipset .inf files, video, sound drivers etc...
When I buy a new laptop, I usually will go online and buy a 2nd hard drive. I'll setup the factory drive how I want it (I use mine for work a lot), then pop it out and put it in a protective case, and install the clean drive and set it up. With a spare drive
caddy (easier on the E1505 drives since they are SATA), if the hard drive wigs out
for whatever reason (and you know how they will if you are doing something important)
then it's a matter of popping out one and installing the backup. I use a drive imaging program about twice a week to make a backup copy of the drive, so the data on both
drives is close to accurate. I do field service work and keep over 50 user, parts, and service manuals on my computer, along with service histories, so keeping the computer up is a biggie with me. I used a 5100 inspiron for over 2 years and it was in a "wheelie cart" case bouncing over stairs, in and out of heat/cold and if the
E1505 works as well as that one, I'll be VERY satisfied!
Good luck on the reinstall.....a clean registry does a computer good ya know ;)
dkimpel
38 Posts
0
June 7th, 2006 11:00
p51d007: great post and I follow. Good system you have going there with the second drive. Very smart. Also glad to hear your previous Dell was a workhorse...I also hope for the same with this one.
I've got 2 external HDs (an 80gb and a 250gb) hooked up to my 4300 (has its own 200gb). Use Acronis True Image for drive images. The 80gb holds my OS images (I dual boot Win98 and XP on the 4300). Plan to image the e1505 OS to the external also. Want to keep her clean, as you said, and am not really interested in keeping the factory install setup. I picked up the driver files (chipset, video, audio, network cards) from Dell's website. Also something called Dell Software System Utility. Not sure what it is...need to investigate this one further. I expect the drivers on disc also, but playing it safe. Arrives today!!! :smileyhappy:
dkimpel
38 Posts
0
June 7th, 2006 11:00
p51d007
52 Posts
0
June 8th, 2006 01:00
older than the released ones from ATI.
I also use Acronis True Image, great program! I've got nothing against Norton Ghost, but I haven't used a norton product for years. Anytime I see "suite" in a software
package, I see "bloat" also LOL.
Glad you like your 1505, I know I love mine!
ronss
2 Intern
•
2.1K Posts
0
June 8th, 2006 08:00
dkimpel
38 Posts
0
June 8th, 2006 11:00
p51d007: Sounds like I don't even want the Dell Systems Utility:smileymad: !!! As for the video drivers, I'm thinking of using the ATI Omega drivers found here: http://www.omegadrivers.net/
Here's a quote from ATI about them:
"ATI supports the enthusiast community wholly. Omega Drivers are in fact a good example of ATI's user community at its best. What they are in principle are CATALYST drivers with different settings enabled via registry keys and other such methods. This provides users an alternative to ATI's CATALYST default settings. While there are a few different modification drivers out in the community our relationship with the creator of the Omega Drivers is of the highest working standard. The author of these drivers is part of the CATALYST beta driver testing team and also in direct contact with ATI. In fact we would go so far as to say that if a user chooses to go the mod driver route they go with the Omega Drivers."
The E1505 arrived and she's just a beauty, I'll say that. More to come shortly. :smileywink:
dkimpel
38 Posts
0
June 8th, 2006 11:00
ronss: Sounds like a nice machine and a good plan :smileyhappy: . A 7200 drive is a nice upgrade. What brand are you getting? I generally stick to Newegg's WD offerings, but then I don't know much at all about the notebook world.
I plan on some upgrades of course in due time...probably RAM first, followed by HDD. Maybe a year or two away. No need to rush it! Gotta pay for this first :smileytongue: .
Enjoy that clean 6400!!
ronss
2 Intern
•
2.1K Posts
0
June 8th, 2006 16:00
was thinkining about this hard drive-
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16822146039
7200 rpm sata notebook hard drives are rare, but this one should work
good luck with your notebook,,,i just bought some hynix memory off ebay,,$39,,,exact same kind that came with the notebooks,...should get it today....\\
later ron