Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

Are any of you guys running Vista Home Basic on your E6400? I'm pleasantly surprised- it's not that bad! I've been using Vista Home Premium since 5/07, so I have a point of reference. I also use Vista Business now on my other E6400.

I bought this system from the Outlet pre-configured with Vista Basic. My intention was to upgrade to Vista Home Premium 64-bit (for $100). I installed 4GB of RAM and was surprised that it actually "sees" 3.45GB of it.

I thinking that I can live with Basic until Windows 7 arrives...and save $100 for now!

 

32-bit OS (weather it's Windows 2000, XP, Vista 32-bit, Linux, MacOS), will boot if you have 4GB of RAM. But it won't use it, as you saw.

 

I ordered a E6400 refurb (P8600/1GB RAM/80GB HDD/9-Cell/DVD+RW/Bluetooth/Intel 5100 Wireless-N/) for $579 shipped and just received it today.

I want to do a fresh install with Vista 64bit. Mine didn't come with a Vista cd, but I have an extra from a different pc. I just need the cd key from the OS that's already installed. Any tips? Also, is there an official way to make recovery disks to restore it to factory settings in case I need to return/sell this later?

One other question -- are there any bios settings in particular that I should set for maximum performance?

Thanks!

 

People buying refurbs in the US: how long has it taken to receive your machines? Also, who is the shipping the units; it's not DHL is it? Mine has been "shipped" for nearly three days now (as in I got an email that said it was shipped), but I still don't have any tracking information

 

You computer is does not follow the requirements to run the OS you want smoothly (real system requirements).
1GB is insufficient to properly run Vista or Windows 7. Stay with Windows 2000/XP instead. Win7 will run smoother than Vista with 1GB but not perfectly smooth. 2GB is the minimum to have the system run smooth, and 4GB is Vista's/Win7 sweet spot.

Vista Dell disk contains a different key than under your machine. The one under your machine is a proof of purchase item, the key is deactivated. You'll need to contact Microsoft to get it activated (and on every re-install you'll need to call them). I suggest you give a call to Dell and request the missing Vista disk.

If you have Vista Business or Ultimate edition you can do CompletePC backup, which basically create an image of your harddrive (backup of your HDD). If you are going this path, prepare several DVD's or get an external HDD. For faster image building/restore, use eSATA instead of USB.

No BIOS tweak needed. This BIOS does not allow self overclocking.

 

It came in 2-3 days and I think it was delivered by Fedex. Mine didn't have any tracking information either, it just showed up. In fact, it still doesn't have any tracking information. I'm sure yours will arrive tomorrow if not later today.

 

Thanks for the quick reply! Yes, I definitely plan on upgrading to 4gb.

 

Yes, they never update tracking info. So you have to be ready anytime ....

 

Have you tried going to the Dell site and logging into "My Account"? When you login, it's show your recent order(s). Click where it shows 'Shipped' in blue and it'll take you to your Order Summary, which will show the FedEx Tracking number as a hyperlink. Click the tracking number and it jumps you to the FedEx site to track the package....

 

Yep, I've been checking there every couple hours. It just says: