Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

I just did a clean install of windows 7 7100 64 bit. I was surprised how long controlpoint took to download.. it was almost 1 gigabyte for the system manager, connection manager and security manager. Is controlpoint really important to install for a non corporate user? Could I just install the drivers only?

 

You won't need the security and connection manager. In fact, the only useful module is the system manager, IE the bare bones DCP. Since that'll allow you to enable the battery saving features.

 

you do need the security manager if you are going to use your fingerprint reader though (if you have one)

 

new Q's (received my laptop yesterday)

- wireless setup is a mess with DCP. Do I have to use it? Can I uninstall it and will I be able to use wireless without new drivers, etc? It took me half an hour fiddling with the wireless connections before I figured out that DCP was blocking my computer from making a connection to the wireless networks in range. Now, every time I link to my home network it asks if I want to create a profile. Kind of annoying, tried to create one but got lost with all the questions. My old D630 just made a nice connection as soon as the computer turned on.

- The computer came with XP pro with Vista business disk. I wanted XP but am now thinking of going with Vista. I can call Dell and see if they'll send me the 64 bit disk, but in the meantime should I install Vista 32 before getting too involved in setting up my computer with software, etc.?

And if I go with Vista 32 for now, is it preinstalled or do I have to use the disk to update?

And if I go with VIsta will that get rid of the DCP headache?

PS - the touchpad is a huge improvement over the D630 (I really like zoom), as is the keyboard, though Dell still hasn't gotten back to me about sending me the backlit one as promised in an email 4 days ago). The LED display is a huge step up over the 630 though I agree the colors aren't fantastic. So far I'm pretty happy if I can just figure out this stupid DCP.

Thanks everyone!!!

 

You don't need DCP to use wireless. You should however install the correct drivers for your WiFi card, get them from Dell's site.

You should call Dell and ask for the 64-bit disk, they should send it to you.

I think you will need to manually install it, but not sure.

Not sure if Vista handles DCP better. Probably not.

 

My bluetooth card arrived in the mail. I followed the instructions to install it in the service manual, spent about 15 minutes struggling to attach the antenna, and when I finally did, I realized I didn't have a screw to hold the card down. I looked through my bucket o' screws and they're all too big. Now I'm going to ace hardware to look for a "M2 x 3mm" screw. if they don't have any I guess I'll order a 20 pack from ebay for $6

 

If you ordered your card from Dell, you can call them and have them send you the screw. Or you can order the screws from them. The item number is 4270E, and the list price is $1.99.

 

There are three components to DCP: System Manager, Connection Manager and Security Manager. Only the first one is useful, since it allows you to set keyboard backlight, ambient light sensor, etc. Just uninstall the connection manager to avoid any conflicts with the OS or the wifi card's utility. The Security Manager may be necessary for setting up the fingerprint reader, though.

 

If I'm going to update from XP to Vista is it better to wait till I can get the 64 bit version from Dell (who knows how long that will take?) or should I go ahead with the 32 bit disk for the time being?

 

IMO, if you want to try a newer OS, try Windows 7 RC which is available for public download on May 4. Granted, it is unreleased, and you may have support issues if you use it for work in a corporation, but it is by far the best OS I have tried on this laptop.

It installs much faster than Vista. With Vista be prepared to spend at least two hours getting it set up. Dell ships the OS discs to me very fast: they use overnight delivery, or Next Business Day.