The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Reinstalling Windows 7 on M14x

    Discussion in 'Alienware 14 and M14x' started by Mortinator, May 4, 2011.

  1. Mortinator

    Mortinator Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    19
    Messages:
    233
    Likes Received:
    17
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I am planning to reinstall Windows 7 on my m14x and I dont know if i should install the windows 7 on the primary hard drive or the recovery section. Can any1 help me please
     
    Mortinator, May 4, 2011
    #1
  2. Serephucus

    Serephucus Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    205
    Messages:
    1,002
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Primary hard drive. In all honesty you can get rid of the recovery partition (assuming it's the big one Dell leaves on your system. If it's the 100MB one Win7 creates, there's not much point) because it doesn't do much.
     
    Serephucus, May 4, 2011
    #2
  3. iNTERNETUAL

    iNTERNETUAL Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    1
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    How do you retain all the Alienware stuff if you reinstall windows. Like the boot screen, etc??
     
    iNTERNETUAL, May 4, 2011
    #3
  4. Mortinator

    Mortinator Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    19
    Messages:
    233
    Likes Received:
    17
    Trophy Points:
    31
    So just delete all the partition and install on the primary?
     
    Mortinator, May 4, 2011
    #4
  5. Serephucus

    Serephucus Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    205
    Messages:
    1,002
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Yup. iNTERNET, there's a post in the "First thing you did with your M14x" thread, that details the process.
     
    Serephucus, May 4, 2011
    #5
  6. Nand@

    Nand@ Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    11
    Messages:
    193
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Nand@, May 4, 2011
    #6
  7. navion

    navion Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    26
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    So if I'm installing Windows 7 Pro over Home Premium, How do I make sure the Soundblaster X-fi gets enabled again?
     
    navion, May 4, 2011
    #7
  8. Mortinator

    Mortinator Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    19
    Messages:
    233
    Likes Received:
    17
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I just reinstalled my windows 7 and now im about to install drivers from the resource dvd but i am not sure what to install first.. Can any1 help me with this?
     
    Mortinator, May 5, 2011
    #8
  9. Nand@

    Nand@ Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    11
    Messages:
    193
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    31
    no exact order, you could start with the wifi/network drivers so you can download others driver from internet, like the latest video drivers, etc.
     
    Nand@, May 5, 2011
    #9
  10. Serephucus

    Serephucus Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    205
    Messages:
    1,002
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    56
    Usually, WiFi, graphics, sound, and then whatever. I think Intel's RST drivers can be a bit finicky though, might want to double check when to install those.
     
    Serephucus, May 5, 2011
    #10
  11. Mortinator

    Mortinator Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    19
    Messages:
    233
    Likes Received:
    17
    Trophy Points:
    31
    some drivers are missing, the command center, alien FX, x-fi soundblaster, the wireless HD kit.. where do you guys download them from? They are not in the Resource DVD.

    Can any1 also tell me what they have on their desktop when they first on the laptop out of the box state.
     
    Mortinator, May 5, 2011
    #11
  12. Nand@

    Nand@ Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    11
    Messages:
    193
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Nand@, May 5, 2011
    #12
  13. Mortinator

    Mortinator Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    19
    Messages:
    233
    Likes Received:
    17
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Do i need to install M14x BIOS? And also, i realized that there is a program called M14x on your desktop, what is that?
     
    Mortinator, May 6, 2011
    #13
  14. BatBoy

    BatBoy Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    7,395
    Messages:
    7,964
    Likes Received:
    25
    Trophy Points:
    206
    The M14x icon on your desktop is a shortcut to the owners manual (.pdf) on your hard drive.

    When possible, do not use the resource DVD. Always grab the latest drivers from the dell support site. The RSS FEED link for M14x drivers is:

    Dell Drivers and Downloads | Alienware Laptop M14x

    The actual driver download page can be found here:
    Drivers & Downloads

    As for BIOS, yes, if the current BIOS is a higher version than what you are running, I do suggest updating.

    All of these links can be found in the

    http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...-information-read-before-posting-updated.html

    sticky. :)
     
    BatBoy, May 6, 2011
    #14
  15. Mortinator

    Mortinator Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    19
    Messages:
    233
    Likes Received:
    17
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Thanks!! Repped! By the way, does the M14x comes with any Vizio program or not?
     
    Mortinator, May 6, 2011
    #15
  16. BatBoy

    BatBoy Notebook Nobel Laureate

    Reputations:
    7,395
    Messages:
    7,964
    Likes Received:
    25
    Trophy Points:
    206
    BatBoy, May 6, 2011
    #16
  17. Paddon

    Paddon Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    74
    Messages:
    547
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    If I copy alienware respawn onto my new ssd could I then just run the respawn when I have my ssd fitted ? Or would I sill have to reinstall windows and everything ?
     
    Paddon, May 6, 2011
    #17
  18. Serephucus

    Serephucus Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    205
    Messages:
    1,002
    Likes Received:
    6
    Trophy Points:
    56
    You could I suppose, but that would probably be longer. Windows only takes about ten-fifteen minutes to install anyway, and on an SSD it'd be faster.
     
    Serephucus, May 6, 2011
    #18
  19. iMaster

    iMaster Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    52
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I should be getting my M14X delivered tomorrow and i've got myself a SSD drive at home and a caddy (i'm going to be removing the optical tray for an extra HDD) and i was just thinking, what would be the best way to get my laptop back to a working level with all the usual Alienware bells and whistles?

    I'm thinking i just do a fresh install from USB and then go on and download the drivers directly from the websites linked in this thread.

    Any reason why what i'm planning to do won't work?
     
    iMaster, Jan 10, 2012
    #19