New m11x Owner! - Looking to Install Momentus XT with Bootable Flash

Hi all,

Long time lurker, first time posting. I should be getting my m11x in the mail tomorrow!!! (i7, 4gb RAM, 160gb 5400 HD, etc) It is refurbished, so the accessory I skimped on when I ordered was the hard drive. The first thing I did was order a Momentus XT HD and an 8gb Flashdrive.

Now I plan to make the 8gb Flashdrive bootable, and load it with the recovery DVD sent from Dell with the laptop, and do a fresh install once I install the Momentus (as soon as receiving the laptop).

Are there any gocha's doing this? Anything I should look out for? Will the image on the recovery disk be the same as what I'll receive before switching hard drives?

If anyone has any experience in this, tips, advice, etc - please share

Thanks!

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/alienware-m11x/472940-guide-m11x-creating-recovery-usb-key.html

 

I just replaced my stock HDD with the XT and it's been awesome.
The only problem I had was getting drivers. As long as you get the needed drivers from Dell you should be fine.
Enjoy your m11x!

 

Awesome - thank you for the link to the guide!

Just another quick question - Does the Alienware Restore Disk mirror the drivers and such that come with the machine stock? (so if I follow the guide without searching for the most up to date drivers, will I be starting from exactly the same point as receiving the machine from Dell, but with a better Hard Drive?)

 

For the following I always get the latest drivers directly from their source, rather than from Dell.

• Intel Chipset
• Intel HD video
• Synaptics touchpad
• Whatever nvidia mod people are happiest with here
• Realtek audio - I've actually gone with the stock Windows 7 driver and had no problems with digital output (Dolby AC3, DTS, etc.) so I'd say this and the Dell driver are optional.

I think that's it...

 

I wouldn't assume that the drivers on the disc are what your system came with when it arrived on your doorstep. Those discs probably don't get updated often. To be safe, always update either from Dell or directly from the source.