Just bought an XPS M1330, have a few questions.

Hi guys, this is my first post here. I've been reading the site for a while but never registered. I just bought a 1330. I haven't received it, but I'm very excited for the middle of next month. =) I have number of things I was need to know, and I'm hoping you guys can provide some insight.

First of all, I am coming from a Mac. I love it, but the impetus for me buying a PC is that my major in school (Game Programming) intrinsically revolves around the Windows world. Oh well. I've owned multiple PC laptops, but not for over a year, and I've never spent a lot of time with Vista. This brings me to my first question: Is there any program that will let Vista read the Mac filesystem? As far as I know, Vista cannot read Mac out of the box. I really want this because I have an external 500 GB HDD, and it's only got a 45 GB FAT32 partition, I would love for my new XPS to be able to see the entire drive.

Next question also relates to storage. I know that there is a ~10 GB partition on the 1330, I want to get rid of it ASAP. What is the best way to do this? I've seen a couple of threads on this, but they all kind of beat around the bush, it's hard to get a straightforward solution. Keep in mind that I will be reinstalling Vista first thing, I don't need bloatware.

On that note, how exactly do I boot from something other than the internal hard drive? I need this to reinstall Vista of course, and I am simply not familiar with how PCs handle that. I'm guessing you have to hold down a key during startup or something.

Last question. Macs have a really great feature called Target Disk Mode. This essentially lets you turn the computer into an external HD, so you can mount it on other computers and manipulate the HD without booting the OS. Is there anything like this on Vista? How do I access it?

Ok, that's about it. I appreciate any feedback. I can't wait for my XPS to come!

For those curious, my XPS has the following specs:

2.2 GHz, 3 GB RAM, 8400M GS, 200 GB HDD (7200 RPM), 9 cell battery, Crimson Red, LED screen. I saved $800 with the current XPS promotion.

 

Aye, I hope this thread doesn't get lost in the shuffle.

 

I’m mostly a windows user, therefore can’t help you much with MAC related questions. Anyways, there are programs like MacDrive for Windows that will allow you to access HFS+ partitions, and I’m sure there are more (maybe even free ones), search and see.

You can repartition the disk with Vista installer (can get rid of that 10GB, and create your own partitions). However, if you want to retain MediaDirect feature (play multimedia files and MS office presentations without booting the primary OS), then you will have to partition the disk with the supplied MediaDirect reinstallation disk. Boot from it and select 2n’d option to create a new partition for Vista (it will also prepare the disk for MD in the background). Then put the Vista DVD and continue the installation. This site has detailed step by step guides (with screenshots) on how to install Vista.

You can set the boot order (1.CD/DVD ROM, 2. HDD, 3. USB device, 4.Network , etc.) in the BIOS. Set CD drive as the first boot device (I think that is the default configuration).

AFAIK, there is nothing like that in Windows

That’s a nice spec, I’m sure you’d enjoy the new XPS and Vista batter than a MacBook with OSX Welcome to the world of Windows and this forum

 

I think this should help you in the process of getting rid of the media direct
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=157838

 

Sweet. Thanks so much guys! I definitely want to keep Media Direct, there's no reason not to.

As far as the OS X thing goes, I'm not 'switching back' so much as I am working with each system together. It's taken me a long time to realize this, but each OS has advantages and disadvantages, and there's not one that's entirely better than the other. I still prefer OS X for day to day tasks, but there are certain things that the Mac just can't do, unless it's running Windows in Boot Camp.

 

It's a complete waste.....there's a reason not to keep it.

 

So... should I just install Vista normally, then? Without the Media Direct disc?

 

I did and haven't looked back. I didn't bother installing it on vista either, I use MPC for all videos.

 

Won't there be driver issues? Are there any loose ends at all that I'll have to fix later, such as special buttons not working properly, or will everything work normally?

 

If you DON'T install Media Direct you'll have the MD button which won't do anything.....

.....unless you search the forums and find the way to remap it to whatever app you want, or even to boot up Ubuntu if that's what tickles your fancy!

 

Interesting... I'll have to pursue this one further. Thanks.

 

After several failed attempts of trying to keep Media Direct Linux and Vista; finally I gave up. Too much work and nothing much to gain by keeping it.