Pimp my 9300

As an update My 9300 has gone from In-Production to kitting . . . to boxing all just TODAY!! 3 Days after ordering!! WAHOO!!

We'll see how long the rest takes . . . but here is the question:

I hear there is a lot of "OVERHEAD" that is boxed into the machines when they ship. Would it be acceptable to reformat the HDD as soon as I get it, and put what I want on the HDD?

Has anyone done this?

I'm thinking there is the official Dell Home XP install as well as some basic drivers/BIOS that comes with the laptop, I don't need all the other "sugar coating"

Anyone have experience with this???

 

I always put a fresh install of windows on my computers when I get them. Dell doesn't ship a windows disk with the computers any more. There is a program in the start menu to burn one, or you can request they send you one like I did.

It will make it easier to download the newest drivers off the Dell site, and put them on CD also before doing the format and reinstall.


Tim


Dell Inspiron 9300, Pentium M 1.86GHz, 1GB 533MHz DDR2, 256MB nVidia GeForce Go 6800, 17" LG WUXGA+, 60GB HDD (7200rpm), DVD+-RW

 

Thanks for the heads up!!
Will definitely do the driver CD burn.

 

they do send out the OS disk, just not the original factory image on cd... but double check

 

1. dell usa sent out OS discs up til about feb/march of this year. i got my 6000 end of february (IIRC) and it DID come with an OS disc. however, very shortly after i got my machine, forum users made it obvious that i was one of the last. dell's policy now is to NOT send out OS discs unless you request one. if your machine is coming with a burner, you can burn a copy of the OS 1 time. if you'd rather have dell send you the disc, call/email/whatever and request one, they will overnight it to you no charge (you'll get it before your machine). none of the OS discs (whether you burn it yourself or request one from dell) are image discs, they are OEM XP discs. the only factory image is the one residing on your HD.

2. DEFINITELY put a fresh install of XP on there. while your installing, go ahead and get rid of the factory image partition as well (it takes up almost 4 gbs of space, what a waste). some people say that's it easier or less comlicated to remove programs, delete shortcuts, clean registry, but that is just not true. if you do a fresh install of the OS, you only have to interact with the install process 2 or 3 times, the rest of the time is just waiting for the installation process to finish. total time is probably <1hr. removing programs, deleting shortcuts, cleaning reg simply takes longer, is way more complicated/boring/tedious, and creates an unstable, slow, sluggish system compared with the easy breazy fresh install route.

3. download your www drivers (wireless and/or wifi) onto a CDR or flash drive. once you reinstall, load those drivers and you can get the rest after you connect.

 

Thanks all! Most rockin!

BTW
Ordered June 7, Pre-Production 7
In Production 10 June
Into Boxing on the 10th
Finished Boxing and shipped 13 June
Re-Schedule delivery 15 June.

Just took the free GROUND delivery.

GO BROWN!!

 

Well I wouldn't be too quick to re-install the OS, especially if you are a noob. I had to reinstall after a HD death and now have lots of little problems ie:

http://www.notebookreview.com/forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=18647

My computer runs just the same now as it did when I had the factory install, the only thing to look into doing is creating some hard disk partitions with something like partition magig, etc - this is handy to seperate instensive operations like movie creation, etc from your os files - when I first did it I made 4 partitions, but found that I made the disks two small - so after my hd crashed and I started again, I split 50 / 50 on two partitions alls cool now, well apart from the battery indicator

REgards.

 

Lobos, thanks for the nooB warning, but I'll be fine.
I learned all my bad habits of installs with Win 95, so I'm a veteran of partitions and "harsh recoveries"

BTW . . .

15 June Delivered . . . 7 days early.

Thanks Dell, now let's just hope it all works!

- c

 

u received it on the 15th wen it was 2 get shipped on the 13th??... that's cooool

6/14-Ordered Inspiron 9300 wit:1.86 GHZ Pentium M | 512 MB DDR RAM | 80 GB hard drive | 256 NVidia GeForce Go 6800
6/29: Expected Shipping

 

Actually it was originally scheduled to ship on the 22nd.
They RE-scheduled from the 22nd to the 15th.

I've (hopefully) downloaded all the drivers I need, and have the copy of the OS disc according to the ONE we are allowed to make.

Wish me luck!!