THE OFFICIAL: Dell Inspiron 9 (Mini I) Thread...

I installed XP Pro but only see 1 processor in device manager.

The only strange behavior/bug is that during start up, right after the Windows desktop first appears, the intel video driver starts up which causes the screen res to change to native res, at which point the recycling bin icon jumps to the center of the screen.

 

That happens on mine too.
In fact no matter where I move the recycle bin icon, upon reboot, it'll move back to that position. Annoying.

 

Which application is the Battery Meter on the drivers disk ? ie: Rxxxxx I don't want to run each one to figure it out.

Also when charging with the power off is the battery light supposed to be on ? I don't have any lights on at the moment and it's been charging for a while. Perhaps it's fully charged already ?

 

http://support.us.dell.com/support/...eid=R192569&formatcnt=1&libid=0&fileid=264714

Its actually a Compal driver (OEM Manufacturer).

FWIW: After you install this on Vista, you can then turn around and uninstall the Program to save SSD space. Even after uninstalling the Compal driver sticks...

 

Hi folks. Just got the mini. Here are my first impressions.

Very cute I think it's the best nettop out-there.
CPU quick enough to run XP but you'll have to forget multitasking.
Wireless as good as on my XPS 1710.
Key board took me 5 min to get used to it perfect for a quick e-mail or chat.
Size it's like a toy next to the XPS but big enough to be used comfortably.
RAM 1 gig is fine for XP.
Touch pad I was surprised how good it really is.
Mic and camera I've not tested them yet but I'll update.
I think it's worth every penny.

 

Question, is the poor performance due to the processor or the SSD? Installing SP3 last night took a ridiculous amount of time.

 

Installing/setting up win xp does take along time, one would guess its the SSD as a lot of writing is being done during this process

 

Has anyone ordered from QVC? What is their shipping and delivery timing? Wondering if the longish Dell "production" times can be shortcut that way...

 

For those running Vista, I ran into a new and potentially problematic situation this morning.

After getting Vista fully patched and tweaked, MS Office and a few other applications installed I noticed I had less than 1GB of free disk space on my drive. I checked things out and found my c:\windows\WinSxS had over 8GB of files in it. Turns out this is regular behavior for Vista and probably something most people don't notice with the large size of hard drives these days. A big problem to those of us running small SSD disks.

I did a little research (mostly on the EEE forums) and there is an unsupported workaround moving the directory to another drive (you could use an SD card in the built in reader) however that pretty much forces you to keep that card in the reader making it obsolete for photos or swapping cards.

I'm going to do a little more digging and research into options today. Can other Vista users check it out and report back.

This may be one of the reasons we don't see Vista as an option (yet) on netbook PC's. Performance wise, I felt it was a step above XP.

 

So I woke up this morning, and there's an email from Dell.....

Your Order Has Shipped!!!! OMG! It was still in Build last night? How has it shipped? So I open the email..... only to find.....












it's the external CD/DVD drive. The I9's are still in Build.

Oh well. At least I have something to play with until they arrive.

 

My winsxs folder is 4.1gb. I've installed pretty much all I'm going to so I don't see it as a huge problem as it shouldn't grow that much bigger. Still got 6.5gb free even with that.

I believe the new version of vlite lets you trim down the size of this folder by removing a lot of the files. I've not tested that and am not so sure I will.

Interestingly on my 1720 which is my main machine - the winsxs folder is 15.7gb. Now whilst I understand MS's resolve to rid us of DLL hell in XP this is getting a little ridiculous.

 

Hey there, I know that: NBR member msjaneoly, ordered recently from QVC, maybe she can give you some feedback


Cin

 

This was never intended to be a Vista machine. Why do you think MS agreed to keep XP alive for these?

 

Would something like this work in the Mini 9 to upgrade the SSD to 64GB?

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=380066217290

 

Most likely the SSD drive...

There are two brands of sdd drives in the mini. Intel (4gb and 8gb) and STEC (16gb). The intel brand ssd in the mini is meant to be really slow. Get the 16gb version.

Which drive do you have? It would be interesting for eveyone to note their ssd drive so we can get a sense for how the two brands differ in real life performance.

Thanks,
G

 

I have the 16gb SSD.

 

Cool. That certainly looks like the right piece. The only thing I don't know about is how the specs compare to the SSD in the mini... is the 64GB slower or comparable to the stock one? Anyone know?

 

after a little digging, I may have answered my own question.....

it looks like the right part, but I think it's slower than the 16GB SSD.


This link shows:

Code:

STEC is rated 85/25 for read and write, which looks ok. 
Note that the writing speed is more important as it's the 
typical bottleneck on netbooks.

On real life test on Dell mini 9 we are getting 78/14, 
which is not looking that good.

Intel is rated 38/10 for read and write, which is not ok. 
Acer uses the same chips on Aspire one and we know 
it's writing speed is too slow.

On real life test on Dell mini 9 we are getting 31/7, 
which is not looking good at all.

For "normal" users all this is just minor details, 
but for power users this is important... 

And the ebay auction shows:

Sustain Read Speed up to 35MB/s
Sustain Write Speed up to 14MB/s


So the specs of the 64GB are about the same as the Intel SSD, which is slower than what we want.

So, bottom line, looks like it'll work, but it will be slower.

 

I think I've decided to send mine back. I had Firefox, winamp, Trillian, and Xfire open and the CPU was pegged at 25-32%. I need Office open during the day at work too (Outlook all day) so that will be more strain. I just don't think for what I need, the mini will work.

 

good find... I too was not sure the size of the ssd drives in the mini. They seem smaller than the standard sizes.

Yes indeed it will be slower than the 16GB STEC ssd drives...

 

So true, Every other laptop shipped by Dell has to have Vista on it by default with an "upgrade" to XP, MS themselves must have realised the impracticality of having Vista on a netbook!

 

I read somewhere that the Mini takes something like 50mm SSD and all the ones that are available to purchase are 70mm...something like that. Be very cautious and try to find that reference.

 

With the I9..I think that peep's are purchasing and intending to *use it* like a *full notebook*...When it's intended to be a companion, on the go *Netbook* for web browsing, e-mailing, and portability etc...

I had a friend interested in ordering...she thought she would be able to use it as a powerful notebook, could be used..but then thru talking and her reviewing info, she realized that this was not what the I9 was meant to do.

So, now she is looking at purchasing an actual *notebook* vs. *netbook*

Just a comment, that's all


Cin

 

OH NO!!!! You mean I can't run Pinnacle Studio on this and edit HD Movies????

I'm sending mine back!

 

I think most will run into this problem. It's been a balancing act for me. I have installed what I think is my minimum apps to use this and I'm using 7.5GB. Granted, 2GB is the hibernate.sys file, but I cut the pagefile down to 256MB-512MB.
My primary use is anywhere browsing and VPN into work. I have Office 2003 minimum install, AV, VPN software and some SSH tools and it's used up nearly half the space. I can't imagine using the 8GB SSD version.

BTW, the annoying recycle bin relocation intel video driver bug...I hid the recycle bin from the desktop.

 

I found a fix. Set the icon view on the desktop to auto arrange. The recycle bin icon may not be in the place you prefer, but at least it won't jump around on every start up.

 

I got further into the order process after I logged off and the shipping and delivery dates are October-something - it's basically a pre-order.

 

Mine is going back tomorrow, if anyone wants one sooner PM me.

 

I can't use the I9 as a regular machine. The screen is just too small and eye strain is kind of an issue for me.

The way I envision using my I9 is primarily for vacations. I think it has a lot of ++++'s going for it in this regard.

1. It's really lightweight. Much lighter than other ultraportables (ThinkPad X61s & Macbook Air) which I have owned or own. Even the power adapter is not much bigger than my cell phone charger. Weight is so important, esp. when flying.

2. Compact size is great for use on airplanes & may even fit in many hotel room safes. Wi-fi is coming soon to a number of airlines & virgin america already has real power plugs at all of their seats.

3. It feels durable. I'm careful with my gear but traveling can be rough on gear. The I9 feels like it is going to hold up to some jostling.

4. Not very expensive. I'm not going to worry about it while on vacation (unlike my Macbook Air)

My XP Pro install along with my basic apps (office xp, adobe reader, quicktime, photoshop elements 2) ended up being just under 4 GB. So I still have some room for downloading photos from my digital camera while on vacation. I don't plan on editing photos on the I9 but i would like to backup and review pictures. I may end up carrying a very small external drive as well.

 

I think Vista is very practical. Space issues aside, in the short time I've had it installed, I've found it to be a little more responsive with better battery life (doing similar things as with XP setup) and manageability than XP.

Personally, I'd much rather keep and use Vista than XP. Ultimately though I think I'll be using the OS that isn't XP, Vista or Linux

 

WHY YES....I think you should You would surely be best off doing that!!!! LMAO...DARN...I may as well not order! Oh lulz.. I'm so kidding!

I can't wait to order mine! -when availi. in red!

hee hee...How's it going with it???

I understand...When I finally order..I envision myself wanting to do to many things on it..... That's cool about VPNing into work...I will prob's be doing that also...My use would be the portability, and tossing in my handbag for the small things! LOL Oh, and the wireless capabilities of the net and messaging, and all that fun stuff!

That much space already! Wow....

Oh I see, like late October????..So what are you going to do now?


Cin

 

Here is the breakdown of all apps installed.
XP Pro SP3 w/ all updates as of today including optional software updates like .NET 1, 2, 3 and media player 11
Office 2003 SP3 minimum install
SecureCRT (small)
VPN
VNC (small)
Foxit Reader (small)
All dell drivers + Dell Webcam App (minus the avatar creator)

Program Files is about 700MB (mostly from Office)
Windows directory is 2.5GB (including the temp files from windows update)
Hibernate is 2GB
Page file is 256MB
I386 (I copy from CD to all my systems) 500MB

That covers about 6GB of space. I'm not sure where the rest is hiding.

 

Try using Tree Size, it's a freeware program that shows you were your used disk space is:

http://www.jam-software.com/freeware/index.shtml

 

It says I'm using 6,224MB which is closer to my manually caculated total.
I wonder why is windows is so off?

 

Hi, Here's a question for all those people lucky enough to have a Mini 9.

What's the speaker sound quality/volume like, is it good enough to watch a movie?

I had a MSI Wind but sold it very quickly as the speaker was rubbish, when watching a movie you couldn't always hear what the actors were saying.

Thanks.

 

Bump. I also would like to hear some opinions. Its either this or a Asus eeepc I'm looking at. I can get a discount on the 901 Asus intel atom model through my work.

 

For those that are collecting cool software to use on the I9, probably one of the most useful I think I will use is the Virtual CD driver from Microsoft.

Download it here:

http://download.microsoft.com/downl...d58df02efa2/winxpvirtualcdcontrolpanel_21.exe

It's very small, just exe and driver, and it will let you create a virtual cd drive, and then mount an .ISO file in XP.

a. Run the VCdControlTool.exe program.
b. In Virtual CDRom Control Panel, click Driver Control.
c. In Virtual CR-Rom Driver Control, click Install Driver.
d. Locate the %systemroot%\System32\Driver folder, click VCdRom.sys, and then click Open.
e. In Virtual CR-Rom Driver Control, click Start, and then click OK.
f. In Virtual CDRom Control Panel, click Add Drive, and then click Mount.
g. Select the .ISO image that you want to mount, and then click Open.
h. In Select Mount Options, click Ok.


This could come in real handy when travelling, if you have an SD card with some movies ripped in ISO format on there, then you can mount them and watch them in whatever DVD player you prefer. Without having to have the USB DVD drive plugged in.

Of course, if you went through the trouble to rip a movie, you may have just saved it in WMV format or something, but I save them in ISO so I can create disks for my kids to scratch up. So I save the ISO on my home server for later use. And saving them in ISO format you still have the menu's and stuff.

 

Here's another one that I use. It is a little bigger at 1.4Mb to download though.
http://static.slysoft.com/SetupVirtualCloneDrive.exe

And for those with access to an external burner. Here is a really small program that works really well burning ISOs. http://isorecorder.alexfeinman.com/isorecorder.htm

 

Does anybody have their Ubuntu based mini from Dell yet? I've been getting up to speed in ubuntu and my 10/15 ship date is killing me!!! Just wondering about the disk usage vs. XP ATM! I've found a TON of useful (free) apps that are just ridiculously space efficient!

 

Right it does..hmmm...I'm note quite sure either ...so hopefully one of the fellow I9 owners can help....

Cin

 

hello, i am seriously considering getting a dell mini 9 laptop for college. I know that dell says that they can achieve about 4h25min with wifi, but im just wondering if anyone who has or has used this laptop knows the expected battery life in powersaver mode (screen brightness 0%, wifi disabled).

thanx...

 

Try WinDirStat: http://windirstat.info/

And if you feel like posting a screencap of the output, I'm sure we'd all be very interested to see it. And it's very pretty too

Do you have system restore switched on. That uses space in XP and in Vista uses tons.

 

Just received a Email from dell.ca that my order has been delayed... Right now my estimated delivery date is Oct 23rd. wow..... I placed my order on the 14th of Sept so that is like more than 1 month worth of wait... Lady on the phone had a strong accent that it was impossible to understand... Seems like there is some part shortage.... hhaa... Pretty ridiculous.

 

that 4 and a half hour battery life is probably a bit exaggerated.

today i got about 4 hours out of it with brightness up and wifi on. But i wasn't using it the entire time.

also anyone get their sleeves yet? recommendations?

 

WHAT??? That is a bit of time... Your in CA right? So, it would be delivered by Purolator?? I'm not familiar...But do they do overnight shipping?

You could call back Dell and ask them to please *bump* you to next day shipping (if avail.) at no cost to you for the longer wait period and your inconvenience!


Cin

 

I uninstalled the Dell Touchpad software and downloaded the XP version from Synaptics directly. It appears to run better plus there is the option for Tap Zones which I am used to from my other laptops.
It's not fixed on all the forums I go to, but it's fixed on this one. Weird problem overall.

 

Price and price alone. MS is virtually giving away the XP licences to vendors for these things. Something they're not prepared to do yet for Vista.

In the Mini's case it's certainly not the lack of hardware spec as Vista runs just fine.

 

I've never meet a laptop speaker that I liked.

Having said that the speakers aren't terrible in my opinion for something this size, but I'll be using headphones when I watch movies on it. I can always hear what is being said on the internal speakers, but the sound can break up a bit if you turn it up too high.

 

I normally just toss my laptops into my backpack and there is no doubt looking at them that they are well used. After receiving the Mini and looking at the glossy lid, I decided it probably wouldn't fair to well like that.

I ordered this guy and it arrived today.



First impression, thin but protective, well made and will fit my needs perfectly. It's a little tight but the neoprene is stretchy so I'm not too worried. There is a nice flap inside that stretches around the laptop to protect it from the zipper. Looks like there is also enough room for the power adapter and a few other tidbits in the side pocket.

I'll take some pics tonight once I remember where I put my camera!

 

Still like my girly one . . . http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001BY0W98