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    XPS Gen 1...extinct?

    Discussion in 'Dell' started by Beltonius, Aug 24, 2006.

  1. Beltonius

    Beltonius Notebook Consultant

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    Does anyone use theirs anymore?

    I do (2 yr old). However, to some extent I've never been happy with it. If I could go back and do it all over again, I'd probably get an inexpensive, thin-and-light laptop and then build my own desktop, considering how nice a desktop my brother and I just built for less than half what I paid for my XPS.

    But anyway, does anyone who does/recently did use their Gen1 feel like the hardware is giving out?
    *My motherboard battery died, so that every time I pull out the battery I lose the date/time/BIOS settings.
    *Windows has trouble shutting down (especially with a PCMCIA USB2 card) even after a reinstall on a clean partition.
    *Sometimes I can't wake it back up after I close the lid (which may just be that little switch giving out)
    *my firewire (IEEE1394) has always been a little flaky.
    *My optical drive makes more noise than ever when reading a disc. If I squeeze the case around the optical drive it gets much quieter, demonstrating to me that the plastic in the case is giving out.

    Any suggestions would be welcome (I have upgraded the RAM and put in a new HDD), but I'm sorta curious as to whether or not I'm the only poor sod to still be using one of these behemoths. Mine certainly seemed obselete far too early for my taste.
     
    Beltonius, Aug 24, 2006
    #1
  2. Chele

    Chele Notebook Consultant

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    Well man, technology gets old very quickly!!
     
    Chele, Aug 24, 2006
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  3. gilo

    gilo Notebook Deity NBR Reviewer

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    Umm , even very basic 600$ laptops today are probably faster then this laptop , I know its a poor advice to say just buy a new one but ...

    I see you've put a lot of upgrades / repairs into it but if costs start to climb to the 300$ area you should consider this , you can even go with a very basic config if you simply transffer the HD and memory ( make sure the HD interface is the same which I suspect is IDE not sata like some new models ) .
     
    gilo, Aug 24, 2006
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  4. NissanSupraGTR

    NissanSupraGTR Notebook Evangelist

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    You should be able to replace the mobo batt. (i think it's just a watch battery), but your comp seems to have a lot of problems for a lappy that's only 2 yrs old. Hopefully dell's improved by now...
     
    NissanSupraGTR, Aug 24, 2006
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  5. Charles P. Jefferies

    Charles P. Jefferies Lead Moderator Super Moderator

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    Could always consider a new optical drive. 8X DVD+/-RW DL burners are around $60-$80 on Newegg.com.
     
    Charles P. Jefferies, Aug 24, 2006
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