help with changing order

Hello folks,

I just ordered a Vostro 1400 via the website. I picked the smart value configuration at $649. Now, I'd like to upgrade the OS to Vista Premium from Basic and downgrade the battery from a 9 cell to a 6 cell. I called up dell and the guy I talked to said that it can't be done. While he could make the changes to my order he said the price would go up quite a bit.

I thought I read here some time ago that one can make changes to the order without any hassle. When I ordered online Vista Premium and the 6 cell battery were not available as options. That's why I thought I'd just call and get it done this way. Now what? I really wanted the 6 cell for cosmetic and weight considerations. I'm not to sure what the functional difference between Basic and Premium is.

What do you guys think?

Thanks.

 

the difference between premium and basic is that you get windows aero expierience on premium and not on basic.als, you cant make changes on your order unless you cancel..lastly, the 9 cell sticks out half an inch, and gives you more power.i didnt go with 9 cell because i am mostly plugging in.hope i helped!

 

There are ways of getting the Aero Interface to work in Vista Basic.

Apps/Regedit to get Aero

 

Unfortunately, Dell's Vostro and Latitude notebooks are considered business class computers. And for whatever reason they seem to skip the Premium package and go from Basic to Business Vista (for $99 more, of course). This seems odd because Vista Premium upgrades are selling for around $150 right now and Vista Business is supposed to be a step up from Premium.

As far as your battery goes, it seems strange that they don't give the option for a 6-cell battery. (6-cells are less expensive than 9-cells.) I guess it's because they figure business class customers need the extra power. I did notice, however, that you can buy a separate 6-cell battery as an accessory for around $55 (US).

By the way, if you want to compare versions of Vista you can do so at the following URL:

http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/editions/choose.mspx

The truth is unless you really like (or need) the Vostro, you would almost do better to order an Inspiron from their Home & Home Office site.

 

Thanks for your replies.

I didn't realize that changing such minor points in a system's configuration would require a cancellation and re-order. I guess I'll just stick it out and perhaps get a 6-cell battery sometime in the future.

While I'm not wedded to the Vostro, I consider it the better deal compared to the Inspiron 1420. The Inspiron would cost significantly more for the same configuration. See spec's below.

Core™ 2 Duo T5470 (1.6GHz, 2MB L2 Cache, 800MHz FSB)
14.1 inch Wide Screen XGA+ LCD Display with TrueLife™
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 667MHz, 2 DIMM
Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
120G 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic
8X CD/DVD Burner w/ double-layer DVD+R write capability, w/ Roxio Creator
Dell Wireless 1390 802.11g Wi-Fi Mini Card
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery

All this for $649 before taxes. And an ESD of 9/10 (ordered 9/3). Let's see what happens.

 

even for color they require a cancellation and re-order just fyi, and if i remember right the 1400 only had the option of a 9 cell... at least for a while i know it did.. you can easily get a vista oem upgrade to go from basic to premium anywhere on the web for 50$ or under if you already have vista basic..

 

Good to know. Thanks for the info.