Any opinions on the ML6703?

Saw it on special, have a couple friends that want to be in the sub $700 range for a laptop, looked to be pretty feature based for the price.

Specs:

http://www.officedepot.com/ddSKU.do?level=SK&id=849847

The Gateway ML6703 notebook offers:
15.4"-diagonal widescreen WXGA (1280 x 800) Ultrabright™ LCD screen
Intel Pentium dual-core processor T2060 operating at 1.60GHz
1MB L2 cache
Up to 533MHz frontside bus
1.0GB of DDR2 SDRAM memory (2 x 512MB), upgradable to 2.0GB
80GB 5400-rpm Serial ATA (SATA) hard drive
DVD±RW drive with Double Layer support (reads/writes DVD±R/RW, DVD±R Double Layer, CD-R/RW)
802.11g wireless LAN
10/100Base-T Ethernet port
56K V.92 fax/modem
4 USB 2.0 ports
1 FireWire (IEEE 1394) port
1 S-video out port
4-in-1 memory card reader: reads SD, MMC, Memory Stick, Memory Stick Pro
PC Card slot: supports Type I/II PC Card, PCMCIA
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 950 with up to 224MB of shared memory
High Definition Audio (2-channel) with built-in stereo speakers, headphone/audio-out jack and microphone jack
6-cell lithium-ion battery (2400 mAh)
Dimensions: 1 2/5"H x 14 1/10"W x 10 2/5"D
Weight: 6.24 lbs

Microsoft® Windows Vista™ Home Premium operating system comes installed, providing enhanced security and productivity, and new ways to organize, find and share information. Other software included:

Microsoft Works 8.5 (word processor, spreadsheet, database and calendar)
Microsoft Money 2006
CyberLink® Power2Go™
DVD playback with 2-channel audio
Microsoft Digital Image Starter Edition 2006
Adobe® Reader® 8.0
Google Toolbar
Google Desktop Search
Napster 3.0 (30-day trial)
McAfee® Internet Security Suite™ (trial, with 90 days of free updates)
Gateway BigFix® (identifies and resolves problems before they occur)
LoJack® for Laptops Hardware Persistence Agent enabled (service sold separately)

anyhow, if anyone has any feedback, I'd appreciate it!

 

I am typing this reply from the ML6703 notebook that was purchased this afternoon. So far, I am extremely happy with it. It is easy to use, and it detected the wireless network without a problem. I have only used it to access the internet at this point. The keyboard has a good feel. The touchpad is very responsive. The display is bright, sharp, and clear.

 

I'm convinced Vista makes a computer unsupportable over time. At this point, Gateway seems not to have anybody who can properly support Vista. Here is my experience:

My Gateway ML6703 notebook (new 2/4/07) came with Vista. Had to ship it back w/i first week b/c the power supply failed. (Was impressed by turnaround time for ship/fix/return ... about 6 days.)

A week after I got it back I had to work through "Invalid Product Code" after installing MS Powerpoint Viewer and MS Office 2003. A week later while using it on vacation, the thing wouldn't boot at all... thought it was a hard drive problem.

Gateway support said to reload Vista using from the Operating System Disk that came with it. Since then, I can boot or restart fine BUT only if I DO NOT connect to the internet! If I give it wireless or hardwire connection to the internet, then it will not re-boot on the next attempt... it gives a screen with 3 safe mode boot options and one "Last Known Good Configuration"... none of which allow it to boot. Instead it briefly flashes a black error screen with some instructions that I could only do if it booted... then would cycle through startup attempts forever if I let it.

At this point, I have to reinstall Vista from the Operating System Disk. It took me many such re-installs to figure out that the problem arises only after I give the machine access to the internet. Thus I've had the opportunity to try all the iinstall options provided by the Operating System Disk, including trying the repair option which did not seem to repair anything but whose logfile ended with either of two messages: "System Volume on Disk is Corrupt" or "A Patch is preventing the system from starting".

Main Issue:
So why can't I re-boot after allowing it to see the internet? Is it because MS then sees it and thinks it is invalid?

Side issues:

Operating System Disk only contains about a third of the programs that were preinstalled on the machine when I bought it. Gateway is sending me a DVD that supposedly contains everything and will allow me to reformat the machine from scratch but it is supposedly was on backorder so it is not here yet after 8 days.

Each re-install renames the previous Windows folder which eats up disk space at about 9GB per install. Apparently these old Windows folders can be deleted only via the cleanup facility... but the options on that only allow an all or nothing delete of Windows.old's and I want to keep the first and last ones, but I am running out of disk space.

There is a system restore partition on the hard drive but apparently no way to get to it according to the Gateway support people.

The CD/DVD+/-RW drive can play or read previously recorded media and can burn data CDs but cannot burn data DVDs. When I try to burn data DVDs using the built-in Vista facility, it either craps out or hangs after many minutes or many hours.

I'm almost ready to wipe Vista off for now and install WinXP Pro but Gateway says that will invalidate any support... and it may be a hassle finding all the drivers required.

Yesteday, I visited the Office Depot store where I bought it, and after telling them my problems, got an offer to exchange it for a comparable notebook if I can't get it restored to proper working order after the DVD gets here... but only if my rebate doesn't come through in the meantime (sigh).

Any suggestions on fixing any of these issues would be appreciated.

P.S. I was happy with the Gateway ML6703 unit itself (with the possible exception of not knowing if the DVD problem is hardware or software), but I wish I had had the option of getting it with WinXP but I missed that by a couple of weeks. MS made vendors ship with Vista after it was released.

 

Gave up on Gateway delivering a restore DVD (ordered 3/5/07 but apparently still on backorder as of 3/28/07)... returned it and got a similar notebook (Lenovo 3000 N100). Keyboard & touchpad is not as comfortable as the Gateway, but at least Lenovo's tech support has a toll free number and knows how to give support. Advice for prospective buyers: test call tech support before you buy and see if machine has drivers available to run WinXP if Vista isn't for you.