Clean Install on 3522GZ or M210

Just got a new 3522GZ and have installed a clean install of XP Pro (came with Home). Can anyone tell he how to get Nero and PowerDVD off of the Recovery CD. I have the drivers but can't seem to get these two pieces of softwre to install.

Thanks

 

Could you share your use experience of the 3522GZ model? I'm torn between this model and Toshiba m45-s331. To me, the latter is one pound heavier and more voluminous (i.e., having more mass).

[B)]

 

Yes, I'm interested in hearing about it too. In particular, how frequently does the fan run?

Avi

 

So far it is a great little laptop. I purchased a Sony FS-500 which is similar in size to the Toshiba and after about 3 weeks lugging it around, it had to go back.

This thing is a dream. It is as light as the 200x I replaced. Has a very good screen and great battery life. After the 200x and the Sony I was fully ready to buy an extended battery or extra battery to get to my minimum of 3 hours. To my suprise, the 3522GZ goes almost 5 hours for me after a little tweaking with RMClock. Build quality of the Gateway is a notch below the sony and on par with the 200x I had before. Styling is the best of the Gateway laptops and has a very clean look. The Keyboard has a good feel but short throw (typical of thin laptops I guess). The fan doesn't seem to run too often but again, I have tweaked it using RMClock so it's rarely at full power.

Also, I got it on sale from Bestbuy last weekend for only 999. I saved 200 bucks on a similarly configured version from Gateway and 500 on the Sony VAIO. In fact, I have already sold one at work after people saw it.

I have only a couple of complaints so far. I liked the days of a actual Windows Install CD's. These recovery disks are a pain. Also, the coasting feature of the trackpad is kind of acting up. Not sure what's causing it. May try playing with different drivers.

 

I'm glad that you haven't found many faults with the unit. I purchased a Gateway 4520gz a little while back ( at least I'm pretty sure that's what it was) but returned it because the keyboard was pretty flimsy. Other than that I found the unit quite acceptable.

Could you give a little more detail about the sounds that the machine makes because this has now become basically my only criteria for getting a laptop. I have tried several toshibas and they all emit a high pitched whine which is apparently a centrino issue, although this is not true with all of them. What I liked about toshiba was there power management utility which would keep the fan off for quite some time at the lowest setting. I didn't see anything like that on the gateway I had and I tried some freeware from the internet but nothing worked. Still it took about three hours before that gateway would turn the fan on and before that it would be dead silent. However I found the fan to be a little to loud after that point, as it would stay on for a while and then would turn on fairly often after that.

That's fantastic that you get five hours from your machine and this is exactly what I've been looking for. Could you tell me if there is any kind of a whine or high pitch at all (however soft) coming from the machine when you (if you ever are) in a silent room. I plan to take notes in a silent lecture hall where I may be the only one with a computer. Also, what about the hard drive, does it make a sound at all ? I would appreciate it if you could let me know how often it comes on in that five hour period of battery usage (many times, once)and if the machine gets extremely hot after that amount of usage (specially on the palm rest but also the entire unit in general. Thanks

 

It seems to be very quiet for me. Running RMCLock and under battery power the laptop is whisper quiet when sitting on my lap. Also in this configuration, the heat is very minimal and I can sit with it on my lap doing basic websurfing for hours. In fact, the fan usually doesn't kick on at all.

Under power it does kick on the fan occasionally and can be heard but certainly isn't distracting.