First steps upon receiving P-6831FX?

I just received it today, and I have a few question.

1) I read somewhere I should do a backup of the factory build. How do I do that?

2) I need more storage. Can I buy another hdd with 7200rpm for master then take the current 5400rpm one as slave then reload factory build on new master? EDIT: And which 7200rpm hdd are the best for this model?

3) Anything else I should do/check before I start using it?

4) It's pretty.

 

Newegg.com has a good deal on this 7200s 200gb, and its a great brand.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145160

 

Clean install it and refer to the NBR Tips and Tweaks Guide. As far as a backup; were you given a recovery cd and driver cd? or were you given a hidden partition? if you werent give a cd and driver cd, you should use something like norton ghost or acronis true image to copy your hdd. For number two, i think thats possible but wouldnt that void your warranty? The best hdd is either the seagate 200gb or the hitachi travelstar 200gb (both have 7.2k rpm versions.)

 

My gateway rep told me that simple upgrades do not void your warranty, like ram, and hard drives.

 

The disk in the box was a Vista 32x install. I do not believe I have a recovery or drivers disk. EDIT: It's probably right in my face, but where can I find the the "NBR Tips and Tweaks Guide"? And is it specifically for this model or is it a Vista-related guide?

 

Here it is.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166532

 

Those are the same drives I'm using. Definitely two thumbs up!

 

If you are in the gateway forum it's the first thread that is sticked. Snowsurfer has written about how to create a recovery disk.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=216065.

As for the NBR Tips and Tweaks Guide go to http://forum.notebookreview.com/index.php from there windows os and software something like that.

 

I've got one to, great drive!

 

1. First you should burn a backup copy of the installers for the applications and drivers. You can do it using the Gateway Recovery Center

2. Yes you can. Clone/image your old drive to your new drive. If the drive size is not identical, i'm not sure if the built in recovery would still work. Check out tom's hardware for some reviews on laptop drives. they recently compared fast drives

 

Link is broken. What make is it?

Also, on my PC I use Avant Browser with XP, but should I stick with IE on Vista?

EDIT: Looking at Tom's Hardware or any other website, how do I know if an hdd is for laptops as opposed to desktops?

 

Even though the Avant Browser website doesn't list Vista as supported it should work fine according to their forums.

As for HDD's, desktop HDD's are 3.5" and laptop ones are 2.5". There may be other differences to look out for, but that is the main thing to tell them apart.

Try that Newegg link again, it's working fine for me. If you still can't see it the drive is the:
Hitachi Travelstar 7K200 - HTS722020K9SA00 (0A50940)
200GB
7200 RPM
16MB Cache
SATA-150
Notebook Hard Drive - OEM

 

I use Firefox.

 

I would pay the extra ten for it this way:

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage...200gb&lp=1&type=product&cp=1&id=1197679249375


As for the TC, I made the recovery disc using the Gateway Recovery Console, replaced the 1GB DIMM with a 2GB, replaced the T5450 witha T7500, and reformatted the HDD and installed Vista HP x64. Works like a charm, except for the modded GFX driver (which is rock stable, btw)

 

Hitachi 7K200 deal!

Here's the deal that tops them all!

This is what I did:

First read the needed info in this thread.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=175994&highlight=best+buy+hitachi+7k200

Go to Best Buy and purchase this drive with the correct serial number.
http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?skuId=8355709&type=product&id=1177112455216

Use this 10% off coupon. Expires Feb. 29th, so don't wait!
https://moversguide.usps.com/img/coupon/bestbuy/200801_clientarea.gif

If you want to, you can just swap drives, that's what I did, so you will now have the top performing HD in your notebook, and a nice external drive, all for about $120 bucks!

 

So if I get the HD's with the right serial number, it is for sure 7200s? it is very cool, I will check it out.

 

The Best Buy site does not have store pickup available? Can you see the serial number at the store befor buying it?

 

I found this link too for the 7200s hd

http://www.fatwallet.com/t/18/811933

 

I had no problem finding them where I live. I didn't even check online, I just went to the stores and they were there.

 

I checked the two BB in Tucson, no luck all where 5400s

 

Only two I see on the BB website are the 5400rpm...one is a 200GB the other being the 160GB.....neither of those is a deal at all when you can get the 200GB 7200rpm at Newegg for 139.99 apiece after rebates. I believe the rebate is good for up to 5 of the drives. Maybe I'm missing something but...

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=pcat17080&type=page&qp=crootcategoryid%23%23-1%23%23-1~~q70726f63657373696e6774696d653a3e313930302d30312d3031~~cabcat0500000%23%230%23%2311a~~cabcat0504000%23%230%23%233y~~cabcat0504001%23%230%23%232d~~cabcat0504003%23%230%23%231k~~nf398%7C%7C48697461636869&list=y&nrp=15&sc=abComputerSP&sp=%2Bbrand+skuid&usc=abcat0500000

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822145160

 

I was responding to earlier posts about BB have Ex Harddrives with 7200s drives inside for $107.00

From ScooberDoober;

 

I will go with the newegg.com deal myself.

 

On the BB "deal" no way to tell if your getting a part # ending in 52 or 53 on the BB website so I'd save my gas $$ and order the OEM's from my chair....