New Laptop!!!

Tuffgong4

The Donger Need Food!!!!
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Joined
21 Jun 2002
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So my work and I are splitting a laptop...tell me what you think!!!

Dell Inspiron 640m

Intel Core 2 Duo Processor T5500 (2MB/1.66GHz/667MHz)
14.1 Inch TrueLife Wide-screenWXGA+, for Inspiron 640M
2GB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM
Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 950 GM, for Inspiron 640M
120GB 5400RPM SATA Hard Drive for Inspiron 640M
8X DVD+/-RW Drive for Inspiron640M
Intel PRO/Wireless 3945 802.11a/g Mini Card (54Mbps) for Inspiron
53 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion Primary Battery, for Inspiron 640M
85 WHr 9-cell Lithium Ion Additional Battery, for Inspiron 640M
Thank you for choosing 2 Year Economy Plan
Dell Wireless 355 Bluetooth Module (2.0+EDR), Vista, for Inspiron 640m

All for 1120 dollars!!! I think (hope) it's a good deal.

I'm pretty pumped. I'm going to dump the OS on it and Install Vista Ultimate after I get it cause my new work is a MS Certified Partner.
 
Looks good to me! :)
I would have preferred a discrete graphics solution rather than a GMA 950 so that system RAM doesn't get used up, but that's about the only thing I would be bothered about.
 
Thats not a bad deal for the various upgrades you have :)
 
Looks good to me! :)
I would have preferred a discrete graphics solution rather than a GMA 950 so that system RAM doesn't get used up, but that's about the only thing I would be bothered about.

I wanted discrete but I didn't have any more wiggle room since it was a half me half work purchase :lick:

I'm just excited because (as you guys are telling me) I thought it was a good deal, and it's my first laptop. I'm used to building machines and stuff but never really had my own laptop.
 
got the new laptop and I love it. It is so powerful and easy to use. Everything seems to run smoothly with Vista Ultimate and it handles any task I throw at it. I'm working on getting it to let me run on the domain here at the office but I have one major problem.

No SD card works in this memory card reader. I see a lot of others on other forums with this problem but no solutions seem to work for me. It's driving me crazy because I bought a sd card for random use and to test out ReadyBoost in Vista but nothing works.

Please help!
 
Tuff, have you checked out the latest driver downloads for that system bro?

I think there was an update out to assist.

Check it out. Or call tech support.

If that doesn't work, after you've lodged an incident number, pm me the issue and svc tag and stuff and I'll have someone on my team escalate it for you ;)
 
all latest drivers checked and tested but I'm about to call tech support. I know it sounds bad but I loathe calling dell tech support, but I will. After that if I can't get it solved I'll pm you the info.

Thanks Sazar
 
update.

so I got on an chat session with a dell representative. she couldn't find anything to help at first but then asked me to do a bios update. The link she sent me was for a bios that was from 2003 for an inspiron 8100. I have a 640m. I fought her and fought her until she realized she sent me the wrong one.

The weird thing is I found that the bios I had was the most up to date but I still went ahead and did a 1 for 1 bios update of the same bios and suprise suprise it worked! I have no idea how flashing with the same bios worked but it did. Now the problem is that my sd card is not fast enough for ready boost. looks like I'll have to find another card to test.
 
Yeah, I wish they were a little clearer about the ready boost feature.

I bought a lovely PNY 4 gig mem key and it was too slow. It seemed fine till I read the fine print about ready-boost and it's really finnicky.

I returned it and got me a cruzer titanium, paid an arm and a leg for the flashest model around and it does the job :)
 
I"m running 2gigs of ram right now so I'll wait to see if the ready boost chips will come down in price. I just wanted to try it out. But now I have an extra 2 gig sd card. guess it's good to have one lying around. was only 15 dollars...didn't expect great things from it :)
 
It's recommended to match the flash mem to the size of your system memory.

I am planning on going to 4 gigs for my new rig so I decided, what the heck :)
 
I'm almost there for my desktop but I'll wait til I absolutely need, so prices can drop for my ddr2 a little more.
 
question...I got two batteries with my laptop. They installed the smaller capacity battery in the system. If I let the charge go all the way out and install the larger capacity one willt hat hurt the battery that is not being used???
 
They use lithium ion batteries now.

It is recommended they be charged to about 40% before storing them. Full discharge and then storage is not recommended.

Also Lithium Ion cells prefer shallow discharge cycles so running them down is a bad idea.

Both practices will decrease life.

PS Don't ask me how you are supposed to know the battery is at a 40% state of charge...
 
ok cool...the battery in the machine is almost full so I will just run it down to about 50 then pull it and put in the larger capacity battery.
 
how long can you store a battery and expect it to still be good?
 
how long can you store a battery and expect it to still be good?
You should do a healthy discharge once a month to keep it healthy, if you get it down to 40% one month then get it down by 60% the next month I think that counts...but thats just what I hear. I'll have to look it up



here we go
http://mobileoffice.about.com/od/usingyourlaptop/f/laptopbattery.htm
Somebody asked:
I have a laptop at home which I use as a desktop replacement. As such, 99% of the time the laptop is being used it is plugged in. I wonder if I should remove the battery so that it is not permanently being charged, or does the laptop cut off the current to the battery once it is fully charged? I do unplug the laptop when I turn it off.
and got this answer:
When using a laptop as a desktop replacement the battery should not be left in for long periods of time. The laptop will over time discharge the battery. Remove the battery – making sure that it is charged to 40% and store it in a dry, warm place. Ensure that it is wrapped protectively and nothing will be dropped on it.
The battery should be re-installed every 3-4 weeks and allowed to fully discharge. Leaving a battery in storage for longer than this without using could cause the battery to fully discharge as the circuitry of the battery itself consumes power.
Leaving a battery in a laptop while using an electrical outlet for long periods of time will keep the battery in a constant state of charging up and that will reduce the life cycle of the battery.
Remember that when you have removed the battery from a laptop while using with an electrical outlet – the automatic battery backup is no longer functional. Make sure to plug your laptop into an uninterrupted power source (UPS) not directly into an outlet or surge protector.
I know its not your situation but it says every 3-4 weeks that you need to plug it in and let it discharge then charge it back up and drain it to 40% again
 
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