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Performance tip for users of Dell I4000 laptops w/ WinME (possibly other WinMe users too)

C

CoderFirstClass

Banned
The other day when I was browsing around in my system properties, I found some interesting settings in the File System section. This is the e-mail I sent to Dell asking about it:


<< In System Properties--Performance--File System, under Removable Disk the &quot;Enable write-behind caching on all removable disk drives&quot; option is checked. Under the Troubleshooting tab, &quot;Disable write-behind caching for all drives&quot; is also checked. It seems that these two options are working against each other. Should one of these be unchecked? >>


This is the response I got back:


<< Thank you for contacting Dell e-Support and Services. We appreciate
the opportunity to serve you. We understand the issue you are
facing with the system. Do not check Disable write-behind caching
for all drives. Doing this it will affect windows ME performance.
You can check Enable write-behind caching. >>


So I unchecked the Disable option under the Troubleshooting tab, which had apparently been checked since I got my system. I had been thinking the performance of the HD was sub-par, I'm interested to see if it goes up now.
 
I can't comment on this in particular. My reason for responding is that I was thinking of ordering a 4000 myself (most likely today).

The setup I'm considering is:

P3 700Mhz
14.1 XGA
128 MB Ram
20 GB harddrive
Internal modem/nic
1 - 53 Mwh battery
WinME

My pressing question is how do you like your setup and would you purchase the same thing again? If not what would you change.

Thanks in advance!


 
I bought the Inspiron 8000 in January.

Dell has excellent prices on their base systems, but historically overcharge for upgrades. Fore sure, get the least amount of memory bundled with your computer (on one SODIMM) as you can (now 128MB on one SODIMM, I see), then buy a second SODIMM from Crucial when you need to. This is the best way to go.

For video, the 14&quot; XGA (1400x1050) is very nice. Regular Windows text is small, but very readable. If you went for the 14.1&quot; SXGA+ (1600x1200), I would assume you would have to change your Windows defaults unless your vision is amazing. Then again, I would assume that a quasi-native 800x600 resultion would come in handy for some tasks. There is no display option for a 700x525 half-resolution for XGA.

The Internal modem/NIC is a great idea, but mine does not like my Linksys 10/100 switch (will only work at 10Mbps with a long CAT5 cable, where a Linksys card works fine there), or the phone line at my cottage (constantly drops the connection, where an old USR Sportster works great). Xircom, Linksys and others offer 2-in-1 modem/NIC's Cardbus cards, but I've no experience with them.

Bonne chance.

Regards,
Craig
 
Thanks Craig for the tips. I most likely will order today unless someone posts soon and convinces me otherwise.

-mb
 
Oh, didn't see that you were planning on WinME. Do not.

Windows ME was a pain in the butt for me. Mostly because of display anomalies, but also a couple of crashes during installation of software. Dell also installs a lot of bloatware. I nuked the WinME installation and installed my own copy of Win2K. Works great.

Now that I've gone to www.dell.com, I see that they don't offer Win2k for home users. If you through the small business site, they will not bundle an i4000 and 14&quot; XGA screen with the P3 700, only with the Celeron 700.

Call yourself a small business and talk to a sales rep. They may be able to do something for you. Otherwise, you have three options:
1. Buy the Celeron 700 (mine is a Celeron 600) and save a few bucks. Since it is not a gaming machine, you will likely never know the difference.
2. Get WinME bundled, and replace it with Win2K (what I did). Of course, you won't get tech support while you are doing this.
3. Buy another brand.

Unless you are comfortable with #2, I'd get the Celeron 700 with Win2K. If you decide you want WinME instead, you can have my copy. I no longer need it.

Regards,
Craig


 
I actually run a small consulting business in addition to my full-time college teaching gig. I was planning to purchase the Dell for my business but I seem to get a better deal through the home site.

I will be using the laptop primarily for Powerpoint displays (no audio--maybe streaming video though) as well as the usual Office applications. The SVideo out is a real plus for me on this system as some companies I work with do not have a nice projection system. I want a little horsepower without spending a fortune.

I've got a peer-to-peer network at home using Win98 and the lan at work is running on Win2000 (I think). I'm trying to keep my costs low so I thought WinMe would be the way to go.

-mb
 
ME works, no doubt, but Win2K is better. By far, Win2K is more stable. There is a reason &quot;Dell recommends Windows 2000 Professional for business&quot;.

Win2K will network fine with Win98 peer-to-peer.

Finally, don't order from the site, a CSR will be able to do more for you and possible give you a break here or there. On the small business site, Win2K does not seem to be any more expensive than WinME. In January, it was.

For the money, Dell make good laptops. Also, in the first 30 days after purchase, Dell will go out of their way to make you happy. If WinME gives you trouble, they have been known to do an O/S swap for Win2K. Just be prepared to get a new laptop that will have to be configured again.

Regards,
Craig
 
Thanks again.

When I call the CSR, would it be a good idea to be online looking at their site at the same time to make sure the prices correspond? Do you think I'll get a better deal calling a Consumer CSR or a Business CSR?

-mb
 
Here's my performance tip for WinMe: Delete it and throw on Win2k.

I've got an Inspiron 8000. It's a P3-700 w/ 128 RAM and the 32meg ATi card. Under WinME the laptop was virtually useless. .Wav files would be choppy. Trying to listen to an MP3 and and use another program was a futile effort. DVD playback was horrid, and disk I/O was pretty pathetic as well.

I reformatted and put Win2k on there and those problems have all but been eliminated. I'm going to hunt down another 128 megs of RAM and this thing should really fly then.

Skip ME and put 2k on.
 
In Canada anyway, the CSR had more up-to-date info than the site did. So, in cases of discrepancy, the CSR has the correct info anyway. But yes, be online while talking. You may avoid being talked into a long service contract that you don't want.

BTW, sorry for hijacking your thread, CFC. In retrospect, MB and I should have PMed the above dialog.

Regards,
Craig
 
Since we've hijacked it...

Would you recommend the 3 year mail-in package for an extra $100? By your comment, I assume not. I own a Dell desktop and have had no problems with it.

Would you recommend the refurb route? Right now, there is only one 4000, and at $2500 it's a bit more than I intend to spend. I know the site gets updated frequently.

-mb
 
Forgot about that route. Many here would only buy a refurb. Me, I like new. If you're comfortable with the idea, wait on an appropriate refurb.

 
I would without a doubt urge you to get the extended for 99 bucks. The TFT display alone would cost well over 1000 to replace.
I just bought a new Sony and the first thing I did was get the extended, for a total of three years of piece of mind.
 
I'm pretty sure the warranty will not cover drops. Companies win out on extended warranties on average, so I never buy them. Yes, it would be expensive to replace the TFT screen, but with no moving parts what are the chances of it breaking without putting your foot through it?

Again, whatever floats your boat.

Regards,
Craig
 
Not a proven operating system yet. Sounds intriguing (except for the licensing part), but not until drivers, etc. are mature.
 
chansen is correct about not even an extended warranty will cover dropping the unit, and I know most man. have a threshhold for displays in regards to dead or stuck pixels. For HP and IBM I believe it's 11-13 and for the Sony I was told they will replace the screen once under warranty for even one dead pixel and the next time it must be 11 pixels.
I have also had clients who needed the backlight replaced and that can be 2 hundred+ alone.
With over a million pixel elements in a 15&quot; screen, having a few go over the lifetime or when new are quite common, but I myself will settle only for 0 dead ones and I went through 1 Toshiba and 3 H.P.'s before finding a flawless screen. Remember when you sell it 1-2 years from now, one of the biggest selling points is the ability to say ZERO dead pixels.
BTW: Most extendeds are transferable, increasing the resale value as well.
Edit:
I've got W2k running now without any trouble and tried W98 and Me so far without problem. XP in a few weeks, should be interesting!
 
MesBoogie - Your setup looks good, the Inspiron 4000 is an awesome laptop. Since laptops aren't as easy to fix/replace/work on I would strongly recommend getting the full 3 year warranty because as others have said the TFT display is worth the cost of the warranty itself. My only complain is Win ME sucks but you can easily wipe it off and install W2K. Just make sure to get your setup esp the 128MB RAM, 20GB, 56k/NIC combo, 53w battery.

Don't forget they're giving away a free 8x DVD upgrade through today.
 
I contacted Dell about switching Me for 2000 on a consumer purchase. No dice.

I can purchase it on a business unit though. Would it be worth forgoing the $100 MIR and free DVD for a full copy of Win2000?

-mb
 
Whaddya know, people posted! This thread was dead in the water for days so I just ignored it. Hijaking is fine by me, I just posted this as an FYI. I can change the title or something if you guys want. Thanks for the PM, RossMan. Let's see...

MesBoogie: Your setup is fine. I am very happy with the performance of my laptop. I was just playing Half-Life today on it. The sound locks up sometimes, but 98% of the time I get smooth gameplay at 640x480 with OpenGL. One thing I'm pissed about is that Dell gave me two 64MB modules instead of one 128MB. Bad for memory upgrading, ya know? If you talk to a rep you may be able to get this changed.

I got WinME with my laptop, and I've had annoying problems with it almost since day 1. I will be moving to Win2K just as soon as I get an acceptable backup made of my hard drive. Norton Ghost/Partition Magic rules! Hopefully I'll get it done this week. I'll post about how it went when I'm done.

I got the 3 year warranty, and what can I say? It's comforting when I go to support.dell.com and I see &quot;Warranty expires in June 2004&quot;. RossMan has it right--you can't work on a laptop if it breaks. Dell has a very good reputation for reliability, though, so if you're saving money wherever possible, you *probably* won't be sorry for cutting the warranty down. It all depends on how lucky you feel.

Gotta go now, hope I didn't miss any questions. I'll check back later tonight.

Edit: My laptop is a celeron 700 w/ 128MB RAM, 10GB, 53 W/Hr, 56K+10/100. I've posted other thoughts about it in other threads if you're interested.
 
MB, depends on how much a copy of Win2K will cost you. I highly dislike Dell's restore disks anyway, as a reinstall of Windows will also install their suite of bloatware. Then again, you lose your tech support if install your own copy of Win2K.

Here's a final alternative: Get the consumer deal and WinME and try it. If you eventually concur with the rest of us, you could try Dell for an O/S swap within 30 days. If that doesn't work (it has worked for some here, but not for me), you could still get an upgrade copy of Win2K and dual boot the laptop. This now brings hard drive space into question, but 20GB should be sufficient depending on how much other stuff you have. This would give you tech support under WinME only, but a hardware (not software) problem under Win2K should also appear in WinME, so you've still got partial tech support.

Otherwise, yes, get Win2K.

Regards,
Craig
 
I took the plunge.

I decided to purchase 4000 series with the following specs:
P3 700Mhz
14.1 XGA
128 MB Ram
20 GB harddrive
8X DVD
Internal modem/nic
1 - 53 Mwh battery
WinME

Upon ordering and receiving confirmation, I found out that the unit would not ship until around 7/3/01. I'm going out of town next Monday and need the unit before then. I had to cancel the order.

But...

Round 2: I decided to purchase a refurb and found one to my liking:

Inspiron 8000
P3 700Mhz
SXGA+
15.0
128MB RAM (1 DIMM)
20 GB harddrive
Internal modem/nic
1 - 53 Mwh battery
8X DVD
Win 2000

It will arrive no later than Friday. With next day delivery, it's still cheaper than the other spec'd unit. Since my posts of yesterday, I found out that my sister-in-law bought a refurb Dell a year or so ago and is very pleased.

So...we'll see.

-mb
 
You did well. The i8000 is a little heavier, but not as bad as carrying your desktop around with you. My wife sometimes takes it to school with her along with another case, and walks for 20 minutes from Union station to U of T.

If you got a great deal anyway, you may still consider getting another 128MB SODIMM from Crucial. This will make a difference under Win2K.

Regards,
Craig
 
I got the system for $1500 + shipping.

I plan to order the memory from Crucial one I receive the machine (just want to make sure the system is ok first). The 128MB memory is <$50!

I think I got a decent deal.
 
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