Dell Precision M6700 Owners Thread

I had an identical problem when I ordered my Covet 33 days ago. They gave me a favorable ship date -- when I would be in country to pick it up -- but then they ran into some "delays in production". So I got pushed forward to six days delay, and then finally to twelve days delay (just after I had to leave). So, delays are common, for whatever reasons. Read where it was much worse in the early days when the M6700s first came out -- sometimes a month or more delay -- if that makes you feel better! I'd guess you'll have it soon.

I've been to Acronis' web site and seen where you can download a "test" copy of the software. Wouldn't that allow me to do a quick transfer like this without having to pay for the whole software??

 

Hey there. Hopefully I can answer your questions pretty well.

Firstly, I wasn't able to do a direct OS transfer. The system shipped with an OS reinstall disc which I used; unfortunately this is just Win7 and not a reimage, so no drivers or software. There is the Dell Client System Update program which acts like the Lenovo System Update software on ThinkPads; goes through and downloads the drivers/programs you're lacking. It didn't get everything so I still had to go on the hunt for a few of them. It was time consuming, but since I had to throw in two 1TB HDDs and copy all the data from my previous system I was in for a long haul anyway.

I haven't yet done the switch, but I will say that if you're also a ThinkPad fan you are going to be pretty disappointed with the Trackpoint on this system. It works, but it's generally pretty hard to use. Unfortunately, the caps aren't a direct fit; the post on the Dell keyboards are about half the size of the ThinkPad ones. However, someone on another forum posted a DIY mod here: Improving the D630 Trackpoint... - D6xx - OSXLatitude Forum

It's a bit of work but once I get some downtime I'm looking forward to getting it done. You can readily find trackpoint caps on eBay or Amazon. I had been thinking about stealing the one from my T500 to make do for the time being but decided not to.

 

Here are two ways to clone your HDD to a SSD using free tools: How To Migrate Windows 7 to a Solid State Drive

For half of my SSDs, I used software provided by the SSD manufacturer, Micron has a version of Apricorn EzGig that they bundle with some SKUs and you can download a cloning tool for Intel SSDs which is in fact a version of Acronis locked to Intel drives. Samsung bundles Nortron Gost IIRC.

Also, look at the fine print carefully, the more recent trial versions of Acronis no longer let you clone I think.

I have used clonezilla successfully multiple times, but I was always cloning from a smaller SSD to a larger one. On a side note, I still don't know what to do with my 64 GB and 128 GB M4s, they're gathering dust right now...

@Aaron, unless Samsung changed something, not all SKUs of their SSDs come with the cloning tool.

 

It irritates me that two weeks ago, when I made my order, they couldn't have found out that they didn't have enough parts to make their estimated ship date. It's one thing to have a 4-week estimated time, and quite another to be pushed out when they very well should have been able to determine whether they had all the parts in stock at the time of the order, based on orders that they already had queued, and stock on shelves. I'd much rather be told that I'll have to wait 4-8 weeks for delivery than be told I only have to wait 2 weeks, then keep getting pushed back. Seems like their just-in-time is more along the lines of not-in-time.

Thanks for letting me know of your experience.

Tracy

 

My Samsung 840 came with the software (that I didn't use), but I suppose some drives/SKUs might not come with it.

Anyway, you can also use Windows to do the clone, though the process requires a few steps, it can be done without extra software. You'll need a Windows install DVD and an external hard drive or large flash drive.

If you don't have a Windows install DVD you can use the "Create a system repair disc" option in the Windows backup control panel to get a disc with the necessary tools. If you don't have an external hard drive, you can use a network share or a stack of blank DVDs.

1. Use "disk management" in Windows to shrink your system partition so that it will fit on the SSD. 200 GB should be good?
This is important, the Windows software will not allow you to restore an image to a smaller drive even if there is enough room to hold the files.

2. Use the Windows backup feature to create a system image of your drive and store it on the external hard drive.
(In Windows 7 this is in the "Backup and Restore" control panel, in Windows 8 it's in a control panel labeled "Windows 7 File Recovery." Note, you don't need to do all of the backup stuff that it offers, just click "Create a system image" on the left.)

3. Swap drives in the system. (Leave the original drive out until the backup is finished, otherwise it will try to restore there first.)

4. Boot Windows install DVD or repair disc, go to "Repair/recovery" section and choose the option to restore a system image. Point it to the image on your external drive.

5. After the restore is complete, go to disk management and expand your partition to fill the remaining space.

 

Well I'm on my second go round but I knew from the beginning I'd fill my Vertex 4 256 pretty quick. I'm moving to Samsung Pro 512GB and I hope this is it. I've got all my major programs at this point.


Speaking of software, why can't I delete Avid Media Composer from my start screen?

I right click then > delete and nothing happens? Can't get rid of the pesky critter. What do? Now that I have the W8 tiles, these quick launch icons are unnecessary clutter.

 

The 840, 500GB I ordered from Amazon (sold by Amazon) and it did not come with a disk. I used Acronis without issue.

Just FYI.

Mike

 

How about Revo Uninstaller? Works for me pretty well. (I'm using XP, though, don't know about W8. But I believe Revo works for it, too. Worth a try.)

 

As a matter of fact I have that most excellent tool (Pro series) and it works just fine on W8. However, it wasn't the program only the icon I wanted removed.

I right clicked and went to the file location and deleted it from there. Thanks for your assistance.

 

Edit: deleted post because taptalk sucks and I was responding to a post a few pages back -.-