Good news for Latitude X1 owners!

koliberk
Did you try the KingSpec 32GB SSD yet? This is half the price of the MTRON that others have used.
Daniel

 

Interesting look at the Kingspec SSD vs HDD:
http://www.gottabemobile.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=7758

 

Looks like we should all get Windows7 when we move to SSD:
http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/2009/05/05/support-and-q-a-for-solid-state-drives-and.aspx

 

Those of you who are using Windows 7 on your X1... what's your experience been over time? Is it still working well? Have you found any limitations?

 

Hello everyone!
I would like to make my first post ever about my experience with my X1.
I got it in an auction a couple of months ago and I can say that none of the above comments are exaggerated. The X1 is a great machine, VERY light and not at all shy when it comes to perform any task. I was concerned about the RAM limitations but after reading about the 2GB possibilities, I decided to try it and it all worked fine. I used M$ XP SP3 and even though it shows 1.9 - 2GB instead of 2,25Gb, I am more than pleased with the result.
Also I did change the original 60GB PATA HD with a 120GB ZIF connector and an adapter. All because you guys mentioned the possibility to do so. I did considered the SSD option but I wanted a cheap, larger HD. I did see the problem of space but decided to remove the rubber corners inside the X1 HD space. Turned the HD upside down and adjusted all cables into position and voilà! It works under Windows and Kubuntu environment, and the KB doesn't stick out, which is a BIG plus.
Now comes the question for you:
I have read this thread at least 3 times concerning HDs and I couldn't find the answer to the following. I did read (somewhere, can't remember any more where) that somebody mentioned the fact that after a HD replacement, he/she noticed the HD light on and off every couple of minutes, without being connected to the internet or doing any task. This happens to me also. I did have XP and I read that this might be a Windows issue. It sounded like a bang every 2-3 seconds. I know the HD is ok cause I did test it throughfully before installing it. Then I decided to test it under Linux conditions and got Kubuntu on it. I don't hear the "beat" any more but i do see the light go off a bit and the monitor shows the HD activity up and down at regular intervals. The computer is not on the internet, just to make sure that no updates or connections are made, minimizing the "risk" of extra activity.
Can anyone confirm if they have seen this behaviour under M$. I do know the normal computer processes have some regular activity but this one was driving me crazy. Again the computer was not connected to the internet under both tests but all OS updates where done.
Thank you in advance for any help you can provide and please keep the excellent savvy comments going, they have really helped me a lot!!

 

Welcome to the thread!

I can't confirm this HDD activity neither under windows Xp nor under Linuxes (including the Ubuntu derivative linux Mint). I have Samsung 120GB with ZIF connector. It might be related to your pagefile/swapping settings under XP/Linux.

 

Dear Deity
How can I check the pagefile/swapping in XP? I know ubuntu does the partitioning by itself for swapping memory but I have no idea how XP would do such a thing. I have never experienced such activity in any laptop/desktop. I use the same custom XP version (nlite) for all computers and never have random behaviour.
Thanks for the reply!

 

It's not about partitions under linux, it's about how frequently the swap partition is addressed. It is regulated by the swappiness parameter. You can change it (google for it).
I already don't remember how I set the pagefile settings. I use XP so rarely now. Your problem also could be a HDD firmware issue. Do you have Toshiba or Samsung?

EDIT:

This may turn out to be my last post on this forum:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=5054098#post5054098

Thanks to everybody for sharing his/hers experience in this thread.
Love your X1 as I do love truth and may get banned for telling too much of it (about Putin's Russia in the political off topic forum).

 

Hello again Ivar,
Sorry about the delayed answer but I just got an xbox1 to chip and I can't get it work with the BIOS and dash and such...
As far as I can remember the HD is a Samsung but I can't be certain about it. I remember Kubuntu's partition showing a samsung, but I have read so much about X1 HD that is all a big spaghetti in my head.
I will google the swappiness parameter and the HD firmware update.
Hope you get back soon into the forum!
Best of luck!
PD

 

A better/smaller zif <> 1.8 ide adapter is available now:

I make this post as an exception.