M6600 Owners Thread

A warning to everyone who is about to order - the tray loaded DVD drive on the m6600 is read only.

I just opened Dell Recovery Manager to make a recovery disc, only to realise there is no way to burn a CD. I must say this is beyond my understanding..

 

What?!! This must be a mistake! Either they shipped you a wrong drive, or you are missing the correct drivers and/or software.
The website clearly states: "8X DVD+/-RW tray Load w/Roxio and Cyberlink PowerDVD™" or "8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load w/Roxio and Cyberlink PowerDVD™".
Did yours come with Roxio and Cyberlink PowerDVD?

 

I've had two 17 inch laptops before - HP Pavilion zd7000 (with a Pentium 4 dektop processor!) and Sony Vaio - and both of them have felt more cumbersome to move around. I can't say if this one is slightly heavier, but my guess it is lighter. And of course this blows both of them away in terms of power, even adjusted for the years in between. One reason the m6600 feels easier might be that it is so sturdy, it is really rigid when closed. The power brick is slightly bigger though.

But I'm really inpressed that technology has improved to the point where a mobile workstation is actually so mobile. It is both quieter and much cooler thatn the other two.

 

The DVD is a TEAC DV-18S-A. I didn't actually place the order myself, so I don't know what was stated when ordered. It's bought through university account, don't know if that matters for what's shipped. But in the configuration tool I can now only see a slot loaded one.

PowerDVD is installed, no Roxio though.

 

i cant remember the last time i burned a cd lol. usb keys are so cheap now. the tray loading drive on my m4600 is a dvdrw, so its definitely available. if you really need it u can probably buy one from dell spare parts

 

My M6600 with tray load DVD+/-R/W drive can burn disks. Discs, too.

 

TEAC DV-18S-A is indeed a DVD-ROM. Whoever placed that order must have specified (intentionally or unintentionally) a DVD-ROM, not a DVD-R/W - which is not a standard option, but I guess Dell can provide a DVD-ROM if someone insists.

You might be able to buy a replacement drive though, if it's critical for you.

 

I would plug your service tag into the Dell site and pull up the original sysyem configuration.

Did you accept delivery from Fed Ex or UPS yourself? My first thought is that someone swapped out the drive for themselves when it arrived. Either that or it was a custom quoted machine meant to be as cheap as possible.

 

It's not a modular drive - swapping wouldn't be that easy. Most likely it was a custom order (the website doesn't list all possible options - your Dell rep has more options to offer)

Good advice about checking the original configuration on-line. All that is needed is just the service tag from the bottom.

 

We sent an inquiry to Dell before placing our orders and got a confirmation that the tray load DVD drive can indeed burn discs. What country did you order from?