Precision M6400 Owner's Lounge

Not sure about the port replicator comment. The port rep does not support dual link DVI. To connect an older generation 30" monitor a DP to duallink DVI adapter is required. The newer 30" monitors with DP will work DP to DP.

 

This seems like a group that actually knows something! Incredible

Anyway, I have a m6400 with dual HDs. I bought this with the sole intention of multiple boot OS's. I wanted vista, xp, 7 and 2008 server. I REQUIRE atleast dual boot a primary OS (prob 7) with XP. I have proprietary software (for work) that only runs on xp.

Anyway, I partitioned a space for XP and went to install XP to it. BSOD! #@$^@

I talked with Dell and they said it was b/c the SAS in the BIOS needs to be adjusted. However, by doing this I will probably lose Vista (current primary OS). This isn't an option right now. They said XP doesn't understand this version of SAS format.

Did anybody else have this problem? If so, how'd you work around it? I really hate to uninstall everything change my SAS format and reinstall everything.


Note ** I cannot do a virtual OS setup due to proprietary communication protocols. I HAVE to dual boot or only XP.

 

1. Check your BIOS to find in what mode your VISTA was installed (SATA or AHCI).
2. Download from INTEL the proper driver for XP, your chipset, and your hard disk controller.
3. I assume that you do not have a floppy disk drive, so check this link:
http://www.bootdisk.com/pendrive.htm
4. Transfer to a prepared according to step 3 USB drive the INTEL drivers
5. While installing XP, choose the option for additional drivers (I think by pressing F5)
6. If this works your XP installation should work.
7. Good Luck!

 

Any particular reason you want to dual boot?

Why not use VMs? Unless you're using it for graphics purposes the M6400 will easily run a few VMs.

 

Since you're planning on running Server 2008, have you investigated the possibility of using Hyper-V to run the guest OSes on top? (it lacks usb and sound support, but it's about as close to native as you can get without multi-booting). As for installing XP, I would integrate the SATA RAID controller and KB888111 (UAA Bus Driver) using nLite.

 

I barely qualify as someone that knows as much as many other posters but I use a Precision m6400 and this is how I went about having XP, and first Vista Business, since changed to Windows 7 64bit running along side each other. My 6400 came 'downgraded' to XP and I changed out the 320GB drive it was installed on with a 64GB SSD but not before cloning XP to the new drive. Then I just installed Vista on the second drive normally. Just be careful it goes to the correct partition. I may have installed after booting to the install disk and if your BSODs are coming from trying your install from inside Vista I'd try that.

Or take the Vista disk out before you install XP if you're worried about 'losing' your Vista install. But I think if you stay away from messing with the BIOS that's unlikely. And the best insurance there would be to use Acronis to clone the Vista install so what happens to the original in not important. And if you're Precision came with Seagate drives (or Maxtor), or if you have any of either, both companies offer a free copy of a rebranded copy of Acronis for free. And you'd be nuts to pass that up.

So though you've not gotten a top notch TechWizard answer you have gotten one from someone who's probably made every mistake it's possible to make with computers and mostly had to figure out the answers myself. I'm pretty sure you're problem is small and if you try either, Install after booting to the disk (If your BSOD thing is from inside Vista) or just take the Vista disk out and install XP, that dog should hunt, to borrow a phrase. My machine came with two Seagate drives so if yours did then download your free Acronis and do it with no sweat over the Vista install.

 

I had a few questions, I'm mainly interested in this for two reasons, the RGB LED screen and the 9800m GTX equivalent graphics card. I know it's a workstation notebook with a card designed for CAD and such but there is no other notebook out there with a great screen and high end gpu. So I was wondering how good/bad is the RGB LED screen and can the card be used as a gaming card with modified drivers with same/better performance as 9800m gtx (I hear it is physically the same card or very similar with different drivers/firmware) and are there any problems with it for gaming? Thanks

 

No comment on the screen, but any professional GPU card can be used as a gaming card simply by installing the appropriate drivers, either from Nvidia or www.laptopvideo2go.com. In other words, the card in the M6400 can be used as a gaming card with no problem (as other users in NBR have mentioned already).

Note that the converse is not true: you cannot use gaming cards as professional cards.

 

The card is even better than 9800M GTX which has 112 stream processors - the FX3700M has 128, just like the desktop card, only it's lower clocked (desktop one has 740 MHz or more).

You have some other business laptops with this card and RGB LED (e.g. HP 8730W; not sure if the Lenovo introduced RGB LED on W700 by now). I'm sure there are already some noticeably cheaper gaming laptops with maybe even better cards, but I'm not sure about the screen and the case quality. I really like the HP and Dell business laptops' look and feel and the quality rather than those usually associated with gaming laptops (I had HP 8710W with FX3600M before and have the M6400 now; M6400 is great, but I wish it came with the BluRay reader and WSXGA resolution, like the 8710W did; I find WUXGA too small for my liking and it doesn't help the gaming performance, as well).

As far as gaming cards are concerned, GTX280M is pretty much the same card, only produced in smaller manufacturing process so it can be somewhat higher clocked, and, based on some reviews I saw, I'd say the ATI 4850M and 4870M cards are stronger in games (especially 4870) than this one. They also come in SLI versions, but this usually brings thickness and weight increases.

 

*drools over the M6400 Covet in orange color for the n-th time in the past few months, then acknowledges that a 17-inch beast is too big for his uses and cries*