D610 questions

ok i decided to go ahead and get a refurb D610 and just got a few questions about it.

1)Sonoma, Dothan, or Alviso. which one does it have?

2)it has 1 512MB memory and i want to add another 512 and not sure which of these two i need:
Crucial

3)it has a 60GB HD i want to reformat 20/40. i read that tutorial about reformating and it has helped alot, but i got a question about drivers. what folder in c:\ drive do i need to copy to have all the drivers? on mine i have a "dell" and a "drivers" folder in my c:\ drive. which of these do i need to make a copy of. is it better to do this rather than use drivers and utilities cd that came with my notebook? i have heard that the drivers on the cd can be outdated.

4) i didnt recieve an owners manual. does dell stop sending owners manual with thier systems? or is it because mine is a refurb?

 

1) Sonoma
2) Part CT434071 if your existing ram module is PC2-4200. Part CT434073 if your existing ram module is PC2-3200.
3) get all the latest drivers from the your local Dell support site. Store them, like everything else, in the storage partition (not where XP resides - which I assume you are going to reformat and reinstall XP in...Don't forget to backup your e-mail storage on the "other" partition too, also bookmarks/favourites)
4) get manuals for the D610 from http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latd610/en/index.htm.

 

1)does all D610 have sonoma? i was looking through my order details and it said PM Dothan 750. is that just a typo?

2)not sure which 1 i have.

3)im on dial-up at home for now so i would rather avoid having to download the drivers as much as i can, unless it really is that much better to get it off the dell site. this notebook is new and i dont have anything i need to backup on this. figured i would reformat before i put anything in here. the drivers go on the partioned drive? i thought it would go to where XP is?

 

1) Sonoma is a later version of the Dothan.
2) To find out what ram is installed download the freeware app Everest from http://www.freedownloadscenter.com/...s_Utilities/Lavalys_EVEREST_Home_Edition.html. Install it and run. In opening screen just read computer>summary. Your chipset can run 4200 (DDR2-533) or the slower 3200 (DDR2-400). Better to get second module @ same speed to utilize the "double"-speed effect of 2X DD2-2 ram modules, but not essential. All D610's appear to come with the 4200 ram now. You probably have 4200 (DDR2-533), but best to check. Otherwise it should be on the invoice.
3) Re drivers; under the subdirectory "C:dell/Drivers" there are further subdirectories, each representing a driver of the name of that subdirectory. e.g. One such subdirectory on my pc is C:/dell/Drivers R109280. These subdirectories will not survive a reformat. To put them back there you need to have on hand each driver executable, of the form "(name of the subdirectory).exe. e.g. "R109280.exe". The original driver installation executables will be on your Dell-provided "Drivers and Utilities" CD, unless you have upgraded them online. Use that CD to reinstall the drivers once you have reinstalled XP. It is not essential to have the newer driver installation executables, but if you have any, place them away from C (e.g. on a CD or/and the other partition): so they can be safely used after re-formatting C:

 

Sonomas are Dothans with a faster FSB.

 

Thanks, zazonz! I have corrected my entry above. The Dothan was the earlier 815 series. It supported DDR1, a 400 MHz system bus and AGP gpu's. The D610 uses the Alviso chipset, the core of the Sonoma platform, a substantial development. The chipset used in the D610 is either the 915GM with an integrated gpu or the 915PM with a dedicated X300 gpu. The Sonoma supports DDR2, a 533 MHz system bus, and PCI Express gpu's.
See http://www.digit-life.com/articles2/rmma/rmma-dothan2.html.

 

just ran everest. neat little program

1)thanks. now it makes sense. i wasnt really gonna do anything w/ this info. just really wanted to know

2)under memory it says "512 MB (DDR2-533 DDR2 SDRAM)" so i guess that means its the 4200?

3)on mine i dont have "C:dell/Drivers" i just have "C:\dell" and "C:\drivers". which one of these do i need? maybe both? theres not a "drivers" subdirectory under "C:\dell"

i though from reading that thread about reformating that i can just copy those essential folder w/ the drivers and put them back in the C: drive after i reformat and then they will just get recognized. is that totally wrong?

 

drivers need to be installed like any other application. you can't just copy the files onto the HD and expect windows to recognize them.

 

1) your ram is 4200 (=533 DDR2).
2) note drumfu''s answer. don't worry about where the drivers are installed on C: Once you have reformatted you have to install them all afresh - from your Dell installation CD, or similar. ie. you can't just "put them back". Each installation executable unpacks and places the files in the right locations to create the final working application. It's not a copy and paste job.

 

hhmm this reformating thing is starting to look a little complicated. or maybe im just making it so.

so i went to dell's drivers & downloads site and i got confused. how do i know which of those drivers do i need? some of them have more than one choices like "display devices". i dont know which of those things i need. some are easy as i know what i have, but for the others im not so sure. how do i go about finding which one i need? (im just gonna go to a friends house and try to DL all the drivers i need before reformatting. seems its better to have the latest drivers)

are the drivers on dell's installation cd the same ones that are installed in the comp right now? i was comparing that date with those from the dell's website and some are kinda outdated.

 

you have 2 options:

1. download just the network drivers (NIC and/or wifi card) so that after you reinstall XP, you can install the network drivers, access dell's driver download page and get the rest.

2. download all the drivers now. they are all necessary except for quickset (only necessary if you want to have volume, display meters on screen and some Fn+_ functions), diagnostic, display devices, IDE/EIDE (unless you have that HD), printer, removable media (unless you have one), system/config

download your choice onto an external drive/media or burn to cdr/dvdr so you have them after you reformat/reinstall the OS. then load the drivers and you have a fresh, fast, clean install.

 

ok so all i need are: Audio, Chipset, Communication, FlashBIOS, Input Drivers, Network Drivers, and Video Drivers? ok so this is getting understandable. just a few more questions.

1)what is that FlashBios for? i didnt think i would have to mess with the BIOS when reformatting.

2)Is Quickset the one that lets me turn my wireless on/off (Fn+F2). if so then i think im gonna need that

3)which of those drivers needed (listed above) are for usb and other ports?

4)what exactly is the display devices for?

sorry with all these questions. just have the need to know everything before i do anything

 

1. flashing the BIOS is good thing. you want to do this.

edit: you don't HAVE to do this step when reformatting, but it's highly recommended. as the OEM finds ways to make your notebook more effiecient and have its components talk to each other better, they offer BIOS upgrades. it's really a good thing. and it's super easy. just run the .exe and it does it all by itself.

2. yes, although i think Fn+F2 turns on at the BIOS level, so you don't NEED quickset if that's all you want to do; but to do things like Fn+_ to open your CD tray, you need it

3. not sure, just get them all, you need them anyway

4. external monitors

 

well i want to do all the things that Fn+ all the blue things on the keyboard says i can do (like check battery, control brightness and volume, print screen). do i need quickset for that to work?

gonna DL all the drivers tomorow, hopefully.

 

yes, you will need quickset to enable all those keyboard functions; some work without it, some don't

 

k im the process of DL all the drivers i need and just got a quick question
which of these do i need? just the drivers or the application and the diagnostic utilities also? (i think its for the ethernet)

also once i have all these and finished reformating, do i just install the drivers 1 by 1?

 

do you have a gigabyte NIC?

you need the NIC driver that matches your card; whatever it may be.

 

In Device Manager, i looked under Network adapters and theres 2 of them
-Broadcom NetXtreme 57xx Gigabit Controller and
-Intel(R)PRO/Wireless 2915ABG Network Controller

already got the intel drivers so im guessing that the other one is for ethernet. is that right?

 

yes, you want the drivers that match your hardware

 

thanks

im reformatting right now and i deleted all the partiotion. now im trying to create a partition. i have a 60GB HD but how come only 57232 MB are available? wheres the rest?

 

ok so i made a 40GB partion...
then i intsall windows on the unpartitioned space?

when i made the 40GB partition, it called that C. i would like windows to be installed in C and the 40Gb partition to be called something else. can i change the name around?

can i install windows in a partioned space or does it have to be unpartitioned.

 

1. unpartitioned space is not usable. you cannot install windows there or save any data there either.

2. if you want a 40GB partition as your non-windows partition, then you need to do math. total hd space - 40 = size of parition you should create first. the partition/format process has to create the boot/system partition first so that your computer will work

3. you will not get a full 60GBs out of your HD because 1 GB = 1024 MB, not 1000. therefore, you lost a little bit of space every 1 GB. it's not an exact measurement. also, there are partitions created by dell for storage. if you elect to keep them, they eat into your HD space as well.

are you going off of SoutherGirl's 'reformat' guide? it walks you through all of these steps

 

yeah i am going off her guide...
i didnt know that i had to create the windows partitioned first.

ok so i think i am almost done. just 2 more things. i reinstalled all the drivers and restarted and everything. when u go to device manager i still have that yellow question mark on one of them. its on PCI Simple Communications Controller. what is this and what is the driver for this. also i just noticed that the driver date on my comp for the X300 does not match with the one from dell's website, even though i downloaded that same file

thanks for bearing with me...its almost done

oh and it didnt ask me for any product key or something. i though it was suppose to do that. and when you make a spare partition, do you format it after you install windows. i just realized that my d drive is not formated

 

on mine theres two lines that start with multi. which of these do i delete? both of them?

this is what they are:
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

 

You may format/rename partitions anytime. Use 'disk management'.

 

in your boot.ini, just delete one of the lines, not both of them.

if you're installing from a disk you got from dell, then yes, you won't need to input a key.

 

does it matter which 1 i delete? the first 1 or the 2nd one?

also anything on what driver i might be missing for that "PCI Simple Communications Controller" pretty sure its not the modem, wireless, or the ethernet. what else could it be?

 

you need to delete the one that points to the partition that Windows IS NOT on

PCI Simple... sounds like the USB controller

 

how would i know which one points to where? would the first partition i made (C: where windows is on) be the first one?

maybe this would help. this is my boot.ini file
[boot loader]
timeout=30
default=multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS
[operating systems]
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(1)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect
multi(0)disk(0)rdisk(0)partition(2)\WINDOWS="Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition" /noexecute=optin /fastdetect

what driver would i need for the usb controller? would that be the problem even though all 4 of my usb ports seems to be working fine?
is there anyway i can find out what device is it? it says location: PCI bus 3, device 1, function 5.

 

ok i just want to say thanks to drumfu and to all those that who took the time to help me out. seems everything is fine now. the multiple boot-up screen is gone and i found the missing driver i needed. it was for "Texas Instrument PCI GemCore based SmartCard controller." btw, what is that for?

 

oh, that's your SD card reader; totally forgot about that one

 

There is no SD card reader in the D610. The driver in question is a smart card reader.

 

what is a smart card reader?

 

http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/question332.htm

 

um thats great and all, but i mean what use do i have it for on my comp. i guess i need an example or something. is it like if i get an external wireless card or something? or am i completely off?

 

i believe a smart card reader is like an electronic key. since you have a business class notebook (the latitude versus the inspiron), security is a concern. a smart card is just like the electronic ID cards that some companies use for the their employees to get into the parking structure or restricted areas of the office.

 

ahh...ok thanks. i guess i didnt really need it