N3510 - installing OS from scratch

Has anyone tried formatting their HDD or upgraded to a new HDD and then using the recovery discs to install back all the drivers and windows? Are their any complications? I know that with some brands of notebooks (Acer, Sony etc..) the recovery discs only work if you have the hidden partitions on the disk. Is there such hidden partitions on the Fujitsu? Or is it just fine using the recovery discs on a brand new HDD?

Thank You.

 

ok thanks. Im just worried the 7K60 will add even more warmth to the N3510. In fact, the source of the heat is a little unknown to me. The HDD is under the touchpad, to the left a little. But the main area where heat is felt is in the area of where the express card and pc card slots are, which is to the left of the HDD.

 

there is no hidden partition for fujitsu. But if you want to be 100% sure I'll try when I replace the current drive with my 7200RPM. I had no problem doing that with my old sony, only thing was i needed to insatall some dlls to get some of sony's software (power managemnet) to work. Fujitsu seems to be even less complicated and less annoying. The laptop ships with a DVD that i suppose is an image of the HDD as its supposed to look the first time you switch it on.

I'll be plugging in the 7200RPM thursday evening after I finish my finals. I'll try installing windows from the supplied image DVD so that you can be sure. Then I will install my own copy of XP pro.

 

i think that that area also includes the wireless card (and tv tuner if ur getting one).
I think the problem is the lack of ventilation, a small vent next to the HDD would have made such a difference. Even on my N6, the setup is almost identical (for location of parts), although the laptop is very cool and air blown out of it is barely warm, the HDD area is the warmest area (but still cooler than the N3). And just like the N3, the N6 has no vents in that area.
I was doing some file transfers a while ago and i managed to heat up the HDD upto 50 degrees, but that is still cooler than the N3 and moderate usage. But my old laptop which has the HDD in the center of the unit and close to the chipset (practically over it) doesn't get to 50, so I am wondering if this is the fault of some other component! No clue!

 

I've just thought of an idea. Maybe someone can make a fan that that plugs into the pc card/express card slot which blows hot air out. Thid might cool that area a bit. qwester, have you had time to try installing the OS from the cds? Thanks.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by orangeguy

 

Can't help you on the LCD question but thanks for trying the recovery cds out! Glad every thing is working better than normal. Just one more question, if i wanted my new hard drive to have 2 partitions, would i have to partition it first, then use the recovery cd to bring it back how it was on one of the partition?

Thanks!

 

yes you will have to partition it first then recover, since the recovery software has no options to add partitions. It can just delete all partitions, or format C:

 

Update: Installed my copy of XP Pro. Windows practically recognized nothing of the hardware. Put in application & Driver CD that shipped with my N6. Used the auto install, very simple, ticked all drivers, and some of the applications: Hot keys and application panel (to use the function keys on the keyboard and multimedia keys) and WinDVD. I skipped on Norton 2004 since I bought the newer version and Acrobat 6 since 7 is already out and Quiken which I never use (there are no garbage software, not even optional [ ]). And everything installed all at once, rebooted, and all my driver installation and configuration was done automatically and was done in a few minutes.

I am just missing the Fujitsu Driver update tool, but no biggie!

All in all totally happy. Faster HDD and stable OS (no driver issues) with no hassle and in just around an hour of wait.

Downloading linux now. To be installed on the Ex-internal drive, now in enclosure. N6's Bios allows booting from USB, it detects USB drives on initialization. BTW I am really happy with the BIOS, very extensive with extremely nice security features. With the N6 I feel as if I lost nothing by getting a notebook instead of a desktop, I just gained more space on my desk. A true DTR!

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N6010: P4M 3.2G, 512MB Dual 333MHz, 60GB 7200RPM, ATI 9700M, 17" WXGA+
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wow, nice to hear everything went so smoothly..DO you know wehther the N3510 shares a similar bios to the N6? Just want to see whether it will allow booting from usb drives. Thank You.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by orangeguy

 

Hi,

I formatted my laptop, divided it into 2 partition and upgraded it to windows xp pro o/s.
But the instant mymedia does not start properly.It shown only black screen.
After i tried to recover it using the recovery cd, there was an error said," the specified partition is an extended partition".
Now i could not even start my windows anymore.
Please help, anyone?
Thanks.


Chen

 

The Hitachi is a bit warmer, and heavier..

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S7011 - *1.6mHZ*, *512MB DDR 333*, *Hitachi Travelstar 60G 7200RPM*, *Toshiba CDRW Combo Drive*, *14.1' SuperFine*, *Fingerprint Scanner*, *Intel Pro 2200 B/G*, *Logitec Black Optical Mouse*

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by qwester

Update: Installed my copy of XP Pro. Windows practically recognized nothing of the hardware. Put in application & Driver CD that shipped with my N6.<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'></font id='quote'></blockquote id='quote'>Why did you reinstall from the image dvd prior to installing XP pro from cd? Or did you just want to see what the restore process looked like? Next question is why you didn't just buy your N6010 with XP Pro?

-David

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by drw

 

ssboyz,
If you deleted the original partitions from your system when you formatted your HD ,I believe you will have to use the original XP dvd from Fujitsu since you have the tv tuner. The "My Media" program requires a hidden partition for this to work correctly. The only way to get this partion back is with the Fujitsu dvd.<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by ssboyz

 

quote:

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ssboyz,
If you deleted the original partitions from your system when you formatted your HD ,I believe you will have to use the original XP dvd from Fujitsu since you have the tv tuner. The "My Media" program requires a hidden partition for this to work correctly. The only way to get this partion back is with the Fujitsu dvd.

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The original o/s provided is xp home. Is there any way for me to restore the fujitsu to the factory default, then reinstall or reupgrade it to the winxp pro?
Isnt the tv tuner optional?I think mine can be used only to watch the dvd onto the laptop without using the operating system.
I will try to restore it to the factory default. Thanks for the help[ ]


Chen

 

I think the only way to use XP Pro and "My Media", is to restore it with the factory disk. Once you have the original partions in there, you should be able to install XP Pro over the home version. Just don't delete any partions. Hope this helps. [ ]