just bought a ms-1029 barebone & parts

yikes... not 3 minutes ago i ordered em:

ms-1029 barebone ($725.59 + $8.72 shipping from DigitalHotBuy)

MT-40 processor ($269.00 from newegg)
1GB ddr400 ram (92.99 from newegg)
80gb 7200 rpm hd (145.00 from newegg)
newegg shipping: $8.44

grand total: $1249.74

i'll let you guys know how it goes.


p.s. anybody have any suggestions about where to buy the internal wireless card?

 

Nice, that seems like a very nice setup there... I was sort of expecting it to be cheaper though.. considering you were putting in the components in yourself. but eh.

 

80g 7200RPM drive is the major cost difference. That's 100 right there over a 5200 RPM

 

congrats! heres mine.

MS-1029 barebone (ebay)
MT-40 CPU (newegg)
2GB DDR400 RAM (newegg)
80gb 5400 RPM HD (newegg) (seems to be fast enough)
Intel Mini PCI Wireless Adapter (newegg) http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16833106220

 

Looks nice!

 

Newegg didn't have the wireless card?

Thats where I got mine, -bluetooth anyway.

 

just ordered the msi wireless+bluetooth card from newegg... didn't realize it was there before.

kindof interesting... the bluetooth card is only a few bucks more than the wireless-only card (cost me $28.99)

 

Do you already have an OS handy? Please let us know of your experience with Digitalhotbuy.

 

at my school, because I am an information systems major, i get quite a bit of microsoft software for free, which includes winxp pro


i chose digital hot buy because they were a cnet featured merchant. they were the 2nd cheapest. the cheapest one was pagecomputer, but pagecomputers reviews were worse and they didnt even have a pic or specs on the product. their website was pretty pathetic so i was wary about them.

i'll definitely let you know how i like digitalhotbuy's service

 

My suggestion WRT digitalhotbuy.com is you definitely want to call them to confirm item's availability before placing an order. Even if their website shows an item is in stock, it might just not be the case.

I've ordered a ms-1013 barebone through them in Nov '05 and it turned out to be it was out of stock then though it continued showing "in stock" after receiving phone call from their rep indicating it's back-ordered

 

just received my newegg stuff... expecting the fedex guy to show up at my door with the laptop itself anytime today... oh the anticipation!

that's pretty quick shipping. both newegg and digitalhotbuy shipped the packages the first business day (monday) and they have/are arriving today (thursday)

i'm impressed so far...

 

woohoo! im sending this from the laptop, and i must say i am very impressed!

ordering through digitalhotbuy and newegg was perfect, without any problems at all. they both delivered very fast. (3 days)

once i got all the parts, i had it put together and was installing windows within 30 mins

one thing: it didn't come with any thermal grease. i'm not sure, but i think it was supposed to because it "recommended" using the "given" thermal grease in the pdf installation guide. but then i looked at the product checklist and it wasn't on the list. oh well... it doesnt seem to be getting that hot anyway. it's just mildly warm to the touch (actually feels quite nice i'd say).

i was a bit worrie about the "gaping hole" i'd read about in the forums... the gaping hole is covered by some clear plastic... so there will be no worries about dirt getting in or anything like that. what a relief.

everything seems to be working great so far. wireless connection is excellent. on my desktop i'm lucky to get 10mbps, but with this new laptop i get the full 54mbps!


/me is very pleased

let me know if you have any questions...

 

You're right not to panic...OTOH, the heat sink_CPU link is why they place a hunk of metal on top of the CPU...it's to dissipate heat. If you're monitoring the CPU's temps and all's well...well, then I guess you've just proved up mythologic proportions.

Personally, that artic silver mess builds up a pile of immovable "crud" on the upper surface of the CPU...if you change it out...or if you wanna do that...keep that artic-silver argument in mind.

Other than that, if you have guarantees that your CPU will run 5-10 degrees celsius lower...then I'd experiment with that plan. I doubt it, though....but that's just my yankin' around notebooks and friends who've test things.

 

AHHHHHHHHHHHH!!! laptop won't boot! what the heck?

it was working perfectly!!!

now... it won't even post. if i turn on the laptop, the led light turns on and the fan runs. THAT'S ALL!

it's friday night and i have to wait until monday to get tech support! this is rediculous



i wish i had some spare parts so i could do some more testing and see what's wrong

 

could this be because of the memory i bought?

manufact: a-Data
1gb
ddr400 (pc3200)

 

Possibly. You could try flashing your BIOS to v2.50 and manually setting the memory frequency to 333MHz and see if it will boot.

One other thing you can try...if the battery is plugged in. Unplug AC power and remove the battery. Restore the AC power and power up.

 

wouldn't i have to get it booted in the first place before i can flash it? i need another ram chip that will work so i can boot up i think

 

is this applicable? it seems some MSI mobo's are picky about the Cas Latency and buffers



Speed DDR 400 (PC 3200)
Cas Latency 2.5
Voltage 2.5V
ECC No
Registered/Unbuffered Unbuffered
Heat Spreader No

 

sorry to hear about your problem. i would go to a local store and buy some 2700 ram and see if you can flash your bios. i have a 1 gig and 512 meg stick of kingmax pc2700. it's been rock solid. staples has PNY 512MB PC2700 DDR Notebook ram for $39.94 if you don't want to wait till monday. what have you done to troubleshoot it so far?
scott

 

i tried removing the memory. if you remove the memory, same problem. i would expect it to beep at me, but it doesn't.
i tried removing the battery and simply running with ac power only. didn't work.
i looked inside to make sure everything was installed properly. it is.
the cpu is not getting hot.
hoooked it up to another monitor, no change
tried reseating the ram, no change
pulled the hard drive out, no change



i had this same issue when i built my moms desktop a few months ago. and it turned out that the mobo was picky about the cpu fan you use (i was using a spare until i could make it to the computer store). i guess it has sensors to tell if it is on properly. soon as i put the right one on it worked fine. the only thing different about this time is that on my laptop it worked for a day before it quit.

 

i'm gunna see if i can convince my roommate to let me pull the ram out of his laptop... we'll see how that goes over...

 

you have done what anybody would do to troubleshoot it...i would just pull it without giving him the chance to say no. good luck.
scott

 

i downloaded the bios update from msi, but it doesn't include a readme file of any kind. i expected some instructions at least.

so... the zip file contains 3 files:
afudos.exe
a1029ams.bat
a1029ams.250

im assuming i'll be doing this right but i want to make sure since i know updating the bios is risky business. it looks like i have to find a way to boot into dos, then run the batch file which will run the afudos.exe (flash updater app i guess) with the correct arguements to update the bios using the bios update file (the .250 file)

do i really need to do this through dos, or can i do it within windows. also, if i do have to do it in dos, does anyone know of a bootable dos cd image i can download? i'll have to research more into freedos i guess and see if they have a boot cd

i have a flash drive too if anyone knows of a way to boot dos off a flash drive

 

http://www.bootdisk.com/tennessee/flashcd.zip

download that bootable cd and burn the bios files to the cd...you will need to run the .bat file it will shut off afterwards. you can't boot to a flash drive.
scott

 

dang i love nero... automatically creates a drdos boot disk, and even lets me add the flash files. took all of 2 seconds! i tested it too. it puts the files i added onto a virtual "d:" drive. now if my roommate will just get home so i can beg and grovel and plead...

 

Ah, welcome to do-it-yourselfer's hell. I'm the tourist guide here. Ironically, if I lived in the states, I would have bought from a reseller in no time...

Anyway; Your RAM chips are probably the most suspicious here, the ones you chose are not considered "good" and when it comes to RAM (and SPECIALLY in the 1029) RAM brand is the name of the game. However, there are still a couple of things you might want to check before typing newegg again...

First, make sure that absolutely no USB peripherals are connected to your laptop. I have a Bluetooth MS mouse and eventually noticed that it would cause the post session to lag for at least 5 minutes, don't know why...

Second, change your RAM module's sockets. I don't know why, but it helps. My 1029 won't boot if my RAM is not installed as it likes it

Finally, get rid of the stock thermal paste (the sticky gue attached to your heat sink). Wash it off with Isopropyl alcohol and repalce it with Artic Silver 5. The 1029's heat sink has a proper copper conduct for the CPU's heat, but not for the GPU's heat. AS% is <almost> mandatory.

If that doesn't work, then you'll need an expert

 

my roommate has consented, and i will be ripping the ram out of his laptop this afternoon...

/me wonders where i can go to get arctic silver 'round here. theres a staples in idaho falls... i don't suppose i can find the stuff at walmart? i'm pretty far out in the boonies here

 

You can get arctic silver 5 at compusa. Or a fry's if your near one.

 

i'm writing this with my laptop...

updating the bios worked!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
btw... normal notebooks are a freakin pain in the neck to get into... we got it apart pretty quick but putting it back together took a few hours

ok so here's my suggestions to anyone who ever buys ram or builds their own laptop/desktop:

1. spend the extra 2 bucks and get a well-known name brand stick of ram
2. immediately upgrade the bios if an update is available

either one of these suggestions would have solved my problem before it started.

 

glad to hear things are working again for you. good job.

scott

 

I'm getting ready to do this as well (though maybe not a 1029 I may wait for a new graphics card in the 1039 or something) so anyway thanks for posting. I think I will probably use the arctic silver and am planning on using the same stuff you did except I will be using corsair ram (1-2gigs) and such hehe

Glad you got it working.

 

you should be ok with corsair from what i have read... i've heard good things about supertalent although i didn't see that brand on newegg, where i got my ram.

do remember that i freakin love my laptop... i just made a stupid decision when i bought cheap ram. i'll never make that mistake again

 

MSI only has two official ram partners Supertalent and I think kingston.

 

Spudly, good job on the fix. Dont feel bad, if you read down you will find my post about video issues on my 1029. I actually looked at the thermal pad over the GPU and thought "must be good enough." (and I have built my share of desktops before too.)

Memory note - I am getting good results from Crucial DDR400 2x1 gig sticks. Boots and is stable at 400, and shows up decently fast in Sandra.

 

for anyone who may be intereted in the quality of the tech support which i received:

my exprience with MSI:
to get tech support for laptops you have to "register" your product. i went on there and put my info in (part#, serial#, etc...) and clicked submit. the next page informed me that msi does not offer tech support for "whitebook" items and that i should get in contact with my reseller.

My experience with digitalhotbuy (my reseller):
received an email this morning. they said to call msi




i'll let that speak for itself. if you're looking for tech support from either company, don't even bother. just come to the forums here.

 

1. Your reseller is your main point of contact when you're dealing with any issue with your MSI system. If your reseller tells you to call MSI without trying to help, that's not good.

2. All RMA issues will also go through your reseller - this is how MSI has configured support - the reseller does first-line troubleshooting, repairs, and fixes. Any issue not repairable at that point goes back to MSI repair center.

3. Your notebook has a serial number which is tied to your warranty, or extended warranty if purchased at time of laptop purchase. This warranty is through MSI and they have your warranty info (or default 1-year warranty).
Your warranty is still valid, but your reseller is an important part of the chain.

4. Never choose a "catalog" site that sells 10,000 different items (cameras, film, paper, pens, office supplies, chairs, laptops) to save 40 bucks on your laptop. that goes for any laptop from any manufacturer. They are sellers only, not builders, and have no relationship with MSI (or other manufacturer), only with the distributor they buy from. They are not interested in service, only in the initial sale.


spudly, i'm glad you got your problem fixed. You're right, this is a good place for help.

 

So can anyone else mention a good reseller of the barebones MSI-1029? Im looking at getting one soon, but may wait for the 1039, and there arent that many sites i can find that sell just the barebones for building other than places that build for you..

 

ewiz.com has a pretty good price for it. The deal is even better if you also buy other components there, which happen to be very well priced.

here's how ive configured the 1029 im looking at:
1029 barebones+MT34+512 ram+ 60g 5400 hd @$1080 shipped
$25 wireless card @newegg
$82 xp home @ royaldiscount.com

=$1187 shipped to my door

buyxg.com will build the same config for maybe a little less. There's a 5% discount at the moment.

 

A ordered a fully built MS-1029 for a friend from Xmeld.com more than a month ago. Our experience with them was excellent from beginning to end. We had no problems with the machine even up to now. Recently Xmeld advertised in their website that you can purchase just the barebone from them. However if one is not well versed on how to build notebooks and the possible compatibility issues one may face if one buys the other parts (i.e. cpu, ram, hd, wi-fi mini-pci) elsewhere, it would be advisable to have the reseller build the machine for you according to your specs. In this way they can test the machine and assure that it is working perfectly. This would save you a lot of out-of-the-box headaches. On my part, I also built my own MSI notebook, but of the MS-1022 variety. I got the barebone from Acool.com because their's was the cheapest in the net. I got it for less than $650 including s/h. I was fortunate that I did not encounter any out-of-the-box problems when I built my machine.

 

the 1022 is a great laptop to build yourself if you want to try building your own.

you definitely want to research any laptop you're going to build yourself, like eatonop says, check for incompatibilities, best internal components, etc.

glad you got a good unit, eatonop, the 1022 is a sweet little system.

 

Well, i went for the 1029 from www.thenerds.net, and the rest from newegg. I know that you can get it built but i wanted to do my own... expect some HEEEEELP posts this weekend! lol Unless everything goes swimmingly of course! Ive got alot of experience in building desktops so can be much different, i have done my research!

I bought, MT-40, 1Gb OCZ PC3200, Hitachi Travelstar 60gb and XP64. I use xp64 on my current desktop, drivers are becoming alot better these days and i do like the slight performance boost...