[phild]

Hello all!
Thankfully I ran across this site early on and I am quite thankful to have this resource. There isn't as much info out there as I thought there would be but perhaps i'm not looking in the right places..

I just purchased an entry-level 10v and am waiting (impatiently!) for it to arrive. I did not select an SSD, I chose the base-model 120gb hd.

In hindsight, I believe I would prefer the SSD. I realize that theoretically I could swap the 120gb hd for a 2.5" SSD however I also like the idea of having both (can I eat my cake too?)

Is it possible to keep the 120gb 2.5" hd and install a pci-e ssd (x25/runcore/etc) ?

Also, I was an avid FreeBSD user and am very naive to Linux in general. I've used Yellowdog on a Powermac 850AV (made the best mp3 server with samba/smbfs.. so nice)

Is it possible to install FreeBSD on this and have a workable system?
Is it also possible to dual-boot XP and FreeBSD/Linux and retain the Dell System Restore? I need not backup the FreeBSD, just the XP partition.

Sorry for the rambling questions and thanks for any pointers, tips, etc. in advance!

[zrtom]

I'll take a stab at your questions...
The Mini 10's use a SATA hard drive interface so PCI-e drives are not possible. There are tons of SATA SSDs out there. My advice would be to do a lot of research before buying one.
I haven't tried FreeBSD on a Mini 10 so maybe someone else can help you on that question. I do know that Ubuntu 9.04 works quite well on the Mini 10v and it is fairly easy to dual boot any Linux distro with XP using GRUB bootloader. Unlike the "regular" Dell desktops and laptops, there is no Dell System Restore recovery partition on the Minis. You can request the System Restoration CD set from Dell Technical Support. This link gives a little more info. on obtaining and using them:

How to: Re-image your Mini9 from Dells image for your system

More questions? Don't be afraid to ask.

[phild]

Thanks for the timely and informative reply. Somewhere in the back of my mind I knew that it was too good to be true (the sata drive and pci-e ssd's).
Thank you also for that link, i'll definitely take a look at that. I'm not opposed to running ubuntu and at this point I may definitely go that route as it's one that is more frequently traveled by others.

[phild]

hey thanks again for pointing me in the right direction. you've made my day!