[krisbutler]

Well my 2x 10v's arrived yesterday.

Intial thoughts- nice, although the trackpad takes some mastering...

I have wiped both and installed XP Pro on one (for the kids- they use xp in school) and Windows 7 on the other. The XP one run well, as does the Windows 7 model. Both have memory upgrades to add. I did try a 2gb module from my Latitude 5500 (2gb PC2-6400), but all i got was bios post beeps and a blank screeen. Reassembled with original 1gb and working ok- BTW the tip for removing the keyboard, by pushing a paper clip up through the screw hole was brilliant!, as was my UK Capital One credit card for popping the palm rest off.

Added both units to my HP Home server pool and was able to restore them within 5 mins from a backup.

One query is the vodafone card- do i need to phone vodafone to activate or should it work straight out for the box? (I have bt broadband, so might add "unlimited data for mobile" for £5.00 a month and use my BT sim card in it?

I bought the 6 cell battery (7hr) and i am already impressed with the battery life..

All in all, a good solid start, like the unit and it is nice and lightweight. My next idea is to possibly add a broadcom HD accelerator in the second unit and use it to play movies.

Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions welcome.

[tchariya]

Awesome! Now you should try your hand at OSX install.


Hey...you think I can borrow your UK Capital One card? I need to upgrade my memory too.....

[lilsypha]

I find the trackpad works as you'd expect in XP - just don't install that awful Synaptics driver, just let Windows install its default driver. Don't know if other people have had the same experience, but that turns it into a "normal" trackpad for me.

I used a PC-5300 stick in mine, and it worked without issue.

[Montala]

Originally Posted by krisbutler

One query is the vodafone card- do i need to phone vodafone to activate or should it work straight out for the box? (I have bt broadband, so might add "unlimited data for mobile" for £5.00 a month and use my BT sim card in it?

Any thoughts/ideas/suggestions welcome.

If you ordered your Mini 10v with the 'free' Mobile Broadband' card and Vodafone offer, there will have been an icon on your desktop to open up the Vodafone software.

If however you have already reinstalled XP (or Windows 7!) you can download the latest version of the software from Vodafone's website. In either case it should however 'work' straight away, without having to contact Vodafone directly. You should however receive a letter from them within a few days, confirming your 60 day 'free' trial period, which will also give you the associated mobile number.

If (like I was) you are anxious to check it out first, you can always send a text message to your mobile phone from the associated software package, and can then of course see which number it came from!

Hope this helps.

[gavbrown]

Originally Posted by Montala

If you ordered your Mini 10v with the 'free' Mobile Broadband' card and Vodafone offer, there will have been an icon on your desktop to open up the Vodafone software.

If however you have already reinstalled XP (or Windows 7!) you can download the latest version of the software from Vodafone's website. In either case it should however 'work' straight away, without having to contact Vodafone directly. You should however receive a letter from them within a few days, confirming your 60 day 'free' trial period, which will also give you the associated mobile number.

If (like I was) you are anxious to check it out first, you can always send a text message to your mobile phone from the associated software package, and can then of course see which number it came from!

Hope this helps.

Interesting:
Mine isn't working 'out-the-box', I just get "Searching for Networks" in the vodafone software. If I stick the sim in a vodafone mobile it says "Sim inactive" looks like dell haven't activated my sim? It's been a week and I haven't had anything in writing from vodafone either.
I take it you're in the UK too?
Cheers
Gavin

[Montala]

Originally Posted by gavbrown

Interesting:
Mine isn't working 'out-the-box', I just get "Searching for Networks" in the vodafone software. If I stick the sim in a vodafone mobile it says "Sim inactive" looks like dell haven't activated my sim? It's been a week and I haven't had anything in writing from vodafone either.
I take it you're in the UK too?
Cheers
Gavin

Hi Gavin,

Yes, I am in the UK!

Not that it probably makes any difference at all, but did you get a Vodafone "How to get started" card in the box, with your Mini?

If you did, I suppose you could always take the card, together with your Mini and the SIM to your nearest Vodafone shop, and ask them to sort it out for you... you are a Vodafone customer after all, and I assume that they hope to 'sign you up' on a more permanent basis, once your trial period has expired.

I had always assumed however that the SIM would be automatically activated the first time you connected to their UK Network. I did have a slight problem at first, as there is no signal inside our house, where I usually work, so I had to go out for a short ride in the car to check it out!

Even when I reinstalled a later version of their software, which I downloaded from Vodafones website, onto a new Windows 7 configuration, it still worked fine for sending text messages and web browsing.

Good Luck!

[gavbrown]

Thanks for the reply.

I think I've got a bit further. It seems that some of the sims that were shipped with the 60 days trials do need activated. Managed to find a phone number on the vodafone site.

'searching For Network' Constantly On New Dell Studio - Vodafone eForum

Called the number and got through to a tech guy eventually who said that he'd submitted my sim number for activation but that's been a few hours and it's still not working. Guess I'll need to wait the full 24 hours they say it can take before calling back.