[Datamonkey]

Long time reader, new poster.

I have a Mini9 that I upgraded the RAM and installed the Bluetooth card to and have had no problem. All the "how too" sections have been great.

Now it’s time to upgrade the drive. I’m going with the RunCore but my question is what size.

I was looking to put the "net book" version of Windows 7 on it but then I have been seeing stuff about people putting Windows 7, Home/Pro/Ultimate on the Minis.

Is this true? I ask first because I can find the “crippled� net book version for sale and I rather have the bells and whistles if possible. I like to at least put Home on but would prefer Pro. Most posts have been for the Beta, so I not sure about the current “disk� versions of the OS.

I have a USB CDROM and have a copy of Windows 7 I can get from my MSDN license from work. Just not the net book version.

If I can install the full versions, can anyone tell me what size drive I should get if I plan to put this on? It would be a fresh install so I am not worried about the data transfer and I have all my drivers.

I currently have a 16GM hard drive. All my searching shows it taking up anywhere from 5GB to 16GB. I plan to put a few games from Pop Cap and music/Books on tape for travel, and other software to allow me to connect through my G1 phone when I have no Wi-Fi. I will also have Micro Trends Internet Security Pro on there too.
I have most of that on there now with XP and I got 2GB free. I could live with less but I figure I ask first.

I am all for going to the 128GB but have a weird aversion of paying more for the hard drive then I did the Mini.
Is the 128 worth it? I just want to make sure if I going to spend the money I get the right one.

So what to people think?

[rrfranczak3]

asking the wrong person here....my attitude is you can NEVER have too much disk space, I pulled out that tiny 160gb ASAP and put in my 500gb, I am sorry I didnt get the 620gb..oh well, thats just me and my 0.02..

get the biggest you can afford....you'll find something to use for it

PS: Welcome to the Forum..

[Mad Mux]

I take the opposite view, always going for the smallest internal drive possible, mainly on the grounds of cost and speed of wiping, restoring and encryption (why do I suddenly feel guilty?), but also to avoid the temptation of leaving a lot of data on it without a back-up.

I'd go for a Super Talent rather than Runcore, though that opinion is only based on the Runcore failure reports on this forum (maybe too few people have STs for there to be any failure reports)

[bmcclure937]

This is a personal opinion and my advice is to choose the option that will fit your personal needs the best. Some people use their Minis differently than others... so more disk space may be more practical.

On the other hand, if you do not need your Mini to have a lot of storage space... then sticking with the default HDD or opting for a SSD may be your best option. I personally "upgraded" my HDD to a 320Gb Western Digital... but I look back on the decision wondering why. lol.

In the end, I wish I would have gone the opposite direction and waited for "value SSDs" to come out that still have good controllers in them. Now that SSDs have been around for a while, we will start to see offerings that are more affordable.

But, like I said, if you are going to be storing a lot of data on your Mini and using it to carry around a lot of music, movies, documents, applications, multi-boot... then you want a larger drive (obviously). If you are like me, then you will not use your Mini to store many files because they are hosted on a home server... and the files you do need to have locally on your Mini will fit on the stock HDD or a SSD.

[Datamonkey]

Thanx for all the info.
Thought the one section I did not see anyone mentions was:
What size SSD would be good for Windows 7 if I can install Home or better versions?

Also in reply to Mad Mux:
How does the Super Talent stack up to the Runcore for speed and size?

Thanx again for the replies.

[holmes4]

16GB minimum size for Windows 7. Bigger is always better, and larger SSDs are faster. I went with 64GB and don't regret it.

The xGFDL SuperTalent is about the same speed as the RunCore. Both offer a range of sizes.

[LibbyLA]

I have a 32GB Runcore in my Mini 9 and am running Win 7 Enterprise (because that's the version we have licensed on campus). I also have Office 2007 Pro installed, SAS 9.2, some photo editing software, and some screen capture and editing software.

Mini 9 runs Win 7 beautifully and it's faster than it was with XP Pro (but that could be because I reformatted the drive).

LibbyLA

[Datamonkey]

Well I bought the Super Talent 128GB. I figure I take the size over the speed. Though the speed was not much a different. Plus it was almost $100 cheaper, no shipping costs and a $20 off coupon.



I belive I know the answer but I would need the 32 bit version of Windows 7 correct for the Mini 9?

[holmes4]

Correct - 32-bit for the Mini 9.

[pablodiablo696996]

funny how we worry so much about how much hard drive we need. when we carry so much external hard drives around. Like our multimedia drives. Exp ipod,iphones, mp3 players etc