Modding your Dell Mini 9

Modding has been around a long time, where computer enthusiasts modify (or “mod”) their computer cases. With the availability of low-powered, small motherboards with integrated video and components, geeks have made computers out of outrageous objects. For example, I’ve seen computers that look like old toasters, the Millennium Falcon, a fish tank, lego structure, and finally a Windows XP retail box. If you Google “case modding” you’ll see what I mean.

For the Dell Mini 9, most people don’t go to the extreme of modifying the exterior (aside from adding decals to the cover), but instead modify the interior components. Dell provides a detailed service manual which explains how to open up and access most of the internal components. If you check out the different Dell Mini web sites and forums, you’ll see that people are making all kinds of internal mods such as adding: a GPS receiver, USB Flash Storage, Bluetooth Transceiver, and extra LED status lights. Now, these mods usually require soldering to the motherboard, so they are some serious modding (more than what I’m willing to do).

Some of the typical modding can be considered upgrades, where you replace the stock RAM memory module or the stock SSD storage module (both do not require soldering or extensive disassembly of the laptop).

So for your pleasure, here’s a few links to some extreme Mini 9 modding:

Add a GPS Receiver internally
Add a GPS Receiver internally (method 2)
Add an extra LED light for storage drive activity status
Integrating a USB hub inside the Dell Mini 9
Adding 3G Wireless Card to Dell Mini 9

Also, here’s a link to a good posting on how to disassemble your Mini 9 to get at the internal components. Personally, I don’t plan on making internal modifications since it will void the Dell Mini 9 warranty. Call me a chicken!

Dell Mini 9 or 12… Which is Best?

After placing my order for a Dell Mini 9, I started reading different Netbook forum postings and online reviews and began to wonder if the Mini 9 would be too small for my needs. Specifically, I was concerned about the size of the keyboard for touch typing. The problem with Dell laptops is that you can’t normally go to your local electronics store and check one out, as everything is done online. All you can do is read over the specs and make a decision to get one or not. Part of my reason for purchasing through Costco.com is that they have a 90-day return policy where I can return a laptop for a full refund (including shipping cost).

Although my local Costco store didn’t have a Dell Mini 9 on display, they did have a HP Mini 1000 with a 10″ screen. I did try typing on the HP 1000 keyboard and it felt very usable, so I’m hoping the Dell Mini 9 will have a similar feel.

Now, Dell has a Mini 12 with a 12.1 inch screen that appears to be a big brother to the Mini 9, so I began to think, “is the Dell Mini 12 a better choice for my needs”? I currently have a Dell Latitude D610 with a 14.1 inch screen, so the Mini 12 would be close in size to my D610, as such I think it might be too big to meet my portability needs.

On the surface, the Mini 12 looks like a bigger Mini 9, but under the hood there are some significant differences:

In looking at these typical specs, you can see that the two Mini devices are not the same. The biggest difference is that the Mini 9 can be upgraded to 2 GB RAM memory while the Mini 12 cannot be upgraded (it has 1 GB RAM soldered to the motherboard). The Mini 12 also comes with a standard laptop hard drive, which offers more storage space but at the expense of generating more heat and requiring more battery power to run. Also, the Mini 12 comes with the Windows Vista OS which should run ok on 1 GB of RAM, but would run better on 2 GB (but you can’t do a memory upgrade on the Mini 12). So, it seems that the Mini 12 is much more limiting than the Mini 9, and thus I would exclude it from my selection list.

There is a rumored Dell Mini 10 in the works, which I would guess to be about the same size as the HP Mini 1000 that I tested out at the Costco store. The real question will be what are the specs of the Mini 10? Will it be similar to the Mini 9 or Mini 12? (UPDATE: The Mini 10 was introduced at CES and here’s Laptop Magazine’s Preview).

So the trade off in size reflects portability vs usable keyboard for touch typing. I have a feeling that the Dell Mini 9 will hit the sweet spot for most people looking for a Netbook. I’ll know better once my Mini 9 arrives…

A Few Dell Mini 9 Video Reviews

Here’s a few online videos that I came across on the topic of the Dell Mini 9. You might find them interesting…

Dell Manager Introducing the Dell Mini 9

Unboxing the Dell Mini 9

Slipstream SP3 Updates Into Your Custom WinXP Installation

In a previous posting I mention creating a slimmed down version of the WinXP installation files to help reduce the amount of space taken up by a WinXP installation on your Dell Mini 9. You essentially use a nifty application called nLite to pick-n-choose what you want as part of the WinXP installation, and then have this application create a custom WinXP installation.

Now, you start this process by using a set of files from a WinXP Installation CD, which in most cases already contains the SP1 or SP2 service packs (it should say so on the CD’s label). Since the Dell Mini 9 comes with the SP3 service pack installed, you probably should upgrade to SP3 with your custom WinXP installation. So, there’s two ways of doing this:

1. Install WinXP with SP1/Sp2, then download and install SP3 separately on your system
2. Incorporate the SP3 service pack inside your custom WinXP Installation

Option 2 is nice, since you’ll have SP3 already part of the main installation (which is especially convenient if you want or need to install WinXP multiple times on your Dell Mini or other machine). So how can you include Sp3 as part of your Custom WinXP installation?

The Perfect Mouse for my Mini 9

As I am still waiting for my Dell Mini 9 to arrive, I’m in the process of finding suitable accessories for my new Netbook. I’m not a fan of using touchpads, so I’ll definitely need to get a compact, cordless mouse. I currently own a standard Logitech and Microsoft wireless mouse (RF) which work fine, but the physical length of the RF Receiver dongle for both devices is a bit too long for me (I’m afraid that the dongle will break off or damage the USB port if I accidentally hit it with my leg, table, etc.). So, I only see three possible options to get around this issue:

1. Get a basic wired mouse (don’t like this option)
2. Get a RF wireless mouse with a small dongle
3. get a Bluetooth wireless mouse

Since my Mini 9 doesn’t have a Bluetooth transceiver built-in, I’ll have to buy one to use a Bluetooth mouse with my Mini. I can either buy an external USB Bluetooth transceiver or install an internal Bluetooth Module (ordered from Dell for $30 US). For travel convenience it would be nice to have the internal Bluetooth module, but that’s an extra $30 and I’ll have to go through the hassle of ordering it from Dell’s parts dept (which from what I hear, isn’t the easiest thing to do). Fortunately, www.dealextreme.com has a minature USB Bluetooth device selling for $3.00 US that is very tiny and unobtrusive (and does work, as reported by some Mini owners) as shown below:

Also, Bluetooth mice are fairly expensive, where the cheapest I’ve found is online at Dell starting at $20 and going up to $43 US. Below are two Bluetooth mice available from Dell.com:

Ordering From Costco Online

As you may have read in one of my past postings, I ordered my Dell Mini 9 from the Costco.com online store. I thought it was a good deal, where they offered everything I wanted in the Mini 9 including a 2-year on-site Warranty. Now, I’ve never ordered a computer from Costco before, but I have ordered from Dell.com several times over the last few years.  I can only assume Costco simply puts in an order with Dell, and the hardware gets built and shipped from Dell directly. The “Shipping Terms” for the Mini 9 from Costco states,

The preliminary ship date is 15-20 business days and represents the estimated time it takes to process your order and custom build your computer (following credit card approval).

which I assume is similar to ordering from Dell directly. Unfortunately, the only way to track the progress of my Costco/Dell order is through the Costco.com “Order Status” page which gave me the following information:

If I click on the “In Process” link, I get the following popup window message:

Not a lot of detail to go on. I can only hope my order is in the Dell system and that there isn’t too much of a delay. I’ve read on the Dell Mini 9 forums that some people who order direct from Dell are experiencing 1 month delivery times while for others 1-2 weeks (even shorter times if ordering from the Dell Outlet).

If you check the Dell.com web site, they show the following as the estimated delivery time for the Dell Mini 9:

Now, who knows if this is realistic or not. I’m on day 9 as of today since ordering from Costco.com, so I can only hope that my Mini arrives within the 15-20 days that Costco is estimating.

Simming Vista and Windows 7

In my last posting, I discussed how to create a custom Windows XP installation using the nLite product. In a similar fashion, you can use a product called vLite to create a custom Vista and/or Windows 7 installation that is slimmed down in size. This link has an excellent step-by-step procedure outlined to do this specifically for the Dell Mini 9.

Now, I’ve read several postings on the MyDellMini forum where people have praised how quick Windows 7 (beta) runs on their Minis verses Windows XP and Vista, so I’m thinking of installing Windows 7 just for kicks. I downloaded the beta version ISO file from Microsoft when they first made it available (earlier this month), however, I decided to not install it since the beta version will expire in July 08 and I didn’t want to reinstall Vista or WinXP on one of my computers. But, my new Dell Mini (when it finally arrives) might be the perfect machine to test Windows 7.

So, I went ahead and tested vLite using the Windows 7 beta installation files, and the procedure is very similar to using nLite. I followed the directions from the site that I mentioned earlier, and was able to reduce the Windows 7 install file size from 2.5 GB to 1.5 GB for my custom installation. Now, the Windows 7 beta ISO file that I used was for the “Ultimate” version, so I probably could have stripped out more components to make it smaller (and I might do so later just for kicks).

Creating a Slimmed Down WinXP Installation

Since most Dell Mini’s come with either an 8 GB or 16 GB SSD drive, storage space is a valuable commodity. A full WinXP Installation takes up on average 5 GB of storage space, so on a 8 GB SSD system that leaves you with only 3 GB for your application and files. If you visit some of the Netbook forums, you’ll often see postings regarding an “nLite” version of Windows XP, or a “slimmed down” version. What exactly is this?

There is a wonderful freeware utility called nLite that allows you to create a custom Windows XP installation where you can pick-and-choose what you want installed on your system. For example, the default WinXP installation will install various files for several different languages and keyboards, hardware drivers, applications, etc. which you probably will never use. So why not remove this unnecessary stuff from the Windows installation files? That is exactly what the nLite application does.

What’s nice about nLite, is that it have a very easy to use interface that steps you through the customization procedure. You can very easily select which items (e.g., applications, drivers, services, etc.) that you want to exclude from the custom WinXP installation files. There’s also provisions to check if you’re trying to remove a feature or file needed by something else in the installation. Now, it may seem undaunting at first since you may not know what items to keep and exclude from the custom installation, but there’s several web sites that offer assistance and suggestions.

Useful Hardware Upgrades

As I’m still waiting for Dell to ship my Mini 9 (I ordered through Costco.com online), I’ve been considering useful hardware upgrades. If you read my Recommended Upgrade page, you’ll see a summary of my recommendations. I’ve already ordered and received a 2 GB RAM memory module (which is now sitting on my desk) from NewEgg.com, and I’m currently waiting on three slip cover cases that I ordered from DealExtreme.com.

Today, I noticed that my local Fry’s Electronics store has the following advertised in the newspaper:

I believe this is the same 2 GB memory module that I ordered from NewEgg.com last week, and it’s selling for around the same price. So if you’re nervous about ordering items online or want a memory module immediately, Fry’s may be the place to go. In addition to this, Fry’s also has the following SDHC card on special:

Not a bad price, but you can also order a similar 8 GB card from NewEgg.com for around $15 US, or even get a 16 GB card for $25. More is always better when it comes to storage space, so I’ll probably order the 16 GB card from NewEgg.com sometime soon. Finally, Fry’s had a few USB Flash Drives also on sale:

Disk Thrashing Just Sucks!

Last night my desktop PC (Intel core 2 duo, 2 GB RAM) was thrashing the main disk drive like crazy, slowing down my system to a crawl. I checked Task Manager, but couldn’t find any reason why there was so much disk activity. All that disk writing just drives me insane! What’s up with it?

This morning I did a Google search for “vista disk thrashing” and got several hits from others with the same issue. This web site as well as this one were ones that I found that had several tweaks for increasing the performance of my Vista system (I implemented most of the tips). Before yesterday, I already had the Indexing Service, Volume Shadow Copy, and System Restore turned off. I believe my problem last night was the Superfetch Service (which tries to preload frequently used applications into spare memory).

So, I make several tweaks to my system, rebooted, ran CCleaner and AusLogics Registry Defrag, then rebooted again for good measure. So far, the disk thrashing hasn’t been too bad (crossing my fingers).