I LOVE this laptop (and it's warranty)
Written: Oct 30 '03 (Updated Apr 19 '06)
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Pros: Size, Performance, Built to order, graphics, reliability.
Cons: Cannot use WiFi and BlueTooth at the same time.
The Bottom Line: For resource intensive tasks like VMWare the second drive bay and ability to custom configure memory really rocks.
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| djsepinions's Full Review: Toshiba Tecra 9100 P4-2.0GHz/1G/40/DVD/CDRW/56K/NI... |
4-19-2006 Update: Toshiba has fixed this laptop OUT OF WARRANTY two times. The first was when it had a problem the week RIGHT after the warranty ran out in December 2005(this was a 3 year, no fault warranty purchased with the laptop) - they replaced the motherboard and IO board. Then the IO board went bad within 4 months and they replaced it again - very happy with Toshiba's warranty service!
I have had this laptop for almost a year and still love it! I am running the factory load of XP Pro.
Here's some of the things I love:
*) Tecra class machines are custom built - since I wanted to max out the memory (VMWare) I didn't loose money on buying a computer that came with with both memory slots filled and then have to toss that memory to put in two 512 MB modules.
*) Two drive bays - I have two secondary hard drives (VMWare) - unanticipated benefit has been getting a second hard drive the same size as the original an use PowerQuest's V2i Protector desktop to backup my entire hard drive in 30 minutes (20 Gyte partition). Now if the main hard drive dies, I can change a bios setting and boot off the backup immediately. Hot backup that is also very easy to do (since the drive bay operates at bus speeds the backup is very fast).
*) Smaller screen!!!! I hate the big ones - they are bulky and don't fit in the airplane seats.
*) XGA graphics (1400 x 1050) - I stumbled on this because the vendor I bought from only had this type of graphics - wow, what a difference. Much easier to look at the screen than my previous laptop which had a larger screen with SVGA (1024x768) graphics. I will never buy a laptop with SVGA again.
*) Built-in Wifi - I use hotspots a lot. I would hate to have PC Card that because of the antenna it has to be removed everytime the computer is bagged. I get good range and performance with the cheaper of the two WiFi options that was avaible.
*) Size - this is the perfect compromise for me - has a built-in DVD/CD-R, all the ports, etc - but isn't a beast. Big screens and micro-thin laptops are much less important to me than a reasonable size and having everything I need in the laptop.
*) Advanced Port Replicator - used to think these were fluff - I love it - slap down the laptop and everything is connected.
*) Toshiba's Power management just works - I can standby, hibernate, hot dock, hot select bay dock with very, very few problems.
Downsides:
*) Built-in BlueTooth was a bust for my purposes. I wanted to use the Microsoft bluetooth mouse with the laptop while at WiFi hotspots. I waited two extra months to get model that had integrated WiFi and BlueTooth. (by the way you have to load the latest toshiba bluetooth drivers / manager to get it to work even though the support site does not specify their use on the Tecra 9100). However, you cannot use BlueTooth and Wifi at the same time - even though their hotkey utility allows you to turn both on. I have checked the WiFi signal via netstumbler and their are many signal drops while using BlueTooth - Toshiba claims it is because they are on the same frequency - however I think the truth came out when one technician mentioned that in the 9100 they use the same antenna.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 4200
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Other
Processor speed: over 1000
Screen Size: 14 inches
RAM: More than 256
Internal Storage: CD-RW and DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 41-50
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Epinions.com ID:
djsepinions
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Reviews written: 36
Trusted by: 3 members
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