(Rev-1/19/05)-i8100 - A true desktop replacement or fixture?
Written: Sep 24 '01 (Updated Jan 19 '05)
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Pros: large, vibrant display, touchpad & trackpoint, swappable drive bay for batteries, 2nd hd, etc
Cons: WinMe crashes often, plastic palm rest, speaker not loud enough, short battery life, heavy.
The Bottom Line: A desktop replacement if within your budget and suitability. Multimedia capabilities and power outweigh (pun?) the cons. Get it if you get a good deal or get the 4000.
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| maceyr's Full Review: Dell Inspiron 8000 Series |
EDIT (Jan 19, 2005): This is old news but for those who are not aware, if you own a Dell branded laptop, please take a moment to check the AC adapter for the model number to make sure that it isn't one of those being recalled.
Apparently, Dell has launched a massive recall of its AC adapter since the adapters have a tendency to catch on fire or overheat. Since Dell uses the same model adapter for all its laptops, this is a major recall. The recall came into effect last fall but it was only recently when I finally got around to informing Dell of my recalled adapter. I have noticed many times before that the adapter does have a tendency to overheat and many times I have found that it was way too hot to handle. What I tried to do most times is to lay it on its side so that heat dissipates faster rather than laying it with the power indicator light facing up (worse position since the heat comes from the bottom).
Anyway, check out the Dell AC Adapter recall website for more info.
https://www.delladapterprogram.com/Main.aspx
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In my quest to make a review as informative and complete as possible, I've decided to add more information on the Inspiron 8100. I will discuss adding additional accessories and components to the i8100 such as an additional hard drive via the removable secondary media bay and a different fixed media drive (eg. CDRW, CDRW/DVD combo drive). The information will be located near the end of this review where you can see the ++++++++++++++++++.
And for those with the connectivity issues of the i8100's onboard Actiontec 10/100 NIC, I have made a short discussion on a possible solution. Look for the area with ####
Back to the original review:
I recently ordered the newest addition to the Inspiron family of laptop notebook computers and have not looked back. Being someone who has always loved laptops and preferred them over desktops because of their portability, convenience and ease of use over desktops, I can be a bit biased in my view of the Inspiron 8100.
Before I continue with the review, I wanted to provide those looking into buying a laptop at how I came to my decision to buy the Inspiron from Dell and not from anyone else. I made comparisons in price and configurations between the main laptop manufacturers like Dell, Compaq, Gateway, Hewlett Packard, Sony, etc and found that Dell offered the best configuration for the price. Since I never liked the track point (eraserhead-like extension located between the G,H, & B on the keyboard), I immediately excluded IBM and Toshiba since they only offered laptops with trackpoint. Anyways, with only Dell to choose from, I had the choices of the 2100, 2500, 4000 and 8000 (now unavailable in Canada). I didn't want to get the low end laptop since I wanted something that will still be operable in a few years so I then only had the 4000 and 8000 to choose from. From Dell.ca's web site, I was able to play around with configurations and calculating the prices online since Dell's computers are built to order. Also, while I was doing so, I found out that the 8000 was no longer available and that the 8100 model was going to be its replacement. Thus, my choices were now 4000 and 8100. I was fortunate to be able to check out the specifications of the 8100 via Dell.com's web site since it was practically new to the Canadian one and no info was then available. To aid in comparisons of various configurations of the two models via Dell's E-Value code advertised in ads and promos on their site, I entered the configurations in an Excel spreadsheet. I'm not saying that you should do the same, but I did find that I was able to get a glance of the pros and cons of each configuration. And, after checking it over, I discovered that for about an extra $200, I was able to get the 8100 with more bells and whistles but the main con was that the processor speed was a bit slower and, the 8100 was much heavier, weighing at about 8 pounds. But since I don't consider myself to travel that much, the extra weight wasn't that much of a factor. Besides, I was getting a better laptop and I've carried much heavier stuff in my university days with those rock heavy textbooks.
The Inspiron 8100 comes in either 14.1 inch or 15 inch TFT (Thin layer Transfer) Active Matrix displays, which allow for a greater viewable area (meaning that you don't have to be directly in front of the screen to be able to view it). Both the 14.1 and 15 inch Super XGA display provides a maximum screen resolution of 1400 x 1050 at 16 million colors with a maximum of 60hz refresh rate. What that means is that the screen allows much more "things" to be viewed with a higher resolution (but things will look smaller with a higher resolution) and the refresh rate is fast enough to refresh so that the image looks vibrant and not choppy. The 15 inch Ultra XGA display provides a resolution of 1600 x 1200 and would provide a much sharper and clearer image.
The processor currently available from Dell includes the Intel Pentium 3 Mobile processor with 0.13 micron technology at 866Mhz, 1 Ghz (1000Mhz), and 1.13 Ghz with Intel's Speedstep technology which optimizes battery life by switching from regular processing mode to a battery optimized mode. The Mobile processor also has features such as QuickStart & Deeper Sleep to further conserve battery life by entering into low power state when idle, even during pauses in typing. Also, with the Mobile processor, the system bus is at 133Mhz compared to the regular Pentium 3 processor running at 100Mhz.
Here is a list of the specifications of the 8100 model:
- 128 MB SDRAM upgradeable to maximum of 512MB with 2 SoDIMM Sockets
- NVidia GeForce2 Go with 16 or 32DDR RAM
- 10, 20, 30 GB (4200 RPM) and 48 GB (5400 RPM) hard drive
- Harmon Kardon premium audio sound system internal speakers
- 8 cell "Smart" Lithium Ion battery (53Whr)
- AC adapter
- IEEE 1394 port for digital/video input
- S/PDIF port for AC-3 digital audio out (Sony, Philips)
- 9 pin serial connector port
- 25 pin parallel connector port
- 15 pin monitor connector port
- 6 pin PS/2 mouse/keyboard/kepad port
- 2 USB port
- S Video for TV out
- serial infrared communications port (for printers)
- headphone, microphone and line in jacks
- optional advanced port replicator
- 2 type I or II PCMCIA card slots or 1 type III card slot
- 2 optical media bays (1 fixed and 1 swappable modular) 24 X Max CD ROM comes standard and can be upgradeable to DVD/CDRW combo drive (6X DVD, 4X/4X/24) or 8X DVD drive or CDRW drive (4X/4X/20X) or (8X/4X/24)
- Microsoft Windows Millenium Edition software pre-installed
- Microsoft Works Suite 2001 software with MS Money 2001 Basic or optional upgrade to Office XP Small Business or Office XP Professional
- Symantec's Norton Antivirus 2001 introductory version
- dual point mouse : 1 track pad with two sets of buttons (on top and bottom of track pad) with trackpoint (eraserhead like cursor controller)
- 1 year limited warranty
The dimensions of the laptop are: 44.5mm (height) x 331mm (width) x 276mm (depth) or 1.75" x 13.8" x 10.8". The weight of the laptop is 7.9 pounds with CDROM and floppy drive.
Here is the configuration of my laptop:
- 866 Mhz PIII
- 256MB RAM
- Nvidia GeForce2 Go with 16 DDR RAM
- 15 inch SXGA display
- 20 GB hard drive
- 8X DVD ROM drive
- 56K internal modem with 10/100 ethernet PCI interface card
- MS Windows ME
- MS Office XP Small Business
The Dell Inspiron 8100, like most laptops (except the 2100) come in one color: black (or midnight grey as they call it). If you are into color, you could order color palm rests for your Inspiron (if applicable). The color palm rests come in 18 different colors. The palm rest is nothing but just a piece of plastic (the same that encases the laptop) you can rest your wrist on that can be removed. But, in my opinion, it seems silly to pay U$19 a pop for a piece of plastic to make your laptop more "colorful". Besides, I don't think Dell.ca even offers it anymore on their web site since I didn't see any options available. Maybe us Canadians aren't that color coordinated.
Once opened, the first thing you notice is the large 15" SXGA display. Even if you have the 14.1", you wouldn't be too disappointed. The colors are vibrant, bright and the resolution is great. Surfing the internet with this laptop, I found that I could see about 50% more than I used to with my desktop monitor. But, with certain programs, I had to slide down my resolution to be able to run it and found that the icons and everything else seems blurry and not as sharp (since it's optimized for the higher resolution).
In the middle of the "hinge" area of the laptop are a pair of three light indicators: power, hard drive and battery. They are quite self explanatory. We now venture to the main "area" of the laptop, the surface on which the keyboard, touchpad, etc are located. At the top, there are a set of buttons: the Power button, the speaker volume buttons (increase & decrease), and the "Access Direct" buttons which also double as media drive buttons (CDRW/DVD/CDROM) and quick access buttons. The first one, the dell "E" will allow you to do the Dell restore (should your laptop require you to restore it back to original factory conditions), the "i" button will open up your Internet Explorer to your home page, the next button will take you to Dell.com and the last button will open up your email. The last two buttons can be user configurable. The same four buttons when the media drive is in use will double as the Play/Pause, Stop, Previous Track and Next Track buttons. Underneath the buttons are the light indicators for the Num Lock, Caps Lock and Scroll Lock.
The 87 key QWERTY keyboard contains a Function key which allows for additional actions such as configuring display brightness, contrast, suspend, etc to be performed. The trackpoint, like most, are located between the letters G, H and B keys. The keys are manageable and not hard to type on. I didn't have any problems with typing or its spring back feel.
Underneath the spacebar key is the top set of touch pad buttons, which represent the left and right mouse keys. They are smaller than the other set of buttons (located below the touchpad) and are contoured to the slope of the keyboard with the rest of the surface. The left key is slightly bigger and longer than the right button which is geared for right handed people. But, since the buttons and the touch pad is located in the middle, I wouldn't think that left handed users will have much problems using it. The 64.88mm (width) x 48.88 (height) touch pad is very nice. The touch pad software allows user configured touch sensitivity to personalize the tracking and movement of the cursor. I also like the "double touch" option which acts as the "select" or left button without having to press any buttons. I like the touchpad a lot, especially the two sets of buttons, which allow me to use a variety of ways (with both hands) to drag and drop and perform other cursor functions. Underneath the touch pad are the second or bottom set of buttons. They can be quite handy to use when I want to use one hand for selecting and one hand for the cursor movement and having both sets of buttons help in making tasks less awkward to do. Also, the touchpad software allows you to "scroll" vertically or horizontally by running your finger along the right side edge or the bottom edge of the pad. This is another handy feature, almost making for non button usage (for those who hate it). One both sides of the buttons are the "palm rests" which are nothing but just pieces of plastic, used to rest your palm while you are typing. I would have preferred a much softer material for the palm rest but at least they are there for support.
Turning to the sides of the machine, on the left side of the laptop, you will find the fixed media drive (DVD/CDRW/CDROM). Next is the S Video out port to play your DVD on your home stereo system, and the left Harmon Kardon speaker. A TV/digital audio adapter cable is provided which allows connection to your home entertainment system via the usual video & audio (RCA type) connectors for those that don't have an S Video connector in their home entertainment components. You basically plug in one end of the cable to the S Video port and plug in the respective video and audio port and S Video port at the other end. At the front, you will find the floppy drive and the battery. They can be swapped out to have two batteries for long travel use, one battery and one media drive, etc. The right side of the laptop has the right Harmon Kardon speaker, 56K & 10/100 ethernet PCI interface connectors (if applicable), infrared communication port and the PC card slots. The back side has a dual fan to cool the laptop, docking connector (if applicable), PS/2 port, VGA port, parallel port, serial port, 2 USB ports.
Should you have any problems, there are user guides on the laptop itself installed on the hard drive. The first time you turn on the laptop, you will be taken through a short introduction to register your WinMe program and geographic settings. After that, it will reboot and you will notice several icons on your desktop which includes the usual My documents, My computer, etc as well as Dell Solution Center, User Guide (to your laptop) and Tell Me How (WinMe). As well, there is a restore option built into WinMe (stored into the hard drive) which allows you to restore your computer back to the state it was originally in. But, I've heard that it's quite flakey at best. So, do your backups to avoid loss of data.
Here are some my observations of the Inspiron 8100. The internal speakers can be a bit faint. Even when I've turned it up, the sound was hardly considered much louder than a small radio. But then, what can you expect with such tiny speakers? It's much better to listen to CDs and watch DVD with headphones since it's equipped with Dolby headphone feature. On headphone, the sound is much louder and crisper. If you use the laptop for an extended length of time, you may find that the laptop can be a bit warm on the underside. Dell warns against placing the laptop on your lap for any extended length of time for fear of overheating. Hmmm, if I can't place it on my lap, where can I place it when travelling? And, one thing I didn't like about the Inspiron is that I found that the display was too bright for my taste. Huh? Too bright? Even after adjusting the contrast and brightness via the function keys to its lowest setting, I still found the display too bright. So, I ended up just adjusting the display away from direct contact with my eyes. It seems to help a bit. Yes, silly me to complain that the display was too bright. But I found that it hurts my eyes as they're quite sensitive to light. Another thing I didn't like was the two part AC adapter. One part contains the actual rectangular "adapter" and the other part contains the connector cord to the laptop. Why two parts? It seems silly for it to be in two parts when my old Compaq laptop was in one piece. When I connected the two parts together and unwrapped the cords, I ended up with over 12 feet of cord. I guess that's a plus if you use the laptop for overhead presentations in big convention rooms where the plug may be a ways away. The lithium ion battery is quite light in weight, as compared to old NiMh and as Li Ion, claim to not have any "memory" effect. One good thing about the Dell battery is that it has a "battery status button" which you press on the battery itself to see how much battery power is left in the battery. There are five lights, each indicating about 20% of the total battery power, thus one light indicates 20% left in the battery. Also, when 90% of the battery is depleted, the computer will beep, after which, about 12 minutes of battery time remains. The computer will enter into "hibernate" mode when the battery enters into critical battery mode.
Windows Millenium (WinMe) can be a bit crashy. Unfortunately, Windows 2000 wasn't available as an option when I ordered my laptop but now does for an additional $150. I have found that using Ctrl-Alt-Delete did not help me reboot the computer. I ended up pressing the Power button for a few seconds to power off and turning it back on and then going through the usual scandisk when I rebooted.
The new MS Office XP now makes it manditory to have the software registered since the software will automatically disable functions if it was not registered after 50 times of use. Huh? This was Microsoft's answer to combat piracy. In my opinion, rather than jam these registrations down the user's throats, if MS would lower their prices for software instead. At $750 a pop for the full retail version of Office XP, how can they expect a regular user to shell out that kind of money every few years for buggy software? By lowering their prices, consumers are more likely to buy the software and the pirates are less likely to pirate something that isn't worth as much money. And a tidbit I just found out today. They are now giving a time limit of 3 year support for their software, meaning that after 3 years they won't be giving out support. And, as of January 2002, Win 3.1, Win 95 will no longer be supported. I wonder if you can still find archived web pages on their site or they will wipe out everything. Hmph. That's what happens when the DOJ decided to not break up the company. Big brother remains big brother.
I was fortunate enough to have my laptop bundled with MS Office XP Small Business but most configurations only include MS Works Suite 2001 which includes Word 2000, Works 6.0, Encarta Encyclopedia Standard 2001, Money 2001, Picture It! Publishing 2001, Street & Trips 2001, Outlook Express & Internet Explorer 5.5. Compared to Works, I'd prefer Office XP because I get the better programs like Excel, Word, Outlook, Publisher. To get the Office XP, you'll have to pay extra.
Included in a new purchase of a laptop or desktop, Dell provides a choice of free internet options such as 6 months free of AOL access, 3 months free of Bell Sympatico high speed internet, 3 months free of Rogers@home, 3 months free of Shaw@home, or 3 months free of Videotron high speed cable access, depending on availability in your area. I chose the AOL access since I do travel a bit and wouldn't mind the free unlimited access ($22.95 value per month) that I can get at most cities in North America. You must activate the AOL membership within 6 months of your Dell purchase.
Installing the AOL disk was easy. All I had to do was pop the CD in my CD drive and it installs itself. You go through the usual prompts for your name and address and you'll need to provide a credit card (although it won't be charged until the trial ends). You must cancel preferably a few days before the trial end date otherwise, you might get charged for a month. The program will dial in to AOL to get your local access numbers and verification. You will then have to call AOL to "activate" your membership and verify your credit card info. I was a bit surprised to find that I was given a year of free AOL access (although the Dell sticker on the package stated so) but the AOL package stated 3 months. So, I had nothing to complain. But, this free trial is only available once to each individual (so you can't keep claiming free trials for the rest of your life). But, I can't complain. I'll take a year free anyday.
(Updated Oct 28th)**********
Due to my complaint of WinMe, I was given the option of swapping the O/S from WinMe to Win 2000 Pro without additional costs. Dell sent me the Win 2000 Pro CD with a waybill to return the original WinMe disk back to them all at their expense! Of course, they also took the ID key from me too. In a separate mailing, they sent me the Win 2000 Pro ID key. It took about a week or so for everything to arrive. I was then to call tech support to have them step me through re-formatting the hard drive and installing Win 2000 Pro as well as the Dell hardware & software drivers. It took two calls. The first was to format the hard drive and the second to install the CD and drivers. Fortunately, the tech support didn't take too long of a wait before I got through. The entire process took quite a while (over an hour) as I had to wait for the formatting as well as rebooting each time a driver was installed. I sincerely hope that I don't have to do this all that often.
After the main programs were all installed, I thought to re-activate my MS Office XP through the internet, but guess what? They wouldn't let me. I had to call Microsoft directly to request for an updated key. Thankfully, my call went through almost right away. I explained my situation and they asked a few questions and gave me this long numeric key to input. Done and activated. This gives me another bad taste regarding the Microsoft WPA. For those who like to upgrade their computers and change configurations, I would guess that it would be a nightmare to have to call MS each time in order to activate XP.
And, after having the Win 2000 Pro for over a week, I am happy to say that it hasn't crashed at all! What a relief from the usual 5 plus crashes per day with the WinMe. I was running the bugtoaster program to hopefully help others who may experience the same problems as me. Bugtoaster is a program that records the crashes of your O/S and sends it to Bugtoaster's web site and hopefully, someone will look at it and find a resolution to the problem. It's a free download so it's worth a try. The web site is at www.bugtoaster.com. Anyways, now that my O/S doesn't even crash, I've ditched bugtoaster.
But, Win 2000 is supposedly a resource hog. I've heard that you should have about 256MB RAM and a fast processor to run it well, otherwise, it will lag. I have noticed that bootup is a little slower and sometimes closing an app may take a little longer but at least it doesn't crash. And, since Win 2000 Pro is based on the NT technology, it does take a little learning to understand your way around it. And, Win 2000 doesn't have msconfig, although if you copy it from your Win 98 or even 95, it will run. But, you can disable programs from starting via Start, Programs, Administrative Tools, Services. You disable any running programs by selecting with the right mouse button. But, for a lot more stable O/S, I'm very happy with it. Besides, I got a free upgrade.
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I ordered the Inspiron 8100 via the phone since the configurations I wanted were not on their site. My call was answered after about 45 minutes of their "Dell Zone" hold message. I think that they have since gotten rid of it probably due to the stupidity of it since subsequent calls didn't have that message anymore. For those who have not heard it, they have some guy talking about how great it was to be on hold from Dell and that they don't have the background elevator music. There's even this one bit where some guy was making lip sounds and clearing his throat. Stupid. Well, at least they don't have it anymore. If you could, order via the web site without having to be on hold for 45 minutes. I've called a few times and it seems like that's the average hold time for my calls. It may be different for Dell U.S.
It takes one business day for them to confirm the order (verify credit card payment). After that, it took 3 business days to build it, 1 business day for packing, 4 business days to arrive. The entire process took 8 business days after the order was placed to arrive. But then, I live in Alberta, Canada and the computer was assembled in the US and had to go through customs. I guess it's okay considering what I've heard on the usual customs drag for most shipments.
Overall, I am very pleased with my laptop. The 15" SXGA display is a beauty to look at. The resolution is stunning and the colors are vibrant. The touch pad with dual buttons is very responsive and comfortable to use. For those who prefer track points, the 8100 offers that too. The swappable battery bay is very nice and convenient. With 2 USB ports, it allows me to plug in more than one peripheral as compared with most laptops. The IEE1394 port allows digital input of cameras, etc. The PCI modem/ethernet port frees up a PC slot. On both left and right side of the laptop, there are security lock slots which you can use the compatible laptop cable lock (ie. Kensington microlock, Kryponite, etc) to secure your laptop. With two slots, you can attach two different locks for double the security (one cable lock and one motion lock, for example). And, for a laptop, you can never have too much security. But, the main con of the 8100, is the weight. At 8 pounds, it may be a little heavy to lug around if you are going to take it with you to many places and do a lot of travelling. For me, I didn't find it too heavy. Maybe I'm used to lugging rocks with me, I don't know. The fan, when it kicks in, does make some noise, although I didn't find it too noisy or irritating. The 8100 is a desktop replacement with the video editing capabilities, the extra ports, media bay. It is geared for the mobile professional so for the average user, the 4000 would probably be a better choice for the lighter weight. I took advantage of the E-value promotions offered and configured the computer to my specifications after doing some research into the different models. For me, as I've mentioned before, I got the 8100 because I found it a steal for an extra $200. There was a promo with double the RAM (256 from 128MB) and hard drive (20GB from 10GB) for free. The price I paid for my laptop was C$2399 before shipping and taxes (approx US$1600). Thus, that prompted my decision to go with the 8100.
Before making the decision, you should take the time to do research on the various models, configurations and prices. If you are going to get all those extra options like Zip drive, CDRW/DVD combo drive, etc, be aware that the costs will add up. It is up to you to balance performance with price and suitability. But, with the Dell web site, you can easily calculate the different configurations. Don't forget the taxes and shipping charges. For dell.ca, it costs C$99 for shipping (on laptops) and taxes are calculated on the shipping as well, which makes the purchase much more expensive. Unless you are in a bind to get one RIGHT NOW, you would find it beneficial to do your research as it will pay off. After all, like a car, the moment you buy it, the value of it depreciates substantially and your "investment" will become obsolete in due time. Wait for the promotions to come and balance what "deals" you get with the price you pay. You may discover that rather than getting the Targus RakGear backpack for free ($39 value), you could have waited for a better deal (double RAM or HD). Wait for the back to school specials or Christmas when deals will probably get very enticing.
And, to maximize your savings, you could also purchase your laptop via one of those online portals such as Mypoints.com, ebates, etc where you could either get points or cash rebates back. To further enhance your savings, if you have a credit card that pays you cash back or points for every purchase, by all means, do so. And don't forget about extended warranty. If the card also provides that, you've just saved another year of warranty. Hopefully, I've provided enough tips and information to help someone with their laptop purchase.
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Updated May 6th 2002
I'm someone who is totally in love with my Dell Inspiron laptop and always on the lookout to enhance my laptop. I recently bought a few more additions: a spare battery, a CDRW (CD Rewritable drive) which fits in the fixed media bay and a second hard drive module which fits into the secondary removable media bay. If you live in the US, you can easily check and order accessories and parts from Dell.com online. Otherwise, you'll have to resort to calling your local Dell and inquiring about the parts and prices.
The spare battery was purchased directly from Dell by calling their spare parts department. I've checked the online stores on the internet and Ebay and found that Dell Canada had the best price in comparison and so I ordered it from them. I couldn't believe it when I received the battery the next day! It was shipped via Purolator air and they operate on the overnight shipping for air shipments. It only cost me C$98 plus taxes and shipping (C$15). The second battery came with a Dell update CD to update the Inspiron 8100's BIOS BEFORE you can use the new battery. This is very important because the BIOS update will update the laptop's BIOS to take advantage of the newer batteries' capabilities. And, sure enough, after updating the BIOS, I discovered that the battery indicator now shows the time remaining in the battery in addition to the % remaining, something that it didn't show before. So, if you do get a newer battery, make sure you install the update first, or download the BIOS update at Dell's support page. The i8100 can allow two batteries to be put into both media bays, to maximize the amount of battery power.
If you are searching for the Dell battery, search for the part number 75UYF. Otherwise, you will find other compatible batteries that, although will work with the i8100, but will not provide you with the maximum amount of power. The specs of the 75UYF is:
8 cell Li Ion 59Whr
14.8V
3800mA
The part number that I received from Dell Canada was 77TCJ, with the same specs but with a different part number. You might also try searching under that part number.
Dell Canada Spare Parts' number is: 1-800-440-3355
As for the CDRW drive, I also had to order via Dell Canada Spare parts. Although www.Dell.ca/spare did have a page online, it didn't list much of anything at all to be useful. I've been checking it periodically to only get a AC Adapter and something else that I didn't need. So, I had to call Spare parts for up to date information and stock availability. I wanted to get a CD Rewritable drive because I was having problems with my desktop HP Rewritable drive and worried that I might not be able to write CDRs for backup and drive images. I got my 8x CDRW from spare parts and received it 3 days later, also via Purolator. I love Purolator. They are always prompt and I've never had any problems with any shipment; something I can't say for Fedex and UPS. Sigh. That's another review topic that I'll have to post another time.
Since the CDRW drive was for the fixed media bay, I had to remove and replace my existing DVD drive with it. That proved to be quite simple. All that's required is to remove the screw that holds the drive to the laptop. Just flip over the laptop so that the bottom is facing up. Unscrew the screw that holds the fixed drive. Pull on the slide tab (which guides the media drive) to slowly remove the drive. Replace the media drive you wish to insert in its place and put the screw back. Simple. Rather than spending a lot of money for a removable module media drive, all that's required is maybe a few minutes of your time to remove and replace a drive.
And finally, I'll talk about the second hard drive module, which allows a second hard drive to be used on the i8100 via the secondary removable media drive bay. If you live in the US, you're in luck. Although you can order many of the accessories and parts via Dell.com, the second hard drive module (no hard drive included) is NOT posted online. You'll have to call Dell directly and order it. The part number is:
4169D for the module that fits 12.5mm drives
29MFN for the module that fits 9.5mm drives
And, since the module doesn't come with the four screws required to hold it together, you'll need to order them too.
4 x part number 53965 (SCR, M2.6 x 5PHH, LP, BC5 screws)
That might sound technical but if you specify the part numbers, you won't order the wrong thing. And, to confuse you even more, the part number that was on my second hard drive module was 7941R and it came with the 4 screws and cushioned pieces inside to hold my 9.5mm drive. (I bought mine at Ebay.ca). And, don't forget to buy a notebook hard drive too since the module doesn't normally include it, although some Ebay sellers do include a hard drive.
The second hard drive module is an enclosure that holds a notebook hard drive which can fit into the secondary removable bay and connect to the computer. The module is held together by 4 screws, which you will have to order separately, since they don't come together. Or, you could always buy them at your local computer or hardware store.
If are one of the unfortunate people who doesn't live in the US, you'll either have to ask someone who lives in the US to order it and ship it to you, or resort to buying it from Ebay or other online sources. There are quite a number of vendors who sell the hard drive module and you'll have to make up your mind on who to do business with. Make sure that the module you are buying is compatible with your specific Dell model as the 7000 and 5000 modules are completely different. Also, don't forget to factor in other costs such as customs, shipping, insurance and other fees that usually aren't mentioned. And, it's a very good idea to open up accounts at online auction payment services such as PayPal, Bidpay and others before you finally take the plunge into making a purchase. That is very important, especially for PayPal, which requires you to "verify" your account by depositing some funds into the account before you can use it. The terrible thing most new account members don't realize is that if you deposit funds via a credit card charge (U$1.95) you'll have to wait 4 business days before you can use the account to pay someone. Why? Because in order to "verify" the account, you'll have to login to your Paypal account with a special 4 digit member code provided by Paypal that will be on your credit card transaction. But, the 4 digit number won't show up as a transaction until 4 business days after it's charged. So, if you win a bid on Ebay and then set up a PayPal account, you'll have to wait 4 business days before you can pay for your auction. Some members require that all auctions be paid for within a few days so you might get into a bit of trouble if you didn't open up a PayPal account before bidding on an auction.
To avoid making this review longer than it already is, I've decided to provide a link to a Dell Talk forum post which I gave more description on the second hard drive module and how it works.
http://delltalk.us.dell.com/messages/message_view.asp?name=insp_harddrive&id=zzfhf
If you have problems with the link, go to the Dell Talk Forum page at http://delltalk.us.dell.com. Under Portable Hardware, click on the Inspiron link. It will load the page with more submenu options to the right. click on Inspiron - Hard Drive and you'll be taken to the latest posts on that particular forum.
Then, do a search for "2nd hdd" without the quotes. The title of my Dell Talk forum post is "How I solved my i8100 2nd hdd module problem". There, it will list the process of adding a second hard drive to the Insprion 8100 or other models which support the secondary removable media bay as well as my solution to making it work.
I hope that this additional information will help some people who are considering purchasing additional components to their Dell Inspiron 8100 and will help them install and use it.
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(June 1st 2004)
Something that I've noticed early on in the i8100 is the connectivity problems of the Actiontec 10/100 NIC. When connecting the laptop to a network and the NIC card is set to Auto detect the data packets, the network connection will inconsistently fluctuate and drop. Originally, I called Dell tech support and was told that the only way to keep it connected without the drop is to set the connection to 10Mbps at half duplex. And for several years, I just kept it at that. Then, I decided to search for a better solution since the card is supposed to support 10/100 so why is it unable to go faster than 10mbps at half duplex? So, I searched the Dell forums and came up with two solutions.
Apparently, the Actiontec 10/100 NIC is a cheap card and I'm not the only person complaining about the lack of connectivity. Some people have been able to get a non-Actiontec replacement NIC but most do not.
Some people have discussed that the problem lies in the Windows OS that Dell supplies with the laptop and how buggy it is. You can either try to be up to date on all the Dell supplied drivers and updates by downloading and installing them via Dell's support website. Or, you can totally scrap that and pay for the regular Windows 2000 OS. Somebody who has decided to install the regular Windows 2000 OS has mentioned that the NIC connectivity problem was solved. I too, may end up that route some time because I do notice that the Windows 2000 that Dell supplies lacks many of the features that the regular Windows 2000 has. And, you can always still download and install the Dell drivers and updates if you need it later.
Currently, rather than reinstalling Windows 2000 and reloading everything, I decided on a band-aid solution that someone at the Dell forum has mentioned. To solve the Actiontec NIC connectivity problem, well, sort of, you can download and install the IBM Intel PRO/100 LAN adapter driver. This driver (28MB) is an update for the Intel PRO/100 VE Network Connection (10/100 Ethernet) adapter. Although it states that it's for the IBM thinkpads, it will work for the Dell i8100 as well.
The link to the driver and info is here:
http://www-1.ibm.com/support/docview.wss?uid=psg1MIGR-46096
For me, at least I've been able to set the card to transmit now at 10mbps full duplex and it seems faster, which is at least a bit better than it used to be. Eventually, I'll reinstall the non-Dell supplied Windows 2000 OS and hopefully things will be much better.
This is another time when the Dell forums have helped me in solving a problem so if you have a problem with a Dell computer, maybe check out the forums.
http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums
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In closing, I would recommend the Inspiron 8100 for the professional user who wouldn't mind the extra weight as it is a desktop replacement with many capabilities.
Thank you for taking the time to read and rate my long review.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 1600
Operating System: Windows
Processor: Intel Pentium III
Processor speed: 801-900
Screen Size: 15
RAM: 256
Internal Storage: DVD
Hard Drive (GB): 13-20
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maceyr
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