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General discussion (archive)Your operating system (and your tweaking and pimping)(103 posts)(103 posts)
(103 posts)
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This is my favourite topic
Posted April 16, 2011
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MaridAudran: Yes, they have mountains of the ordinary peripheral CD/DVD drives you connect through an IDE or SATA cable in your desktop computer to the motherboard. But I'd need to buy a specific type of compatible internal optical drive that would meet my laptop's manufacture standards, and have it installed. Both of these things would be pricey (I checked online what they go for new wholesale, just the component shipped to you), especially the second part of that equation by enlisting the aid of the techs in my local computer repair shops. They tend to be arrogant and charge exorbitant rates for even mundane repairs and I dislike dealing with them. I imagine between the new internal optical drive and paid installation would be at least half the cost of what my laptop is now worth on resale.

I use an external DVD drive on my laptop; it's reasonably priced and serves that function well, the problem is that I can't boot from it the way I *could* boot from BIOS from the (now dead) internal DVD drive.
Most preinstalled laptop drives are common slim drives you can find pretty much anywhere, just with a special adaptor mounted to fit in their proprietary port. Remove the adaptor (and mounting bracket if it has one) and mount it on the new drive. There you go, a new working drive in the machine (albeit without whatever specially designed door that may have been on the old one to make it flush with the case, nothing that affects the functionality of the drive though).

I had to shave off a corner of the new drive's door though as I installed it in my Thinkpad a few years ago, easily done with a segment blade knife or side cutter.

Here's a selection of drives off newegg.
Post edited April 16, 2011 by Miaghstir
Posted April 17, 2011
I use Window 7 64-bit operating system on my desktop computer and Debian on my laptop.
Post edited April 17, 2011 by haxorfox
Posted April 17, 2011
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haxorfox: I use Window 7 64-bit operating system on my desktop computer and Debian on my laptop.
How is the 64 bit with regards to running Dosbox or Dosbox frontends and their games?

Also does anyone know about the whole 16bit not working thing on 64bit OSs? Does 16bit just include Dos games or did some 95/98 OS games run as 16bit exclusively?
Posted April 17, 2011
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GameRager: How is the 64 bit with regards to running Dosbox or Dosbox frontends and their games?
DOSBox runs just like on a 32bit system. I don't use frontends, but i bet they work.

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GameRager: Also does anyone know about the whole 16bit not working thing on 64bit OSs? Does 16bit just include Dos games or did some 95/98 OS games run as 16bit exclusively?
No, 16 bit apps wont work. You need dowbox [if they're dosbased], or a VM for that. I think WET [yeah, the Lula game] was a 16bit app. With most of those 16bit games, they're so old, they'd probably need a WINBox anyway.
The only problem i've run into with win7x64, was the x64 display driver that didn't like Dungeon Keeper 1. I've managed to run it on x32.
Post edited April 17, 2011 by Arteveld
Posted April 17, 2011
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GameRager: How is the 64 bit with regards to running Dosbox or Dosbox frontends and their games?
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Arteveld: DOSBox runs just like on a 32bit system. I don't use frontends, but i bet they work.

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GameRager: Also does anyone know about the whole 16bit not working thing on 64bit OSs? Does 16bit just include Dos games or did some 95/98 OS games run as 16bit exclusively?
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Arteveld: No, 16 bit apps wont work. You need dowbox [if they're dosbased], or a VM for that. I think WET [yeah, the Lula game] was a 16bit app. With most of those 16bit games, they're so old, they'd probably need a WINBox anyway.
The only problem i've run into with win7x64, was the x64 display driver that didn't like Dungeon Keeper 1. I've managed to run it on x32.
Sounds good.....
Posted April 17, 2011
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GameRager: Sounds good.....
Why the dots then?;P

It's a new system, old stuff may not work. The lack of legacy support on the PCs saddens me, but what can i do, buy an EFIKA? ;P
Anyhow, most things work.
Perhaps it'd be best to test the x64 on a VMbefore going full speed ahead with it. ;)
Posted April 17, 2011
For daily work, internet browsing, music, movies, mainly I use Ubuntu, though I occasionally use Puppy Linux and SliTaz on old computers. In the past I used PCLinuxOS. For gaming only, the old Windows XP.
Posted April 17, 2011
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GameRager: Sounds good.....
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Arteveld: Why the dots then?;P

It's a new system, old stuff may not work. The lack of legacy support on the PCs saddens me, but what can i do, buy an EFIKA? ;P
Anyhow, most things work.
Perhaps it'd be best to test the x64 on a VMbefore going full speed ahead with it. ;)
I just like dots sometimes.......?

Also, the Win7 Ultimate I have IS a test system. Only a few games and such are on there now, all of which are theoretically 64 bit compatible. Most likely i'll upgrade the Win7 32 to 64 bit and fix the few games I currently have on that side to sync with the new flavor of 7 and keep on testing from there.

As for VMWare I have Vista 32bit as my main OS so I shouldn't have any issues hopefully as I can run older stuff on the Vista side.
Posted April 17, 2011
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Miaghstir: Most preinstalled laptop drives are common slim drives you can find pretty much anywhere, just with a special adaptor mounted to fit in their proprietary port. Remove the adaptor (and mounting bracket if it has one) and mount it on the new drive. There you go, a new working drive in the machine (albeit without whatever specially designed door that may have been on the old one to make it flush with the case, nothing that affects the functionality of the drive though).

I had to shave off a corner of the new drive's door though as I installed it in my Thinkpad a few years ago, easily done with a segment blade knife or side cutter.

Here's a selection of drives off newegg.
Pretty helpful info; I had no idea. What's the difference between slim drives out there? From the page you linked, wherein lies the $100-dollar difference betwixt the Samsung and the HP drive?

I'm a medium-level tech-head. I don't work in IT but I enjoy doing my own upgrades and installing my own hardware into PCs. I've never done anything to a laptop before, however. How difficult will this be? I use a 3-year-old Toshiba Quosimo.
Posted April 17, 2011
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Miaghstir: Most preinstalled laptop drives are common slim drives you can find pretty much anywhere, just with a special adaptor mounted to fit in their proprietary port. Remove the adaptor (and mounting bracket if it has one) and mount it on the new drive. There you go, a new working drive in the machine (albeit without whatever specially designed door that may have been on the old one to make it flush with the case, nothing that affects the functionality of the drive though).

I had to shave off a corner of the new drive's door though as I installed it in my Thinkpad a few years ago, easily done with a segment blade knife or side cutter.

Here's a selection of drives off newegg.
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MaridAudran: Pretty helpful info; I had no idea. What's the difference between slim drives out there? From the page you linked, wherein lies the $100-dollar difference betwixt the Samsung and the HP drive?

I'm a medium-level tech-head. I don't work in IT but I enjoy doing my own upgrades and installing my own hardware into PCs. I've never done anything to a laptop before, however. How difficult will this be? I use a 3-year-old Toshiba Quosimo.
Err NVM made a mistake...the 25 dollar one is OEM only...meaning you have to buy other hardware with it to get that part for that price(25 for the Samsung model)

OEM listed stuff basically is discounted for rig builder/sellers to give them mass discounts. But anyone can buy OEM as long as they buy something else (hardware or OS software)that's non OEM with it.
Post edited April 17, 2011 by GameRager
Posted April 18, 2011
At work I'm running Ubuntu 10.10 x64. At home Ubuntu 10.10 x64 plus Windows 7 HP x64 which I use for gaming and guitar rig 4 only. No need to tweak anything. Everything is running smoothly and stable.
Posted April 18, 2011
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MaridAudran: Pretty helpful info; I had no idea. What's the difference between slim drives out there? From the page you linked, wherein lies the $100-dollar difference betwixt the Samsung and the HP drive?

I'm a medium-level tech-head. I don't work in IT but I enjoy doing my own upgrades and installing my own hardware into PCs. I've never done anything to a laptop before, however. How difficult will this be? I use a 3-year-old Toshiba Quosimo.
OEM - regarding hardware - usually means you don't get a huge box (it's probably just bubble-wrapped), manual, driver disc, or cables to connect it to the rest of the computer, you're supposed to have that or get from elsewhere. Neither of which isn't necessary for laptop drives (there are no cables, and Windows recognises the drive by default).

OEM - regarding software - is different, like GameRager said, you're supposed to buy it together with the basics of a computer (a motherboard and CPU, I think at least).
Post edited April 18, 2011 by Miaghstir
Posted April 18, 2011
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MaridAudran: Pretty helpful info; I had no idea. What's the difference between slim drives out there? From the page you linked, wherein lies the $100-dollar difference betwixt the Samsung and the HP drive?

I'm a medium-level tech-head. I don't work in IT but I enjoy doing my own upgrades and installing my own hardware into PCs. I've never done anything to a laptop before, however. How difficult will this be? I use a 3-year-old Toshiba Quosimo.
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Miaghstir: OEM - regarding hardware - usually means you don't get a huge box, manual, driver disc, or cables to connect it to the rest of the computer, you're supposed to have that or get from elsewhere. Neither of which isn't necessary for laptop drives (there are no cables, and Windows recognises the drive by default).
Plus you can't beat the OEM prices. I think I bought a peripheral with OEM XP and got the OEM price.
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This is my favourite topic
Community
General discussion (archive)Your operating system (and your tweaking and pimping)(103 posts)(103 posts)
(103 posts)