Happy 600E owner...with questions!!

[draco2527]

LOL! So I went to a computer show this weekend, someone was trying to get rid of a 600E (8 out of 10...and considering it is 7 years old..I would give it a 10 for condition/age!!) It has some wear on all edges(corners on base and top cover) BUT the keyboard and palm rest are MINT!! There are many 600/E for sale in this show, but they are SO beat up that it is not even worth considering!! It cost me $0, since I traded it for my "POS" L400...I consider the whole thing a win situation in my part...

It has been YEARS since I have worked on one of these, my WHAT a SOLID machine...the feel...just screams QUALITY...I miss those days...

Anyways, to my question. I will be installing a 20GB hd later this week, can anyone remember if it will see more then 8.4GB, as a HD?

I am not sure what OS I will be running yet, I did max the memory out ( I knew that some of the old "junk" I have been holding on to would come in handy)

I do not have an "IBM" burner (CDRW/DVD) for it, but I do have a modified Sony one that fits the bill (with a cut bezel to fit).

I do not intend to watch movies on it, and I know the 600E was able to decode DVD's BUT I have a "margy"DVD PCMCIA decoder card that I will toss in to see if there is a huge improvement on playback...

All said, back in 99 this machine would have been a DREAM come true...makes you realize how fast things change...

[pianowizard]

Anyways, to my question. I will be installing a 20GB hd later this week, can anyone remember if it will see more then 8.4GB, as a HD?

I used a 30GB HDD on my first 600E and it could see all 30GB. I purchased that 600E for $403 shipped from compgeeks.com in Sep 2002, and it came with a 6GB HDD. In Jun 2003, that HDD died and I replaced it with that 30GB HDD, which I bought from Newegg for $104 shipped. Back then, a 30GB notebook HDD for $104 was a very good deal!

[lenmullen]

Great catch. I have 30g disks in all my 600es -- no problem at all. I have DVD players in all as well -- some not intended for use in a 600 that I fitted in CD caddies that were.

You don't need the margi card in a 600e -- just set the color depth to 16 bit. I only use margi cards in my 600s. If you use one, though, it goes in the bottom slot. You can get the drivers off the margi site.

These *are* great machines. Much more reliable than the $400 machines on sale these days and almost as capable.

Have fun...len!

[tfflivemb2]

You might have to update your BIOS though, if it is outdated.

I was initially putting 40Gb drives in each of the 600Es that I was selling.

[WarMachine]

No problem for a 20 GB HDD. I have one in mine (5K80 - 20GB - 5400 rpm - 8MB cache). It runs perfectly.

And I totally agree with you, those are nice machines. I also own a L400, i want to sell it. But i won't sell my 600E.

The screen and the keyboard are outstanding ! I've never seen such a nice keyboard. And I have tried a lot...

What a pity it can only accept a PIII 850. It would have been great to stick a P-M inside, with 1 or 2 GB...

We have New Beetles, new Austin Mini (made by BMW), why not a new version of the 600 ? Whouaaaah, it'd be extraordinary...



W.

[Stargate199]

All it needs is a BIOS upgrade. Alphakilo470 couldn't get his 40 GB hard drive to work in his 600 until the BIOS was upgraded. Then it should be able to see any hard drive size.