The technician came over with a (2nd) "new" motherboard for my
Dell XPS M1330. He said that since the expresscard cage is
removable from the motherboard, he would first try an expresscard
(mine) with the one on the "new" motherboard before he went ahead
and installed it because we knew that the current (1st replacement)
motherboard and CPU worked. The expresscard was as loose and
slid out as easily as with the 1st replacement motherboard's cage.
He concluded that either "they're all like that" or that my SIIG
expresscard wasn't shaped exactly to specs. He also admitted that
every replacement motherboard that he has seen has been a refurb.
Could that have been the reason that my expresscard seemed to
latch with the original motherboard but not with either replacement
motherboard?
I called SIIG, and the tech support rep said that the expresscard
doesnt' lock into place, but that some PC OEMs' expresscard slots
are snugger than others. He said that SIIG's expresscards work best
with Lenovo laptops.
I went to Fry's and tried my SIIG eSATA expresscard with all the
laptops brands that they had with expresscard slots. They didn't
have any Lenovos in stock (they seem to sell fast), but they did have
the usual HPs, Toshibas, Fujitsus, Sonys, Gateways, and a couple
other lesser brands. None of them would lock the expresscard in
place, but my M1330 seemed to fall in the center of the pack. Some
laptops had a plunger that you could push once to make it protrude
from the side of the laptop, and a 2nd push would make the expresscard
eject, but not all and not my Dell.
I then went to PC Mall and PC Palace in Santa Monica. The manager
at PC Palace confirmed that no expresscard slot latches the expresscard
firmly in place. And at PC Mall, they actually had a Lenovo! I tried
inserting my expresscard - it fit snugly and firmly and there was no free
play, just as SIIG had said. But it, too, would not latch the expresscard
so that it couldn't be pulled out.
How other brands of expresscard would fit in any of those brands of
laptops, I don't know, as no one had an unwrapped expresscard to try.
But Dell does sell the SIIG firewire expresscard, so Dell hasn't concluded
that SIIG's expresscards don't fit Dell's laptops.
My conclusions are these:
No expresscard slot latches firmly enough so that the expresscard
cannot slide out.
Dell's expresscard slots are about average for looseness.
Dell's replacement motherboards are usually (or always) refurbished
units.
Putting the expresscard slot near the front corner on the right side of
the laptop (as Dell does) is a design flaw - the protruding expresscard
and the cable connecting to it get in the way of any mouse that you
might use with the laptop. There are other brands (including Lenovo)
who put the slot on the left side.
Due to the stiffness of an eSATA cable, using an eSATA external
hard drive with an expresscard PCIe adaptor is very awkward, and
the cable may cause the hard drive enclosure to fall over, or it may
cause the expresscard to wriggle out of its slot in the laptop. If you're
at a meeting, it's best not to have anyone beside you on your right.
If you're making a business presentation, forget it.
Bottom line: If I could afford it, I'd get a Lenovo laptop.
"Timothy Daniels" <SpamBucket@NoSpamPlease.biz> wrote in message
news:481c9e01$0$30167$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
<snip>
Tim,
Thanks for the update and the helpful research on express card fit/finish
among Dell(s) and other brands. Pretty enlightening.
W/regard to replacement system boards, the board may or may NOT be a true
refurb. Dell tags all of their replacement (warranty) parts boxes with that
label just to cover their posterior.
I've seen at least (1) Dell warranty replacement system board that was
clearly a refurb'd / used board. (The presence of the original system
service tag in the BIOS gave it away).
With regard to Lenovo, I did own one of their consumer-line models (3000
N100) and I found it to be a pretty nice system for the 4 months I owned it.
On Sat, 3 May 2008 10:17:15 -0700, "Timothy Daniels"
<SpamBucket@NoSpamPlease.biz> wrote:
>I called SIIG, and the tech support rep said that the expresscard
>doesnt' lock into place, but that some PC OEMs' expresscard slots
>are snugger than others. He said that SIIG's expresscards work best
>with Lenovo laptops.
I use an ExpressCard with my Lenovo and it is very snug. It's a
"Delkin" brand card that I use to read SDHC cards from my digital
camera.
Cool -- I just tried it now and found my lost 4GB SD card -- I had
been looking all over for it but it was in my ExpressCard reader
(doh).
At this point I'd ditch the M1330, get my money back, and go with a
different computer.
On Sat, 3 May 2008 10:17:15 -0700, "Timothy Daniels"
<SpamBucket@NoSpamPlease.biz> wrote:
>I then went to PC Mall and PC Palace in Santa Monica. The manager
>at PC Palace confirmed that no expresscard slot latches the expresscard
>firmly in place. And at PC Mall, they actually had a Lenovo! I tried
>inserting my expresscard - it fit snugly and firmly and there was no free
>play, just as SIIG had said. But it, too, would not latch the expresscard
>so that it couldn't be pulled out.
For all practical purposes, the ExpressCard that I have can't easily
be pulled out of my Lenovo. It fits firmly, and flush, and there is
nothing to grab hold of. I would much rather have a built-in card
reader though and wonder if the ExpressCard uses much battery power if
left in .....
On Sat, 3 May 2008 10:17:15 -0700, "Timothy Daniels"
<SpamBucket@NoSpamPlease.biz> wrote:
> Bottom line: If I could afford it, I'd get a Lenovo laptop.
>
>*TimDaniels*
The Lenovo T61 recently had two stackable coupons. I helped a friend
buy one and the savings were over $650 if I remember correctly. I can
get the specs for you if you're interested. Total price with tax was
about $1,150 with a 3 year Depot warranty, for a 14" standard
orientation non-glossy display. If you have your own OS you could
save even more because they offered a Linux version for a few hundred
less (plus or minus).
On Sat, 3 May 2008 12:30:51 -0500, "S.Lewis"
<Gossamer@interesting.com> wrote:
>With regard to Lenovo, I did own one of their consumer-line models (3000
>N100) and I found it to be a pretty nice system for the 4 months I owned it.
>
>Stew
IMO the Lenovo 3000 doesn't hold a candle to the ThinkPads. Best to
get a T61.
"journey" wrote:
>
> The Lenovo T61 recently had two stackable coupons. I helped a friend
> buy one and the savings were over $650 if I remember correctly. I can
> get the specs for you if you're interested. Total price with tax was
> about $1,150 with a 3 year Depot warranty, for a 14" standard
> orientation non-glossy display. If you have your own OS you could
> save even more because they offered a Linux version for a few hundred
> less (plus or minus).
I just spec'd one out at the Lenovo website, and without the M1330's
nVidia graphics card and the LED backlighting, the price came to within
a couple hundred dollars of what I paid for the M1330 two months ago.
IOW, in the same ballpark. Unfortunately, I've already done so much
research into multi-booting Vista/Linux on a Dell with MediaDirect left
intact (try reading the 2 treatises by Goodell and McTavish sometime)
and combing the 'Net on Ubuntu distros, that I'm just shopped and
researched out. I have a Dell bluetooth mouse coming on Monday,
and maybe that will cheer me up. I'll let you know.
laptops have loose expresscard slots 
Linear Mode
