My 9300 got me through a year of school, b ... ... So my 9300 got me through my first year of college and it performed like a champ. It beautifully ran every g ...

iratepirate125 · 05-01-2006, 09:46 AM

So my 9300 got me through my first year of college and it performed like a champ. It beautifully ran every game I threw at it, I got OSX86 and Vista running, and it provided movie watching euphoria. As much as I love the computer I couldn't save it from a bit of minor wear. I've accumulated a few nicks and scratches around the track pad as well as a nasty grey patch from wrist sweat wearing away the silver finish right below the left control key (damn you WASD). I'm sure all of this wear could have been avoided by using an external keyboard, but that's not really my thing. Anyways I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions for some cosmetic touchups or for future preventatives for wear? I was planing on getting some PDA screen protectors for the left side to stop the wear on the silver finish, but it would be really nice to get some vinyls cut to cover the entire base below the keyboard to protect from any scratches. Does a product like this exist? Your thoughts?

darkloki · 05-01-2006, 09:53 AM

Could you please explain to me how to get OSx.86 running?? I really want to get it running on my 9300 as well, but I don't quite understand all of the processes as to how to get it running. Just a simple step by step Instruction would be very much appreicated.

As for my touchpad,I just call up dell every 9 months and tell them that my touchpad broke and they replace the entire thing, meh I paid for the service plan anyways, so I'm just using it.

Pugsly0014 · 05-01-2006, 10:44 AM

Check the newsgroups for the OSX86 10.4.5 or 10.4.6 .ISO file. Burn it to DVD and boot from it. Done and done.

There wasn't anything special to make it run, it just worked.
Problems:

No nVidia Support
No Subwoofer Support
No Wireless Support

That being said, I didn't like it and switched to SUSE 10.

VONFREYER · 05-01-2006, 02:29 PM

I have a new XPS m170 and I also was thinking of some kind of protective film that I could put on the palm rests, something not permanent. 3M makes something for cars, but it's glued on,

GZS · 05-01-2006, 02:44 PM

I don't think there's half of the 9300's out there without the wear to the left of the touchpad.

Hell, mine started showing wear a month after I got it.

iratepirate125 · 05-01-2006, 06:15 PM

Yeah I'm really starting to dislike this silver finish. It really shows dirt and grime, plus any scratch or nick will be a black belmish surrounded by silver.

Jordan1 · 05-01-2006, 06:56 PM

You can order a new palmrest, or you could paint it. I have some tape on my palmrest. It works, but doesn't look the best.

Zephyr · 05-01-2006, 07:25 PM

Try a Post-it note over the palmrest area. Works fine for me.

K9387 · 05-01-2006, 07:39 PM

Or a phone/pda cover:

Hyperion · 05-02-2006, 02:09 AM

I bought some sticky back plastic to cover the palm rests. It comes in rolls and is meant for covering books but was just fine for the laptop too. I cut out the shape I needed and just stuck it on. It's not permanent and can easily be removed.

I took a pic, u have to look really hard to see it but the advantage is that it covers the entire area.

Sphnx · 05-02-2006, 02:18 AM

Wow! that seems like a great idea... How does it feel to use? Much different from the normal surface?

spirals · 05-02-2006, 04:04 AM

I used my 9300 for the whole school year since August-ish, and no wear on my palm rest. I don't sweat much though.

I'm curious what kind of school you go to that gets out in April!

the_scotsman · 05-02-2006, 04:33 AM

Mine is really quite bad...I've only owned it for 6 months...I get the "WSAD" wear on the left and as I use the touchpad for all games (not external mouse) its just as bad on the right, as is the left touchpad button, theres a circle of grey where there is no paint left through using it in gaming...AND...on the left are a heap of scratches where my watch has scraped at the paint...very very poor finish to the surface on Dells part, the only complaint I have about the 9300...

I will let it go a bit worse, then probably give painting it a go...

iratepirate125 · 05-02-2006, 10:34 AM

I'll have to make a trip to Wal-Mart or Office Max and see if I can find anything. I think some sort of black-stick on coating would look really sharp on the entire bottom half of the palm rest if I could cut it nicely to fit around the track pad. And I'm not out of school yet, this is last week of classes followed by exams next week.

heirmajor · 05-02-2006, 02:29 PM

This is what I use on my 9300's palm rest beside my car. The 4" wide fit perfectly. Don't buy the spray and squeegee unless for bigger application (e.g. automobile...)

05-01-2006, 09:46 AM	#1
iratepirate125 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 3 Credits: -349	My 9300 got me through a year of school, but took a bit of a beating So my 9300 got me through my first year of college and it performed like a champ. It beautifully ran every game I threw at it, I got OSX86 and Vista running, and it provided movie watching euphoria. As much as I love the computer I couldn't save it from a bit of minor wear. I've accumulated a few nicks and scratches around the track pad as well as a nasty grey patch from wrist sweat wearing away the silver finish right below the left control key (damn you WASD). I'm sure all of this wear could have been avoided by using an external keyboard, but that's not really my thing. Anyways I was wondering if you guys had any suggestions for some cosmetic touchups or for future preventatives for wear? I was planing on getting some PDA screen protectors for the left side to stop the wear on the silver finish, but it would be really nice to get some vinyls cut to cover the entire base below the keyboard to protect from any scratches. Does a product like this exist? Your thoughts?

05-01-2006, 09:53 AM	#2
darkloki Defender of E-JUSTICE!!! Join Date: Nov 2005 Posts: 2,658 Credits: 1,754	Could you please explain to me how to get OSx.86 running?? I really want to get it running on my 9300 as well, but I don't quite understand all of the processes as to how to get it running. Just a simple step by step Instruction would be very much appreicated. As for my touchpad,I just call up dell every 9 months and tell them that my touchpad broke and they replace the entire thing, meh I paid for the service plan anyways, so I'm just using it. __________________ XPS M1730 with Blu Ray 8800 GTX SLI X9000, Dual X25 Intel SSD, 4 GB of ram. Company of Heros Fanatic Player

05-01-2006, 10:44 AM	#3
Pugsly0014 The Uberpally Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 434 Credits: -236	Check the newsgroups for the OSX86 10.4.5 or 10.4.6 .ISO file. Burn it to DVD and boot from it. Done and done. There wasn't anything special to make it run, it just worked. Problems: No nVidia Support No Subwoofer Support No Wireless Support That being said, I didn't like it and switched to SUSE 10. __________________ Mine - Dell XPS M1710 \| Intel Core 2 Duo T7200 \| 2x1GB DDR2 677 Dual Channel \| Windows Vista Business \| GeForce Go 7900GS (600/800 GTX Bios) \| 3DMark05 9269 \| 3DMark06 5130 Wifes - Dell Inspiron E1705 \| Intel Core Duo T2400 \| 2x512MB DDR2 677 Dual Channel \| Windows XP Pro \| GeForce Go 7900GS

05-01-2006, 02:29 PM	#4
VONFREYER A Pirate's life for Me! Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Cool Pines of Arizona Posts: 142 Credits: -81	I have a new XPS m170 and I also was thinking of some kind of protective film that I could put on the palm rests, something not permanent. 3M makes something for cars, but it's glued on, __________________ Laptop: Dell XPS M170 Pentium M 780 17" UltraSharp W TrueLife LG_WC222 Geforce Go 7800 GTX OC 430/1200 3dMark05 7198 2 Gig OCZ Ram, 100 Gig 7200rpm Hitatchi Enhanced Gigabyte GN-WIAG02 Atheros Wi-Fi 108m Total cost so far $1899 Other Toy Macbook Pro 2.5, 8600GT/512, 4g Ram (Most played Games: GuildWars, Titan Quest, AOE III, Oblivion, Battle for Middle-Earth I/II, Dungeon Siege I/II, FarCry, UT2004 )

05-01-2006, 02:44 PM	#5
GZS Registered User Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 467 Credits: 1,128	I don't think there's half of the 9300's out there without the wear to the left of the touchpad. Hell, mine started showing wear a month after I got it. __________________ \

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05-01-2006, 06:15 PM	#6
iratepirate125 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 3 Credits: -349	Yeah I'm really starting to dislike this silver finish. It really shows dirt and grime, plus any scratch or nick will be a black belmish surrounded by silver.

05-01-2006, 06:56 PM	#7
Jordan1 >>>>>>>> Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 5,200 Credits: 971	You can order a new palmrest, or you could paint it. I have some tape on my palmrest. It works, but doesn't look the best. __________________ strafeRight >>

05-01-2006, 07:25 PM	#8
Zephyr Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 130 Credits: -314	Try a Post-it note over the palmrest area. Works fine for me. __________________ Inspiron9300 \|Pentium M 1.86 \| 1 Gig Ram \|80 Gig, 5400 \| WXGA Samsung (no dead pixels) \| 256 GeForce 6800 GO (4542 3DMark05 ).

05-01-2006, 07:39 PM	#9
K9387 Registered User Join Date: May 2005 Location: Edinburgh, UK Posts: 2,183 Credits: 1,126	Or a phone/pda cover: __________________ XPS M1530 - Pentium Core 2 Duo 2.5Ghz - 4GB RAM - NVIDIA GeForce 8600M GT 256MB - LG 1440x900 Screen - 320GB HDD - Bluetooth & Intel Next Gen Wireless - Dell 2408WFP 24" Monitor - 1TB Western Digital My Book Essential 2.0 USB2

05-02-2006, 02:09 AM	#10
Hyperion Registered User Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: Malta Posts: 17 Credits: -143	I bought some sticky back plastic to cover the palm rests. It comes in rolls and is meant for covering books but was just fine for the laptop too. I cut out the shape I needed and just stuck it on. It's not permanent and can easily be removed. I took a pic, u have to look really hard to see it but the advantage is that it covers the entire area. Attached Thumbnails __________________ +Inspiron 9300, Pentium M 1.86GHz w/2MB Cache +Intel 915MP Chipset w/533MHz FSB +17 inch True Life Wide Screen UXGA +2 GB, DDR2, 533MHz 2 Dimms +256MB NVIDIA 6800 Go +100GB 4200RPM Hard Drive +24X CD-RW/DVD Combo +Intel PRO/Wireless 2915 (802.11 a/b/g,54Mbps) +Bluetooth

05-02-2006, 02:18 AM	#11
Sphnx Epoch 9300 Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Australia Posts: 206 Credits: -265	Wow! that seems like a great idea... How does it feel to use? Much different from the normal surface?

05-02-2006, 04:04 AM	#12
spirals Registered User Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 241 Credits: -288	I used my 9300 for the whole school year since August-ish, and no wear on my palm rest. I don't sweat much though. I'm curious what kind of school you go to that gets out in April!

05-02-2006, 04:33 AM	#13
the_scotsman Shaken Not Stirred Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: NSW, Australia Posts: 680 Credits: 809	Mine is really quite bad...I've only owned it for 6 months...I get the "WSAD" wear on the left and as I use the touchpad for all games (not external mouse) its just as bad on the right, as is the left touchpad button, theres a circle of grey where there is no paint left through using it in gaming...AND...on the left are a heap of scratches where my watch has scraped at the paint...very very poor finish to the surface on Dells part, the only complaint I have about the 9300... I will let it go a bit worse, then probably give painting it a go... __________________ Free Stuff (Aus) \| My Tech Blog All my images hosted on www.freeimagestoring.com

05-02-2006, 10:34 AM	#14
iratepirate125 Registered User Join Date: May 2006 Posts: 3 Credits: -349	I'll have to make a trip to Wal-Mart or Office Max and see if I can find anything. I think some sort of black-stick on coating would look really sharp on the entire bottom half of the palm rest if I could cut it nicely to fit around the track pad. And I'm not out of school yet, this is last week of classes followed by exams next week.

05-02-2006, 02:29 PM	#15
heirmajor Registered User Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 12 Credits: -347	This is what I use on my 9300's palm rest beside my car. The 4" wide fit perfectly. Don't buy the spray and squeegee unless for bigger application (e.g. automobile...) __________________ I9300 ([b]Total XPS Black conversion)\|1.7@2.26\|7800GTX (440/1250)\|Audigy2 ZS w/Senheiser HD600\|DVICO Fusion 5

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