NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Notebook Forums › Dell Home (Inspiron, XPS, Studio) › My 9300 got me through a year of school, but took a bit of a beating
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

My 9300 got me through a year of school, but took a bit of a beating

post #1 of 21
5/1/06 at 11:46am
Thread Starter 
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?
Reply
Reply
post #2 of 21
5/1/06 at 11:53am
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.
Reply
Reply
post #3 of 21
5/1/06 at 12:44pm
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.
Reply
Reply
post #4 of 21
5/1/06 at 4:29pm
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,
Reply
Reply
post #5 of 21
5/1/06 at 4:44pm
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.
Reply
Reply
post #6 of 21
5/1/06 at 8:15pm
Thread Starter 
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.
Reply
Reply
post #7 of 21
5/1/06 at 8:56pm
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.
Reply
Reply
post #8 of 21
5/1/06 at 9:25pm
Try a Post-it note over the palmrest area. Works fine for me.
Reply
Reply
post #9 of 21
5/1/06 at 9:39pm
Or a phone/pda cover:

Reply
Reply
post #10 of 21
5/2/06 at 4:09am
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.


LL
Reply
Reply
post #11 of 21
5/2/06 at 4:18am
Wow! that seems like a great idea... How does it feel to use? Much different from the normal surface?
Reply
Reply
post #12 of 21
5/2/06 at 6:04am
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!
Reply
Reply
post #13 of 21
5/2/06 at 6:33am
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...
Reply
Reply
post #14 of 21
5/2/06 at 12:34pm
Thread Starter 
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.
Reply
Reply
post #15 of 21
5/2/06 at 4:29pm
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...)
Reply
Reply
post #16 of 21
5/2/06 at 5:24pm
i use pro-tect covers for mine covers the hole top even the keyboard and touchpad first it seem like it didint fit right but after about 1 too 2weeks it weared in from the heat.

and now you cant even know its on

i show pics if you want later.
Reply
Reply
post #17 of 21
5/2/06 at 5:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by darkloki
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.
That's jks. Is this:
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyperion
the same as:
Quote:
Originally Posted by heirmajor
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...)
?? and if not, where'd you get it Hyperion? And won't it leave something sticky when you take it off?
Reply
Reply
post #18 of 21
5/3/06 at 7:15am
Spnx - it is very comfortable to use and u barely notice it at all.

Flav_cool - not it's not the same thing at all. There is no spray involved and the sticky-back plastic I used comes ready in a roll. U just cut out the shape u want, peel off the backing paper and apply. It's designed for books and with the intention that it can be easily removed. I've had this on my laptop for only a few weeks but there shouldn't be any residue. I bought it from my local stationer. I live in Malta but assume such an item would be readily available in the states
Reply
Reply
post #19 of 21
5/3/06 at 9:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hyperion
Spnx - it is very comfortable to use and u barely notice it at all.

Flav_cool - not it's not the same thing at all. There is no spray involved and the sticky-back plastic I used comes ready in a roll. U just cut out the shape u want, peel off the backing paper and apply. It's designed for books and with the intention that it can be easily removed. I've had this on my laptop for only a few weeks but there shouldn't be any residue. I bought it from my local stationer. I live in Malta but assume such an item would be readily available in the states

So what's it called? Book protector?
Reply
Reply
post #20 of 21
5/3/06 at 10:53am
Oops, your quite right to ask but to be honest I don't know!!

I knew it existed and asked the guy in the shop for it. There's no name on the roll.

Sorry!
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
NotebookForums.com › Forums › Notebook Manufacturers › Dell Notebook Forums › Dell Home (Inspiron, XPS, Studio) › My 9300 got me through a year of school, but took a bit of a beating