My new Dell Hackbook

[sneeks]

My Dell Inspiron arrived yesterday from the Outlet Store. If it was ever used by a previous owner then I'd never know, it's in immaculate condition. Cost me £390 delivered, a saving of £200 on a like for like spec at Dell's main online store.

Inspiron 1525 CORE 2 DUO T5750 2.00GHz
DVD+/-RW
Hard Drive 320GB (5400rpm)
Battery Inspiron Primary 6 Cell
65W AC Adapter
Dell Wireless 1395 Mini-Card 802.11b/g
2.0 Mega pixel web camera
LCD Back Cover Jet Black Matte
1 Yr Collect & Return
4096MB (2x2048) 800MHz DDR2
Internal 56K Modem Notebook - UK
Display LCD 15.4 WXGA
English Genuine Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium
Office 2007 Student & Home Edition
Bluetooth Card

Far cheaper than a MacBook and running OS X perfectly after several annoying hours of configuration. Now I know how to do it though so it'll be easier if I ever need to redo in the future. I'll update to 10.5.5 tonight.

 

[Millsy]

is it a stupid question to ask how you got mac osx on there? did you "download" it?

 

[McBunny]

what method did you use to get it running ?

 

[sneeks]

I do already own Leopard so I didn't steal from Apple but I did have to use a modified version. The instructions were fairly easy to follow but I did have one or two complications. I now have a dual boot between Vista and Leopard. I chose the Inspiron 1525 because it shares many components from the MacBook so is the easiest to setup. At under £400 it was far cheaper than a similar spec MacBook.

http://www.espressoreport.com/83/dell-inspiron-1525-hackbook-pro-tutorial/

 

[Millsy]

nice one

 

[182-racing-blue]

How much would I need to pay you to get one of these? COD.

 

[sneeks]

Buy the laptop yourself from the Dell Outlet Store and install using the instructions found at the link above.

AFAIK the ethernet port is not currently supported but I use wifi so that's not a problem. Other than that every main component works inc webcam and the inbuilt volume controls.

 

[bmh.01]

Nice bit of kit, well done you've now gone and put a good idea in my head .

 

[Tom]

I did this with a HP pavilion.

Nightmare to get going, but managed it in the end.

Thats cool but not as cool as my macbook and mine is still a better spec (just)
What graphics does it run EDIT oh cool intel X3100

 

[sneeks]

For what I saved i'm happy to drop slightly from the spec of a real MacBook.

It's better specced than the MacBook Air and that's silly money.

The setup wasn't fun but anyone with a knowledge of Terminal will have no problems at all. There are not many laptops to choose from if you want Leopard to support most functions. The 1525 offers excellent compatibility.

 

[sneeks]

Now updated to 10.5.5 with all current software updates automatically installed.

 

[sneeks]

After all the hard work installing OS X I think I'll sell my Dell, I never really use it

 

[cava83]

hahahhahahaha

Toys

Do you not use it because it's massive ?

 

[sneeks]

No just because I didn't really need it in the first place. It's not actually as big as you think either.

 

[cava83]

I am only joking

Looks like a good toy,

I buy lots of stuff and end up not using more than half,

Prime example, PS3 or the portable projector.

No just because I didn't really need it in the first place. It's not actually as big as you think either.

 

[sneeks]

I bought a Dell Mini 9 last month and it finally arrived last Friday. Ubuntu was installed as standard. I installed Leopard within an hour of unboxing it and runs great, far better than on the 1525. Two finger scrolling is also supported on the Mini 9 which is great, scrolling using the trackpad did not work with the 1525.

 

[cava83]

That's awesome Sneeks,

Does the camera work ok too with iChat?

Why does it work better? Less sluggish ?

Any chance of a manual?



Good stuff buddy

 

[sneeks]

The Mini 9 hardware is perfectly supported within Leopard, the install was performed directly from a retail 10.5.6 disc. Bluetooth, webcam, wifi etc all work and the basic battery returns over 3 hours of constant usage. The 1525 install of Leopard was far more difficult.

My Mini 9 spec is:

1.3MP Webcam
2GB RAM
64GB SSD

 

[cava83]

Hi,

So are you saying you installed the whole OS from scratch simply from the CD install with no messing around?

If so, that's excellent, it picks up everything like you said perfectly.

In previous installs, I remember there always being issue with the bluetooth and LAN ports.

Excellent stuff

The Mini 9 hardware is perfectly supported within Leopard, the install was performed directly from a retail 10.5.6 disc. Bluetooth, webcam, wifi etc all work and the basic battery returns over 3 hours of constant usage. The 1525 install of Leopard was far more difficult.

My Mini 9 spec is:

1.3MP Webcam
2GB RAM
64GB SSD

 

[sneeks]

Yeah there is a boot cd that you use and then swap this almost immediately for the Leopard retail disc. Walk away and leave it to install.

The one thing which is not working correctly is sleep mode but I can cope without that as it shuts down and restarts very fast, faster than a MacBook.

It's the most complete non Mac Leopard install I have used.

 

[BenWall]

Still doesnt' have the style of a macbook

 

[cava83]

Still doesnt' have the style of a macbook

Maybe not, but it's a fraction of the price

 

[sneeks]

Maybe not, but it's a fraction of the price

Indeed

 

[KDF]

I bought a Dell Mini 9 last month and it finally arrived last Friday. Ubuntu was installed as standard. I installed Leopard within an hour of unboxing it and runs great, far better than on the 1525. Two finger scrolling is also supported on the Mini 9 which is great, scrolling using the trackpad did not work with the 1525.

Ditto, but I quickly removed OSX and installed a custom version of Ubuntu 9.04.

It f**king rocks now ! and with ext4 and the boot tweaks it boots in about 10 seconds !

 

[sneeks]

I'm not a huge Ubuntu fan and owning a iMac at home makes Leopard the ideal choice. I was toying with the idea of installing Windows 7, it's a MS OS that I do actually like.

 

[sneeks]

Forget my earlier comment regarding sleep not working, I had not realised I needed to disable usb bios legacy support on completion of my install. Sleep is now working.

 

[cava83]

Would windows 7 actually work on this?

Makes sense you going the OSX route.

Mind you, booting up in 10 secs is pretty impressive.

I'm not a huge Ubuntu fan and owning a iMac at home makes Leopard the ideal choice. I was toying with the idea of installing Windows 7, it's a MS OS that I do actually like.

 

[sneeks]

Yeah Windows 7 can work on the Mini 9 but I think I'll remain with OS X.

 

[ChorleyFM]

Do you know if you can put OS X on the Dell Mini 10??

 

[sneeks]

No as there are no drivers for the GMA 500 graphics chip that the 10 uses.

 

[meady100]

It's a cool project, but the thing I'd miss more than any other would be not having the multitouch trackpad. When I go back to using a Win laptop, it feels archaic having to use one of those little side scrollbar sections, and having no pinch and swipes. :-(

 

[sneeks]

The double finger scrolling works on the Mini 9 with OS X, no need to activate the vertical/horizontal scrollbars. Pinch and swipe is not important to me, the scrolling was something I missed from my Leopard install on the Inspiron 1525.

 

[The Boosh!]

Did you use bootcamp to do this fella? Nice work any how i know the hoops you have to jump through to get this setup to work, nightmare!

There is also a programme you can DL called Parrnell ( i think will have to double check) which allows you to run both operating systems at the same time. IE there is a window in mac you click on and it will take you to windows.

Looks good but will never have the style or robustness of a proper mac.
Its like putting a robin reliant engine in a VW. Close but no cigar (although worth it for the cost )

Also, installing OSX on a none apple computer is illegal :rasp:

 

[KDF]

Also, installing OSX on a none apple computer is illegal :rasp:

It breaks the license agreement but who gives a toss ? If I buy a copy of OSX I should be able to install it where I want whether it was designed for it or not.

Fact is the Dell Mini 9 is the most compatible non apple product out there, it.... Just Works™


(ps. Yes I know your comment was in jest.. just thought I would point out how stupid apples toa are)

 

[The Boosh!]

Yeh KDF. Totally agree And the licence agreement is a load of s**t.

 

[sneeks]

Install was simple for the Mini 9 as it used my retail Leopard disc. Insert a boot disk, swap it for the Leopard disc and it installs like any Mac would. No messing around required. The complete opposite to the ball ache I had installing OS X onto the Dell 1525. I'm only running OS X on the Mini 9 and no other OS. My 1525 is now running Windows 7, I removed OS X.

 

[sneeks]

Yeh KDF. Totally agree And the licence agreement is a load of s**t.

You cannot read the agreement until you have bought and opened the packaging. The legality of these agreements has been questioned often. Besides Apple's own servers happily registered my Mini 9 install and provided all updates via the inbuilt Software Update option.

 

[Cheeky_Chappie]

Install was simple for the Mini 9 as it used my retail Leopard disc. Insert a boot disk, swap it for the Leopard disc and it installs like any Mac would. No messing around required. The complete opposite to the ball ache I had installing OS X onto the Dell 1525. I'm only running OS X on the Mini 9 and no other OS. My 1525 is now running Windows 7, I removed OS X.

just wondering, as all netbooks share the same chipset. do you think this will work with all netbooks? wonder if this will work on teh Samsung NC10?

Sorry.. im a newb to Mac and its OS. Want to get into it but MACs are so goddamn expensive for what you get!