Partition Wizard on 1810TZ

I always wipe out the entire hard disk and fresh install my own OS whenever I get a new PC or notebook. This time round I plan to stick to the pre-installed OS, Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit since I don't have a genuine copy of W7 DVD installer. One of the reasons I like to do so is because the PC makers always bundle many bloatware in the pre-installed OS which most of the times slow down the performance. Also, I would be able to learn the ins and outs of an OS by running through the installation and setting it up from scratch. On the other hand, pre-installed OS has its advantage, the PC makers typically include a recovery partition where users can restore to factory default setting by one press on the keyboard (ALT F10 for 1810TZ). Users have less headaches too with a guided step-by-step setup to get the machine up and running in minutes.

This time, I don't want to act smart and want to be a dumb user, so I walk through the setup like others...

Somehow I am just too arrogant. Hehe... I fail to stop myself to get into more technical when I see Acer did not slice the big 320GB hard disk into 2 partitions for system and data. This is always the first item in my checklist if I install my own copy of OS. Partitioning a hard disk does not really get easy with Vista and now W7 if the hard disk is big in size. Small size hard disk like the one in HP Mini that I blogged previously was OK with Windows Disk Management tool, I realized there is a ceiling size of how much size you could shrink using this tool which in turn prohibits me from repartitioning to the desired size. Fortunately I got to know a software called Partition Wizard...

And yes it's free! Plus, this software is darn simple to use even to dummies (to resize the hard disk). Don't have to worry about getting things wrong, everything can be undone before the actual change.

I plan to resize the one-big partition into 2, with 50GB for system (C drive) should be more than enough for W7 and the rest of the free space should be partitioned to data drive (D drive)...

Click on C drive, click on Move/Resize, and move the slider or type in the size, click OK. The change is not immediate that it allows review before actual change. Once comfortable, click Apply...

Since the resize is on the system partition, PW will ask for reboot and follow by this progress screen...

Wait a few minutes and PW will boot into W7 after it's done. Launch again PW, extra gray area can be seen now, that represents the free space which was freed early. Click Create to create new partition for D drive, the data drive. No snap shot this time as it's really a simple process or you can refer to PW's online help here. One tip, you can also combine this step into previous step.

Here's what I get...

Some may worry about losing the recovery partition that keeps the factory default operating system by repartition. No worries here. As long as you only resize the C drive and keep both hidden recovery partitions untouched, you are safe to go with the recovery function ALT F10 (during boot up) intact after repartition. I would recommend to execute Acer's eRecovery Management software to burn a copy of the OS into 3 DVDs before you do anything, just in case.

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Acer 1810TZ vs. MSI Wind U100

After I revealed my new gadget, many ask me, "what are you going to do with your misai (beard)?" My misai??!! Why the new lappy has anything to do with my beard? It's actually referred to my lovely "MSI" Wind -.-|| It's not going away, it will become my mini desktop once I am fully comfortable with the new 1810TZ. Not only that, the new lappy must outperform my lovely Wind in some areas that make me feel worth buying. Before I move into the details, let's make some appearance comparison...

No doubt the 11.6" 1810TZ is bigger size than the 10.1" Wind. Both are glossy top but I find Wind is more "magnetic" to fingerprints than 1810TZ. Well, easy come easy go. It's easier to remove the prints from Wind than the 1810TZ too.

Let's go on top...

1810TZ is about 1 inch longer and wider than Wind. Not to bad for me, a good compromise if consider the bigger screen with 1366x768 resolution compare to 1024x600 on Wind. The netbook resolution really causes inconveniences on reading.

What about the thickness?

Wind is negligibly slightly thicker, you can't see the difference when view from side like photo above.

Turn upside down...

There is no user-accessible compartment on Wind. User needs to take out the entire chassis to upgrade hard disk or RAM. Also, noticeably Wind has more air vents.

Open up the lid...

The glossy screen on 1810TZ and matte on Wind. I have bad experience with glossy screen that causes glarry view. I have no issue with Wind when using outdoor under the sun, it has been proven few times with treasure hunt events. The other aspect that would affect the viewing pleasure is the tilt angle...

Wind has wider angle to tilt, the wider the better when you put the lappy on your lap.

The keyboard...

I am using 1810TZ to post this blog and from this limited experience, I prefer Wind's keyboard even it's smaller size. Quite a number of typing errors, perhaps I am used to small keyboard but I just feel awkward with such keyboard design on 1810TZ, it reduces the gap between keys and therefore the "tolerance" for typing error between adjacent keys is also reduced. As a result, you tend to have typo on adjacent key. I also hate the direction keys...

They are damn bloody small that many time I inadvertently press 2 keys in 1 stroke (i.e. left key and Pg Up, up key and Shift)! And I use these keys a lot to scroll pages, to quick jump in Word document and what not. I hope I can get used to it over time. Beside that, you can see the gap between keys from photo above, it's big enough to trap particles in it but it's too small to slip in a cotton bud to clean it! Bad design! I would rather to have the typical design like Wind or chiclet style like Mac.

I do welcome 2 good designs though, The first key from bottom left is a CTRL, not Fn key like Wind and the addition of Pg Up and Pg Dn keys.

What about the other input interface, the touchpad?

Here's the measurement for comparison sake (Wind follow by 1810TZ)...

Obviously 1810TZ is only wider (horizontal) but not longer (vertical) than Wind. It has multitouch feature, quite cool to pinch-zoom like iPhone. But I find the surface is not as smooth as Wind where the multitouch gesture some times is not responsive but the buttons are snappy, light click and responsive. Again, I may need more time to get used to it, or to fine tune the software later. Hopefully.

The other difference I like is the LED arrangement on 1810TZ...

Acer place the input related indicators at the top left for easy viewing and system related LEDs are bottom left, whereas Wind has all the indicators at the bottom right...

On Wind, I have to lift my right palm to check input related indicators i.e. is Caps Lock on etc occasionally.

Before I wrap up this post, let's compare the power brick...

This may not be a good comparison as I have replaced the Wind's power brick with AcBel. However, AcBel and Wind's stock brick are quite comparable in size where you can read from one of my posts. Acer did a good job to bundle a small and light power adapter for an ultra portable notebook. Like I mentioned previously, Acer did not do a perfect job designing the power cable...

The fat power cable with barcode is the one from 1810TZ and the other is AcBel. One thing I observe on 1810TZ brick is the flimsy cable on the other end just like the original brick from MSI...

I think I may want to get another AcBel for travel purpose before my next trip on March/April so I don't break it during travel again.

I reckon this is not a fair comparison to compare a better spec notebook with a 2 years old netbook. I write this up is to share on some of the areas (in hardware) you may want to consider if you plan to do an upgrade on your netbook/notebook like me, so you would know what to expect from the new one i.e. glossy vs matte screen etc etc beside those hardware spec inside the chassis i.e. CPU, RAM etc.

Enough hardware talk. Let's power it up to see if anything worth blogging...

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My "Wireless N" Device

I got a brand new wireless N router. I was tempted to get a wireless N device to try the high speed wireless connection. I just couldn't resist it and finally I got myself this wireless N device...

Wahlau eh. That's my friend's reaction when got to know I bought this because of "wireless N", a lappy instead of a wireless N USB dongle! Hehe... I must admit wireless N is just an excuse for me to get this new toy :P

It's an Acer 1810TZ notebook or netbook that's what some tech forums categorized it. Few more additional info on its spec...

Unbox it to unveil the full package...

Pretty standard and everything still in its seal, the sleeve case, lappy, power cable on top of lappy, power brick with warranty booklets and quick start guide below it, and last on the left is the battery.

Let's read the "just for starters"...

LoL. I really laugh out loud when I read it. I know I am IT geek, but don't you think the 6-step guide sounds dumb even for non-IT literate buyers? I bet none in the world would find it useful, no?

The typical glossy top like other lappies...

This is really a fingerprint magnet.

Let's see what are the I/O interfaces available...

From left, the VGA, power connector, air vent, HDMI (!!) and USB. Now the other side...

From left, 5-in-1 card slot. Headphone jack with SPDIF digital output, mic out, 2 x USB, Kensington lock and the gigabit (!!) port.

Now the rear...

No doubt the battery compartment. Hidden in there is the SIM card slot for WWAN or 3G/HSDPA module. Too bad, Acer Malaysia does not offer this model here...

Nor in Kiasu Land Singapore...

Perhaps it's not feasible in local market 'cause the ISPs are aggressively offering "free USB modem", an addition of few hundreds bucks for the built in modem may hinder buyers away. But it's still my preference.

Now the bottom...

User-accessible hard disk compartment on the left, 2 x RAM slots for 2 x 2GB RAM sticks and PCI-e compartments for 3G HSDPA at the middle compartment, the yellow arrows point out where the speakers are, and the red arrows point out wifi and bluetooth switch.

Open up the lid...

Full sized keyboard with multitouch touch pad. I guess I may need some practices to familiar with the keyboard design.

The glossy LED screen with built-in microphone and 1.3MP webcam. I think I prefer non-glossy type like the one on my lovely Wind. We shall see later.

Now to the power brick with its spec...

Arrgggh! I dislike the thick and heavy power cable, it's not portable at all!!

Last but not to miss the sleeve case...

Instead of a thin stick on, it has a big square patch. This may be useful...

You can gain a little height there, perhaps to slip in some big paper notes.

Let's stop for now. Carling Cup Final is getting exciting.

To be continued...

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