Dual Booting on the e6400: Part Two – Setting Up Windows XP

As the title suggests, I’ll only be covering the post-XP install setup for the Latitude e6400, as there are many other resources out there outlining the installation already, like this XP Installation and Upgrade guide from Paul Thurrott’s SuperSite. Make sure you decide on a partitioning scheme to use for your dual boot system, and create the Windows partition accordingly. If you choose to follow Paul Thurrott’s guide, this comes between steps five and six. Just delete the current C: partition, and then create a new partition in the raw space of whatever size you decide on.

Following Dell’s driver installation guide and getting the setup files from their Drivers and Downloads section, an outline of my setup steps is shown below. Unless described as optional, consider it a must-install. Note that it’s best to download the appropriate files before you begin reformatting and store them on an external hard drive or USB flash drive, as the files should be installed prior to doing a Windows Update. Also, it’s highly recommended to restart after each installation completes. Lastly, keep in mind that the exact links to software you need may differ from the ones below – these are the files needed for a e6400 with specs similar to mine.

1. System Software [System Utilities -> Dell Utility: System Software]

   OS updates and patches. This is a must, as other drivers may not work if not installed (I know from experience that the webcam driver won’t install properly, and may cause Windows to blue screen immediately after login).

2. Chipset [Chipset -> Intel Driver: Mobile Chipset]

3. Intel Matrix Storage Manager Driver [SATA Drives -> Intel Driver: Matrix Storage Manager - Notebooks]

   I believe this is a driver for RAID, and as such, may be unnecessary if you do not plan to use it. I installed the driver to be on the safe side.

4. Intel Matrix Storage Manager Application [SATA Drives -> Intel Application: Matrix Storage Manager - Notebooks]

   I believe this is an application for managing your RAID setup, and as such, is unnecessary if you do not plan to use it. I skipped this install.

5. Audio Adapter [Audio -> IDT Driver: 92HDxxx HD Audio]

6. Video Adapter [Video -> nVidia Driver: Quadro NVS 160M]

7. Network Interface Card [Network -> Intel Driver: 825xx Gigabit Platform LAN Network Device]

8. Card Bus Media Driver

   Driver for the built-in SD card reader.

9. ControlPoint System Manager [Applications -> Dell Application: ControlPoint System Manager]

   Application to manage general laptop settings like the ambient light level and power management. While not a must-have, it’s a definite nice-to-have that doesn’t seem to impact performance much.

10. ControlPoint System Manager XML File [Applications -> Dell XML File: ControlPoint System Manager]

    XML file that contains settings for the System Manager’s All Day Battery Life Config. Another nice-to-have, but note that System Manager is a prerequisite for this.

11. Control Point Security Manager Driver [Applications -> Dell Driver: ControlPoint Security Manager]

    Driver for the USB thumbprint reader. Necessary if you plan to use the reader, but I opted out. Dell’s Security Manager is a performance hog and slows the entire system down, and fingerprint recognition seemed to be hit or miss during the time I used it. Also note that, supposedly, you won’t be able to use alternative software due to how it’s hooked up (see the NotebookReview.com post).

12. ControlPoint Security Manager Application [Applications -> Dell Application: ControlPoint Security Manager]

    Software to integrate the fingerprint reader into system security, both on boot as well as Windows login. As mentioned previously, after trying the software in a previous install and finding that it slows the system down, I opted out of installing it.

13. ControlPoint Connection Manager [Applications -> Dell Application: ControlPoint Connection Manager]

    Manages wireless connection profiles. Unnecessary in my opinion since the Intel WiFi 5100 software comes with Intel’s connection manager.

14. Wireless Network Card [Network -> Intel Driver: Intel(R) WiFi Link 5100]

    This contains both the Intel wireless card driver as well as the connection manager.

15. Touchpad / Pointing Stick [Input Device Drivers -> Dell Driver: Touchpad/Pointing Stick]

    Driver for the touchpad and pointing stick. Not absolutely necessary, but enables things like the horizontal and vertical scrolls and is highly recommended.

16. Webcam Driver [Input Device Drivers -> Creative Labs Driver: Integrated Webcam]

17. Webcam Application [Applications -> Dell Application: Webcam Software]

    Dell’s webcam application that allows you to capture photos and video. Note that this is not a stand-alone file, and requires that the original software be installed from the disc that should have come with your e6400. Considering there are better alternatives out there like webcamXP, I also passed on this.

Install any Windows Updates that are needed afterwards, a firewall and antivirus, and any other applications you choose. Another piece of recommended software is i8kfanGUI, a Dell-specific utility that allows you to monitor laptop temperatures and fan speeds, as well as giving you control over the fans.

This last step of installing FS-Driver/Ext2 IFS to mount your Ubuntu partitions can only be done after Ubuntu has been installed, but I’ll make mention of it here to keep things together. After installing FS-Driver, follow these setup instructions at the official site. If you’ve already set up the partition properly with 128 byte inodes, there should be no issues with mounting the Ubuntu partitions. If you do run into errors, run the diagnostics program by following the troubleshooting guide.