USB Controllers: Intel 82371AB/EB PCI to USB Universal Host Controller
Modem: Dell/3Com Megahertz XJ1560
Bios:
Phoenix Bios 4.0 Release 6.0
Inspiron 3000 M266XT Rev A06
Keyboard Bios Rev A00
Win2000 Upgrade
24Apr2003
Let the Installer beware! Meaning if you try this you don't like the result, don't blame me. I warned you!
Win2000 is NOT recommended nor supported by Dell for the Inspiron 3000!
The short story is that Win2000 is installed and I am much happier with it than I was with the increasingly unstable Win98. Win2000 is NOT recommended nor supported by Dell for the Inspiron 3000, which is why I made this web page to show my experiences.
Installation:
I only had 3 problems with the install. One; The Win2000 Professional install software would not let me recombine my 3 partitions into one partition. I could erase the second two partitions, but not combine everything into one partition. Two; the mouse did not take at first due to a strange setting, actually a lack of a setting in the Bios. Three; Win2000 did not appreciate my trusty old 10Mbps KTI Networks PE-520 Plus PCMCIA NIC or the KTI Networks recommended Winbond W89c926 Based PCMCIA Ethernet Adapter drivers, or the combination thereof. The only drivers for the Inspiron OEM hardware (which includes the Dell/3Com Megahertz XJ1560 modem) I had to install were the Synaptics TouchPad/Mouse drivers. You can read the full and gory details here.
Impressions:
Win2000 might boot a little slower than Win98, but Win2000 does take forever to shut down. (Fixed! see below) Win2000 does have a great hibernate function (NOT to be confused with the dreaded Standby ) which is very nice. It has many more features and functions. My experience is that it is also more stable. Without getting into specifics, some things seem faster and other times it appears the processor is really working hard. Excluding the shutdown, over all it appears to me that Win2000 is about a fast as Win98. I am very happy with Win2000 on my Inspiron 3000. I recommend the Win2000 upgrade!
Recommendations:
1)Bios Update to Dell's latest Inspiron 3000 Bios, Rev A06.
I only say this because I have ONLY run WIN2000 on Bios Rev A06. I installed Rev A06 years ago. I can't say how WIN2000 will act with
older versions of the Bios.
1)Max out the memory to 128MB (144MB including the motherboard ram).
2)Larger Hard Drive. 4GB was not enough for Win98 and it is most certainly not enough for Win2000 unless you are running almost no applications.
CMS sells 20GB and larger replacement hard drives for the Inspiron 3000. Looks like you can get the hard drive caddy also. 20GB is about $200
CMS drives are also available through Dell for about $200 for 20G and at Amazon for about $165. (priced in Apr2003)
I'm trying to get a cheaper one else where. See below.
3)Remove all PCMCIA cards before running the Win2000 install.
4)A Clean Install. Meaning back-up everything. Wipe (format) your drive. Install Win2000 and all applications from scratch. Then migrate the data and files.
5)While updating Win2000 via MicroSoft, DO NOT install Hotfix (update) 329170. (27Jun2003 You probably won't see it as the problem is fixed in SP4.)
Hard Drive Upgrade
28Apr2003
I'm unemployedly cheap at the moment, so I'm trying to go budget. I have ordered a IBM P/N 07N5633 (20GB) via e-bay for about $100 (no caddy).
The Travel Star 20GN Hard Drive works just fine. It might even be a little faster than the 4GT, but I have not done any benchmark tests. The hardware drivers say the controller is operating in "Ultra DMA Mode". However, I can't tell which ATA mode it is operating in.
The 20GN is 1/2 as thick as the 4GT, but the connector pins and mounting screw holes are compatible with the 4GT. I would recommend removing the 2 screws that hold the Dell connector on the end of the caddy. Remove the metal strip/screw backing that those 2 screws threaded into. Then remove the 4 screws that hold the hard drive in the caddy. Slide the hard drive back while pushing the Dell connector into the caddy. The object is to remove the hard drive and the Dell connector at the same time. I suspect the one would break the film circuit board if one tried to remove the hard drive whilst leaving the Dell connector mounted to the caddy. I then used a knife to gently pry the 44 pin connector off the hard drive.
IBM has merged with Hitachi. You can find information for IBM (and Hitachi) hard drives at: http://www.hgst.com/support/index.html Try the Quick Drive Search.
Past History of this laptop
Purchased in 1998 with CD-ROM, Extra Battery, 96M memory and Dell/3-Com MegaHertz XJ1560 modem and floppy and Win95
Went through several bios upgrades. Installed the latest (A09) quite awhile ago. Maybe when I went to Win98.
Sometime in 1999 I sent it in and had the Mother Board replaced. I don't remember the symptoms. Warranty work.
Some time in 2001 the display turned orange and 6 months after the display turned orange, the display went black. Dell wanted more than I was willing to pay to fix/replace it. Turns out the LCD fluorescent bulb burned out. I found one at Digi-Key (if not them, then Mouser), same diameter, but slightly longer. I installed it and allowed the end to hang out the side of the LCD case (I think I bent the metal frame back and left a little plastic piece out. The bulb was just short enough that it did not touch the plastic case around the LCD. Cost ~$17. Works great. Not the kind of job for the faint of heart.
Oct 2002, after more than a year of intermittent problems, I replaced the keyboard. The film jumper from the keyboard to the motherboard had cracked where it folds over itself. I had tried conductive pens and other arrangements to keep the connection, but it finally got so bad I had to do something. New Keyboard purchased via e-bay cost about $30.
May 2003 New main battery to replace my long long dead main battery. I ordered one from notebook-laptop-batteries.com (Power Smart Energy Inc.).
Dell part number: 55506. Their part number: NDE006L03. Cost $US 89.00 plus $7 shipping. It is a direct replacement and includes the charge indication LEDs. (My second battery that fits in the drive bay is still going strong, probably because it is not used much.)
June 2003 Linksys Instant Wireless Network PC (PCMCIA) Card, Model WPC11. I was in a hurry so I just picked one up at WalMart. It installed just fine and works well. What I don't like is that on boot-up, it is the last of the drivers and programs to load, it is slow setting-up and connecting, and it opens up a window showing its status. I have not been able to figure out how to stop it from opening the status window on boot-up. I got it mostly for my fiance's laptop, but I had to play with it.
A Note about Volume Control on the Inspiron 3000 with Win2000: I discovered that if one activates the "Digital" Volume Control (by checking its check box under Volume Control Properties), the right and left audio channels are mixed together when using the more common audio sources like "Wave". If one unchecks the "Digital" box, then true channel seperation is achieved. I have no idea what the "Digital" source is for or does. Maybe someone out there can tell me.
(added 27Jun2003) If your Win2000 is very slow to shut down, it maybe due to Hotfix 329170. Look in the Event Viewer under the Application Log. Look for an error from Source: Userenv. The details (double click) should show "Windows cannot unload your registry file." If this is the case, then it is probably HotFix 329170. A search on "Windows cannot unload your registry file" will yield quite a bit of information. One site is http://www.asitis.org/archives/000134.html. Microsoft info at: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=814770. There are several work arounds, however I just uninstalled the Hotfix 329170. Almost instant shutdown now...Yeah!
Note: Once I uninstalled Hotfix 329170, I updated Win2000 via Windows Update. It was suggested I install SP4 (again!) and re-install Hotfix 329170. I don't know if the suggestion to reinstall SP4 was a result of removing Hotfix 329170 or not. I installed SP4 again as it has to be installed separately. After SP4 was installed, I noticed that under Add/Remove Programs, that the dozen or more Hotfixes were gone and when I went back to Windows Update, I was not asked to install Hotfix 329170, nor any other Hotfix. The Slow Shutdown problem did not re-appear.
Bios Update to Dell's latest Inspiron 3000 Bios, Rev A06.