I picked this machine up at the Trenton Computer Festival (New Jersey) for $25. The price was too tempting to ignore. it's in surprisingly good shape. I'm mostly a Mac person, but I have nothing against Windows. I don't care what the system is, as long as it gets the work done. In 2010, I bought an Asus netbook that runs Windows 7 Starter. I'll mostly do writing on it-I installed MS Office 2013 (?) on it. I just need to figure out what some of the ports are-some I know, others I don't. I'm curious about the bottom port...

Saul

[Image: Dell Latitude 630.jpg] [Image: Dell 1.jpg] [Image: Dell 2.jpeg] [Image: Dell 3.jpeg] [Image: Dell 5.jpg] [Image: Dell 6.jpg]

Bottom port is for D series docking stations. The docking stations were great if you needed to move your laptop often between stations with local monitors and keyboards. It can also provide serial and parallel ports, which can be handy if you want to drive an old chip programmer, for example. Or multiple monitor outputs. That last might be on the E series. I sometimes get them confused.

I have four D430s. One of them is still running XP and I use it to drive my old Needham EMP-30 chip programmer, with a parallel port equipped docking station.

The back of your laptop is from left to right, ethernet, modem, 2 X USB, serial port, video out, and power in.

No tiny square port anywhere? My D430s have a micro FireWire Port on the back.

>> trag said:

Bottom port is for D series docking stations. The docking stations were great if you needed to move your laptop often between stations with local monitors and keyboards. It can also provide serial and parallel ports, which can be handy if you want to drive an old chip programmer, for example. Or multiple monitor outputs. That last might be on the E series. I sometimes get them confused. I have four D430s. One of them is still running XP and I use it to drive my old Needham EMP-30 chip programmer, with a parallel port equipped docking station. The back of your laptop is from left to right, ethernet, modem, 2 X USB, serial port, video out, and power in. No tiny square port anywhere? My D430s have a micro FireWire Port on the back. Click to expand...

D'oh! I guess I forgot to take this picture...

Here's the specs up on my website: https://macdat.net/pc/dell/latitude/d630_home.html
Also - would you mind if I used the photos you posted on that page? I currently have none and would really appreciate it. I'll leave credit if you'd like.

>> 3lectr1c said:

Here's the specs up on my website: https://macdat.net/pc/dell/latitude/d630_home.html Also - would you mind if I used the photos you posted on that page? I currently have none and would really appreciate it. I'll leave credit if you'd like. Click to expand...

Thank you! You can absolutely use my photos! Credit them to "Saul Trabal". :)

The maximum is 8 gigs of RAM, aye? Cool. Looks like it's time to expand the RAM, as I know that Windows is a memory hog. Windows 7 Starter on my Asus netbook was rock solid. I assume this 64-bit Pro version will be too. :cool:

The Dell's battery holds a charge of 2 1/2 hours. I'll be keeping this unit at home, since it's too big and heavy to carry around. I have my 2012 MacBook Air for that.

>> 2112st said:

The maximum is 8 gigs of RAM, aye? Cool. Looks like it's time to expand the RAM, as I know that Windows is a memory hog. Windows 7 Starter on my Asus netbook was rock solid. I assume this 64-bit Pro version will be too. Click to expand...

8GB of DDR2 RAM is extremely expensive and W7 doesn't need it by any means to run well - 4GB is PLENTY. This is due to the fact that a 4GB DDR2 module is like $30, while 2x 2GB modules are WAY cheaper. 8GB is pretty much never worth it on a DDR2 system. W7 runs fine even on 2GB of RAM.

>> 3lectr1c said:

8GB of DDR2 RAM is extremely expensive and W7 doesn't need it by any means to run well - 4GB is PLENTY. This is due to the fact that a 4GB DDR2 module is like $30, while 2x 2GB modules are WAY cheaper. 8GB is pretty much never worth it on a DDR2 system. W7 runs fine even on 2GB of RAM. Click to expand...

I have an earlier version of Photoshop that I MIGHT put on it, though I would use it mostly for viewing pics. The primary function of this machine will be to write fiction and poetry.

Hm. I haven't tested the DVD drive yet. Looks like that's next when i get a chance.

>> 3lectr1c said:

Here's the specs up on my website: https://macdat.net/pc/dell/latitude/d630_home.html Click to expand...

DVD player works. The only bug this Dell has is when I use a word processing program or typing into an information field: the cursor sometimes runs off to the right. No idea why.

trackpoint could have a drifting issue, or are your palms brushing the trackpad?

>> 3lectr1c said:

trackpoint could have a drifting issue, or are your palms brushing the trackpad? Click to expand...

Nope; palms aren't brushing the trackpad. Drifting issue? What might cause this?

No specific cause, just a thing that happens sometimes with trackpoints. To be clear: The issue is that the mouse cursor drifts to the right?
Try using the trackpoint stick and see how it behaves.

>> 3lectr1c said:

No specific cause, just a thing that happens sometimes with trackpoints. To be clear: The issue is that the mouse cursor drifts to the right? Try using the trackpoint stick and see how it behaves. Click to expand...

Yes, that is exactly the issue. This is the first time I've had a computer with a trackpoint stick. Like I said, this Dell is in surprisingly good shape. Getting it for only $25 seems like a bargain to me! :)

There is some sticker residue on the screen lid-it had something adhered to the top of it.. That's a bit difficult to get off.

>> 3lectr1c said:

No specific cause, just a thing that happens sometimes with trackpoints. To be clear: The issue is that the mouse cursor drifts to the right? Try using the trackpoint stick and see how it behaves. Click to expand...

Crap. Using the trackpoint nub didn't help. I was in the middle of editing and the cursor drifts off to the right. Every time I put the cursor back to where I wanted to type, it would fly off to the right. :(

I did look into replacing the keyboard, and it's really easy. Hopefully, I won't have to go that route.

this is taking me back. about a decade ago i used to be helpdesk support for a small office. and this is exactly the laptop and model i would support.

The docks could be a bit funky. i don't think they like being hotswaped.

>> Patrick said:

this is taking me back. about a decade ago i used to be helpdesk support for a small office. and this is exactly the laptop and model i would support. The docks could be a bit funky. i don't think they like being hotswaped. Click to expand...

Any thoughts on the cursor drift? It's a bit annoying.

It's almost definitely the trackpoint stick. Can it be disabled in Windows device manager or the BIOS?

Nice G-Shock, by the way :)