So if you have a Fujitsu U810, you know that one of its weak points is that it only comes with 40GB of hard drive space. With a Windows Vista Operating System installed, that doesn’t leave much room for any personal files for yourself.
I recently ran into this issue with mine. I am usually pretty good at managing disk space. I’ve had my Fujitsu U810 since February of this year and just a couple weeks ago I all of a sudden noticed that I only had about 3GB of free space left. Then last week I noticed I only at 1GB of space left. So I figured I had to find out what was taking up all of my space and what I could do about it.
I first checked how much space my personal files were taking up in my profile folder. It came out to be that I was only taking up about 5GB of space for all my files. So there was still a lot of unaccounted for space. I then found that there is a folder called WinSxS in the Windows directory on the C: drive. After doing a little research I found that it is the Windows Side by Side directory. This folder stores copies of all the DLL and system files that your programs require. Since different programs require different DLL versions, the WinSxS directory stores those versions for use with those programs. The research I did said that you really can’t do anything about the WinSxS directory and you can’t delete and of those files.
So I was still at a loss for what do to about my free space issue. I tried using the Disk Cleanup wizard, but was only about to free up about .5GB of space by deleting old dumps. I figured my only options were to purchase a larger 1.8″ drive or to see about compressing data I had on my current drive. So rather than purchase new equipment and try to copy an image of all my data over to a new drive, I decided to first see what compressing my files would give me. I set file compression on my entire C: drive (omitting system files of course) and after about 4 hours, it was complete and it freed up an additional 10GB of free space.
I finally had to check performance to make sure that performance was not hindered by having compression on every file I was accessing. After using it for the last day I have not found any significant or noticable decrease in performance due to the compression. Hopefully this last 10GB of free space will last me awhile.
Now that Project Origami has been around for a little while, the market for UMPC’s has grown quite a lot over the last year. More and more manufacturers are designing their own products attempting to make the perfect portable UMPC. But because UMPC’s have not been around for awhile, it may be tough as a consumer to really figure out what makes a UMPC a good one or bad one. So here are some tips to help you narrow the field of potential purchases.
You will first want to figure out what you are going to be using it for. Are you going to be using it to type a lot? Are you going to be having a lot of video or audio playback? Do you have a hard time seeing small characters? Do you have small hands or large hands? These are just some of the questions you should ask yourself before you go out and purchase a new UMPC. Here are the tops features that if you don’t decide what option you want most with these features, then you may be making a big purchase mistake.
1) Keyboard: The keyboard on UMPC’s vary greatly. Each UMPC has a different style keyboard and each keyboard requires a different style of typing to use it. This is why you need to ask yourself what type of typing you are going to be doing with it. If it is just for quick text message length sentences, then maybe a small thumb-type keyboard will work. But if you plan to do longer typing sessions, then you should opt for a much larger keyboard that may lend itself to easier touch typing.
2) Screen size and resolution: The screen size dictates a lot of things on a UMPC. First off, whatever size screen it put on a UMPC it usually determines how big the device is overall. A device that has only a 4 inch screen will be much smaller and weigh less than a device that has a larger 5.6 inch screen. But that smaller device will also have much less desktop and screen space to work with and will also display smaller text sizes on the screen. So if you have a hard time seeing objects on the screen, then a smaller screen is obviously not a good choice to go with.
3) Connectivity options: This is another option that you will want to place great consideration in. If you plan on traveling with your device a lot and require internet usage at those time, then you will want to make sure you purchase a device that has quality connectivity options. A WLAN connection would be required and handy to have in many situations. You will find that more UMPC’s have built-in WLAN features. But what varies greatly with UMPC’s is whether or not they have Bluetooth and an ethernet port. Bluetooth can come in handy if you have a lot of external Bluetooth capatible devices you wish to use. You can also use Bluetooth to tether a cell phone to your UMPC and use it as a modem. Also, because many hotels don’t offer wireless, but offer an in-room ethernet connection, then you will want to have an option for ethernet on your device.
4) Input/Peripheral options: Finally there are your input and peripheral options you will want to look into. If you have a lot of devices you want to use with your UMPC, then you will want to make sure that your UMPC has enough USB ports to handle what you require. Many UMPC’s come with one USB port, but if you require more than that, then you will want to shop around for a UMPC that has multiple ports or perhaps even opt to purchase an additional docking station to add more. If you like to take pictures, you might like to have a memory card slot like a SD slot for using with your camera’s memory card to quickly load the pictures you took from your camera.
These are all things you will want to consider before purchasing your new UMPC. Take each of these areas into consideration and you will be sure to avoid purchasing mistakes and you will have a good UMPC to use for many years.
So Solid-State Drives (SSD) have been out for a little while now and their prices are starting to come down more. Some of the limitations with current UMPC’s make SSD’s a very appealing upgrade. With a lot of UMPC’s, you can’t upgrade the RAM that is in them. With a SSD, you can increase the page file on the system and have access to it at the blistering speeds that a SSD provides. If you are still looking for a drive to purchase you can find a 1.8″ SSD here. Just make sure that the SSD you purchase is 1.8″ instead of the standard 2.5″ drive size and the interface on it is UATA.
You will start off the installation by removing the back panel on the U810. There are 4 silver screws that hold on the back panel. This is the back panel that has the product information sticker on it. Once this is removed you will expose the hard drive that is currently installed in it. Disconnect the connector on it and remove the hard drive from the bay. Compare the new SSD and the old hard drive and you will notice that the new solid state drive is slightly larger than the old hard drive.
To make the SSD fit in the drive bay, you will have to remove the metal casing around the SSD. Once you remove the casing you will expose the circuit board with the memory modules on it. Place this unit inside the drive bay and use some double stick tape or tape with foam on it so that it is snug inside the bay. You can use another method for securing it, but just make sure that it is secure inside the bay so that it does not move around. Once the drive is secure, connect the UATA connector to the drive. Then close up the back panel and you are all set! Install an operating system on the new solid state drive in your Fujitsu U810 and you are ready to start experiencing the blistering speeds of a SSD.
So the battery is one of the U810’s biggest strengths over other UMPC’s and even over many laptops. Rated at 5.5 hours of battery life, the U810 will definitely get you through most of the day on just one battery. But, if you find that you aren’t coming anywhere near that 5.5 hours of battery life or would like to extend your unplugged usage time of the U810 to even more than 5.5 hours, here are some things you can do with the Fujitsu U810 Lifebook.
One nice feature that comes with the Fujitsu U810 is a software feature that allows you to enter ‘power saving mode’. This mode will shut off the SD and compact flash card slots and also dim the screen a bit. This will save some power at times when you are not using the SD card. I recommend using the U810 in power saving mode when you don’t have an SD or compact flash card inserted or being used. If you need an increase in screen brightness, you can always hold the function key down and increase the brightness using the keyboard function.
The screen clarity is also a nice feature of the Fujitsu U810 and because it is so clear and bright, it will allow you to keep the brightness at lower levels while in use, so that you don’t drain the battery as quickly.
Also, if you aren’t using Bluetooth or wireless internet, the Fujitsu U810 comes with a switch on the left side of the device that will turn on or off the Bluetooth and wireless NIC. It is however an all or nothing switch. So you can’t use it to turn just the Bluetooth off while leaving the Wi-Fi on. Most of the time I find it pointless and just leave it on as I always use wireless internet. Plus, if I were using ethernet, then I will also most likely be in range of a power outlet in which case I won’t need to bother switching off Bluetooth and the Wi-Fi NIC. But it is nice for those rare occurrences when you aren’t using any internet at all.
If you have Windows Vista installed on your Fujitsu U810, then Vista has a really nice feature on it called Sleep mode. Don’t confuse this with Standby mode that was in Windows XP. This is one of the nicest features with Windows Vista that is very crucial that you take advantage of with your U810. Many people complain about the boot up times with UMPC’s because of their lack of computing power. But, what sleep mode does, is it sends the device into a very low power consumption mode (I am talking very low here). It basically uses just enough power to keep things stored in RAM while the rest of the unit is turned off. This means that when you open the device again, it immediately ‘boots up’ again and you are ready to go, all while saving yourself some battery power. It can be up and ready to go after being in sleep mode in under 10 seconds and it can enter sleep mode in under 10 seconds as well.
My Fujitsu U810 is rarely ever technically turned off. It is always running in sleep mode. Because of this, it helps me save battery life by sending it into sleep mode and not having to worry about having to keep it on so that I don’t lose my work. It also helps me get started with my work quicker by not ever having to worry about long boot up times. Many people that have seen me work with my Fujitsu U810 say to me “Wow, that device boots up quick!”, but little do they know it was just leaving sleep mode.
Lastly, if you are looking for longer usage of your U810 without being plugged in, then you can always opt to purchase an additional battery to double your battery life. You are warned however that purchasing an additional battery is not cheap. An extra battery can run you another couple hundred dollars. Check out some extra U810 batteries here.
So I have been using my Fujitsu U810 for several months now and when I originally bought it, I had planned on using it mainly as a portable device while I am on the road. However, as I have come to use the U810 more and more and have become aware of all that it is capable of, I have since started using it as my main desktop computer at home.
Because it has built-in Bluetooth, I have purchased a Bluetooth mouse and keyboard set. I place these on my desk and now whenever I place my U810 in range of them, I just push any key on the keyboard and click the mouse and they automatically connect to the U810. You can use any compatible Bluetooth interface device, but I recommend the Microsoft Bluetooth mouse and keyboard.
If you really wanted to make things convenient, you could purchase the U810 docking cradle and set that up on your desk. Now if you want to work at the desk, all you have to do is slide the U810 into the cradle and you are ready to go. It comes with 4 additional USB 2.0 ports, a VGA monitor port, a LAN adapter pass-through port, and a DC power jack. If you didn’t want to spend any extra money on the cradle, you can use the adapter that comes with the U810 to plug a monitor into the device.