Dell red faced after Mini 9 storage gaff panics consumers

by Stevie Smith - Oct 21 2008, 12:17

A uncharacteristic manufacturing blunder has left computer giant Dell somewhat rosy cheeked after customers buying the new Inspiron Mini 9 Netbook system were shocked to find their gigabyte storage ceiling considerably lower than stated on the specifications list.

More pointedly, while the Ubuntu model of Dell’s new Netbook is supposed to arrive equipped with either 8GBs or 16GBs of solid stage disk (SSD) storage, some early models have been incorrectly partitioned by Dell, which has resulted in only 4GBs of storage being categorised as accessible.

The full allocation of SSD storage is still installed on the affected systems, but the partitioning error only actually ‘shows’ the user a basic 4GB limit. It is believed that Dell’s production banana skin slid underfoot after it mistakenly used the same disc image to format all of its Ubuntu units, regardless of their specific gigabyte sizing.

For those Mini 9 users unsure as to whether or not they have a wrongly partitioned system, the kindly folk over at liliputing.com suggest opening a terminal and typing “sudo fdisk -1” (no quotation marks) and entering your password. Typing this command will bring up the BIOS and reveal the system’s overall gigabyte capacity and its partitioned amounts.

According to Dell, it has snuffed out the problem and ongoing shipments of the Mini 9 are now correctly partitioned to provide optimum storage. However, if you’re unlucky enough to be lumbered with a pseudo-4GB unit, then liliputing has a selection of quick-fix solutions that can be used to remedy the issue -- although a degree of tech know how is required.

Of course, performing a standard system restore through the included restore disc should also work as it completely reformats the hard drive -- just be sure to back-up any valuable system data or personal files you don’t wish to lose.

Alternatively, cross your fingers and give the Dell customer service line a call.

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