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Driver Storage - Built-In

180 points posted to Accessories (Keyboards, etc.), Sales Strategies by leolonewolf_nw08 Apr 2

How many times have you lost the driver disc for some errant piece of hardware? Or can't seem to find the website to download the driver from? Or can't even get on the internet becuase your system has crashed and you have no other computer available?

The Solution: A onboard (motherboard) compact flash slot that is completely internal from the chassis (physcially accessible only by opening the case) that allows you to store and access a compact flash card, your choice of size, and be able to replace it if need be. This flash drive would act not only as a storage location for drivers, which can be preloaded from the factory, but also updated by the dell update software or the user if non-dell parts are added to the system.

Additionally it could also be designed to create a bootable portion for the computer in the event of a HDD failure.

You could even take this as far as adding a second slot that would allow for encrypted file storage, being that they would have to be small files and not excessive in quantity.

d3fcon
Apr 2		 graet idea...could you get them to add an onboard car key holder as well for when I lose my keys.....;>)
phubert
Apr 2		 There are a couple of ways to approach this on Dell machines.

1) store them yourself under a directory you create.
2) have DELL put them under the DELL maintenance partition on your HD and provide a utility to access them.

This, of course, ties-in with the various suggestions that Dell should make web-access search-your-system / identify needed updates / download and install available for all systems (including Linux) that they sell...
leolonewolf_nw08
Apr 2		 They might be able to do a hide-a-key card for the laptop's empty express card slots!!!
leolonewolf_nw08
Apr 2		 @phubert: This idea is designed for in case the entire HDD fails and the data there-in is unaccessable.
d3fcon
Apr 2		 has anyone seen my car keys by the way?
undead999
Apr 2		 @d3fcon, your car keys are right where you left them :)
aikiwolfie
Apr 2		 This has already been suggested. And if you intend on letting people change the Flash card then it makes more sense to provide external access. I know I'd get peeved if I had to open a case just to change a flash card.
leolonewolf_nw08
Apr 2		 It wouldn't really be meant to be changed except in the event of a MB failure, Card Failure, or other random reason. Kind of like RAM.
aikiwolfie
Apr 2		 Then why change it at all? Surely if Dell adopt this you'd want Dell to provide the media from the get go?
leolonewolf_nw08
Apr 3		 They could provide the initial media in varying sizes, but even flash memory is subject to failure from time to time. Would you rather just change a flash card or have to change the entire MB?
aikiwolfie
Apr 3		 Can't I've say ever know a flash device to fail. I know it can and does happen. But I don't think it's actually so common that it's a problem. Given that it's only going to hold drivers and maybe the OS installation files it shouldn't be getting used so frequently that it's going to be especially prone to failure. I've been using the same cheap PC Line 2GB flash pen for about 2 or three years now and it's fine. Never had a problem with it.
leolonewolf_nw08
Apr 3		 Then it could always go from being a replaceable flash to onboard flash memory chips. Might be easier to incorporate anyways.
aikiwolfie
Apr 3		 Easier in what way?
leolonewolf_nw08
Apr 3		 Well I'm sure that the technology of incorporating memory chips to an onboard design is already well in place. The only thing they would really have left to figure out is programing the controller to treat it as a "HDD" so to speak. All in all the idea could be implemented very readily with a new MB design and some quick programming. I'm no engineer of course but it seems to be pretty cut and dry to incorporate it. The real question is whether or not the demand for it is there?
aikiwolfie
Apr 3		 Why bother? Just plug it into an internal USB header. Your right the technology is already there to incorporate this idea into current production designs. The barrier is one of cost. Not technical difficulty. It's cheaper for Dell to just bundle in a CD or DVD and cheaper still to bundle an ISO image on the hard drive and let the customer burn it themselves.
leolonewolf_nw08
Apr 3		 True, but in the same respect it eleminates the possibility of a lost CD.

We could go round and round on this for some time but its the essence of the idea that promotes changes.
aikiwolfie
Apr 3		 I'm not saying this shouldn't be implemented. I'm just saying people are looking at it the wrong way round. Every time this issue comes up people always look at the perceived technical barriers. Which isn't actually a problem. The technology is all there. The problem is cost.

If we want this we need to convince Dell it's worth the cost.
leolonewolf_nw08
Apr 3		 Agreed.
aikiwolfie
Apr 3		 So why then should Dell do this? Other than the fact the idea is always well received we it crops up here on IdeaStorm?

Here are a few of my reasons.

  1. It would help Dells drive to become more environmentally friendly. Few loose components like printed manuals and CDs bundled with systems reduces the amount of packaging required, reducing the carbon foot print of owning a PC.


  2. Still on the green theme, Flash storage uses less power than a DVD ROM drive. It might not seem like much but every little bit adds to the pile. With millions of desktop PCs out there that adds up to a pretty big pile of saved carbon emissions. Dell make pretty big noises about being able to save one watt of power on rack servers. Desktop PCs vastly out number servers. There are much bigger savings to be made in the desktop space.

    Which by the way is exactly why we should be going back to the client/server model in corporate offices and using thin clients instead of full blown PCs wherever possible.


  3. It simplifies the whole process of restoring a system to factory default settings should the owner wish to do so when either selling the PC on or recovering from a major problem. All the drivers and application software along with the OS can be held in a single image.


  4. Booting to USB is faster than booting to CD/DVD ROM. Which could cut down the frustration factor significantly when fixing problems.


  5. Additional drivers and updates can be added to flash storage as time goes by. Old drivers can even be completely replaced. Used in combination with a management tool similar to Synaptic this would be an excellent way to keep drivers upto date.
leolonewolf_nw08
Apr 4		 @aikiwolfie: Several reasons that I hadn't even thought of. Well Done!
rotthund
Apr 4		 Not in hardware. Drivers should be available on disk, online, or hardware should use drivers built into the OSes.
aikiwolfie
Apr 5		 rottund, the flash storage is to replace the disk.
zigcatus
Apr 11		 Nice idea but Virus home to be

One problem this may cause is one more spot for a virus to hide look at the system restore with windows XP I have had to clean other peoples system that many times for a virus in that part of the OS. A lot of people out in the world only use a computer and have no idea how it work just need it to work for them as and when needed.
 
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