[sviatapolk]

Hi,

I want to use my somewhat old laptop for XBMC, and I was hoping to not install it on top of Windows so that I would get better boot times, faster response, better playback, whatever. But I can't figure out what the best option is. I've looked at XBMCbuntu and Opelenec, but the whole getting it up and running seems like a major headache and I've gotten incredibly confused.I tried creating XBMCbuntu on a 2gb USB stick yesterday (using Linuxlive USB Creator). No creation errors, but when I tried it (on 2 different PCs) I got a boot error.

*The Main thing is I don't want to remove Windows: I need to be able to use this laptop as a Windows 7 machine on occasion*

So I would love either a dual boot, or boot from USB type of scenario. But again, I've spent hours trying to figure out what my options are.

These are the computer specs:
-Dell XPS M1330 laptop. Core 2 duo, 4gb ram, 300gb hdd.
-Came with Win Vista 32-bit. I wiped it clean and installed Win 7 Ultimate, but I kept the factory recovery partition
-Has wifi, bluetooth, ethernet, DVD burner, HDMI and VGA ports

This is what I want to achieve our of it:
-Some incarnation of XBMC. I've used it on Windows and I'm generally happy with it. But I don't want to run it through Windows, in part because I want quicker boot-time, better responsiveness, etc.
-It must be able to play media stored locally on an HDD (could be USB external), media from my home network (A WD Live NAS Drive), and DVDs.
-Ability to play MP3, FLAC, XVID, MKV, DVD iso images, etc...
-Media from the web would be great, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker
-The ability to use an external USB soundcard should I choose to add one (though this isn't a deal breaker)
-The laptop will (usually) be near the router so I can hook it up with ethernet, but I would hope the media center would work over wifi as well.
-This goes without saying I think, but no driver issues. My few tinkerings with Linux on laptops has always left me with trouble finding drivers.
-Some ability for remote control via my iPad or iPhone.

So I'm wondering what my best option is. If these standalone XBMC OS variations are a pain in the ass if you don't have a machine to wipe clean and that if I'm better just installing it on top of Windows, then do let me know, and I will save myself the headache.

Honestly it's the super-quick boot time I'm after more than anything. I only power up the laptop every other week and it's annoying to wait for everything to start up, check for updates and all that other crap. I want to be able to turn it on (and off) and have it ready for playback in seconds, much as my Asus, WD, and Apple TV media boxes do, much as my iPad does, much as many of the new Win 8 SSD ultrabooks do.
But if it's going to take me days of partitioning, fiddling with linux, hunting down drivers, etc, then I'm not sure it's worth it.

So I'm asking for suggestions.

[oldpoem]

What is your graphic chip in NB?

Usually I'd go for OpenELEC / XBMCBuntu. But for running off USB Drive OpenELEC is much better.

But recently I've problems with OpenELEC builds. So the result may varied due to different hardware.


If you're happy with Windows build, I'd say stick with it. It won't have problem if you want to add usb soundcard anyway.

[sviatapolk]

I want to say these are the specs, though I do have more RAM and a bigger HDD. It's not powered on at the moment.
http://www.cnet.com/laptops/dell-xps-m13...65545.html

So it would be NVIDIA GeForce 8400M - 128.0 MB

But I'm not positive.

If I go with the Windows option, is there any way I can get the damn thing to boot faster? Even if it means partitioning the HDD and installing a scaled down Windows installation for a dual-boot scenario (let's assume for the moment I have access to any version of Windows)?
I really want to be able to power up in seconds to an HTPC. If it's in some sort of semi-Windows environment, I'm fine with that. Probably even happier, since I know Windows. Leaving the machine on all the time (or in Sleep mode) isn't an option.

[protocol77]

if you need windows then stay with windows xbmc runs smooth on that but if you want a standalone install Openelec is so frigging simple a lot better than xbmcbuntu IMO just download the package for your build on the openelec website (fusion Ion etc...) if you are unsure what build to use just use the generic build it has everything combined

then extract the downloaded file run the batch and create a usb bootable flash drive then boot off that on the machine you want to install follow the 2 or 3 steps on the screen it takes about 1 minute to install then reboot and it is done all in all it takes about 5 minutes (after downloading as this depends on connection speed)

very simple process and works great i have a openelec setup on my Mothers machine so she can just turn it on and be watching something straight away

i am using the windows builds because i like to have access to browsers and stuff

[kics]

dont know if its a little too late, i have the same laptop....

within windows, create a 13 GB partition ext 4, then run the installer for xbmcbuntu, it will ask you if you want to keep windows 7 (select yes) and thats it, it will install another bootloader, there you will have the option to choose what os do you want to start...

here is my setup

dell xps m1330
250 GB hdd

windows 7 partition (around 35 GB)
xbmcbuntu (around 13 GB)

and the rest is a ntfs partition that windows and ubuntu can read/write

xbmc boots quick and plays waaaaaay smoother than if you run it on windows 7