Dell Latitude E6410 instant on Fedora boot

[kuade]

Hi Fedora forum users!

My name is Jesse and I am very new to Linux but I have been trying to learn. My goal/question is to setup my laptop to boot Fedora using the "instant on" button on my laptop next to my power button. My main OS is Windows 7 Pro. Initially I am going to do a traditional dual boot set.
What can you tell me, or reference me to learn more about the "instant on" feature?


Dell Latitude E6410
i5 CPU
4Gb RAM

Thank you

[novafluxx]

The feature you are referring to is called Latitude On by Dell. As far as I know there isn't a way to set it to boot to anything other than what Dell presets. I believe its stored on flash memory on the Latitude On card inside the laptop.

I'm currently doing more research on this right now on the DCSE website, I will get back to you when I know more!

---------- Post added at 11:57 PM CDT ---------- Previous post was at 11:40 PM CDT ----------

OK, first you need to know if you have the Latitude On Reader, or Latitude On FLASH. They are two different things, providing simliar feature sets.

The Latitude On Reader provides the following:

Dell Reader 2.0 (BTR) is a software application to enable instant access to critical applications for the end user. The user will boot to this application via a dedicated hardware button on the chassis of the notebook. On desktops, an alternative boot sequence will be used . While in Dell Reader the end user will have access to the following applications:

* Last cached Outlook version of E-mail, Calendar, Contacts & Tasks

While the Latitude On FLASH is something slightly different. I'm not sure if the media can be reflashed with something else or not. I can tell you right now Dell tech support doesn't support it. I will do more research on this and get back to you, in the mean time please try to find out if you have the Latitude On Reader or the Latitude On Flash, call tech support and ask them, and then ask them the differences.

Let me know what they say.

[kuade]

Thank you for the reply. I did not call tech support but I did push the Dell Latitude On button and it takes me to a screen where is sais "Dell Latitude On Reader" there is a dialog box that states that I must run the reader 2.0 configuration tool. I do not have that software on my machine at the moment but I will find it and see where that leads me. I will edit this post with information updates as to keep the thread count down.

UPDATE 10-Sep-10

Per David Flyn http://apcmag.com/inside_dells_blacktop_laptop_linux_os.htm
"Latitude ON is a similar approach to pre-boot environments such as SplashTop, but far more sophisticated. For starters, the entire package is built into a stand-alone module containing a low-power ARM processor and flash memory so that it runs independently of the notebook’s hard drive or main processor.

Think of it as a tiny PC sitting inside your PC. In this mode the laptop’s battery life stretches from hours into days – and considering the richness and variety of online applications, you could go all day without starting Windows."

[novafluxx]

I have a link for you for the download that you may need: http://support.us.dell.com/support/downloads/format.aspx?c=us&cs=04&l=en&s=bsd&releaseid=R272851

This is the 2.1.3 Configuration tool, it looks like it will only run in Windows, but there may be another way...I do not know as I am at work right now and cannot test.

New in this version:
Enhancements over A05:
- Now supports both Office 2010 32bit and 64bit.

New Features in Reader 2.1:
(1) Exports emails from up to 10 Outlook folders.
(2) Adds Auto-updater which checks for Reader update regularly.
(3) Supports Arabic language.
(4) Supports Office 2010 (32&64bit)

If anyone's interested, here is what Dell has released as the Dell Latitude ON Flash Software Source Code:
ftp://ftp.us.dell.com/app/DELL_LATITUDE-ON-FLASH-SOFTW_A07_R271110.EXE

[kuade]

Well thank you for the reply and information. I have the Dell reader software going on my computur, it is very limited because all I can do is run Outlook. I downloaded the source code but I have no idea what I am going to do with it. I am not giving up on this project! I realize that I won't be able to run a full out Fedora but I will try and use a really small linux.