Firstly: installed i386 Ubuntu 9.10 on 8GB USB stick (with 4GB persistent storage) to test O/S - worked great, no problems.
Installed Ubuntu 9.10 Karmic Koala AMD64 onto XPS M1710 (with a new 500GB drive). Everything working except for default volume control (either on 100% or off). Installed ALSA mixer, this controls volume correctly.
O/S has a hard time connecting to hidden wireless network (compared to Windows 7 on same laptop) but will connect if enough signal.
Firewire / USB drives working fine.
USB TV tuner (DiBcom 3000 based) only seems to work if plugged in before startup.
Printing does not seem to work although detects and installs HP multi-function device.
Will update more when time permits.
