Unfortunately, there's a bug in the BIOS that shipped with the three retail MSI Wind U100's that were sent to Dennis for review. When the battery is completely drained (as happens in our battery tests), the Wind won't power on when plugged back into the mains until the battery has accrued 15 minutes' or so of charge. Plugging the Wind into the mains with the battery removed doesn't remedy the problem.

Thankfully, MSI has issued an updated BIOS (v1.05, dated 26 June) that fixes this:

EC_Note:
1. Fix Battery Critical Shutdown problem.
2. Add Keyboard & PS2 Reset Function.
3. Add Patch Code about Battery Low Discharge problem

You can download the BIOS update from the MSI support site and our guide on how to create a bootable USB flash drive shows you how to update the Wind's BIOS without using a floppy disk.

At £363 for the Windows XP model and £318 for Linux (SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop), the MSI Wind U100 compares very favourably with the similarly priced HP 2133 Mini-Note. The larger keyboard and higher specification also leads us to like it more than the smaller, cheaper Eee PC 901, though we're beginning to think that paying more than £300 for a device like this means you're getting a small laptop rather than a true netbook.

All things considered though, the MSI Wind is our favourite netbook/cheap ultra-portable so far, but two things prevent us from giving it full marks. One is that battery and while a 2200mAh cell is excusable on the £220 Acer Aspire One, it's one cut corner too many on the £363 MSI Wind.

The other is that PC World is selling a rebadged MSI Wind as the Advent 4211. It has Windows XP and essentially the same specification, yet costs just £280 – that's £40 less than the MSI Wind with Linux. So, the fact that you can buy the Wind for less from another manufacturer means that MSI's own model misses out on an award.

[Related: See all Mobile Computer netbook reviews to date] 

And because you asked for it, here's a video clip that shows the MSI Wind booting up, then entering (and exiting!) its hibernate state:

Comments

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Derek   |02/07/08 3:36 PM Any update on the how long the battery lasted when cpu was underclocked? Reply | Quote

Brandon  - SD card slot   |02/07/08 4:08 PM Does the SD card fit flush against the edge when inserted or does it stick out of the side? Reply | Quote

Julian Prokaza   |02/07/08 5:00 PM SD Cards poke out of the slot by 8mm, Brandon. Reply | Quote

aj booker  - PC World are stocking this as the Advent 4211 for     |03/07/08 10:14 AM It is the same as the Wind. NOT identical, the same. Other posts online claim there is even a 'made by MSI' sticker on the base of the box! On top of that, it is available NOW, collectable from most stores in the UK, and significantly cheaper than what MSI wish to eventually charge when they ship in the UK. I have seen some retailers claim £365 for the same model as PC World are stocking. I suspect that MSI has seen the competition, has decided to sell the wind rebadged through a few competitors, for most stock, and will quickly bring out a better model before Christmas at the same price point as they sell the wind now. This is a fiercely contested market sector at the moment and possibly Apple or Dell could blow the whole thing wide open with design / pricing. By the way, does anyone know if it is possible to drive a HD Res monitor from the wind? I have a 24" with a VGA in that would go nicely! I would not expect full screen video though Reply | Quote

Infernoz  - Advent 4211 is Impressive   |12/07/08 6:09 AM My Advent 4211 (took 5 days via on-line courier order) is currently driving an LG L226WTQ at 1680 x 1050 60Hz (full resolution), via it's VGA input, so I expect other HD Res monitors could be driven too. If you are driving an LCD display from XP, I strongly recommend downloading and installing the Microsoft ClearType PowerToy, otherwise the picture can seem a bit 'thin'. The machine has a black outer and a Silver inner and has a proper laptop 'finish' unlike the tacky look & feel of the EeePCs. The PSU is a tiny 100V to 240V input, 20V 2A output, in-line type, with a changeable mains lead, so great for mobile and international users. The machine seems fast enough for 800MB XVID videos, but drops frames for very high data rate 4GB MP4 videos. I haven't tested it with DVD files yet. IMHO ASUS, HP and ACER are out of the running now, for the high end of this sector. The Acer Aspire One (also at PC World £229.99) looks worse value for money given it has less memory, a smaller screen, and less storage space, however will wreck the sale of low and mid range Asus EeePCs! Reply | Quote

Thue   |04/07/08 9:27 AM The article writes: " ;at just 34m, the Wind is only a little thicker than the Acer Aspire One (29mm)" IMO there is quite a difference between 34m and 29mm :shock: Reply | Quote

Anonymous  - What is the webcam like?   |04/07/08 4:11 PM What is the webcam like and what type is it? eg: 1.3mega pixels? Reply | Quote

joe catania  - mr   |06/07/08 12:14 AM i have an msi wind in white and yes it is a little more expensive than the advent. Specifications are the same but the advent uses a different hard drive and inferior ram. It also has 1 year warranty in uk while wind has 2. Thirdly i have had both in my hand simultaneously and the wind is the better looking model by far. Looks slicker especially in wind as opposed to two tone of advent. this is down to preference Reply | Quote

tom  - msi wind Vs. Eee 901 prices   |09/07/08 6:58 AM hello, while on Amazon(just as an example),the prices of the msi wind and Eee pc 901 are $500 and $600 respectively ( the wind is the cheaper ),on your latest reviews on these , you noted that their prices(with Windows XP for comparison)will be $570 and $500(£363 and £319) ( the 901 is cheaper)! did i miss something !? Reply | Quote

fartmeißter  - Wallpaper?     |10/07/08 8:32 AM Why does the wallpaper disappear after exiting its hibernate state? (in the video) Reply | Quote

Kent Bolton  - Applications Installation   |15/07/08 9:31 AM How easy is it to install applications (say MS Office) and how's it done without a CD drive? Reply | Quote

Kelvin  - Mr   |15/07/08 11:01 AM Just copy your ms office to a thumbdrive and install ms office from the usb on MSI Wind. I did it yesterday, a breeze... :wink: Reply | Quote

Philip   |26/07/08 5:51 PM Hi All, Just got back from PC World, my new 4211, first impressions its very good, before I bought it I asked a member of staff if you could upgrade the ram, they went over the the Tech Guys, for advice and came back and told me you could not upgrade the ram, could someone tell me if this is correct. I was going to buy the eepc 900 but I'm glad i came accross this in the store. I'm supprised how fast it is, one thing I inted to do over the next few days is to install Linux as a dual boot. I know it's early days yet but so far I can't fault it. Thanks Philip Reply | Quote

Mike   |28/07/08 7:26 AM Philip, could you check on your unit the visual quality of typed text (any font, say 14pnt) on Wordpad or the wp app in Works. I found the appearance of the line of typed text very patchy looking as though there were several different shades of black/grey. Reply | Quote

Julian Prokaza   |28/07/08 4:52 PM Text is fine on the Advent 4211, Mike - I'll check on a Wind too, but I think it'll be the same. Can you be more specific with your problem, or perhaps take a photo? Reply | Quote

Anonymous   |14/08/08 3:51 PM The new 6cell winds are shipping with a diff touchpad, no good, doesn't allow for touch scrolling... Reply | Quote

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