Dell :: Precision M4400- 2nd Hard Drive Option, E-Modular Bay
Feb 5, 2009
I'm trying to understand the options available for a secondary hard drive on the Precision M4400. When configuring a new M4400, a 'Second Hard Drive' option is shown, but the only options are either a 120GB 5400rpm HD 'E-Module' or 64GB SSD 'E-Module'. It also says the following:
Quote:
"Modular secondary storage devices can be used in both the system as well as in an External E-Modular Bay. They do not come with an external E-Modular Bay".
Here are my questions:
1) What does the 'E-Module' after the 120GB HD and 64GB SSD mean?
2) What is the Exterenal E-Modular Bay mentioned? A docking station or similar?
3) Could these options also apply to a Latitude E6500, although not offered directly from Dell?
Bought a 2nd harddrive caddy /modular bay for my M4400 laptop,installed the SATA seagate harddrive,but Windows Explorer doesn't show the new harddrive.In my task bar it appears as new hardware.
Something I clicked is making it become a recovery disc for my master drive,which I never wanted in the first place.Just wanted the new drive for additional data
Couple questions - I'm leaning towards an M2400 but prefer the M4400 as long as it can fit in my existing Zero Halliburton briefcase.
The interior dimensions of the case are 16" wide x 11" deep.
Currently, it fits my M70, with the AC adaptor & bluetooth mouse on the right side. As far as the batteries on the M4400 - will the 9 cell extended battery fit in my existing 11" deep case?
Also, what's the standard AC adaptor for the M4400? Will the 90w adaptors work with the E-Port?
I have a couple extra 90w adaptors for my M70 (D series) that would hopefully work with the M4400 and/or E-Port.
Lastly - I realize there's no S-Video out port on the M4400/E-series.
How would I output video to my (non hdmi) TV? Is there some sort of cable adapter available from Dell that would convert a video signal from the M4400 to either the S-Video input or the yellow video RCA jack on my TV?
Currently I use the Dell S-video to video (yellow) adaptor cable.
User pros & cons on the LED versus LCD screen?
Does the webcam on the LED have a lower resolution than the LCD webcam?
Lastly - who makes the 320GB 7200rpm FFS drive? Hopefully Western Digital.
I've downloaded an utility that tells the optical drives capabilities and it seems that the drive can only read DVDs but can't write DVD-R or DVD-RW. This is the info about the device:
I installed a Samsung 840EVO 500GB SSD in my Precision M4400 last weekend. I managed to get it working but it only works in ATA mode. All others modes I tried brought me to the windows splash screen quickly followed by a blue screen that flashed so quickly I couldn't read it before the system rebooted. If I let it reboot it continues to do the same thing over and over. As I understand it I would really benefit from the performance AHCI offers, particularly when running multiple programs at once.
Looking at the dell site, it's pretty clear that I can put a second hard drive in both the vostro and the precision. However, I can't see that option for the Latitude. Am I missing something? The latitude, being right between the other two, is the best fit .....
I would like a big hard drive, but it seems like those bigger than 750 GB are 12 mm, not 9 mm. But can I use that as a secondary hard drive on the Precision?
I have a two month old M4400 with a ST9320423ASG hard-drive that hovers at around 40-41 deg.C (as reported by HDTune) under very light use (basically just Thunderbird and Firefox ).
I'm running Win7Ultimate 64-bit and the power plan is most of the time either on "balanced" or "dell". This is what hdparm says about this drive (excerpt):
Code: Advanced power management level: unknown setting (0x8080) Recommended acoustic management value: 208, current value: 208
I wanted to know whether this temp is considered normal under my described usage conditions and if there's any tweaking that can be done to lower it.
Another bit of interesting information about this drive is that it used to click like crazy when it first came from Dell, until I installed the firmware update in mid Dec. It's been quiet like a mouse since then but I'm wondering if the new firmware could have made it run hotter.
i recently bought a vantex nexstar 3 external hard drive with the option of usb and e-sata. The problem i am having is with e-sata. The e-sata is the prefered method of exchanging information dur to its speed rather than usb.
I would like to know from the community in large if there is anyone who has experienced these problems or has connected an external to their m4400 laptop.
The external laptop has a seagate 7200 rpm FFS(free fall sensor) inside.
The problems: 1) When connecting the exHD to the laptop for the first time the HD spins (i can feel it) but then stops. Windows does not pick it up as well as Intel Matrix Storage manager. Only when i restart the laptop still with the exHD connect does windows pick it up as well as Intel Matrix Storage manager.
I did in both cases check to see if the exHD needs more power and it is sufficient.
2)Another issue is that i have windows reporting to me that an external hard drive has been connect to my system even though i havn't plugged it in .....
I did some research on the Dell M4400 I ordered a few days ago. I got the minimum amount of Dell memory they would sell me of 1GB. I did the same with the hard drive (80GB/5400RPM) knowing I could get it a lot cheaper on my own.
Hard Drive I've found a hard drive (Fujitsu MHZ2320BJ-G2 320GB 7200 RPM 2.5" SATA 3.0Gb/s Internal Notebook Hard Drive - OEM) and a laptop drive comparison/ review in Laptop Magazine. Here is the hard drive listed above @ $69.00 for 320GB/7200RPM. [url]. I'll try it however I have been a WD guy for my desktop.
Memory I have been pricing DDR2 and DDR3 and found other posts saying DDR3 wasn't worth it and will not work on this forum at this thread HERE and will not work in the M4400 however this review says it will HERE
The memory I found HERE is priced @ $57.99 Crucial 4GB (2 x 2GB) 204-Pin DDR3 SO-DIMM DDR3 1066 (PC3 8500) Dual Channel Kit Laptop Memory Model CT2KIT25664BC1067 - Retail
Quote:
"As a matter of fact the Montevina platform would in general also support DDR3 RAM modules. According to Dell, the standard equipment does not include DDR3 modules, because they still cost much and the availability is still limited while the performance gain of the new chips is rather small. But, they do not exclude that they will offer them later."
I just started a DELL Precision M6700 for the first time. I also got some yellow paper with it with some "important information - 512e Hard Drive". I thoroughly read all info stated there and followed all the web-links. Finally I came to conclusion that I do have 512e Hard Drive. It is partitioned in 3 partitions and one (first) partition is "Misaligned". Hereby I also post a screenshot of the output of the Dell Advanced Format HDD Detection Tool and some basic info about my system.
Do I need to align this partition before proceeding further with using this laptop? What would be the consequence of leaving the hard drive in this state? How can I align this partition?
It seems that Dell still doesn't offer any Blu-ray drive for the new Precisions and Latitudes.Does anyone here know of a Blu-ray drive from any other manufacturer that fits into the new E-Modular bay?
im getting fed up looking around and i forgot to order a dvd writer for my e6500 as i done it over the phone but iv had a look in the bay and its only sata connectors which is dandy if i can find a sata dvd burner, but most importantly id need a coupla of caddys to mod or hack up so i have one for the hard drive and one for the dvd burner, dvd burner is a must have i dont know how i missed that one when ordering!
just got my m4400 and upgraded to vista business via the dell disks. Now the backlit keyboard dosen't work. It was working under XP. It on in the BIOS and the controlpoint.
(note: I posted this in the XPS/Studio section, and I'm reposting it here since it pertains to both)
I am looking for a notebook for my girlfriend. She studies architecture, so she needs something with a powerful GPU, high resolution display, but not too heavy (she has to lug it with her every day all over campus). We don't want to spend more than ~$1500, and hopefully get it for less than that with discounts (either through the University or her mother's job) .....
I'm a bit out of the loop. Is the M4400 due for a major refresh any time soon? If so when, and what major components will be replaced (gpu, hopefully)?
Got my swap today! ( swapped cause heat/fan issues ). The first thing i noticed when i booted up eas that it came with A16 Bios. Latest on th Dell site is A15. Anyone got some info on this???
I sold my Asus G1S last week and now i am looking to replace it with another more modern 15.4" laptop with decent graphics card and good screen. Dell m4400 and lenovo t500 both fit the bill. I am leaning more towards a refurb dell from the outlet. I am lookign for answers to a few questions to help me make up my mind:
I heard good stuff about both WXGA+ LED and WUXGA RGB-LED panels on this model. What about WUXGA CCFL panel. Where can I find specs on it? Is it any good or terribly dim like the one Lenovo uses?
Is heat a big problem with m4400? My Asus was heating up to the point that it was uncomfortable to keep on my lap and was very noisy and I kind of want to avoid that again.
How good are Dell refurbs? Am i going to get something that has been trashed before or are these just open box returns? Also is it possible to get them to give extra discount over the phone? There was a 15% off coupon a few weeks ago which is over now. What are my chances of convincing them to give me a discount?
Also, If I do order new, would it be possible to convince Dell to price match the M4400 to a T500 or W500? Did anybody ever have any success with that?
Just got my Precision M4400 and a Logitech bluetooth mouse. Can't figure out how to activate bluetooth, or whether it's even installed as ordered. Blue bluetooth light above keyboard is on, but can't find bluetooth in Device Manager, or in system tray.
I recently received a new m4400 (with a T9400)and had a problem with one of the cpu cores running 6-8 degrees hotter at idle (not under load). When I told this to Dell technical support, they reordered me a new notebook.
Here's the problem... I received my new replacement notebook. Although the cpu cores are now the exact same temperature at idle, once I start running some programs (simulation games, etc.), one of the cpu cores runs 7-8 degrees consistantly hotter than the other one. If I stop playing these games, both cores return to the exact same temperature .....
I've been watching this board for a while, and decided to register finally, as I am looking to purchase a Precision for school.
My previous notebook is a Latitude D810 with WUXGA LCD, with a higher end configuration, (2.26Ghz, 2GB, X600 128MB, 320GB HD, Bluetooth) which served me well for the past four years.
I wish to get a high end model as well this time around (With the same resolution), hoping to get the same longevity
I received the Dell Precision m4400 on last friday.
I did not know about the latency problem that I read on these forums AFTER the horrible fact that I'm going to explain.
In fact, I was watching an avi file, in Windows Vista (the preinstalled OS), when sometimes the play stops (as the computer is under much load) and then resume the play .....