Dell Precision M4400 :: Upgraded To SSD Drive - It Won't Work In AHCI Mode Only ATA
Dec 9, 2013
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.
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'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
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:
Year old i7 Envy Dv7-7398ca notebook with Samsung 840 Pro x 256 SSD. Windows 8.1. I updated to the SSD soon after I purchsed the notebook.
No issues except the Samsung Magician SSD software keeps flagging me that AHCI mode is disabled and needs to be enabled and I do not see it in BIOS. Nor do I see anything that relates to it in Device manager like IDE or whatever.
It appears the SSD is not optimizing itself based on the fact it thinks AHCI is disabled.
I am using ATA mode with XP. Lately I switched to ACHI in bios and do a clean installation.
During setup I press F6 to install ICH8M driver. The driver is loaded sucessfully from a floppy disk.
Later when the windows installer prompt whether to Install Windows, Repair or F3 to quit; I select install windows and it prompts unable to detect hdd.
I have a Dell laptop Inspiron 11 3000 2in1. I decided to swap my Dell Sata 54000 rpm HD to a SSD M500 240GB. I went in the BIOS and it does recognize the Fixed HDD - Crucial_CT240M500SSD1 240GB. I tried installing Windows 8.1 and it would not recognize the SSD HD. What I notice if I go in the BIOS and change SATA Operation to ATA it works fine. I would like to have it on AHCI because I guess that is the latest technology for reading a HD. Any reason why I can't install it with AHCI? It also did work fine before on AHCI with the factory HD that came with the laptop.
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 recently upgraded my Dell Inspiron 5520 to Windows 8 and now the media buttons don't work. Is there a Dell driver or update that I need to install to bring back this functionality in Windows 8?
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 .....
I upgraded to 8.1 a few weeks ago all was fine, but for the last few days I cannot see my home Wifi (which is fine all other devices see it) I can see an error message for my Net Adaptor but the drivers say they are up to date.
Just got my m4400 finally. Quad core + uxga/led. The led screen went pink or something when docked without a/c power. It also flickered a bit when I was using it on battery (only happened once).
The fan is way loud (using bios A11). I found the I8kfanGUI program to control the fan (works pretty good) but what's funny is the laptop keeps wanting to turn the fan to full speed, then the tool kicks in and turns it off again. So it spins up, back down, up, back down .....
I have spent the past 10 minutes trying to search this forum for the answer and came up empty-handed. Simple question: does the M4400 support 3 Gbits/second or is it limited to 1.5 Gbits/second? I know the entire ThinkPad line
(T400/T500/W500/W700) models are limited to 1.5 Gbits/second, which limits the usefulness of a higher-end Solid State Disk like the Intel X25-M. Thanks for the info!
When the laptop arrived I took out the 80GB HDD and installed a Western Digital 320GB 7200 RPM drive and created 2 Partitions so that we could dual-boot with Windows XP SP3 and another Windows XP SP3.
I've searched and found a lot of info on audio crackling, but I'm not quite sure if that is the issue I am having.
The best way I can describe the audio problem is that, it on occasion, once ever 30 seconds or so, music, or audio that is continuously playing will stutter and skip for a moment, like the computer is under heavy load
