Dell :: Studio XPS Buyers, Do NOT Choose Bluetooth
Jan 26, 2010
I was like a lot of people on here, who were considering their options and wanted to buy a Studio XPS 16" laptop. I read about all the horror stories and delays people have been having on here, and just gave in anyways and thought "I hope it won't happen to be".... well it did.
Timeline of events:
1/17/2010: Date of my order
I ordered my studio xps 16" laptop on this day because the "day of deals" had the i7 dual core (i7-620M), on sale in a one day only deal that I could not pass up.
I just had a replacement done on my LED. I had a Samsung and now got a Toshiba. I feel that the Sasmung had better brightness and more vibrant colors. The Dell tech tells me that Samsung is not longer manufactured...
Has anyone who ordered recently gotten a Samsung LED?
To check, go to display settings, advanced setting, monitor, properties, details, hardware Ids:
i'm just going thru Dell site to build my specs for laptop and I get to the WIRELESS CONNECTIVITY part ... which card should I choose? what's the difference between them? which is best .... here are the options:
Dell Wireless 1397 Mini Card (802.11 b/g) [Included in Price] Intel WiFi Link 5100 (802.11 a/b/g/n 1X2) 1/2 MiniCard [add £20.00 or £1/month1] Dell Wireless 1520 Half Mini Card (802.11n)
Dell's website I found two different 9 Cell Batteries for my XPS M1530.
One is manufacturer part number GP975 and the other is manufacturer part number RN897. They are both the same price, both 9 cell batteries, and both compatible with the XPS M1530.
Which one should I choose? Is one better than the other?
If I don't hear anythign I will call Dell and ask them what the difference between the two are.
I'm really interested in the new Y series that was just released, but I'm disappointed that it doesn't feature the new i3/i5 processors. Is there a big difference between the CW's i3 processor and the Y's Duo SU7300 processor? All of the remaining specs are mostly the same being that each has 4GB RAM, 320 HDD, Windows 7 HP, etc. etc.
I happened to get my first Macbook Pro before getting serious about photography so it kinda just worked out for me, but I hear friends and other people saying "If you're serious about Photography, get a MAC!"
I mean looking at specs and prices couldn't someone getting into Photography get a pretty darn good PC for the price of the Macbook Pros?
I'm trying to do a factory restore on a 2010 Dell XPS L701X using the Dell Datasafe Backup. When booting, I choose to restore to factory condition/setup. At 55% of reformatting I keep getting an error, the error reads, "Error Ox001100200001005". It will not go farther, when I click OK, the computer simply reboots and the cycle starts all over again.
I am having a problem when connecting my Aspire 5750G to my TV through my HDMI cable. Previously, I have always been able to go into Manage Audio Devices to choose the HDMI option but today that option has disappeared. Nothing has changed with my TV or my cable and all of my video and audio drivers are up to date.
Is it possible to add internal bluetooth to the 14z after the fact? If so, what is the part needed to do this? While we're at it, what about wireless N?
Backstory - Ordered my laptop early December, took delivery mid December. I'm thrilled with the product except for the fact that it doesn't have bluetooth. I thought I had chosen that option, but upon looking at my invoice it appears I didn't. I went back through the customize engine on Dell's website and interestingly enough, I don't see anywhere you can choose bluetooth. Searched their parts website with no luck. Searched Google with no luck. So I tried to email Dell customer service. 3 weeks later, they finally told me to email/call tech support. So I called tech support yesterday. They told me that the wireless and bluetooth internal options are integrated onto the motherboard and have to be specified at the time of order. The only solution she could give me was to return the laptop and re-order it. The problem I voiced with that was that there isn't any way to specify bluetooth (or wireless N for that matter) on the customize page on Dell's website. Of course, she said she couldn't help with that and I needed to go back to customer service. Obviously, I was pretty irate (no cussing though! I kept my cool, but made it obvious I was upset) and she gave me a line that CS's lines were down and I needed to call them back in an hour.
So before I call CS, I'd like to try to get some more information. If you guys can help, I'd really appreciate it. Otherwise, I'm about ready to tell them to send a call tag send this thing back simply based on how terrible their after the sale service has been.
So I got my new Dell 1737 laptop and realized that I did not order it with bluetooth (oops).
The reason I should have gotten bluetooth is that I use a wireless mouse and I seem to keep banging the usb adapter that sticks out the side.
I would like to have a wireless mouse but without the thing sticking out so far. I chatted with Dell and all they would tell me about is the USB bluetooth adapter, he said I shouldn't go inside a new laptop cause I might mess it up (paraphrasing).
On the Dell site, I found a 370 internal card. Would this fit my laptop and how easy is it to install? My husband is familiar with tinkering with the older laptops but I really don't find the prospect of him digging around in my brand new laptop desirable, but I will leave the house for a few hours if that is my only option .
Searching through old posts I saw a 370 card referred to and referenced with a PCI Express slot. Is it possible to get a bluetooth adapter card that fits in that long slot on the left side of the laptop? or is the only option opening the whole thing up?
The only option I missed out on was the internal bluetooth.
So I read the Service Manual for the 14z and it doesn't seem like it would be to much trouble to manually install the 365 module. Also I found the 365 internal module on ebay WITH the mounting screws. It seems like a perfect fit.
Just got a 1558 in replacement for a 1525. I popped the back cover to install my upgraded Wifi, and add the WWAN and Bluetooth... No extra mini PCI slots for the BT or WWAN - There is a sticker that says WWAN but no connector or wires.... Since my 1525 has these options ( I did not buy the BT or WWAN card from Dell ) do i ask for another system that has these on-board? Is Dell obligated to provide one that is capable even though in their records i did not have BT or WWAN.
I thought I'd post this in a new thread instead of replying to my other one since the disassembly pictures could be helpful to people.
Right off, in my other thread I mentioned that Dell told me there were 2 rev's of motherboards (one if you order through the Home portal and a different one if you order through the Small Biz portal), and that the Home rev doesn't support Bluetooth (or WWAN, which is why these things didn't show up for me as options when ordering the laptop). So this morning I took the thing apart to see for myself.
Conclusion - From what I can tell, it appears that any 14z has a full size mini-PCI slot (for WWAN), a half-height mini-PCI slot (for wireless networking), and the mini plug necessary to install the Dell Wireless 365 Bluetooth mini-card. Dell support is a bunch of morons.
Steps to disassemble:
1) Remove battery. Here is what the computer looks like with the batter removed.
2) Remove keyboard trim ring. This is totally held in by plastic snaps (yuk...I seem to have an easy time breaking these if not careful). If you flip the laptop upside down and look under where the battery goes, you can see a could of little tabs that show through. You can use a small flathead screwdriver to pop these loose from the backside.
Then flip the laptop keyboard up and carefully work your way around the rest of the trim ring until you have it totally loose.
I ordered a Bluetooth card from Dell for my Studio 17, and I was wondering if anyone has installed one of these yet. I already have the WLAN card installed which is for the WiFi operations and Im wondering how hard of a job it is to install the Bluetooth card.
I already added a second hard drive to my laptop so going inside of it isnt a problem I know what Im doing but have no clue where the Wireless cards are mounted. Im hoping the Bluetooth slot is marked so I know where it goes.
The only time the bluetooth is used on my mom's laptop is when *I* use it so I was wondering if I can take out the chip and put it in my Studio 1555 when it comes? I'd rather not buy a new chip
When I switch on my laptop, the Found New Hardware Wizard starts saying "Windows needs to install driver software for your Bluetooth Peripheral Device". If I click on the Locate and Install Driver Option, it is unable to install any drivers.
My Bluetooth has been working fine. I have just two devices attached to my laptop via bluetooth - A bluetooth mouse and my Smartphone.
So, almost 3 months ago I purchased a Dell Bluetooth 370 card from Dell as well as a Dell Bluetooth travel mouse. At the time I was running Windows 7 RC, and all was fine.
Then, I found via Craigslist a Dell bluetooth keyboard for CHEAP locally and purchased it. About the same time, I installed Windows 7 RTM. That's about when the annoyances started to happen.
So my studioxps 1640 was replaced with a 1645. I was glad I got an i7 and a 1GB video card upgrade due to many other issues with the 1640, but I'm having a terrible time with the 1645.
First off, when I first used the 1645 for 15 minutes, the fan turned on full blast. I was just using firefox, so I ignored it and thought the laptop was just getting broken-in. But the heat issue appeared regularly. If I don't turn off the laptop, the whole laptop shuts down to either a bluescreen or it just powers off. Sometimes a weird clicking/crackling noise will come from the fan area near the heatsink even when the fan isn't on! It's like a bunch of metal balls are falling down a pipe.
I've left the bottom cover open to check if the heat sink was dissipating heat, but for some reason the metal area on top of the i7 was burning hot but the copper "pipes" were actually cool/cold. I'm getting a heat sink and fan replacement and I'll let you know how that works.
Next issue: webcam. On the 1640, running the webcam at 640x480 produced no lag and smooth pictures, but the 1645 constantly jitters at 640x480. Is this is a common issue?
Lastly, the bluetooth card is giving me a terrible time. I have used windows 7 x64 on the 1640 and bluetooth gave me no problems, but on the 1645 it is horrendous. I've switched bluetooth cards between the laptops so it's not a hardware issue. However, I'm trying to connect a bluetooth mouse and the card will detect a mouse, but it will never connect to it. I've tried numerous other techniques I saw on other threads. I ran the driver utility in compatibility mode, I've installed windows mobile device center, I've even formatted the hard drive. any help?
