I was looking on ebay for accessories for my new Z and came across these drives. Would these work as direct replacements for our DVD drives?
NEW Blu-Ray Drive for HP laptops - eBay (item 170491173520 end time Jun-24-10 18:54:19 PDT)
I'm getting the same thing -- artifacts during bootup, drivers won't initialize properly, safe mode works in VGA mode but there are patterns throughout.
I also went into Dell diagnostics and in the second diagnostic program (not the initial one that comes up, but the second one you actually interact with after exiting the first one) it will actually check the memory of the video card, contrary to what I've read around here ......
I'm going to be ordering the Sony SR in a couple of days probably. Today I went to Best Buy to look at it. Everything about it I liked except for the casing. It's so flimsy and seems like it's made out of cheap plastic. I recognize that this helps to keep it light, but still, just touching it made me feel like my palms will break the computer after a while, lol. Seriously, why do they make it like that? The thing bends so easily, including the screen. Making it of something a more strong would not add considerable weight!
View 10 Replies View RelatedI've seen many posts from people who want to use a traditional 2.5" HDD in their new Z11 laptops instead of the DVD/BR drive. I have a working solution.
I picked up a Lenovo Ultrabay III adapter for a W510 I had on order and subsequently canceled after 2 months of delays in shipping.
The DVD drive is attached via a micro-SATA connector. If you haven't seen one before, here's a comparison to a regular SATA connector .....
I was running an FW and noticing huge percentage drop when I would hibernate and leave it unplugged overnight, sometimes it would be about 30%. However the percentage would always remain 30% lower then when I powered it down for a while so I figured my battery life was not affected overall and that the battery indicator was wrong. Well it turns out that I was wrong, I can usually squeeze out 2 min per percentage if I leave my computer idle and allow the screen saver to popup while on battery. However after the 30% drain overnight I noticed my overall battery life was affected severely, with 1 overnight on hibernate session my battery life went from on average 2 min per percentage to 1.33 min per percentage.
Possible Solution:
Turn on battery care function on the Vaio Control Center and set the custom setting at 100%. Having done this my battery during hibernate (and shutdown) overnight drops only 1-2%.
im looking at a mobile latitude here
core i7, 2 gigs of ram, low low end gpu - windows 7 32 bit
??? its not gold plated why is it $3,700
I've checked Dell Outlet, and the cheapest one there was $900, and that's pretty good but I'm wondering if you guys know any other places I should check.
View 7 Replies View RelatedDell M1730: 320gb 7200rpm to 128gb SSD is $100, and to RAID 256gb ssd (128x128) is $300
HP HDX 18t 320gb 7200rpm to 160 gb SSD + 500gb 5400rpm (who wants that?) is $600.
Sony AW: 320gb 7200rpm to 64gb SSD + 500gb 4200rpm (!) is $420.
Are the SSD's that the Dells use worse quality or something? I really want an SSD with my next laptop, and I'm leaning towards HP or Sony because I think I want an 18.4 inch model, but it really, really surprises me that the Dell SSDs are so much cheaper. Anyone have an explanation, or am I missing something obvious?
where can i get a cheap, yet good/ok webcam for my laptop? i am probably going to get a new laptop by the end of the year, so don't want to spend too much on a webcam. i guess i just need one to hold me over till then... thanks.
View 7 Replies View RelatedWhy this Vostro notebooks from Dell are cheaper than Latitues and with better specs ?
I was looking for a D520, but now that I saw this Vostro 1400, I feel like going Vostro.
What do you guys think about them?
I need a computer to tune/log my ECU in my car. I i have my old dell inspiron 9300 that need a new OS, batt and charger. I lost the recover disk and my brother ripped the key code sticker so i cant see the first set of numbers,
it came with XP pro is there any thing i can do to save it with out buyin a new OS. Like i said im using this to tune ECUs and data log using romraider and
ecuflash. So should i fix the 9300 or get a netbook, any suggestions on netbooks under 300 cheaper the better or a place to get a Windows OS?
Aloha im planning on buying a S16 XPS in about 9months - 1year (or like a few weeks before dell would be discontinuing it from their website).
Since ive got an inspiron 6400 at the moment, and while it does get hot and the back panel cant be opened to clean the dust off fan,
and the graphics card is CRAP and cant play any games like call of duty 4....,
its still a nice laptop and works fine in all other ways and for everything else.
I am going to upgrate my Acer 5672.
On tigerdirect I found 2 nice Hds
Seagate Momentus 7200.3 ST9250421AS 250GB Mobile Hard Drive - 2.5", 7200RPM, 16MB, SATA-300 for $74
and
Hitachi / TravelStar 7K200 / 200GB / 7200 / 16MB / 2.5" Mobile / SATA-150 / Hard Drive for $90
It seems to me first one is much better, more size , more speed, but I don't understand why it is cheaper.
One guy told me Segate's disks overheat laptops. Is it true ?....
So... why is it cheaper? I everything ok with this brand ?
I am also planning to add more memory, 4GB instead 1GB.
Should I be concern about overheat ?
I tend to take my laptop around a lot and I get kind of annoyed at having to constantly hook up all the various USB cables and the monitor it interfaces with.
Docking stations seem ideal for convenience, but they seem awfully expensive.
Are there any affordable docks or USB hubs out there? Like less than 30-40 dollars?
I found very cheap ($39) 9-cell batteries for the SXPS13 on eBay. I ordered one and just got it. As far as I can tell it looks legitimate but I have some doubts ........
View 5 Replies View Relatedhttp://configure.us.dell.com/dellsto...399&lid=627062
View 15 Replies View RelatedI got the dreaded GFX card fail on my 1710 a couple of months ago (about a month after warrranty expiration).
Is it possible to get some kind of dirt cheap GFX card replacement to fit to get the notebook booting up again properly (not in safe mode hell)?
someone asked if they had a temp monitoring solution for the studio 1737 as i8kfan doesnt work...
View 5 Replies View Relatedyesterday I received my XPS 16. Nice machine, BUT: the cracking speakers / subwoofer is hard to accept.
I mainly listen to trance / techno music and the cracking noise is just there. Is there any patch or whatsoever? It's horrible ;/
I got myself 5930G a week ago.
I removed all of the unnecessary programs that Acer put in (they do make decent laptops but really overbload the OS with stupidities) and optimized Vista as much as I could (which is working nicely if i do say so myself ... but I'm still considering on going back to XP SP3 until Windows 7 comes out.).
Right ... I also played Mass Effect for a while on the laptop (maxed out at native res of 1280x800 works without a problem).
Now the only thing is, I'd like to reduce the temperatures of the laptop.
The idle CPU temp is at about 52 degrees, while under load reaches about 72 degrees Celsius (which is pretty good considering the casing).
I will buy myself the ZALMAN ZM-NC2000B cooler ... but what I would also love to do is to undervolt both the CPU and the GPU.
I'm aware the RMClock is not exactly effective when it comes to P7350 cpu.
I tried to undervolt it last night, and as much as I reduced the current going to the multipliers, the temperatures remained the same under stress for prolonged periods of time.
So ... until I find a way to undervolt the cpu and get myself the forementioned cooler, I'd like to undervolt the gpu (9600m GT GDDR3)
If it's possible (and I know it is), I need to know of programs that can be used to acomplish this.
As much as I like my new laptop, it would be nice to further extend it's lifespan (even though it's brand new) and reduce the heat output.
I was also thinking on getting the thermal paste and applying it to cpu/gpu.
Although I'm not sure I want to go ahead with it as I don't want to void the warranty.
how to overclock the cpu/gpu in question without significant gains in temps.
Few days before i started a thread regarding the display issue .. and today i was got a replacement for my keyboard...
the old one was very strong and sturdy ... the new one was fragile, and flexible.. i called the CC then and reported that teh keyboard is very fragile...
he told me that currently all replacement keyboards are like that...
it seems that Indian customers are the ones who have been ill treated with cheap parts...
The macbook pro screen is great, and a key insight was to realize that the latitude E6500 screens are the exact same ones (as the last generation before the unibody macbook pros). I got the AUO screen, and it's great. It is the exact same screen as a macbook pro. I had one, so I know until it broke. A great screen totally changes the entire perception of a notebook in my opinion, especially when using it for multimedia.
I have used a thinkpad before and I loved the keyboard. Newer generation ones that I have seen don't feel as cushy and soft. The E6500 keyboard is every bit as good as the current thinkpad keyboards if you like a softer, spongier feel with good key travel. So if you care about the keyboard alot, the new latitudes are I think tied for the #1 spot with anything else that you can throw out there.
Oh, and the price simply can't be beat.
The backlit keyboard is also a very underrated feature. I would absolutely get this if anyone is hesitating.
The one knock on this laptop is the fan noise. It's not bad, but it's not the most silent one out of the macbook pros and the thinkpads. However, I don't believe that there is inferior cooling or inferior design that makes the E6500 run louder. I think that it's probably just a BIOS setting that Dell has put in there to make sure that the system stays cool at the expense of having more noise. In other words, if Dell didn't mind hot system temps like the macbook pros, then I suppose it could run nearly as quietly. Either way, I do wish the notebook was a bit quieter. I do have the nvidia gpu and am curious if getting the intel gpu would cut down on the noise. I'd also gain some battery life and to be honest, I never use any 3d stuff but just like to have the real gpu for resale purposes and to futureproof the laptop.
But for price/performance, this is the laptop to beat because now I can watch videos, even hulu ones, without intrinsically wishing for more brightness and contrast in the dark scenes. I feel like I've got a 15" hdtv.
I am currently using a HP dv2000t notebook and the entire lid is glossy and very prone to fingerprints. I am awaiting for my XPS 16 to arrive but I've read many reviews about this laptop being a "fingerprint magnet" as well.
So just in case you guys didn't know, there is a way to help treat the fingerprints on the laptop's surface / lid.
NOTE: This is by no means permanently guaranteeing no future fingerprints.
..but for those that are interested, what I do is I take car wax and I wax the glossy surface like I would wax a car's clear coat.
Personally I use Meguires NXT car wax (paste kind, not liquid wax) but any other car wax works as well .....
i was having this wierd behavior of my laptop where battery woudnt charge above 6%, ive tried most of the "solutions" on the web, but none of them worked.
-Desinstalling Microsoft's ACPI-Compliant control method battery
-Doing a vista clean install
-Restarting/Removing/Plugging the battery from the laptop with the system running and shut down, and all sorts of combinations between.
-Trying different AC (from dell, some of my friends have got some dell systems, i tried a m1330 AC)
-Tried to find a battery calibrator, but was unsuccesful, and even tried to downgrade my BIOS, but couldnt because my battery wasnt charged above 10% (thats a requisite to flash the BIOS)
NONE OF THOSE WORKED.
So i called dell, they told me to go to the BIOS, tech guys told me that the problem could be figured out there by 2 ways, it'd either:
-Recognize the AC adapter (in due case, it was a battery problem)
-Or it wouldnt recognize it (in which case, it would be a MoBo or a AC adapter problem.
Turned out it recognized the AC adapter, so next step was to send me a new battery, since i had a 6 cell battery (which the dell guy confirmed after i gave him the serial number of the battery) i expected to receive a 6 cell battery replacement, but no, lucky me i received a 9 CELL BATTERY INSTEAD, free within warranty period (system is only 7 months old) so yeah, im happy, and my battery is charging again.
Everything is fine, so i thought i would share this info for you guys.
One thing to get in consideration: The embedded battery health indicator might not indicate that the battery is healthy, since my faulty battery had 5/5 green lights when i tried to check the health but was still faulty (my new one has 5/5 health lights and works wonderful)
my problem specifically was that beer got spilled on the keyboard. after a while the machine shorted and shut off. I have a Dell Inspiron 9300, with a 1.73 ghz Sonoma CPU. i left the laptop off for two days so some of the liquid would dry out. after some problems and a dozen reboots i got into the bios, then finally through to windows.
everything was fine except that the CPU was working at a very low frequency. also the fans were continually at highest speed. the CPU was being reported between 101 mhz to 503 mhz, depending on the software. it was being recognized correctly but showing to operate at 202 mhz in the system properties panel. what was really striking is that the notebook harware software i had installed was reporting the CPU temperature as 85 C. I tried various software to manipulate the CPU frequency to no avail. The temp was a constant 85 C, although i could tell that it was not even close to this temperature since i my laptop was partly disassembled and i could feel the surface of the heatsink with my hand; it was cool.
I finally surmised that the problem was with the thermal sensor on the motherboard. it had probably shorted or got soaked and was reporting the highest temperature it could as a safety measure, thereby limiting the CPU to a very low frequency and not allowing it to throttle above 503 mhz.
My last option, save for replacing the motherboard, was to find the sensor chip, clean it, dry it and hope that it would work again.
But this is not what solved the problem. somewhere on the net i came accross a code, that when entered on an Inspiron 9100 (an older laptop, with a different chipset) would bring up the Thermal Management screen or something like that, which is certainly not accessible via the BIOS. I was playing around with the settings on a program called Hardware sensors monitor, again to no avail, when i finally decided to enter this code:
FN key + zxcvasdqwer. almost the second i pressed z, or maybe after x, the high speed fans shut off! after a short while they kicked back into operation but at a low speed, just like they were supposed to. the program hmonitor began reporting a more realistic CPU temp. i tried to play a high-def movie file and finally it played normal, without any lag or stuttering! as i played it, the fans kicked into higher mode, and the temp which had been steadily rising, began to drop. the program, and most other programs were still reporting the cpu at 202 mhz, windows system properties as well. but since it was playing a 720p video file normally, it had to be much higher than that. i did a reboot and voila!
all monitoring software are now reporting the CPU at 1.73 ghz. the system temperatures are perfectly normal, and at idle the CPU goes as low as 20 degrees C. The software Speedfan, however, is still giving an error regarding the sensor chip on the motherboard.
After trying for months to make my DigitalPersona to work with Firefox 3.5, I read on their website that the solution for HP users is "HP Personal" 4.1. I asked HP Support about it and here it is the solution...for now:
HP Customer Care [url]
I understand that you would like to know whether Digital Persona 4.1 is released for your HP HDX X18-1103EA Premium Notebook PC which supports Firefox 3.5.
I understand your concern in this regards and assure you of my best effort in resolving this issue to your satisfaction.
*****, to use the Digital Persona Software with Firefox 3.5, please download and install the latest Digital Persona Fingerprint Reader software, version 4.0.1.3749 (SP4883 for 64-bit notebooks). The download link is give below.
Digital Persona Fingerprint Reader Software (Version: 4.0.1.3749_64 A)....
Dell SXPS 1640 Recent Driver Updates
IDT - Driver
Applies to:
92HD73C1 Audio
Recommended10/7/20096.10.0.6217, A15
Dell - BIOS
Applies to:
XPS 1640 System BIOS
Recommended10/14/2009A11
HLDS - Firmware
Applies to:
CA10N 12.7mm SATA Slotload 4X BD-Combo
Recommended10/9/2009A108, A05
I finally found where the hue and saturation setting are in the ATI ccc which nobody has been able to discover, including Dell who had already agreed to replace my screen because of the reds... gotta call them tomorrow to cancel. Am so happy with my screen now!
Anyway, I installed the latest ATI drivers from the AMD website and used the mobility modder to mod them so that they can be used correctly with the laptop vga card (although I'm sure that this option is in every version).
1) In the ccc switch to "Advanced" mode
2) At the top left where there's a menu titled "Graphics" with a small arrow next to it, choose "Desktops & Displays"
3) On the bottom left there should be a small picture of a laptop with the number "1" next to it. Right click on the picture of the laptop and choose "Configure"
4) It should now open a new screen. Just go to the middle tab "Avivo Color" and play around with the Hue and Saturation.
Here are my current settings:
Avivo Color:
Hue: -4
Saturation: 83
Desktop Properties (Also under the top left menu):
Set color correction for: All Channels
Gamma: 1.00
Brightness: -50
Contrast: 90
Nvidia apparently has a solution to the problems faced by many in their notebooks powered by GeForce 8M series, that is, to encourage the OEM/ODMs to buy their new problem free chips. Of course, this doesn't solve the issues faced by current users and there won't be any replacement for them.
Nvidia has come out with a new GPU called NB8E-SET which is essentially NB8E-SE with the new underfill. NB8E-SE is used on many notebooks most commonly advertised as GeForce 8700M GT, GeForce 8800M GS or GeForce 9650M GS. NB8E-SET (G84-751) uses the new Hitachi underfill and is clocked at 625MHz core and 128-bit 800MHz GDDR2/3 memories similar to the current NB8E-SE.
Here's a note from Nvidia to their partners :
NVIDIA is committed to providing our customers with quality products that push the edge of technology and also continuously improve product quality and reliability. To help improve the product quality and ensure smooth and uninterrupted product supply during the current “end stage” of life cycle, NVIDIA strongly recommends that customers transition to this latest revision of the NB8E-SET GPUs as soon as possible. These latest revision units utilize “Hitachi” underfill packaging material that improves product quality and enhances operating life by improved thermal cycling reliability.
Source: [url]
Some suggested using spyder3
Some said it was a result of the ccfl
Some said that the ATI card didn't have that issue
So after updating all the nvidia drivers and bios I still had the grainy...and blotchy picture. It wasn't as bad on animated movies but regular films still had the blotchiness.
The replacement 6400 had 4 gigs of ram . XP 32 bit. The ccfl screen. We've contacted Dell about this issue, but the tech I talked to said that unless there was a "technical" issue he couldn't help and for me to call customer care if I didn't like it.
I realize a lot of you use the 6400 and I didn't know whether to send this back or if there was an answer/solution to the off color (yellow/green).