Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

Should this be a cause of concern? The uneven surface is visible without squeezing anything. Can't believe I didn't take notice of it for this long.

 

If it doesn't scratch the palm rest and your machine is not new, and doesn't bother any function, then it might be hard to ask Dell to change it.

If it does anything bothersome to you, then you ask Dell to replace it. The problem with the this screen frame is that it brakes easily. If you remove it once, it won't hold as well as before. So once changed, that is it, don't touch it.

If you have every replaced your screen, I realized that the 4 screws that hols the LCD in place under the frame are not identical.. some has a slightly thinner head as others. That might be the problem.

If after a new frame, it's not flat everywhere, then it's the screen lid that is miss formed. In that case, Dell will give you a screen kit (lid with hinge, frame, and LCD, already assembled). The only thing is missing would be the webcam and mic, which needs to be added.

You can see, that I had my share experience with the stupid cheap plastic frame. :|

 

for anyone that has been keeping up with the windows 7 builds, after (upgrading -- which may be the problem) to build 7077 (x64), my computer will no longer completely turn off. It gets far enough when shutting down or restarting to completely shut windows down, but the signal does not get sent to actually power off (almost like the old -- it is okay to turn off your computer now message). It means that any time i am restarting or shutting down I have to hold down the power button for 4 seconds -- but when I start back up, I do not get the "windows was not properly shut down" error. Any one else experiencing this or have any ideas?

On an unrelated note -- if you guys suspend with near full battery, how long can you go before the computer powers down? I seem to be drawing current pretty quickly, even after suspending (and theoretically, it SHOULD be going into hibernate). I feel like it might be something wrong with the battery, but if people can give estimates of how long you can last in suspended (or hibernated) mode, i would appreciate it.

edit -- something is DEFINITELY wrong with the power drain, although whether it is with the battery, or something to do with windows 7, i am not sure. my MUCH older d820 has been suspended for approximately the same amount of time, and it was still up when I got home after posting that message -- and its battery is at least a few years old, and drains very quickly in use.

 

My E6400 doesn't have significant power drain when in hibernation.

I don't normally use suspend but, if the computer suspends by itself (eg when running on battery) it then wakes up to hibernate. But, because I have a BIOS password, I have to enter the password when the computer wakes up before it can then hibernate. That's a first class bit of programming nonsense since the woken computer waiting for a password is running on full full power (BIOS level with now Windows power management).

If you have the same settings then the power will drain quickly.

John

 

ratsey, you are brilliant. it actually ASKS for the bios password before it hibernateS?!?! that is SO pathetically stupid. i guess it is time for me to take off the bios password. this issue needs to be reported to dell, that is absolutely stupid.

edit -- still hoping someone has a clue or experiencing the same issue with win7 7077 x64!

 

Slight correction: It asks for the password when it wakes from suspend. The BIOS is not clever enough to know the difference between the user waking it (when the password is required) and what should be in invisible transition from suspend to hibernation.

John

 

i'm on 7077....32bit

so far, very very stable

 

try turning off hybrid sleep (power settings->change plan settings->change advanced settings->sleep->allow hybrid sleep). It shouldn't wake up to do the hibernate routine that way.

 

Issues with Backlit Keyboard and Volume Control.

I notice that sometimes by backlit keyboard doesn't work on Automatic mode (I have to select 'ON' instead of automatic SOMETIMES) even if it's pitch black and sometimes my sound volume display doesn't work. (the sound goes up and down, but the display bar doesn't show up on the screen). It seems like these two issues go hand in hand as well as with the brightness level and ambient light sensor on/off. Anyone know of a fix for this so it works ALL the time instead of sometimes/after re-boots, etc.? Thanks for your help!

 

so it might be a 64bit problem. why are you using 32bit anyway? missing out on the power . did you do an upgrade install or a clean one?