Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

Ive already had 3 different E6400s and they all have that problem on both the factory install of vista and my own reinstalls.

I'm pretty sure that everybody with vista has that problem but doesn't care enough to mention it.

I on the other hand am a perfectionist and every little thing bugs me. Since I did not have any of the issues anybody else seems to have this is the only thing that bugs me and thus the only thing I complain about.

 

Can someone tell me how I can get the Webcam and Fingerprint reader working.
I cant seem to find the apps for those two anywhere.

Also, is the fan driving anyone else crazy?
Mine just blows for hours for apparently no reason (other than cooling )

 

1. My bottom cover fits snugly except for a small gap just below the SD card reader which took me a week to notice.

2. Both my grilles are solid. The left is part of the palm rest and the right is a separate unit. See the service manual.

3. Do you have the webcam? I do, and the bezel is solid in that area.

4. Are the screws tight?

Have a look in the Dell ControlPoint. Webcam is at the bottom of display and Devices and the fingerprint reader is under Security.

I forget that I have a fan! Something must be creating some heat (I presume your fan is blowing out warm air). What is the CPU utilisation in Task Manager? Do you have the nVidia GPU? What power profile are you using? What temperatures does HWMonitor show?

John

 

Thanks for the input! I got "my" second e6400 today ...this one is for my GF. It seems dell has some qualityproblems since mine and hers differ.... she has got issue number 1 and 2, but not 3 and 4.... number 1 is alot worse on hers :/, as soon as you put it down on a table it makes a hollow metallic noise that takes away alot of the feeling of quality of this laptop.

I tried fastening the screws on the back a bit more on mine but it didnt make a difference, i dont have a webcam, but my gf dont have that issue and no cam so i guess its not what its supposed to be.

Concerning the screen i cant outright say that hers is worse than mine even thou she has CFFL and i got the LED... only noticeable difference is the resolution, both have awful viewing angles. Even brightness is almost the same, maybe hers is just a fraction less bright, wierd.

 

Re: No. 1, have you tried removing and replacing the base in order to make sure it is slotted on properly? If it's fitted OK then I wonder if those base panels are getting bent during shipping and before assembly.

Regarding the display quality, have a fiddle with the brightness and then the contrast setting in the display driver (if you have the Intel GPU - someone said that control is missing from the nVidia control panel). Dell should have a table in the BIOS giving the optimum settings for each display and I wonder if it is still work in progress.

John

 

I suggest you walk away from computers all together then, because there is no such thing as a perfect computer. I've been in IT for 11 years, worked with half a dozen software platforms (including OSX and several varieties of unix/linux/bsd), a couple dozen brands, and I have never, ever, not had some sort of problem with them.

You aren't going to get off bug free with a D series machine either, so my suggestion would be to just tell Dell your problem and hope they fix it. If this is your only problem, you are getting off really, really easy.

Cheers

 

Hi John,

Sad to say-I dont even know where contolpoint is found. I havent had much of a chance to really use this laptop until now. Where is that found?

Its interesting that you ask about my CPU usage cuz that was a concern of mine as well. When I have a coupe of tabs open in Firefox and im not even using the computer, the CPU usage is jumping between 10 and 20%. Isnt that a bit high?

-I do have the nVidia GPU;

-Im on power saver and not sure why; shouldnt I be on high performance? im connected to a Dell Docking station now and am using two external monitors...

-As for the temp-do I have to install HVMonitor or is it already in my machine?

Thanks for the help.

 

There should be a blue icon with 'DCP' on in in the system tray (bottom right of keyboard. Or you can press Fn+F7 (the key says 'DCP').

My task manager says just under 20%, but I've got a load of things open and Winamp playing music.

That supplies a bit more heat than the Intel GPU.

I never use maximum performance since it locks the CPU to maximum speed (and heat). You can create your own profile using Dell ControlPoint with your preferred settings (including display backlight) for both mains and battery.

You will need to download HWmonitor (I gave the link) then unzip and run the program.

John

 

Is there any way to access Control Point when my laptop is docked (and closed)?

 

Yes, the icon should be there in the system tray or Dell ControlPoint is in the program menu. So altogether that's 3 ways to access it. If you put a short-cut on the desktop then it will be 4.

John