Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

For problem 1:

Are you sure your system doesn't go in sleep mode automatically after X number of time?
Do Start, type in "Power" (without the quotes), and select "Power Options". A panel will open. On this panel, under "Hi performance" item (which should be selected), click on the Change plan settings. From there you can adjust the automatic sleep options. Also, on the same location, you can click on "Change advance power settings", where a panel will open. From there click on "Change settings that are not available", and from the list bellow you can change settings.

For problem 2:
Perform a complete hard disk check scan and see if you get anything. To do this open "Computer", right click on your hard drive, and select "Properties". A panel should open, from there, go to the "Tools" tab, and click on "Check Now...". A panel will open after the UAC prompt, where you CHECK both boxes. THEN click on the Start button. You should be asked that you need to restart your computer.

Here is a similar problem to yours form a different forum.
http://forums.techguy.org/hardware/685516-solved-bsod-0x000008e.html

Hope this helps

 

not sure why it wouldnt be creating a minidump -- maybe a permissions problem. as for the BSOD, just a shot in the dark -- do you have the webcam and the dell drivers installed? if so, uninstall it. the dell provided drivers have compatibility issues.

 

I do have the camera but I am currently running the driver from Windows Update and not the one from Dell.

All my power settings are setup properly. I know it is not going into sleep mode as the screen saver is running and my screen is on! Sleep mode is set to NEVER!

I have run chkdsk several times and it has not been any help.

First time it happened I was completely unable to get back into windows in safe mode or anything. I formatted and started over. Everything ran fine for about 2 weeks and then it started all over again. Did another re-install then a couple weeks later here I am... random 0x000008E BSOD's on boot up.

 

Yeah. Dell finally replaced my system board and hard disk. My 4th re-install in a 3 week period as a result of the new HDD. The good thing is that I got a free upgrade from 200GB 7.2k SATA to 250GB 7.2k SATA (both Seagate Momentus) as Dell was out of stock of the 200GB variants. Overall, the machine has been stable but its only been about 12 hours. *fingers crossed*

Attached is a picture of the system board of the E6400 taken from my phone while the Dell engineer was disecting my lappy.

 

There is an advanced Power setting option in Vista. Although PC doesn;t sleep components such as WiFi, USB ports and NICs can be set to "sleep" to save power. Do have a look in the advanced settings. I've set my components to never sleep for stability reasons.

 

Yes, GeekingE90 is correct, also check on the Device Manager for your network controller, and look inside it's properties, some network card have an option to prevent to go in sleep mode.

 

I've noticed the LCD screen in the bottom right hand corner 'ripples' when the LCD screen is moved (e.g. having it's angle adjusted). This is most noticeable with the default latitude wallpaper and the dark background.

Has anybody else experienced this? I'm worried the stress on the screen may potentially cause damage in the long term.

 

Maybe the hinge at the bottom right corner is very tight. It will probably loosen up slightly during the first few weeks of use. I recall that I needed both hands to open the display when my E6400 was new.

If you still see ripples after a couple of weeks then it is time to call Dell for some maintenance.

John

 

I had that, but after open and closing the lid several times with my excitement on the laptop, it does it significantly less (near none). I expect it to stop doing it. Well my laptop is back at Dell now due that it was hit during the manufacturing process... I'll get a new one on Monday.

 

That drove me crazy for weeks. Go to Intel's site and download their driver for the internal ethernet card and install it. After you do, on the Power Management tab in the card properties, you'll have a new option called "Reduce link speed during system idle." Un-check it. I haven't had my network connection shut down while idle since I did that.

Scott