Official Vostro Owner's Lounge

Spacoli, the Dell integrated webcam is ass. It can't give a frame rate higher than 10 and the picture quality is crap, no matter what the resolution.

 

Well my screen was replaced yesterday with no drama's. Looks amazing!

Only thing is that the wireless in the laptop seems to dislike adhoc networks and using an adhoc network to connect to the internet. It just won't connect without a massive stuff around every boot - worked fine on first boot though. Once I try connecting one or two times it says "Windows host services stopped working and had to be shut down". I called up dell and the minute I said ad-hoc he started stuttering and said he couldn't help me and hung up.

I am currently on my desktop which connects to the internet through a Netgear card, which talks to a D-Link bridge, which gets the internet from my broadband router. It has to be in ad-hoc mode to work on this desktop as in infrastructure it just keeps scanning and scanning without picking anything up.

Kinda at my wits end here. Has anyone had such issues?

 

A dell dechnician replaced my WLAN card today and it still has not fixed the issue. I'm most likely going to call up my Dell CSR tomorrow and either request for a refund or a wireless adapter (USB, slot, whatever). Currently researching alternative laptops.

 

About a month ago I got my Vostro 1400. From about day 2 I have had both software and hardware problems. They don't appear to be permanent or ongoing but they are annoying as hell. One problem is I can't seem to load Apple iTunes on it without freezing the entire OS. Then after doing a hard power down it wouldn't boot up normally. I uninstalled it and it seems to work fine now minus the software. I turned it on and it warned me that it could not recognize the batterypack or the AC power... both were installed and plugged in. I could proceed past this and it hasn't happened since but it doesn't leave me confident in this piece of crap. I was browsing the other day and got kicked off the internet because my router table screwed up and wouldn't allow me to continue. After 20 minutes found out I had to restart and try again but this hasn't solved a damn thing and from time to time I'll be able to connect but unable to browse. Just today, My WiFi catcher is unable to detect any networks even though 2 minutes earlier I was browsing like a schoolgirl. I've chatted with tech support a few times about these issues but they aren't consistent problems...

I still like this computer but I wish it would have performed flawlessly out of the box at least for a month or two before this stuff started happening. Have I bought a lemon? Should I get a refund and buy a bigger slower machine or should I have tech support try and figure this out? My girlfriend says I should take it back before too long but I need it for school and I don't want to go through the buyinig process again

 

About a month ago I got my Vostro 1400. From about day 2 I have had both software and hardware problems. They don't appear to be permanent or ongoing but they are annoying as hell. One problem is I can't seem to load Apple iTunes on it without freezing the entire OS. Then after doing a hard power down it wouldn't boot up normally. I uninstalled it and it seems to work fine now minus the software. I turned it on and it warned me that it could not recognize the batterypack or the AC power... both were installed and plugged in. I could proceed past this and it hasn't happened since but it doesn't leave me confident in this piece of crap. I was browsing the other day and got kicked off the internet because my router table screwed up and wouldn't allow me to continue. After 20 minutes found out I had to restart and try again but this hasn't solved a damn thing and from time to time I'll be able to connect but unable to browse. Just today, My WiFi catcher is unable to detect any networks even though 2 minutes earlier I was browsing like a schoolgirl. I've chatted with tech support a few times about these issues but they aren't consistent problems...

I still like this computer but I wish it would have performed flawlessly out of the box at least for a month or two before this stuff started happening. Have I bought a lemon? Should I get a refund and buy a bigger slower machine or should I have tech support try and figure this out? My girlfriend says I should take it back before too long but I need it for school and I don't want to go through the buyinig process again

 

Does anyone else have problems with their laptops not going in standby mode when its closed

 

You're in a hurry, so I will try to give you some quick instructions. These instructions could take SEVERAL hours to go all the way through.

1. Your Apple/iTunes problem has absolutely nothing to do with the Vostro. Its caused by everything Apple makes running like **** on Windows.

2. Are you running Vista (Well duh, it's a V1400)? If so, do a desperate search for more recent drivers for everything. If you've got the latest everything, consider trying to step back on a few related drivers. There is a specific Vista build that has serious trouble with WiFi, an update fixes that I believe.

3. For everything else: Make sure you have the restore disks for your laptop. I received a webcam install disc, an XP Home install disc, and a drivers/utilities install disc.

4. Back up all important data. Use a CD, DVD, SDcard, or USB flashdrive. (for your data and new drivers)

5. Reinstall your OS. Use the reformat option during the install. After that, install the drivers, etc. See if problems persist.

6. If problems persist, attempt using an OEM install disc, and not Dell's install disc. This usually requires piracy. Or, try downgrading to XP. The V1400 is difficult to install to, but there is a guide on this forum somewhere.

7. If both XP and Vista are unstable, it may actually be the laptop's hardware. In that case, you'll probably have to return it for a replacement or a refund.

 

I sometimes run my 1400 on just the A/C power without a battery plugged in, just because I'm near an A/C outlet and to give my battery a break from the heat of the laptop. However, sometimes I want to plug back in the battery and run without turning off the laptop first. Does anyone know if this is ok for the laptop, or if the reverse (removing the battery without turning it off) is ok? Can it handle hot plugging of the battery?

 

I'm sorry.. I'm new to these terms...
but what does AUO WXGA+ mean?
And why is it so dreaded?

 

I searched and couldn't find it anywhere, but does anyone have a link/file of the wallpapers that Dell uses on the website for the Vostros, like a vortex thing?