Precision M4400 Owner's Lounge

I reinstalled drivers crazily and ended up getting at sound properties a "Digital Output Device (SPDIF)" option. Before I only had "Speakers / Headphone (IDT High Definition...)" and "INdependent (RTC) headphones".

But then VLC and GOM started crashing with SPDIF (only worked with 2.0), and Media Player Classic only outputed 2.0. No matter, I discovered that the OEM PowerDVD that came bundled with the notebook did allow me to choose the SPDIF option. After that I got my 5.1 delivered to my receiver and all my speaker and subwoofer.

But only with PowerDVD. Even WInDVD only allowed me to use 2.0, no SPDIF detected. Maybe there is a limitation for trial, but... Anyway, I'll stick with PowerDVD.

Still getting glitches on the regular audio, though... Nothing is perfect!

Thanks for the help.

 

Has anyone had issues with an M4400 never going to sleep running Vista Ultimate? I definitely have my power settings set to sleep after 2 mins on battery and 5 mins on AC, and it never goes to sleep. The screen saver does kick in, but no sleep. Also the HD access light is constantly flickering when there are no real apps running just sitting at the windows desktop..

I've uninstalled most of the Dell apps, and haven't really installed anything that I think runs persistently.

Possibly an M4400 issue?

 

I am glad you found a workaround for the time being. I hope some driver update down the line will make it easier for apps like VLC and WinDVD to not crash or revert to 2.0 when outputting through the HDMI port.

There may never be a fix with Vista. By now I figure most companies are ramping up their efforts to port all of their drivers to Windows 7.

The Dell Apps would not be the cause of your dilemma. You have a misbehaving app that is keeping the system awake. I am sure it's something silly you have overlooked.
You can go here for a good guide on how to troubleshoot this problem.
http://www.vistax64.com/tutorials/63567-power-options-sleep-mode-problems.html
Rest assured, it's not the laptop.
good luck!

 

In the four days I've had my M4400, I've noticed even when running on AC power that whenever I unlock Windows after a period of around 30 minutes away from it, I see a Dell pop-up message from the system tray telling me that the Ethernet connection is now enabled, suggesting that it has been disabled in my absence. I've run ping tests from another PC that prove that the wired (but not the wireless) network card was disabled while I was away. I've tried disabling all power saving features in the Dell ControlPoint settings, but it makes no difference.

Does anyone know what could be causing this?

 

@NFH

Uninstall all Dell apps and let Vista/Intel do the job, i have none of the problems. It could be though that the system is still set to power down the Wireless card when it goes on standby? If you disabled that function i don't really know what else could cause this.
I have no Dell Control point installed and not missing any functionality, benefit is that you have less processes running without DCP

 

Got a call from Dell support. They're not coming today because they don't have all spare parts in stock. It could take 2-3 days or longer...
I guess they haven't got the RGBLED display in stock.
Sigh...

 

Thanks for the advice. I was considering removing DCP, but I was concerned about the impact on the fingerprint reader, which seems to be managed by DCP. Maybe I should uninstall only DCP Connection Manager and DCP System Manager, leaving DCP Security Manager installed.

 

I'm in the same boat. My system came with Vista installed. I was curious about the fingerprint reader. I enrolled a few fingers to try it out. Later I did a clean install of XP, wiping out vista, and I could not do anything to get rid of the preboot fingerprint prompt.

Now that I've got a dual boot with Vista 64 and XP Pro 32, I'm able to manage the fingerprints within Vista. Although I still haven't figured out how to completely disable it.

But I can confirm that you need not have DCP Connection manager installed to use the security manager/fingerprint reader.

 

Hmmm... I was wondering why the S/PDIF output wasn't presenting itself in VLC when using Vista.

 

I read almost this entire thread before receiving my M4400 and I remembered some questions about sound output using DisplayPort to HDMI cables as well as supported resolutions of external monitors. I’m pleased to confirm that with the FX1700M and WUXGA (1920x1200), I can extend my desktop on to a HD (1920x1080) Sony TV via a Dell-supplied DisplayPort-to-HDMI converter and a 5-metre HDMI cable. I can then drag Windows Media Player to the TV and use full screen mode. The video quality is amazing, but the sound on the TV is slightly delayed behind the picture.