Precision M4400 Owner's Lounge

@boss428man: I got an eSATA enclosure for a hard drive and boot from it when I want to boot into Vista. It works like a charm. I haven't tested any RAID configurations, though.

@afhstingray: I have a 16GB USB key that I've toyed around with, mostly running Linux on it in VMWare. The performance is noticeably slower than using a hard disk, especially for writing data. For the price of those keys these days, and their pokier speed, it might make more sense to get an external drive for back-ups. Just my 2 cents

 

i only back up once in two weeks at most. and my main concern is reliability not speed, so i reckon a USB key would be best

 

@ Johnatronee

You need to set your SATA to IDE in the BIOS in order to install XP 32bit if you're having problems running the installer. It seems it's not always necessary but it is if it's not working now. There's quite a lot of guides doing this and i also had one running to get my dual boot working right.

You need to:

First set SATA operation to IDE.
Then install XP 32bit in C: partition
Manually load the AHCI driver from the Matrix Storage Controller, On the drivers and download page you'll find two downloads for the matrix storage thing, one is the app wich is 26mb or something and the AHCI driver is only a couple 100kb, get that last one.
Reboot and set SATA to AHCI in BIOS

Then install Vista in D: partition
When vista runs repair the MBR (Master Boot Record) with a program called EasyBCD (free to download) otherwise XP won't boot.

Then both should be fine and both will seem to be running in C: while Vista is actually located in D: This is done so you'll have no trouble with installers choosing C: to install by defaullt.

 

@jwj consult

games can't be compared to 3d rendering. Yes your system downclocks because of overheating of your videocard...roll back to BIOS A02 or A03 to fix this. Weegie's comment you quoted was about 3d rendering which about 0 use of the GPU...all done by CPU and those are running cool indeed...one has nothing to do with the other

 

has anyone reported the downclocking to dell? or the lockup for that matter?

dell tech said in the global database he cant find any issue like that that has been reported. he was quite surprised when i referred him to this thread.

its UK prosupport btw, based in scotland. they're pretty good...

 

Yeah it does seem weird. I at least mentioned it a couple of time but maybe they didn't escalate the issue. The times i told them it was always as something that was happening besides the problem i needed a fix or replacement for.
I do have the name and number of the head of the tech help here so might call him just to tell it...and tell him to have a look here. That's the dutch tech desk which also has been outstanding so far.

 

i think you should. i think the global list he was referring to is a list of unsolved issues.

he kept telling me to upgrade to A09 cos the older versions cause incorrect temp reports.....i told him i might as well be using a typewriter if im running a09 cos it refuses to run more than 50% of frequency

i also found out that the critical threshold for the GPU temp is 107*c

 

I posted this question a couple pages back and didn't really get a response so forgive my redundancy. Anyway, I was wondering how successful, or if people have tried to get the black monitor lid like on the E6500 Latitudes on their M4400 through Dell. Can I order my M4400 with it, can it be replaced if not? I am ready to order can't wait!

 

Hard to belive. In my Inspiron 9400 there is enough room for a 2.5" hdd and there is still plenty of free space. Maybe an alternative is a 1.8" SSD, e.g. the Intel X18-M (250MB/s read, 70MB/s write, now below 500 Euro).

 

I don't know, but the rippleback for me sets it apart.....I'm still in production...wont' have mine for a week or so....(I hope)