Precision M6400 Owner's Lounge

It's simply not acceptable in this class of a system and at this price point.

Dragos

 

But the Dell 9100 was a top of the line laptop at the time. It cost 2500 and at that time, I dont know that there were as many laptops much more than that. And my 9100 is totally solid but someone else on here said it was a "known" issue so much so that there was a mod of putting stuff beneath the keyboard.

My point was, what difference does it make? And based on the 9100 reports, (and that was a top of the line machine in its day), one review of flex may not reflect how they ALL are.

I mean, now that I see it on the covet, I actually KNOW what it is (flex). But these thinner laptops have very thin keyboards now. They are not as solid in the first place. The keyboard on the covet does sink down in the center-ish if I put my fingers on it and push down, but when typing, its fine.

It has ZERO affect on my typing and I type just like anyone does (quite fast actually).

I think its a minor issue people get excited about when it really doesnt even affect them other than when they are pushing on the keyboard in a way that is NOT typing. Its meant to be typed on, not pushed on.

I just think if you DONT buy this beautiful and solid machine because the keyboard will push down slightly when you put pressure on it, youre missing out on quite a laptop.

But thats why there are a gazillion models to choose from. CAuse we all have our own taste.

 

Well - Just got a call from the customer rep -- they have located a battery for my machine -- it is in the build phase. They said they will update when they have a ship date --

I'm assuming that it should ship no later than MONDAY of next week -- with any luck it will be delivered Friday -- if it is built in the US and not Malaysia. If It is built in Malaysia -- it will be another week after that.

 

and there are clearly other things you get for this price. Things that set this laptop above the rest.

I have now had 2 customer service experiences that were worlds better than I have EVER had in my 10 years of owning laptops. Ive dealt extensively with Gateway, Dell (in the past for my 9100) and Alienware (shudders).
Nothing has come close to the attention I am getting regarding customer support with this machine.

 

Dell has posted a new bios A01:

Fixes / Enhancements:
1. Fixed issue setting Admin password after inserting a hard drive
with no password installed.
2. Fixed issue where Computrace Setup option is grayed out if changes
are aborted.
3. Fixed issue where DCP may display multiple battery health warning
messages.
4. Fixed Wi-Fi Catcher hang issue on certain systems.
5. Fixed panel white screen flash when resuming from S4 under Vista.
6. Fixed issue where USB PowerShare might keep a device powered when
entering Standby.
7. Fixed issue where SMBIOS memory strings may be incorrect.
8. Fixed low performance issue in XP64 after S3 resume.
9. Fixed issue where some Setup options were not accessible with only
the keyboard.
10. Fixed incorrect Setup parallel port text.
11. Fixed issue where Admin password can be set when a hard drive password
exists.
12. Added SMBIOS support for reading/writing Password Changes option.
13. Changed default settings for Keyboard Illumination option.
14. Improved AC adapter detection.
15. Updated the Dell embedded diagnostics ROM image to build 4117.

 

I'm remembering the discussion of 64-bit OS compatibility and 32-bit software.

Just to let people know, I've had these difficulties with software on the Vista-64 M6400:

Adobe Audition 3.0 - can't get it to run. Unrecoverable system freeze on program launch.

Autodesk Maya 2008 Second Edition, X64 - Instability, crashing every half hour on avg. Think it's Quadro driver related. (Dell has only one Quadro 3700 driver right now.)

Nvidia NTune - Using certain features, like the hardware monitor feature, blue screens the system.

 

Does the 9-cell battery fit flush with the unit?

Online is showing smaller 6-cell battery for M6400. Is this correct?

Anyone owns/seen the 12-cell battery?

Anyone know if modular battery bay will/is available?

Thanks.

Putting together final system and hope to order tomorrow.

By the way online order still does not allow dual HD (no raid) with Vista Ultimate 64-bit so I hope to have time to phone in tomorrow to sort this out. My Dell rep has been missing in action since last Friday. Have left phone and email messages. Have to place order through him.

 

If you look at photos of the M6400, the battery is not at the edge of the notebook, so a 9 cell can't stick out.

One thing I noticed in that BIOS update: improved AC adapter detection. I wondering if this will be in the next BIOS for the other Latitudes and Precisions. Perhaps it would allow a lower wattage adapter depending on specifications.

Greg

 

Thanks a lot for the heads up!!!

 

Go for XP64.
I ordered my with 1gb of memory and 1 SSD, X9100 and 3700, then bought 8gb from newegg, I had a Super Talent 64 SLC drive from my old D820 recently upgraded, but when I got my M6400, it came with XP32 and Vista Ultimate 32bit, so chat with Tech support and this lovely guy send my two more operating system XP64 and Vista 64bit , so I now have 4 to choose from.
But I installed XP64 because compatibility problems with Autoship, and I can tell you this machine is a rocket, and the beauty is that I run 32bit software using full 8gb of memory, so, software like Rhino 3D, Alibre and Autocad runs much better and way faster than ever, also I use Algor 64bit.
I installed the two SSD drive in raid 0, and tested and have between 210 to 340 Mb/s read speed..