===> The Official Studio XPS 1640 Owner's Thread<===

Anyone notice that the screen goes all wacky when the battery is low? Like the whole thing will turn bluish, as if you were looking through a piece of cellophane. Is that by design?

 

Hi All,

I guess this is the right place to post in my issue. I am having a 3 months old XPS 1640 now with Windows 7 Ultimate Genuine. I am having the DELL Bluetooth mini card in this machine. For GOD knows what reason, I am just not able to use the Widcomm drivers on this machine. The bluetooth goes to Microsoft BT Enumerator.

I have tried installing uninstalling re-installing.. the works... but still no luck.

I just want to use the Widcomm stack rather than the MS one.. PLease help!!

Thanks!

CK

 

UPDATE: I even tried using the trick to rename bth.ini...this renders my bluetooth device un-findable..I cannot install the drivers..since no BT device is found. I had to revert to the bth.ini..Please try an help if possible!

Thanks,

Ck

 

Try downloading the drivers for Vista..that worked for some people.

 

I've been off this forum for a while. Is 500gb still the max size HD that can be fitted to a 1640?

 

From Dell...there are notebook 1TB drives, though, that you can after-market on there.

~Ibrahim~

 

Hello All,

I own a Dell Studio XPS 1640 w/ a native screen resolution 1600 x 900 and an ATI 3670 gpu.

I recently installed a clean install of Windows 7 64. Now my screen is limited to a peak resolution of 1366x768 with no higher resolution possible. I have tried installing the official dell driver (8.631.0.000 a09), the microsoft update driver (8.632.1.200) , the mobility-modder + ATI Catalyst (8.681.0.0) and the "rollback driver" option (8.56.1.15) but with no success on any of them in restoring my native resolution of 1600x900.

Does anyone have any idea about fixing/restoring the ability of my system to use its native resolution of 1600x900 on Windows 7 64 ?


thank you

justin

 

Interesting...tried using Driver Sweeper in Safe Mode after doing a regular uninstall?

~Ibrahim~

 

I had a similar problem on Vista x64. Actually, i just wanted a custom resolution that was lower than native.

In any case ... instead of trying to find a driver that had the custom resolution I wanted (1600 x 900), I used PowerStrip, which is capable of creating a custom (modified) driver to support any resolution you can think of.

Works for me

 

If I got Microsoft Office preloaded when I got my computer and wanted to upgrade to windows 7 with a fresh install, how would I get office back on my computer?

 

Use this:

http://magicaljellybean.com/keyfinder/

to find the key for Office. Download the trial of Office from MS' site and enter the key to validate it.

~Ibrahim~

 

Thanks.
But there isn't a more straight-forward approach to do it from dell?

 

Like a CD or something? Yeah, possibly. You could ask.

But, I wonder if they'll have/get you the key, as I could see them just blowing you off or tell you to do an upgrade. Still, they might.

~Ibrahim~

 

How do you connect dell studio xps 16 laptop to regular(non HDMI) tv?
Hi, I had recently purchase Dell Studio XPS 16 laptop. I want to connect this laptop to regular TV.But I don't know required accessories(cable etc.) and setups. Laptop has VGA, Display Port connectors.Please Advice.
-Thanks

 

hey guys. got my new xps 1640. it is great. quick question. i am using this for recording purposes. i found this great tool on here. the quick audio recording thing. its great for when i have a quick idea in my head and i can just press record on my desktop instead of opening up my program or what have you. thing is. the playback sucks. i keep getting clicks. you guys know of any fixes for that? thanks.

 

Depends on the TV: what connections does it have? Any DVI/VGA? Some do. If not, a VGA to component adapter would be next-best.

Clicks? Like what kind of clicks? Could it be the clicks with the mouse that Windows' makes? Or are you using a microphone?

~Ibrahim~

 

no its now a mic issue. im just talking about the built in mic for the quick audio recording.

 

i meant its "not" a mic issue. pardon.

 

Hmm...interesting. I don't have any clicks with mine.

Just to be sure: my mic is uber-sensitive. It can't be something, like a clock, right? Is it sporadic or rhythmic?

Tried using Audacity? Just to see if it happens there?

 

yes i downloaded audacity, as itr is my favorite "go to" program for quick audio. by the way. are you using this xps 1640 for recording pourposes?>

 

Hi Guys,

I decided on posting my query in this thread, as I really hope to GOD it gets me quicker replies! Anyways, I have a DELL 1640 (Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit). I don't think the rest of the configuration matters much WRT the kind of issue I have!

I have the DELL 370 internal Bluetooth module. As I installed the Windows 7, the BT defaulted to the Microsoft stack. I wanted to install the WIDCOMM stack from the DELL site. Downloaded it, ran, restarted, Still using the M$ Stack!

(NOTE: I have undertaken the following already, please check before advising further, thank you!)

1. I removed all BT devices (enabled view hidden devices), deleted the WIDCOMM installation, restarted, reinstalled, no effect, still takes the M$ Stack!
2. Ok, enough, I go to %windir%\inf directory, rename the bth.inf and bth.pnf files, remove all BT devices from Dev. Manager, restart.
3. No M$ drivers installed now! Ah the relief! But now when i try to install the WIDCOMM drivers, it just cannot install them right! It shows my BT module with the yellow exclamation in the dev mgr...

I am at my wits end...

Simply speaking, I Just want to use the WIDCOMM stack in Windows 64 Bit Ultimate for my Dell 1640 XPS's BT 370 module, and not the M$ Stack...

A little help here, please!! Anyone...

Thanks if someone answers a weary man!

CK

 

1. If you want. I guess it would make a small difference.

2. It took me over 3 weeks to get my copy from dell once I ordered it. Then again unless you want to pay street price it will take just as long from anywhere else. Also you can't beat the great price of free.

3. I am happy to report the W7 comes with basically no bloatware. I know it is hard to believe. Also if you are upgrading from Vista to W7 I would format your drive and do a clean install which would ensure that there is not bloatware on your computer.

4. Yes. When I installed W7 not all the drivers were upgraded by Windows Update. You need to go to Dell's site and download the Vista drivers (they all should work with W7) for whatever is not working on you laptop. I would get the ATi drivers from ATi as they will be the most up to date.

5. W7 does not need any really significant tips or tweaks. I would get(google) these programs though...

VLC media player (plays almost all media files)
Combined Community Coded Pack (plays almost all media files)
DVDVideoSoft Free Studio (download, convert, burn, do it all program)
CCleaner (cleans you computer up)
uTorrent (do with it as you wish)
7-Zip (great extracting program)

Thats all folks

 

Not really, just chat.

@ck

Which drivers are you using? Try downloading the ones from the XPS 13's W7 driver download page.

~Ibrahim~

 

Ok, new question here. I cant seem to find the "new thread" button so i am posting on here.

every time is try and view video anywhere on the internet it freezes and i cant do anything. it says its not responding and all i can do is close with the red x button. i have tried this in firefox and explorer. regular video works on my computer though. such as a videos ive uploaded from my camera. any ideas guys? thank you
keith

 

Update Flash and Java for a start.

 

This also is not a response but a question.

I'm supposed to be getting a new 1640 replacement for a 1530 that has been nothing but trouble. I was told that the 1640 specs would be close to the ones I have now. Can you tell me what I should expect in my 1640 and any upgrades I should ask for?

I don't use the computer for gaming, mostly for documents, photos, lots of internet browsing.... the everyday stuff.

Thanks.

XPS 1530: Intel Core 2Duo CPU T 8300 @ 2.40 GHz, 4.00 GB, NVIDIA GeForce
8600M GT

 

So long as you get the same amount of RAM and a similarly clocked CPU you should be fine. Actually I think the 1530 used Conroe CPUs and this uses a Penryn, so at the same clock speed it would be roughly 10% faster on average.

The GPU would be a concern if you played games, as AMD/ATi doesn't support their mobile GPUs-you have to resort to hacks or hacked drivers to get updated drivers installed. But that shouldn't really be a big deal if you're not playing games. In terms of performance the GPUs are roughly the same. (A Radeon 3670 is roughly the same as a Geforce 8600GT, since 120 of ATi's cores is roughly equal to 32 of Nvidia's.)

EDIT: So anyway the 1640 seems like a very reasonable replacement from them, and for your purposes will probably be roughly the same or even slightly faster.

 

Wow had to go all the way to page 3 to find this thread, well my 1640 is supposed to be delivered to me within the next hours, so i thought id post

Specs:

C2D 2.8ghz
1920x1080 Screen
320 7200 RPM Hd
ATI 4670 1gb
4gb ram
Slot-Load Blu-Ray Drive

 

how did u get the bluray? i didnt see this option when i got mine :\

 

I have *NO* idea what's going on, but Dell has inexplicably removed Blu Ray as an option from both the 1640 and M15x, if not other systems.

I can't imagine what to make of it. Personally I wouldn't order a Dell without it.

 

off to ebay it is but in reality i dont need the bluray seeing as i just get the mkv hmm to buy it for $90 for not..

 

hi there, i've got a sxps 1640 and i have a some kind of trouble with the screen.
the screen it self has no problems or whatsoever, but it's about the border around it. it seems that there's a gap between the white "shell" of the lid and the black glossy borders.
here are some pics to illustrate:


(i can't get any closer shots, these were taken with my cell)
at some places the gap is nearly 1mm.

Can anyone possibly tell me what I should do?

 

Looks like Dell has a prototype XPS 16 with an OLED screen: http://www.engadget.com/2010/01/08/studio-xps-16-oled-concept-laptop-hands-on/

 

chat up dell on the site and have a tech come out and replace your screen.

 

I didnt buy it off dell directly, off a reseller and it came with blu-ray so i didnt say no .

Ive been trying it out and it doesnt seem like i have anything to install/uninstall on this...how do i know if there are drivers out of date or etc!

im using a ATI 4670 and i tried WoW on ULTRA and i get 60fps constantly....and i havent installed a single driver

 

i cant find the post new thread on this forum so i am posting here again. i have the xps16 and the screen doesnt seem to play the same quality as when i got it a few weeks ago. when watching hd quality on youtube it seems almost pixelated on full screen. whats this all about. i watched a video that had seemed perfect the first few days and now it doesnt look as good.

 

what videocard driver (catalyst) do u have?

 

these are my specs. thank you for any help.

 

woops. sorry. here you go.

1 224-6025 XPS 1640, Intel Core 2 Duo P8800 (2.66GHz/1066MHz FSB/3M L2 Cache)
1 320-8178 Obsidian Black High Gloss Finish XPS 1640
1 311-9977 6GB, DDR3, 1067 MHz 2 Dimm forXPS 1640
1 320-8180 15.6 inch Wide Screen 16:9 900p HD+ WLED LCD W/2.0MP, XPS 1640
1 320-7337 ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3670 - 512MB
1 341-8989 500GB 7200RPM Free Fall SensorSeagate Hard Drive
1 330-1917 DELL RESOURCE DVD,BACK-UP XPS 1640
1 330-6222 Windows 7 Label
1 420-6436 PC-Restore, Dim/Insp
1 420-6576 DELL WELCOME,Software Dimension/Inspiron
1 420-7938 Dell Connect 2.1
1 420-9100 Dell Dock Consumer
1 420-9691 DataSafe Local BackUp 2.0 Basic
1 421-0187 Dell Support Center Software 64 Bit 2.0
1 421-0323 Windows Live Search,Multiple User Interface
1 421-1193 Download Store Links
1 421-1737 Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium, 64bit, English
1 421-0092 DELL-DOWNLOAD-FLAG
1 420-9352 Dell, Software, Wild Tangent Inc Games
1 430-2600 Integrated 10/100 Network Card
1 410-1883 ADOBE READER 9.0 MULTI- LANGUAGE
1 421-1361 MOD,SW,RXO,EZCD,10.3,DE,FI
1 421-1582 Cyberlink Power DVD 8.3 Playback
1 313-8874 8X DVD+/-RW Slot Load Drive
1 313-4783 Integrated High Definition Audio 2.2
1 430-3603 Dell Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini-card
1 410-2090 McAfee Sapphire MUI, 15-Month
1 312-0811 56 WHr 6-cell Lithium Ion P Primary Battery, for XPS 1640
1 420-8051 Microsoft Works 9.0, English For Inspiron
1 950-3339 3 Year Limited Warranty
1 993-3498 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus At-Home Service, Extended Year(s)
1 993-3497 Dell Limited Hardware Warranty Plus At-Home Service, Initial Year
1 992-1212 QualexServ Next Business Day In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis Plus Nights and Weekends, 2 Year Extended
1 992-4460 QualexServ Next Business Day In-Home Service after Remote Diagnosis Plus Nights and Weekends, Initial Year
1 960-3652 Warranty Support,2 Year Extended
1 960-8710 Warranty Support,Initial Year
1 412-0359 Soft Contracts - Qualxserve
1 991-1179 LoJack Theft Recovery Service,XPS - 1 Year DHS
1 420-8655 LoJack Theft Recovery Softwarefor Laptops, 1 Year
1 467-7771 Thanks for choosing Dell!
1 988-7707 2GB DATASAFE ONLINE 1.1 FOR SDO/DIM/INS/XPS
1 988-0099 To activate your online backupaccount, go to Start, Programs, DataSafe Online
1 420-9518 DATASAFE ONLINE 1.1 2GB
1 330-0171 S and P Drop-in-Box Marcom forDHS Notebooks
1 320-0985 15.6 HD+ WLED Display Obsidian Black, 2.0 MP Webcam
1 421-0188 Facial Recognition
1 421-1010 Dell Webcam Central v1.4
1 330-5125 Intel Core 2 Duo Label

 

and oh this is perfect. dell doesnt recognize my service tag. of course. i bought this directly through dell.com.

 

nevermind. i was entering the express service tag.

 

but the problem im having doesnt seem to be anywhere in the dell support

 

A new member for the S-XPS 1640.

I got it from this dude from craigslist for cheap and man, is this one machine.

 

what are you using it for?

 

hey guys..using a dell xps1640 with the following configs:

T9600 (2.8ghz)
4670 1GB
4GB DDR3 RAM
WLED 1920*1080 Screen

I tested 2 games, Sims 3 and GTA4..All worked fine for a couple of minutes then just crawls down to an unbearable 10fps..The worst part is that if i quit the game, the notebook crawls down

I tried monitoring them with CPUZ and RMClock and it shows a multiplier of 2x as the laptop slows down..After 20 minutes it then goes up to around 6x...

What should i do? Is it recommended to use throttle stop?

 

Try updating the GPU drivers...I don't think the 1640 throttles?

~Ibrahim~

 

I did..I have the latest driver and ATI Catalyst 9.1..tried disabling power play but it didn't work..the CPU temp reached around 75 while playing , which I think is not that high to worry about..but the multipler may even reach 2x as the game crawls down and I exit to desktop..

 

love my xps1640 great build quality minus the little wobble but fixed that by going to a craft store, shame battery isnt that good. looking into ordering the 9cell, can someone with pics post what the 1640 looks like with 9cell and how long it lasts on avg using balanced or high performance. i dont game, just alot of web and itunes and farmville

 

You might want to use the Rightmark CPU Utility to force the cpu to stay at a 10x multiplier. I also have it monitor the temp. I get around 100 degrees F and can get to 160F. but I average 140F.

 

There are plenty of pictures available at NotebookCheck's review of the XPS 1640 (4670).

~Ibrahim~