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

Ok I will try that. A couple questions please bare with me I just don;t know all of this stuff. Should I uninstall my recent version of flash in add or remove programs and then do I download the "plug in for windows" from this page? http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/flashplayer10.html
or....? do I download it from somewhere else?

 

This is correct address. You don't need to uninstall. Plugin version is for chrome and firefox I think.

 

tried that and no difference. It shows that it is in my plug-ins in firefox but then when I right click on the video it still says the other version that i already had. grrrr

 

Reboot usually fix it.

 

nope. that would be too easy. this is so great. i really thank you for your help. now im noticing this little popping sound every once in a while. light popping sound. awesome.

 

im not being sarcastic about you helping me. haha. just the other stuff. i do appreciate your time.

 

Guys, here's the solution to the RGBLED problem with the over-saturated colours (especially reds)...

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=453721

 

@PDZ

Good, glad it's fixed. lol, it doesn't matter much.

@krilla

Right-click Desktop, ATI Control Panel thing. Click the button at the very top left that says "Graphics" with a little black arrow next to hit. Click AVIVO Video at the bottomish.

Try the tab called "Basic Quality", but it's a long-shot.

Hmmm...it looks like a buffer issue. Can you take some time and head over to Apple's trailer site? Download a 1080p trailer and watch it. (Hit "watch trailer" arrow and hit Download 1080p) Still pixelated?

~Ibrahim~

 

Ibrahim,
I first tried the ati control panel but am not finding the same thing you are looking at. All I get is catalyst control center, screen res, gadgetsm personalize, refresh, view and sort by. I did however find the tab that lets me choose from standard quality and vivid and theatre and so on in the catalyst control center under advanced settings.....but it only seems to mess with the brightness. I went and did the apple trailer and it looks great. no problems. but youtube things still look pixelated. i keep getting this popping sounds as well with the speakers. should I just call dell? I do enjoy working on these types of things but ? You know? What can you make of this? Thank you again
Keith

 

@ ikjadoon

Man, I know about that analog 5.1, but I don't know how could I connect that in my H T, once it doesnt have any analog inputs... Is there a converter to this kind of thing? Maybe a optical > analog?
:/
Tks

 

I installed W7 on my 1640 and I do not know where to get that hilarious webcam program that the computer first came with. The one that has the black menus and lets you add graphics and animations to the video you are recording. Does anyone know where I can redownload this program? Thanks.

 

@krilla

It may just be buffering issue, meaning it would depend on your videos. Youtube recently did a change with their settings, have you tried creating an account and messing with their own video settings? Tried changing to 480p?

@brazillian

lol, OK.

There probably are going to be some digital to analog converters, but they won't be cheap ($40-60, I'd say). I could only find optical to RCA, none optical to 3.5mm. And even those, those optical to RCA made it optical 5.1 to stereo RCA.

@paskowitz

My Dell Downloads is the site. Webcam Central is the program.

 

Abrahim,
I have had an account with youtube for years. I can't find a place to mess with there settings. I'm kind of hopeful thaat it isn;t my computer since the problem mainly exists with youtube. But...?

 

Try this:

http://www.youtube.com/account#playback/quality

 

I just got a 1640, I currently own one of the initial release units. Since my GF damaged the bottom I gave it to her and got myself a refurb.

I cloned my HDD and placed it into the new unit. For some reason Quickset isn't working. I tried to reinstall it and keep getting a "This is not a supported system" error when installing and then it closes.

Is there sort of solution to this? I'd like to have the ability to dim/brighten my keyboard again. The HDD that I cloned has Quickset functioning properly on the old machine.

 

Hmm...interesting. Do the lights turn on the touch-sensitive keys? Like are they lit?

Maybe small chance the cable got disconnected, maybe just the data and not the power?

 

The buttons work, as in I can turn on and off wifi pause play, change volume/mute. I can use function keys to turn dim the screen and whatnot.

Even when I try to uninstall quickset from the control panel I refuses to remove itself saying the system is not supported which is dumb.

Does Windows 7 have a repair system like Vista where I can just reinstall itself and remove damaged / corrupted system files without effecting anything else in the system like installed programs?

 

Would assume so....go to CMD, change the directory to C:/ (with the cd) and enter:

sfc /scannow

Might ask you to restart/enter a Windows 7 DVD. I would do try it myself to check the procedure, but I've tweaked some system files that I wouldn't like Windows to reset to their original settings.

~Ibrahim~

P.S. To the issue at hand: hmm...so just the LCD dimming isn't working? What about the keyboard backlight function? Can you try dimming it through Windows? Some people had some iffy screens. Once my 1645 just stopped dimming. I was just about to get the screen replaced, but some rebooting/hibernating/voodoo magic fixed it.

 

I did a windows repair/upgrade.

Now the quickset program is still there but not functioning properly, the function keys do work now, so I can dim the keyboard screen and whatnot, but I can't put the laptop to sleep, check battery level, or switch to external displays. Also I can't eject discs, all the other function buttons on the touch bar work except for that one.

I've tried to uninstall, reinstall but it keeps telling me that The system is not supported.

Also I'm having a little problem with the audio, when the something is loading and is intensive, and I'm listening to music, I get crackling/popping out of the speakers. Is there a way to fix this??? I do a lot of wireless network transfering while listening to Podcasts and whatnot so this is really annoying.

Thanks

 

Huh!

Try Googling the error code "this is not a supported system". Seems to be a common error and there are quite a few workarounds: run in XP SP2 compatibility mode, remove some bad Reigstry entries (make a backup!), and a few others.

Sound crackling: I think some people upgraded their BIOS' and it fixed it?

 

Hi guys, I just purchased a refurb XPS 1640. Its got pretty good specs for the price. P8700, 4670, 16" RGB 1080p., 4GB, 320 HD. The things it seems to be lacking are:
1. Backlit keyboard??? I assumed these were standard. Am I wrong?
2. Bluetooth
3. Slot loading DVD. It appears to be a tray system???

I love all the other specs on this system and I'm super excited about the screen. I plan on getting an aftermarket bluray drive. So, my question is can I upgrade all of these things on my own? Is the keyboard swappable with a backlit one? Can I add the internal bluetooth card? and can I replace the non-slot loading DVD drive with a slot-loading bluray drive???

Please let me know if this is possible as I may cancel the order if not. Thanks.

 

1. Backlit keyboard??? I assumed these were standard. Am I wrong?
Backlit is standard. Don't think you can configure it without it, probably too small a feature to mention in the specs if you got it from dell outlet.

2. Bluetooth
Bluetooth is provided by a internal card using a standard slot. If your machine didn't come with it you can get the right size card to go in the slot or use a usb bt dongle.

3. Slot loading DVD. It appears to be a tray system???
If you got a 1640 slot load should be the only option. There are ports around the slot load area that i think would prevent a tray drive from being an option. To upgrade this yourself would probably require buying dell's blue ray slot drive for the 1640 or a lot of research to find another compatible drive.

 

Just checked Dell outlet (didn't make it up, it's for real):
Studio XPS 16 - 1640
(System Identifier: 0G7TBG84)

* Studio XPS 16 (1640) Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo P8700 (3MB cache/2.53GHz/1066Mhz FSB) w/2.0MP Integrated Webcam
* No Operating System

System Price : $6,359.00

Operating System
No Operating SystemMemory
4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz (2 DIMMs)Hard Disk Drive
500 GB SATA Hard Drive (7200RPM) with Free Fall SensorVideo
512MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3670Media Bay
Slot Load Blu-ray Disc Combo (DVD+/-RW & BD-ROM)

I think it's a nice price . Maybe because it's got blu ray drive that's why

 

Thanks Peppe1. It just wasn't clear in the listed specs of the one I got. Most of the other ones had very clear labeling, but the one I chose did not. That makes me feel alot better about the purchase. I can pick up a bluetooth card on ebay for about 15 bucks. I get the system tomorrow!!!

 

So, I tried some configs in my HT and it seems like i'm getting 5.1 now. I configured it to output Dolby Prologic II... That's supposed to take a 2.0 auido and produce a 5.1. It sounds very nice - my center speaker is finnaly on!!
Movies, gamming... Everything sounds good. It probably isnt 5.1 true audio, but it's ok for now...
Could you be using the same config in your HT?

 

Hehe I googled the error message and the tool that's supposed to remove Quickset isn't supported by my syste I hunted down everything last registry entry from Quickset and Deleted the folder with the program. After doing so it installed fine, though the program doesn't start up I get control to functions, and radio options (does the 1640 have a Wifi catcher?)

Now my only problem is that when the CPU is in load, ie: transferring stuff wirelessly or installing something the audio on speakers starts to crackle/pop

 

Hi all. I was wondering if anyone can help me with an issue I have with using an external monitor via HDMI on this laptop. I have tried to search for solutions but have not come across any that have helped.

I have the first generations of the Studio XPS 16 so I have a RADEON 3760 with the RGB LED 1080p monitor. I have been trying to hook it up to several monitors and TV's. In every situation, the HDMI output looks horrible. Blurry text, colors aren't great, etc. When i plug it in via VGA, the quality is a lot better than the HDMI output. I am using 1080p resolution on the external displays, all of which are their native resolution. I've checked refresh rates, resolution settings, clear text settings, etc. I am using A12 of the BIOS and I've tried video card drivers from dell and ATI--all of which give the same results. Currently, I am testing this on a new SAMSUNG XL2370 LED 1080p Monitor.

Has anyone had this issue or know of a fix for this? Dell wants to replace my whole motherboard to fix this since they cannot find a solution to it. I even talked to the manager and he said he is "positive" that replacing the motherboard will fix it. I've heard of other people with different laptops having this problem and it is almost always a setting/configuration issue. Any advice or tips would help. Thanks!

 

@brazillian

It comes up as Dolby Digital, which may be 2.0, but I'd like to say it's 5.1, from my audio cues I'm hearing. Not positive, though.

@egm92

BIOS updated?

@jrs

Hmph...never heard of that. Could it be a setting on your TV? My Pioneer has PC/Video switch on HDMI inputs?

~Ibrahim~

 

I recently received a dell xps 1640 with the following specs:

Studio XPS 16 (1640) Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo P7450 (3MB
cache/2.13GHz/1066Mhz FSB)
Certified Refurbished
4 GB DDR3 SDRAM 1066MHz (2 DIMMs)
320 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
512MB ATI Mobility RADEON HD 3670
Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium
15.6 inch Edge-to-Edge FHD Widescreen WLED LCD (1920x1080)
Intel WiFi Link 5100 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
Dell Wireless 370 Bluetooth Module
8X DVD+/- RW(DVD/CD read/write) Slot Load Drive
6 Cell Primary Battery
STUDIO XPS 16 - M1640: 1 Yr Ltd Warranty, In-Home Service
after Remote Diagnosis, 24x7 Phone Support (Included In Price)

$749-$112.35 (15%off) = 636.65 +52.43
= $689.08

I am running the Adobe Creative Suite 4, mostly photoshop/ illustrator and after effects, Office and Quickbooks 09, and I think that by the benchmark improvements of the new i5, i7 chips this computer might not be that good of a deal for my use because of it's older intel chip.

I see that dell currently has the xps 16 with:

Genuine Windows 7® Home Premium Edition
NEW 2010 Intel® Core™ i5-430M (2.26GHz, 4Threads, turbo boost
up to 2.53Ghz, 3M cache)
Edge-to-Edge FHD Widescreen 15.6 inch WLED LCD (1920x1080)
4GB Shared Dual Channel DDR3
500GB 7200 RPM SATA Hard Drive
Slot Load DVD+/-RW (DVD/CD read/write)
6-cell Battery
ATI Mobility RADEON® HD 4670 – 1GB
Dell Wireless 1520 802.11n Half Mini-Card

$1,199.00-$200.00 = $999.00
S&H $12.95 Tax $69.93
= $1,081.88

My question is, should I return my xps and get the new one? My main intended use is multi-tasking with the adobe suite and I know that after effects and photoshop make use of the extra cores.

any advice is appreciated.

 

For those who have upgraded the RAM in your system to 8GB total, which type of sticks did you buy?

 

Only one type of memory:
204pin DDR3 SO-DIMM 4GB

204pin DDR3 SO-DIMM 8GB (4x2)

Many other vendors out there, but I had Newegg bookmarked (great vendor) and their filters can be linked directly.

If you asking for which brand to buy... Depends on how much you care. Timings are about the only difference and the net effect on performance is not much, 3-5% if that. I would just avoid the cheapest and slowest timings (of the one newegg stocks last choice Transcend).

 

I upgraded from A10 to A12, the problem doesn't happen as often as before but if I'm sending network transferring it still happens, just starts to crackle non-stop until the transfer ends. If it's sending at 3MB/s it happens very rarely but when my N settings are enabled & and it's sending at 8MB/s it just starts to make noise.

 

Hm...curious, curious, curious.

I don't know if this is with the network adapter or the sound. :/ There should be a few dedicated threads on this crackling here as I've definitely heard of this happening. Any luck with those?

Long shot: tried uninstalling IDT drivers and using Windows' generic?

 

I'm still trying to figure out of it's the network card or the speakers myself. It also seems to happen when something HDD intensive happens as well, like installing certain programs.

Another question about the speakers, is there any way to remove the sides that cover the speakers? Mine are all full of tiny dust. Is it possible to remove them and wash them? or is there something I could use to get dust out of the tiny little grooves?

Thanks

 

IDK...try the drivers or the threads.

A thin toothpick works all right, but have a air-duster ready to blow out the little smithereens. Check the service manual to see if you can find a way to get them out. Don't use a needle: it'll chip the black paint off, somebody was saying.

~Ibrahim~

 

Ok, back to an old thread....
Can the 1640 use 2.5" hard drives that are thicker than the normal 9.5mm?
The new WD 750gb and 1TB drives are 12.5mm thick and I'd love to upgrade.
But not if the drive won't fit!

 

hmm i opened up hwmonitor, its saying my chipset is T9550.. but i was pretty sure i got a p8800 whats going on?

 

When you say "chipset", I'm sure you mean CPU or Processor. Both the CPU's you listed are 2.66Ghz Core 2 Duo's, so the most believable method is to use CPU-Z. See what it says. Apart from removing your CPU heatsink to visually see, I'd believe CPU-Z almost 100%.

 

Hmmm... that's interesting. As lancorp suggested, download and run CPU-Z to confirm. As mentioned, they're clocked the same but the T9550 has 2x the L2 cache (6MB vs 3MB), which might put the T9550 ever so slightly ahead performance wise. On the downside, it's rated for 10W more TDP, so it's likely it will consume more power and output a bit more heat under normal conditions.

If I had to choose between them myself, I'd pick the P8800 due to the lower power draw and heat output. Confirm it first with CPU-Z though and go from there.

 

Is there a bloatware removal thread anywhere for the SXPS 1640, if so can someone please point me in the right direction! If there isnt what do you guys recommend to increase system performance? What is the Dell DataSafe Local Backup and is it worth $40.00?

 

So I have had my laptop for a few days now and every once in awhile it freezes then the screen flashes, comes back on and displays the message in the notification area: " display driver ati radeon family stopped responding and has succesfuly been restored " is this?

 

The Specification box in CPU-Z contains the exact information about model number that Intel writes into each CPU. You can always trust the information in that box.

 

I have the same issue with my P8800 and HWMonitor says it is a T9550 but CPU-Z says it is a P8800!

 

Is there a way to disable the keyboard backlight turning off automatically?

 

Found the solution on another thread:
right click on battery icon on right bottom corner -> windows mobility center -> keyboard brightness (click to it's icon) -> "Keyboard backlight will turn off if there is no activity for:" - set to "Never off".

 

Hi i finally dissasembly my 1640 on take some pictures for the mobo if you can hel us to have the pll to sumit to SetFSB for clockgenerator

you can look on the 1640 modification thead
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=421910&page=10

 

Purchased a Studio XPS 16 from amazon for 753.00 yesterday...It is pretty loaded (considering the price) with the P7450 processor, 1GB 4670 video card, Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit, 1920 X 1080 WLED Full HD monitor, etc. The resolution is what won me over. I could not find another laptop at this price with a solid dedicated graphics card and a better resolution than 1366 X 768.

 

Hey all, awesome and almost staggering knowledge base here. Here's my first post.

Just purchased a XPS 1640 today, with the following specs:

• C2D P8600 2.4 GHz
• 4 GB 800 MHz DDR2 RAM
• ATI Mobility Radeon M96XT 1 GB RAM
• 16" 1080p HD edge-to-edge WLED LCD
• 500 GB HD
• 8x multi DVD+-RW
• wireless draft n 802.11b/g/n card
• 2 MP webcam with facial
• Windows Vista Home Premium
• $643.72 2 day shipped w/insurance

Good deal? What's the FMV for the config above these days?

Later.
CIG

 

guys tell me something..

did you try to run Battlefield Bad company 2 at this machine?

and if yes pls tell me if it runs smooth at medium settings at least

i mean for the 4670 1GB model

 

So today I decided to run Mass Effect 2 on my system and it BARELY runs at it's lowest settings. This can't be right, someone please help me. My config is in my signature.