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

Quick question, is the backlit keyboard an option on the XPS 16 or does it come on all the models. If so, is there a way to adjust the brightness of the LED light?

 

Comes on all of them and you can turn it on or off but that is all.

 

No, it's the exact same thing.

 

dont know how to really explain this but i guess windows vista has a setting that when i push the character "L" on the keyboard my computer goes into Lock mode. anyone know where these settings are located so that i can turn that off. it gets annoying and i have to restart in order to type my login password that happens to contain an L ...i don't know if i activate these settings by accidently pushing something? any thoughts?

 

http://www.howtogeek.com/howto/windows-vista/disableenable-lock-workstation-functionality-windows-l/

 

Sweet!
Thanks for the useful link, I tipped your scale bro.

 

High, low, off.

 

There's a low? LOL

I've only turned it off by accident once, I like it.

 

It shouldn't be doing that unless you're holding down the Windows key, and that's not new to Vista. Before doing a registry hack, I'd see what's wrong that's causing that, like possibly your keyboard.

 

thats why i thought it was a "vista thing" im spanking new to it.
unlike xp where i know for sure you have to hold down the windows start key.

it was wierd..i tried to type my password andmy screen would lock i'd push the number 3 and something esle would happen..i had to do a cold shutdown. (holding the button) booted back up and all was fine. i wonder if i had push some feature on the keypad to activate that. but it was fustrating becuase i didnt know what settings to access to disable it without having to do a cold shutdown

 

Sounds like somethings wrong with they keyboard, but something's wrong!

 

Definitely sounds like something is wrong with you keyboard. By your previous description I thought maybe you were fatfingering it, but it sounds like you have an issue with the keyboard.

 

So far it only happened once lastnight. I was in a hurry to book a hotel reservation that i didn't notice if my pc was on standby or if i actually booted it up before the problem happend..anyways i will be monitoring it.


anyone got any good links to tweak (tips n tricks) and get to know vista a little better. my job is finally updating their systems to Vista as well so i will have plenty of time to digg all through it ;-)

 

I would love to see a picture of this - your 1640 on top of the NC2000. Please

 

sure prob late tonight or tomorrow. I have evenning classes after work.

 

what usb port are you connecting the Zalman to?

 

one of the two i have..i think the one by the hdmi port. why?
does it make a difference?

 

YAy.. my sxps just arrived.. im de-crapwaring it now.. woot. Its huge compared to my TZ.. pics later

 

nope, just wondering which port was most convenient to the cooler.

and you have 3. The eSata on the right side can be used too

 

hi i was wondering can u use the eSATA port as a USB port? because i tried putting in USB interface and it felt like its not suppose to go so i didnt force it in..

 

Yes, the eSATA port on the SXPS 16 is also a USB port. I have my USB thumbdrive in that port right now. I noticed it felt a little strange plugging it in the first time, but trust me, it works.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166532

 

With this port, its powered even if your laptop is off.. ie. you ca recharge an mp3 player for example. Cool.

 

Just the eSATA?
32 bit OSs added to U.S. site and upped 9 cell price to $190.

 

Oh, i meant any USB device you put into it.. it will be powered even if your laptop is off.

EDIT: Just this eSATA/USB combo port on the right hand. if you plug a USB device into it, it will recharge even if the laptop is off. none of the other USB ports work like this

 

From all 3 USBs or just the eSATA one?

 

Hey just a quick question.
My media panel (the end with the power button + the 'studioXPS' logo), seems to be bent like a hill where that logo is. It's very hard to notice but I''m a little concerned.

Is this normal or does anyone else have this?

I have opened it up (to fix my keyboard backlight - it wasnt even connected), and theres a nice little power device around this area that I have described. Maybe it's slightly 'warped' to make room for that?

 

Is there anything that I have to do, other than plug the device in cause I just tried plugging in my iphone into that port when the computer is off and it does not light up or charge for that matter.

 

There is an option to enable it, in bios...
check if its enabled on ur system...

 

check now and ill post back

 

I just checked and the e-sata option on the front page in the bios says none next to it.

I have done a clean vista install recently. must have deleted something.

could someone tell me how to get e-sata to work again

 

That doesnt seem normal; the top portion on mine (where the media and power buttons are) is perfectly flat.

Actually, the build on mine seems perfect, ive gone through and checked for some of the issues ppl have been talking about, and it seems 100% good.

The only small issue i have is the gap between the silver trim and body on the front; its too gapping for my liking, but, its probably normal. That and the thing reeks of volatile organic compounds (that new car smell).. which i did not get with my last 2 laptops.

The 1080p screen is also on the warm side; ive toned down the red, but, its still very warm.. esp. compared to my VAIO TZ, which is on the cool side (it uses the white LED backlight, which tend to be cooler/bluer). It was weird switching back and forth last night.

My original thought (last week) of sanding down the finish wont even be needed since the palm portion isnt THAT glossy; esp. compared to my PS3 for example. The gloss on the lid, i dont care too much about.

 

Dell sent a technician yesterday, he changed the power adapter and the whole motherboard. After more than an hour he reassembles everything and powers on. Problem not fixed.

At this point he is pissed at Dell saying Dell should just have sent me a new replacement and goes off to call them from his car. He never came back. I get a call later saying he will come back later in the day but he didn't come back.

I think I'm just gonna call dell later today and return the thing if I don't hear from them before noon.

Here is the message I'm getting when I turn on my laptop.

"The AC power adapter type cannot be determined. Your system will operate slower and the battery will not charge. Please connect a Dell 90W AC adapter or higher for best system operation"

 

If I were you, I'd request a replacement. This is basically what happened to me for a different problem. I was told it would be fixed, after a week it wasn't. I called and talked to the "Sales Resolution" team and they fixed it. They told me it would be weeks before I got a new computer, and I was fine with that, and it was at my door 4 days later. They even overnighted it to me. Just call the 800 number and when they ask you where to direct your call tell them the Sales Resolution team. Just say you were already talking to someone there and that they told you to call back and request to speak to them, anything else is a headache in dealing with Dell.

 

Thanks for the advice, I'll definitely try that to get in touch with them.
The thing is that I'm relocating to Japan for work at the end of the month, so if they can't send me a new one withing a week, then I'm better off just returning it and buying one in Japan(although I'd rather use my Canadian money and buy it here).

 

For those that didn't notice...the SXPS 16 deal is up today. It's the lower-end config. Upping the specs really doesn't save you much over a normal day.

EDIT:

Just as a followup...using my desired specs, it's actually better to not take the sale link.

Specs: 9550 CPU, 4GB, 1080p RGBLED, Blu-Ray, 5300 WiFi, BT

Sale Link: 2,139 (but includes 2 year warranty -- they don't let you pick 1year via this link)

Regular Link: 2,173 (with 1 year warranty, BUT includes a $100 gift card)

March Madness is not so hot this year.

 

Question: what is the best way to get rid of the recovery partition on an 1640 without doing a complete OS install? Can i just format the drive? Thanks,

 

You can format it by right clicking on it, but if you want to remove the partition and make it part of the C drive I think you'd need to either do a complete install or maybe a program like Partition Magic. I haven't used it in years, but I used to use it before partitioning was easy with XP/Vista.

 

Great. Thanks! I might just format it and use it for work files.

Im so, glad that it is accessible; on my Sony, the partition is blocked such that you cant even look at it or remove it (easily).. extra annoying since it takes up 6GB on a 32GB SSD and Sony doesnt ship with OS or driver discs.

 

You can go into disk manager and delete the partition, then resize the c partition to take over the space, or you can reformat the partition and use it as a second drive.

 

Is there really that much of a heat/power usage difference between the P8700 and T9550?

 

ahah sweeeeeet! you're the second person that vouched for it, i grabbed it a few days ago and am just waiting for it in the mail. Unfortunatebly i'm from Canada, so sites such as amazon, newegg and tigerdirect dont' work for me, they're just over priced. so in turn i had to default to ebay, sucker came out to 120 bucks CAD. SUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUCKS BUT i hope it's a great fix, the heat that comes off this laptop heats my room! unbearable!

Also eSATA can be used as a usb port AND used to charge devices through usb while the notebook is turned off?

what is undervolting?

 

For the people running Windows 7 Beta... are you having better luck with the colours on the 1640? Supposedly, its better at managing wide gamut displays.

Maybe i just need to get used to a wide gamut display?

 

For me, it was no different. The only thing that helped was adjusting the colors via ATI CCC (I can post my settings if you'd like). You can only do so much because if you completely correct one color issue, you create a bunch more.

See, now you know that even an average user that isn't a pro designer or something can easily be annoyed by the color saturation on the RGBLED.

 

I think i have the reds under control now. But, out of the box, its completely insane!

In CCC, I bumped up the brightness of the green and blue channels, while toning down the reds. Then i used the LCD brightness controls down to about 75%. It looks pretty good now and i will probably just get used to it over time. On photos and such, it gives it a warmer overall image.

 

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824

 

The 7% student discount can be applied to the SXPS 16 in addition to the $299 off and free 2nd day shipping. 2nd day shipping isn't showing up as free so I'm waiting for the chat to open up... Also see if I can get BR down. $170 to upgrade seems inflated to me lol.

 

Well, side note:
Anyone concerned about the gaming performance - I just finished the FEAR 2 demo with maxed out gfx (@ 1280x720 res and no AA + 4xAF) and it was awesome. Ran smooth as butter. There was occasional pause but no framerate issues.

Very enjoyable nonetheless.

 

hey guys quick question.. i have broadcom Netlink (TM) Gigabit Ethernet adapter and a Dell Wireless 1515 Wireless-N Adapter. Some people have been saying that I won't be able to connect my N router to the laptop...can someone confirm this..i know it says in the card n but someone pls confirm this? thanks.

 

Yes don't bee fooled. They have a $299 discount but if you upgrade to the specs you want, it will end up costing the same or more. It seems like they increased the upgrade costs for the processors and dvd drives etc. Great marketing trick tho. I was considering my purchase until I added the price up.

Frankly I don't see why everyone is all over the XPS16, given all the problems it has from what I've been reading. I'm purchasing a HP HDX16 soon.