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

the cd/dvd drive sucks. it freezes my comp. when i try to install the updated drivers off dell.com this is what i get



there are 3 drivers on dell.com. i think i got the right one. i took the top one. the middle is BD

can u help me out? i NEED to play a game lol

holy margin rape batman

 

I think you just have the wrong driver. If you don't have the blu ray, then you either have a Lite On (PLDS), an LG/Hitachi (HLDS), or a Samsung/Toshiba (TSST) DVDRW. My first XPS 16 had the Lite On, which doesn't have any driver updates. My replacement has the LG. Try the device manager to see exactly which cd drive you have. Is your CD drive not working at all?

 

i have the optiarc dvd+-rw ad7640s ata
it works. just freezes my comp on ejection, sometimes just makes noises anf doesn't like run the disc, just lags the comp...

 

WOW that is... pathetic I bought a zagg shield kit for my mini9 a while ago. It... turned out very very bad, I had tons of air packets trapped which WOULD NOT come out. Also yea it had size issues around the rounded corners. The only thing that worked was the cover for the touchpad... and I had to rip it off when I returned the kit to zag for a refund.

 

Interesting, do you have any pics? I bought this remote off ebay, sits nearly flush in the express card slot, about 1mm sticks out when in storage to remind you it is there.

 

Fits perfect in a Wide 15.4" Built Ny Neoprene Sleeve with 6 or 9 cell battery. Very snug fit which to me is better then oversized loose fit.The 9 cell battery actually acts a s a carrying handle on the side.


http://www.builtny.com/image/imageP.../images/3079.jpg&useCache=1&image_quality=100


The Timbuk2 Pro Planet Sleeve fits perfect with the 6 cell but with 9 cell does not work at all

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/Pop...=us&l=en&cs=19&sku=A2465508&price=35#Overview

 

So my wife has complained about her "N" key popping off, has anyone else had this problem? She showed me how she does it, and it seems that the keyboard on the 16 is of a lesser quality than the 13 that I have.

 

That's funny, I thought the SXPS keyboard was probably the best Dell ever built when I used it. Seemed very sturdy. She probably just got a defective one from the factory. Call Dell and they will send out a tech to replace it.

 

does anyone have any free shipping coupons for my SXPS 16 im about to order?

 

seems like any xps over $999 qualifies for free shipping

 

Yeah, its a temperature monitoring/fan speed utility...

 

so any ideas on this cd/dvd stuff?

 

do you have your BIOS up to date? A07 i believe

 

o reallyyy? where do you see that?

 

No pics, but here is a link for the same one I have that shows a photo. Yours looks better I think, especially if it only sticks out 1mm.

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=2541474&CatId=607

 

Free shipping on select* XPS-branded products over $999. (Before taxes and fees)

Limited Time Offer!

Free (3-5 Day) Shipping with online purchase of XPS-Branded Laptops $999 or more. Free Shipping does not apply to the XPS 1730. Valid for U.S. Dell Home Co. new online purchases only. Free (3-5 Day) shipping offer available in Continental (except Alaska) U.S. only. Electronics and accessories purchased with your system will count toward the minimum purchase amounts but will not receive free shipping. Handling charges may apply.


My apologizie, it does not include xps 1730. Also vaid in US only, i take it your or not in the states?, my apoligizies again.

 

I understand your frustration. You might check your recovery CD's and see if anything relates to your specific DVD drive. You could Google the model number and see what shows up for firmware updates, or you could check the Sony site. Sony/Optiarc is typically a fine DVD drive...you are the first I have noticed to have the non Blu-Ray. If you haven't loaded much on your computer, you could try a factory image restore and see if that helps. A clean Vista install might also help. I think all of the Dell studio models use the slot load DVD drives, so you might check the Dell site for other studio models and see if they list updates for your DVD drive. If it were me, I would update the BIOS, and then try an Image Restore. If neither of those solved the problem, I would bite the bullet and call tech support. They may or may not tell you to do anything different than anybody else has, but at least they can walk you through the process, and then get your drive or the whole computer replaced if either or both is defective. Good Luck!

 

I hear this BIOS thing alot, and im not to computer wisdom kind of person, so what is a BIOS and how would i go about updating it?

 

I'm not computer tech saavy either. All I have learned has been through trial and error...mostly error. BIOS is the very first thing that loads when you start your computer, then the operating system or "Vista" loads. If your computer is running ok, I wouldn't be too concerned about updating it. The updates are typically minor tweaks to improve performance or solve compatibility issues. The dell support site lists the updates, all you do is download it, save it, then click the icon. All of the updates to date have been "recommended". If it was something critical, it would be listed as "urgent".

 

oh kk now is there an auto update for this or? and what is the site to get all theses updates?

 

You just go to the main Dell site...and then click on support, and go from there. Here is a link you can try:


http://support.dell.com/support/index.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&~ck=mn&~ck=mn


My advice is if it's not broke...don't fix it. I have the A05, which is what mine shipped with, and it's running fine. The latest is A07.

 

did you just recieve your computer? would it be a good idea to do a clean restore with Vista?

 

My computer is about 3 weeks old, so I would consider it still new. I did not do a clean Vista install because I am not having any problems, and because I would not be able to do that without help. I would have to read up on how to do it, or get somebody to walk me through the process, especially with Vista. I would aslo be concerned about deleting the recovery partition on the hard drive, which for me is very useful. More advanced folks like to do the clean install to free up hard drive space and get rid of some of the pre installed software. If you are not having any problems with your computer, just relax and enjoy it, it's working the way it's supposed to.

 

kk sounds like a good idea, and your heat has that been relativly low then corect? I know this heat issue people tend to freak out and that doesnt help. I cant wait for mine and it should be in red

 

The bad ones (which is MOST SSDs) are actually a lot slower overall than a slow hard drive, and less reliable. They have HORRIBLE write speeds and freeze up your computer constantly.

Basically if you get a flash hard drive, you want it to be an Intel or Samsung...and they're both REALY expensive, but they also work (and are incredibly fast too). Most everything else is just cashing in on the "SSD" name to sell you garbage that's barely functional.

Are you sure it really needs it? Do you know why? Normally when something claims to need Business it's to log in to a Windows domain. They removed the ability to do that from Home Premium, but you can still access Windows domain resources by just giving it credentials when prompted.

Personally, I would NEVER agree to log a personal machine into a Windows domain (ditto for the Mac equivalent, etc.) They could be doing ANYTHING to your system at that point, which is unacceptable to me.

So....I'd want to know what's going on that they're claiming that. Heck, I use Vista Home Premium on my work's domain with no problems, and used some "Home" XP installs too. Worst thing is Microsoft seems to have prevented Outlook from saving my password when I log in (just so that Business can have another "feature").

The way they sell multiple versions of the same OS is a bit goofy, but I actually like it because the alternative was the bad old days when there were two totally separate and only partially compatible operating systems, both of which were lacking important aspects of the other.

 

I think you will be satisfied. The first XPS 16 I ordered did have what I consider heat issues. The touch pad area would get very very hot to the touch. Also, it would not lie flat...it would wobble from corner to corner so something about the case was uneven. My replacement system does not have any issues so far. It will get warm, but not hot like the other one did. I also ordered the 9 cell battery, which will lift up the back of the laptop about an inch or so, giving it better airflow. Be sure to post some pics if you can because I would like to see the Red. Most of us have the black. I am curious to know if the palm rest and touch pad areas are red too?

 

I really wanted the SSD, but when I ordered mine there was a free upgrade to the Seagate 500GB 7200rpm that seemed at the time just too good to pass up. Now that I have it, the extra space is NICE for sure, but I only notice a fraction of real world difference in speed as opposed to the 5400rpm drive on my old Inspiron. Alot of folks on the Alienware thread seem to be happy with the OCZ Vertex series of SSD drives. Like you said though, still kinda pricey, considering the capacity.

 

I'm in the states, i just never saw that coupon. i might try to negotiate with them tomorrow. in other news

I JUST ORDERED MINE! yess! finally!

 

I ordered a red one also. Estimated shipping date is not till 6/26 though.

 

Did any of you order from the outlet? If so what came in the box with your machine? We ordered my wifes from the outlet, and basically all it came with was the computer and the charger, no media or anything, not even the slip cover. Is this normal? Im not to concerned I have all the media from my SXPS13 that we can use, but just seems a little strange.

 

I've ordered many SXPS 16's from the Outlet, and they ALL came with the CD or DVD media to reload. They also come, of course, with the AC adapter and cord, but no slip covers.

Just call XPS Customer Care...I'm sure they'd send you out a complete set for free.

 

As a very "experienced" SSD user/owner, I'd say that Wolfpup is overgeneralizing SSD's. The first generation SSD's all (except Intel) utilized a JMicron controller, which by it's nature, would cause "stuttering" or pausing occassionally if too many processes were writing to the drive. There were some methods (tweaking) discovered to minimize it, and in fact, most of those drives were very fast on reads (2-3x faster reading than the fastest hard drive), and writes were about equal to a hard drive. Now, there is a new controller being used, the Indilinx, which is designed properly and contains built in cache memory that basically rids of the pauses and greatly increases your read and write speeds. As an example, I have TWO 30GB OCZ Vertex SSD's in RAID 0 (two drives striped together to give twice the performance of one), and I get over 400Mb/s on reads and over 200Mb/s on writes!!! Maybe Wolfpup can show me a traditional spinning hard drive that does anywhere close to that when using RAID 0 on two drives!

All in all, SSD's are great. There are some "lemons", but do your research, read some benchmark tests, and you'll be happy you made the change. Once you have an SSD, you never go back to noisy, crashing, spinning drives!

Just look for SSD's using the Indilinx controller (OCZ Vertex and G.SKILL Falcon right now, and many more very soon). Or Intel or the 2nd generation Samsungs, as the 1st generation were slow too.

 

Normal, they cheap out on everything... Normally, you just get the computer, cords, battery, and OS reinstall.. Sometimes they will throw in the Driver CD, and others, but It all depends on how they feel I think.

 

That isn't very accurate. I have orderd about 10 systems from the outlet and they have all came with:
-Computer (of course)
-Power Cord and Adapter
-All reinstallation media (OS, Drivers, Apps, etc)
-Any other accessories that were listed with the system in the outlet
-Manuals

The only thing not included is original box and material (ie fance XPS box, etc)

EVERY one of the oultet systems I have bought were flawless and still had the factory fresh smell

 

oh ill post pics for ya when i receive it, i believe the red is only on the back of the screen, the key board looks nice black so i don't think they would have changed anything else red but i will see soon.

Also With the computers i would be able to replace the harddrive if I wanted to correct?

 

Hi Guys,
I'm sorry but I can't read through the previous 500 odd pages to find my answer and search has been rather useless.

My question. How in the hell do you turn off the side mounted lights? or dim the over all system LED's.

I'm not one to turn the laptop off, and the lights are driving me nuts

Cheers
James

 

Unplugging them is the only way I believe.

 

Guys, I need some help... I really wanna the Travel Remote:
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...&cs=04&c=us&l=en&dgc=SS&cid=39888&lid=1022056

but dell does not sell or send it in/to Brazil... I was wondering if any of you would be willing to do me this giant favor. I could send the money via paypal or something... Tried to find it on amazon (some sellers ship to other countries) with no luck. =\
My email adress is [email protected]
Thanks in advance.

 

Even though that is for the 1340 it should work for the 1640 also.
As for international shipping, check ebay. I bought that remote off ebay for $14 instead of dells' $23

 

Hey guys,

Not too sure if this has been covered or if someone could kindly point me to where I could find the info.

I was originally intent on getting the studio 1555 but i decided to place an order for the xps 16 instead.

If i was to get the studio 15 i was going to get the 900p screen option as i hear anything less can look bad and anymore would be xtra.

when it came to deciding on the screen for the xps 16 though, the only two options available were the 720p and the full 1080p. I chose the 720p cuz i couldn't justify the xtra $300AU or so I had to fork out for it.

Do you think I might regret it later when it comes to a bit of gaming and general usage?

 

You won't know what you're missing with the 720p screen, as long as you don't sit next to a guy with the 1080p screen.

The "lower" end screen I'm sure is just fine, like pretty much all laptops on the market. It's not like its a step down from anything.

I'm really enjoying the RGB LED personally, its bright, vibrant, and there's almost more real-estate than I know what to do with. I wouldn't enjoying a downgrade after using this, but in your case, I wouldn't worry about it too much, although I think the extra 250 CAD I paid was more than fair for the benefits I get out of this. I'm glad I did it.

 

I'd pay more for the lower resolution screen, personally. I wouldn't want that resolution on a 22" screen, let alone 16"!

 

yeah im a bit afraid of the 1080p being a little too small for a 16 inch screen. and by small i just mean that since there is so much space to work with, i dont want all my icons to be the size of a pea and the text microscopic.

 

I have a 22 inch @ 1680 on my desktop, and two years ago when I bought it was small, but now going form my 1640 to that is like going back to 640x480 resolution. It's hideously gigantic! That, and I lean really close to my 1640 too.

That said, sizing is relatively adjustable in Vista, but I just installed Windows 7 and everything is back to a good size. Icons are perfect and text is an absolutely readable size (even on websites). The only difference is its absolutely crystal clear because of the higher resolution. I still have the extra room to work in photoshop which is a huge plus!

 

It will definitely seem microscopic. Well to me it was and I have pretty good vision. What I did to get around that was set the DPI higher and used the zoom feature in firefox to make text more visible.

 

hello all....

is there anyone that is having a problem when connecting speakers to the headphone jack? I am connecting a logitech surround system to the headphone jack and keep getting the static noise when the laptop is connected on the ac power supply.

when i unplug the power adaptor the noise goes off.

i then connected sennheiser headphones and the static noise was not there..

the speakers work fine when connected with other systems xbox, dvd player, tv

so the problem is teh power adaptor... what i would like to know if the fault is in the adaptor or it's a common issue with this laptop ?

 

i think it would have something to do with the earthing in your house..just sit barefoot next to the laptop and then plug in the speakers and the laptop and touch the laptop all around with your hand..if the static stops you can rest assured that its an earthing issue..

PS: Do at your own risk.

 

can someone help me out in choosing the best wireless card out of the following:

Intel 5300 Ultimate-N Half Mini Card (3x3) with MyWiFi ($45)

Intel® 5300 WLAN Wireless-N (3x3) Mini Card ($45)

Intel 5150 Wimax, Wireless-N combo card (this one is $15 more than the other two)


I don't know the difference between them
Please advise asap thanks,

 

Man, did you buy it from someone in the us? Could you give me the link? tks