Clean Windows 7 Install on XPS16?

Dell is sending me a replacement SXPS16 (the 4th one. The previous 3 have been SXPS13's that have all been defective).

I genuinely hated all the bloatware on the 13's, so would you guys advise doing a fresh install on the 16?

The computer comes with the proper disc to do that, right?

Would that be easier than going through and uninstalling all of the junk they put on the computer from the factory? The only programs I want are Fast Access and Dell Dock. I can't seem to think that I'll need any other of what they include.

Input?

 

You'll need Dell's Quickset software. The system should come with OS discs that you can use to perform a clean install. That would be preferable over uninstall method you propose.

Good luck!

 

So then my proceedure would be to insert the OS disc and boot up the computer.

Wipe out both partitions and do a clean OS install.

Then, set up my account and everything. Create a Recovery/backup partition, install my anti-virus of choice (NOD32) and do an immediate backup.

THEN, go online to Dell's website and download Quickset/Dell Dock/Fast Access, and install them. Then go about installing the rest of my programs and migrating all of my files over to the new computer as normal?

Are there any other inclusions, or unique setup features or options that come from Dell that are nice to have (either from a UI standpoint or a performance standpoint)? With my 3 other replacements, I've merely swapped harddrives over from one system to the next.

Is there anything I'd be missing if I just do a straight clean install like this?

Thanks for the help! They kind of jipped me on the build (essentially mirroring the specs of my SXPS13... only now I have a larger/heavier computer that has a significantly worse battery life), but hopefully I'll end up with a computer that isn't defective.

 

You'll enjoy the XPS 1640, luv mine. I'm not a gamer though, so no issues with heat. That's not to say that it doesn't get a little warm when multitasking, but not extreme by any means.

What are your specs?

 

Wiping out both partitions, installing Windows 7 from the OS DVD you'll get, and then updating the drivers via support.dell.com is the best way to go. You'll be able to get any additional software that you got that didn't come with a CD via the My Dell Downloads site.

 

Specs:

i7-720QM
Win 7 Ultimate
500GB 7200RPM drive
8GB DDR3-1333MHz RAM
15.6" FHD LED screen

I think that's the important stuff.

So I should completely wipe out both partitions and do a clean install. Got it.

Anything else I should look out for?

 

Wow 4 replacements? Damn what happened with all those others? Thats crazy

 

First one broke. Second one was an incorrect replacement (they sent the wrong computer, a base model SXPS13 to replace my fully loaded one). The third was even more of a bare bones model. Customer service continually lied to me, and it turned into a huge mess.

I'm not thrilled with the SXPS16 as the replacement. I bought the SXPS13 for a reason, but maybe it'll turn out OK and I won't have to deal with Dell again.

They certainly lost a customer over this one.

 

Report it to the escalation tea. Good luck mate

 

Already at the top tier, or so they say. Short of Michael Dell himself, the customer "care" people I've been dealing with will not allow me to move any further up the ladder.

My SXPS16 showed up today.

Nice. Old Bios revision and a 90W adapter. Plus, they left out a bunch of stuff (they were supposed to include a sleeve for the 16" computer, so I wouldn't have to go and buy another one, since my previous one was for an SXPS13).

So that makes 4 replacement computers unusable. It's only been 10 months since I bought my first SXPS13...

 

Which XPS 16 is it? And is it new or refurb?

 

It is supposed to be new.

It's an SXPS1640 I think. I posted the specs above. It's an i7-720QM, 8GB of RAM, 500GB harddrive, etc...

 

The SXPS16 is also enormous.

 

That's a 1645 if it came with the i7.

 

Oh, ok. Good to know.

So far, it seems like a pretty fast machine. It's just unfortunate that it is just SOOOOOO big.

 

Hmm mine is coming in today, and with a 90w adapter is completely usable. Even though they sent me the 130w adapter too, the 90w is good enough to play and do mostly everything anyways. So to me, that is usable.

The bios isn't updated because you have the 90w adapter. You must update to the newer bios only after you have the 130w adapter as it would make the 90w adapter get excessively hot.

Again, sounds to me, you are being overly picky. And I am not being a jerk, just stating what I am seeing.

 

It's overly picky to want a fully functioning keyboard? I guess 25/26 is a passing grade, right? NO.

Overly picky? I tried to do what I do every day, 3D modeling and FEA. What happened? The computer throttles so badly, it would have been faster do to FEA by hand. SO, the 90W adapter and out-of-date BIOS makes the computer unusable for me. Dell even made a release saying that ALL SXPS 1645's will be shipping with a 130W adapter and the A07 BIOS as of 2/12/2010. Yours came with the right adapter and BIOS, right?

It's not being overly picky to expect a computer to work. I didn't buy a laptop to carry around for my health. I bought one so I could do work. I expected that I would be able to do that. Not having a properly functioning keyboard, and having a BIOS that throttles the computer into submission during routine activity means that I can't do work.

So, as I said, the 4th replacement machine that Dell has sent me is unusable unless a technician comes to my house (which is an enormous inconvenience) and fixes what should never have been broken in the first place, or they send me a 5th replacement.

 

Sending you a computer with an out-of-date BIOS and 90W adapter doesn't make the computer unusable. Hell, if you were incompetent you wouldn't even know that the 90W adapter wasn't powerful enough for the 1645 and you wouldn't know the BIOS was old. Fact is, you ARE competent, so what's stopping you from updating the BIOS and having Dell send you the 130W adapter for free?

I get your frustration and agree with you about a lot of the incompetence that you've dealt with. I also agree that a broken A key is unacceptable. However, saying that the lack of a sleeve, an out of date BIOS or the original AC adapter packaged with the system makes the system unusable is foolishness in my opinion. The 130W adapters haven't been officially included with the system from the factory yet, so I'm not surprised about that.

All that aside, every little frustration has probably compounded to get you to this point, so I wish you the best of luck in getting a system you're happy with... from Dell or otherwise.

PS: The system will still not perform at 100% after getting the 130W adapter and updating to the A07 BIOS. It'll work well, but not at 100%. Synthetic stress tests have still been able to get the quad core SXPS16s to throttle the CPU and the GPU experiences thermal throttling.

 

The sleeve doesn't make the computer unusable. But it does mean that I now need to spend money on a new one, simply because Dell lied to me. That is BS.

I am competent. I can update the BIOS myself. That isn't really the point. I shouldn't have to. I should have been able to turn the computer on, load the software I need, and begin working as I need to. Instead, I now have to toggle back-and-forth between setting up the 16 and doing work on the 13 while I wait for Dell to make me take a day off of work to fix something that should never have been broken. It is a PITA to have two laptops open at the same time on the same desk.

The BIOS issue and the AC adapter prevent me from doing the work that I need to do. The "A" key works intermittently. Those are things that make the computer unusable. If I can't do work on it, then it's just a desk ornament. Like I said, I didn't buy a computer as a fashion statement. I bought it so I can do work. Not being able to do work makes the computer unusable. Not providing a sleeve as they promised, that just pisses me off.

And of course the frustrations have been compounding. I've been going back and forth with Dell over this for almost a year now. I've been lied to, hung up on, ignored, pushed aside, and generally been treated like dirt since the very beginning.

At the end of the day, all I want is for them to make things right. Give me the sleeve they promised, replace my keyboard, and send me the 130W adapter and I'll be a LOT less mad than I am now. It's ridiculous that a computer 24 hours old requires me to take a day off of work so a Technician can come to the house, but at the end of the day the most important thing is that I have a working computer.

 

The bios and adapter is not needed unless you are only a heavy gamer period. The laptop will do everything else just fine with the 90w adapter (for work) and will not throttle.

 

No. It wont. I know, because the computer throttled on me today.

Maybe for working at Quiznos, it'll do the job just fine. But not for doing computer intensive work that the computer IS capable of doing with the proper BIOS and power supply.

And ALLL of that pales in comparison to the fact that the "A" key doesn't work properly! I guess you ignore that because it pokes holes in your "get over it" suggestion.

 

Incorrect. The system with older BIOS revisions (his probably came with either A01 or A03) CAN throttle the CPU when doing things other than gaming. Heavy software development with virtualization used to throttle the system if pushed.

 

Sorry but I have been watching that thread heavily, and know enough that his laptop doesn't have that old of a bios, and it will NOT throttle under normal conditions even on the 90w adapter. Even under some load tests it didn't. The A key is a easy fix and the tech can replace the keyboard. For that matter you could probably fix it yourself by popping it off and installing it back on.

 

With all due respect, who decides what constitutes normal conditions? What are we talking about here, web browsing?

I just gave you a set of "normal conditions" for my use of the system that was able to produce CPU throttling. Was it throttling all the time? Of course not, but that's not the point. This customer is saying that he was able to run certain applications on a C2Duo (his SXPS13) that he's unable to without throttling on his i7 (SXPS16). Given the eighteen thousand page threads here on CPU throttling prior to the A07 BIOS and 130W adapter along with my personal experiences, I don't feel it's unreasonable believing him.

 

Thanks. You've provided nothing helpful at all in this thread.

It is unacceptable, and far from a minor issue, that the 4th replacement computer from Dell has a non-functioning keyboard. You can't wave your hand and make it a non-issue. Dell has to send a technician to fix the keyboard, which means I have to take a day off of work. I probably could fix it myself, but I didn't buy a new computer to spend my free time fixing it.

As for the BIOS/AC adapter issue. I don't know, or care, what kind of work you do. But the kind of work I do caused the computer to throttle this morning. That means that, for me, the computer is unusable for what I need it to do (and something, clearly, it is capable of doing).

How can you tell me that the 90W adapter is fine for the kind of work I do?

I liken this to buying a new car. Say you go out and buy a new Range Rover. Drive it home and it overheats. You take it to LR, they look at it, give it back. Still overheats. Take it in again. Same thing, still over heats. They replace the car as a lemon. The replacement, drive it home, it overheats. LR replaces it again (frustrated yet?). Again, it overheats, this time while it's idling in the parking lot of the dealership. The ink still wet on the title transfer. Come to find out, that Range Rover has routine headgasket issues, an issue LR knew about. Are you going to drive your brand new Range Rover home, park it in the garage and pull the heads off so you can replace the headgaskets? Give me a break.

 

Thank you.

 

I can't get much into the specifics, but I was doing finite element analysis of complex composite structures. Something my SXPS13 could do without much issue, albeit a little slowly.

I tried running the same model on the SXPS16 and at first actually had an error message pop up telling me that the computer was too slow and asking if I wanted to switch to the Basic theme to free up some resources. Then, the computer all but ground to a halt.

I'm not bashing Dell. I'm just telling it like it is. I've owned a few dells in my day, and all of them have been pretty problem free. All, except, for the Studio XPS laptop lineup.

 

It doesn't. Look at the thread title. I did a clean install of Win7 Ultimate. There is zero bloatware on the computer, and watching processor usage while idling, it hovers right around 3%.

 

bac5.2,

I would try escalating the issue within Dell.

Here's the link for Unresolved Issues:

[ http://support.dell.com/support/top...t/dellcare/outstanding_issues?c=us&l=en&s=gen

I think after Four replacements, the issue is still unresolved.

Hopefully they will be able to make it right for you.

 

I deleted a few argumentative posts and cleaned up the thread
Feel free to continue with the discussion


Alex

 

Thank you Alex.

Dan,

It seems as if I have exhausted the ranks of Dell customer care. I got to, what I was told, was the highest level. The SXPS16 was the "upgrade" over the SXPS13 they offered. Not too much of an upgrade so far.

I DID do a clean Windows install, but there is an error on Dell's software source program that won't allow me to download a few items.

Hopefully Dell will get back to me soon about fixing the BIOS issue and the keyboard. It's really annoying to have to take FOREVER to type anything out.

 

bac5.2,

I'm sorry that I can't be of more help; but here is some sound advice from mystycs:

Good Luck.

Dan

 

I have a letter drafted, accounting for all of the problems and issues.

My plan was to do another proof-read, then send it through the mail to each of the above, as well as send it in an e-mail.

My direct e-mail to Michael Dell is what got me to the top of the customer service food chain in the first place.

 

I'm sure that he would be appalled that they dropped the ball on someone who already had to escalate their issues.

Good Luck.

 

We'll find out.

The lady at Dell did agree to make good on the sleeve promise, and one is on the way.

She refuses to discuss the other issues via e-mail. Trying to talk to ANYONE via e-mail is almost impossible. In a 15 e-mail chain, 3 of them were responses from Dell. They insist on calling, even when you explicitly state that you will be unavailable by phone during their business hours.

 

So, Dell shipped the 130W adapter. Actually, they had to ship it twice. The first one was lost in Fedex, and I had to argue with the tech support representative to get them to re-send. I did the BIOS update (both of them, to A07, and then again this morning to the newly released A08). I also had to argue with him about the keyboard. He kept asking if I was sure it needed to be replaced, and kept asking if I was sure I was actually pushing the button.

The keyboard was replaced on Friday afternoon, and is working fine now. The technician bent the touch-strip a bit, and now it has some dimple marks which pisses me off, but at least I can type "A"'s again with ease. I would have preferred that the strip never get bent in the first place.

And what happened today? DVD drive stopped working. You insert a CD, it makes several loud *CLACK*CLACK* noises, then tells you to insert a CD/DVD.

Am I over reacting on this? This seems ridiculous... I put an e-mail in to my customer service person this morning. I wonder if they'll send out another drive, or if they'll just replace the computer AGAIN (that would be the 5th replacement system, the 6th computer overall).

 

I would have demanded a refund around replacement number three.

 

I don't want a refund, I want a working computer. A refund means I have to go out, do more looking around to find a computer in the same price range that will have the same specs.

I'd much rather Dell just get it right.

 

I agree with you, but frankly it doesn't seem like they're going to get this right.

I suppose I simply have less patience for incompetence, though you have probably just been incredibly unlucky here.

 

I'm with you on having no patience for incompetence, but at the same time I am a realist.

The computer was a good value and it does what I need it to do, and I'd rather go through the motions to get it replaced correctly than go through the hassle of searching out another make/model. The 130W adapter and A07/08 BIOS does seem to have solved my throttling issue while doing work.

I was playing DIRT2 the other day, and after a little while (maybe 35 or so minutes?) in some of the really high detail areas it would start to studder. But, I was playing with every detail option maxxed out, and in 1920x1080 video mode. I dropped the resolution (though keeping 16:9), and everything was much better.

 

Well, that was ridiculous. I got a call from some random tech support guy at Dell. He, though, claimed he was the top of the ladder and that he had no supervisors. What a joke.

He almost refused to talk to me unless I would open my laptop (I was driving at the time), hold the phone up to the computer, and insert a CD. When I asked if Dell would swap out the drive with a Bluray or something, so that something like this wouldn't happen again, he laughed at me. When I mentioned that this was the 4th computer Dell has sent, and how disappointed I am, he told me that he didn't believe ALL of those computers were broken, and that it wasn't possible for that to happen. When I told him they were all WRONG before, he told me that I should have just accepted the first replacement and been happy. Then he started talking about how Dell is a big company with a lot of customers, and that was why he couldn't call me back when he said he would, and why I was on hold for 30 minutes when "it'll just be another 2 minutes". It took more than an hour to get him to send out a replacement drive. More than two hours if you count the few dozen times I had to call to try and get this joker on the phone.