Dell XPS 15 L501 *Owner's Lounge*

That's better. New thermal paste applied and SSD installed!

 

*sigh*

Well the SSD lasted all of the install, BSOD and device driver error on startup.

Tried reloading windows again and when I was formatting the drive it just disappeared in the setup.

Rebooted and the machine locks with the SSD installed.

SSD is toast.

Put the original drive back in and it works fine. Ugh!

Now I have to wait for a replacement SSD.

 

It is indeed the 420m. The first driver I updated was the video card from DELL. All other drivers were already up to date.

This means Nvidia has no fix to this if others are experiencing the same issue? I would love to do a clean install of everything along with Nvidia's official notebook drivers, but then that may not resolve the issue.

 

That stinks. What brand?

 

It was an OCZ Vertex 2.

Got it from Amazon, they are overnighting me a new one. I do like Amazon for this kind of thing.

I have an identical one in my desktop and it has been working just fine. Just bad luck of the draw I got a dud.

It also was getting pretty warm and toasty for an SSD - I thought. So maybe it was just plain defective.

I also have a couple Intel SSD's and they have worked great as well.

Anyway...freaking love the laptop though.

 

Any word on undervolting one of these things yet? I'd love to give it a whirl (anything to keep temps low) but apparently it's either difficult or completely impossible (maybe permanently so) but I don't quite seem to understand why.

 

You gotta mod the BIOS to drop the voltage.
I was going to do it but I'm happy with my temps after repasting it so I decided against it.

 

Well, of course bad compared to the 1080p. However, when compared to a Toshiba C660-11H, the screen appears more grainy. A little disappointing but I hope I can upgrade it myself at a later date.

 

I thought you could do it with some software and didn't require BIOS mods??

 

Nope.

10char

 

Is it completely impossible, or does the software just not exist yet? And I'll take it that BIOS-modding does void the warranty, right?

On an unrelated note: I'm noticing that when I reposition the screen it's somewhat 'wobbly,' i.e. not entirely stable for a second or so. The hinges on my last lappy broke so it was like that all the time, which means I have no idea to which extent that's supposed to happen for an, uh, non-broken laptop.

Screen stays stable if I gently rock it with the screen open (the broken-hinge one doesn't, to say the least), so I assume it's fine - I just want to make sure. I've noticed that it's worse when it's on the cooling pad, so it's most likely a perfectly explainable physical phenomenon.

 

Completely impossible.
I tried tried a couple different software programs and none of them could touch the voltages, only clock speeds.

 

Yeah I guess not with the new i7 stuff.

Oh well. I wasn't really too concerned with heat as during normal use I am getting temps around 55C.

Was hoping to squeeze more life out of the battery is all.

 

Same here. If they find out about a BIOS mod it's no warranty for you no matter what, right? Otherwise, I might just want to find out how to BIOS MOD. Why not?

 

Because if a BIOS mod goes bad you can brick your whole system with no way to recover it.

 

When I connect the laptop via HDMI to TV it uses the GT420m, is it possible to use Intel HD Graphics rather than Nvidia's GT420m? No matter what I do, the nvidia GPU system tray icon always displays "HDMI connection". Because I get video/audio static hisses (green distorted lines), it doesn't seem Nvidia/Dell will have a fix to this issue.

 

Hi all!

I'm new here and relatively noob compared to most of you guys around here. I have purchased a Dell XPS 15 L501X not a week ago, and it crashed

Specs are:

- Win 7 Home Premium 64-bit
- 6 GB DDR3 RAM
- Intel i7 740QM 1.73 GHZ (not over clocked or something like that)
- L3 6MB cache
- 640 GB HDD (not sure of the RPM tho, the info on the box said 5400, but on the internet it says 7200)
- nVIDIA 435M 2GB
- 1366x768 display
- Dvd writer
- 6 cell battery
- McAffee

...and a metaloid aluminum body

I got this laptop from Dubai and I live in Turkey, so, before I go through various nerving warranty procedures, I'd like to fix this problem myself.

The problem started yesterday, when I was installing some softwares such as PS CS5 trial, Ai CS5 trial, open office, media info and so on. During some installations I had to disable McAfee for a while for it was popping up every second (I know, I shouldn't have done that, but you know..). And in some point, the machine gave a blue screen! I wasn't able to spot the error messages for it went by fast. It said something 000077xxpp blah blah, and dumped physical memory and so on and then restarted. Since then, I wasn't able to boot to windows. I tried everything from safe mode (all 3 versions) but even they get the blue screen. I was able to get into safe mode for a few minutes once or twice, but those didn't last long either. I also tried restore to a previous state, but it didn't help.

Since I didn't have the time even for making a backup media/cd, the data recovery stuff doesn't work either.

System repair looks like it does something but comes with no solution.

I ran diagnostics several times with good results. No errors or any other problems that is!

Now the best part, when I restart, I can't seem to access advanced boot stuff by pressing F8. It doesn't allow me to access it anymore and proceeds to starting windows. And there is no blue screen anymore! I end up getting the system recovery options screen in which I have to choose either;

' Use recovery tools that can help fix problems starting Windows select an operating system to repair.

If your operating system isn't listed (which really isn't), click Load Drivers and then install drivers for your hard disks.'

or,

' Restore your computer using a system image that you created earlier.'

Well, since I didn't create a backup media (if that's what they're talking about), I choose the first option, and put the drivers media (resources_cd) on and press load drivers. But I simply don't know what to do! I can select dvd drive, and 3 other partitions of Hdd. Recovery, C: etc..


As much as I wanted to, I couldn't go through all the 100+ pages to spot similar problems and my all day long searches ended up having nothing, so I decided to ask you guys here. I hope I won't have to deal with the warranty stuff, as it can be problematic sometimes...

PS: I'm downloading a piece of software that allegedly can boot up windows, called Hirens Boot CD. Just for your info...

Sorry for the wall of texts,
Thanks in advance.

---

Update:

On the System Recovery Options screen, it tells me to 'add drivers', I can browse the media Dell gave to me and my HDD, which is divided into 3 partitions. However, I don't know where to find the drivers. Each time I pick up a file, it says 'The specified location does not contain information about your hardware.'

So frustating not being able to solve problems like this!

 

What brand and how long is your HDMI cable?

 

OK, I found out that the Dell DataSafe Local Backup actually has to options and I didn't see the second one the first time. I tried to restore it to the factory settings, but windows couldn't start. There is a very brief and half of the screen blue screen appearing, can't read anything. But in the end it says that there is a hardware or software change (or something like that) that prevents windows from starting and asks me to repair and fix it. But fails to do so!

At least, now I'm able to boot into advanced settings by pressing F8 again. I'm trying the factory reset with a different option now, in which I chose not to back up some files (second option)...

Let's see.

Wow, I'm making progress by only writing to this forum, wonder what would happen if someone actually helped me

 

Dellhead,
Try running system diagnostics on the HDD and RAM first.
If that proves no errors, do a clean install with new drivers and all the Win7 updates.

 

Hey, sprtnbsblplya,

I already had run full diagnostics tests several times (the one you can choose by pressing F12), each time with positive results, and am now running it again, which seems to be fine so far...

However, I really don't know how to do a clean install with new drivers, for I don't have a win7 cd, nor did I backup the system before it got messed up. So I have the pre-installed system only and can't get any further.

Did the factory restore twice, with all variations, no use.

-----

Oh, I just noticed that we have almost the same xps! But I couldn't enjoy it yet


-----

Update:

Isn't it possible to download a Win7 Home Premium 64 bit setup file and put it into a usb stick and reinstall the OS that way? Is it possible to do this with one of you guys' system file? Might be a stupid question but hey...

-----

Ooopss, apparently my diagnostics tests never worked like this before. It always froze when it required to hit a button to continue. Now it works! Testing the memory, and then system diagnostics. Will inform you!

 

You can download the original Windows 7 install .iso and burn it to a disk.
There are a few legit sites that offer this as a legit download, you just need your CD key off the bottom of the computer.
Don't remember where these are hosted, might take some Google searching on your part.
Then download (actually do this first and put them on a USB stick) the latest drivers for your laptop using your service tag at Dell's support site.

 

Hmmm, all right, will do that! The memory test still going on, so far 6 passes and 2 to go. And then the system diagnostics will be done...

After that, I'll try to to what you said. I will post the results here.

Thanks in advance.

 

sprtnbsblplya,

I'm downloading a win7 iso (3GB), and all the drivers and updates from Dell's website. I have some questions, if you don't mind;

- There are some zipped files amongst the drivers, should I unzip them, or leave them as they are?

- I'm downloading them into a folder that I named DellDrivers. Should I simply copy the entire folder to a usb stick and the computer will do the rest??

- Do I have to burn the win7 iso image to a cd or dvd, or can I put it directly into the usb stick as well?

- Should I put the win iso and the dell drivers all into the same usb stick, with different folders?

- If yes, should I empty the usb stick entirely and put them into it? Or can I leave the existing folders (some pictures and small applications maybe).

The usb stick is 8 GB

Probably too many silly questions, I know, but I'm learning
Thanks in advance.

PS: The system diagnostics test is still running 76 overall progress and so far so good.

 

Generic HDMI 1.3 6ft cable bought from Monoprice.com.
I used the cable on a different laptop which ran without problems.

 

See above responses in blue.

 

Quoting myself. I think I have solved the issue. It may have to do with the HDMI port located on the side of the TV. With the same HDMI cable I connected it to HDMI2 and all was well. So it's not the cable and it's not a faulty HDMI port seeing how this does not effect my Lenovo SL500, but to the XPS 15.

Odd.

 

Thank you, I will do as you told me. The system diagnostics tests just ended and I let it run overnight! All tests passed, so, I assume there are no hardware failures...

I will inform you guys with results, fingers crossed.

Cheers.

 

It might simply be a signaling issue or power issue - the Lenovo may put out a bit more power or cleaner signal than the XPS, which for whatever reason that particular port on your TV isn't 100% - but with the Lenovo it works.

 

sprtnbsblplya,

I burned the iso to the dvd and now I have to choose where to install Windows. I have 3 partitions and they are as follows;

Name Total Size Free Space Type
Disk 0 Partition 1 39.0 MB 30.0 MB OEM (Reserved)
Disk 0 Partition 2: Recovery 14.6 GB 8.3 GB System
Disk 0 Partition 3: My Name 581.5 GB 567.0 GB Primary


- There are several options such as delete, refresh, format, load driver and blank options like new, and extend.

When I choose partition 1, it says that windows can't be installed on this partition for it is reserved.

When I choose partition 2, it says that the recommended free space for installation is 21061 MB

When I choose partition 3, it says nothing.


Now, where should I install Windows? System partition sounds the best place to me actually, but the space seems to be less than recommended.

And I want to split the partition 3, into 2 or maybe more partitions so I can store my files seperately.

I'll wait until your response

----

Partition 1 is called boot X:
Partition 2 is called Recovery C:
Partition 3 is called My Name D:

I think I should install into C, but not sure since it doesn't meet the size recommendations.


---

Couldn't wait Intalling on partition 3 (D) without formatting it. Let's see how this will work.

---

After installation I had to go into BIOS and set hdd to boot, and then I noticed a brief screen that let's you choose from to existing OS which was windows 7 both. Now it's completing installation...

But now I wonder, will I have two win7s installed on my machine? Maybe I should have formatted partition D before install.

......

Everythng went well. Thank you!

 

Partition 3 is where the original windows 7 os resides.

 

Yeah, thats true!

-----

After a little tinkering, I found out that the disk management tool shows all partitions. I have all the partitions I had before intact, OEM, recovery and my new OS partition which is now called C, instead of D. Anyways, I assigned the letter R to the Recovery partition, and now it shows up in my computer's hdd section, yay!

What I'd like to know is;

- The recovery folder inside the R partition shows nothing even though the hdd info says it's almost half way full. Why is that so, and what's the meaning?

- The OEM partition of 39 MB storage had 9 MB of stuff, before I did a clean install, now it has 39 MB full free space. Any ideas as to what this partition is actually for?

- I couldn't split the HDD into several partitions for win 7 install didn't give me the option, probably due to the fact that I didn't format the partition, don't know. What if I shrink the partition, which contains the OS and all the programs etc, and make one or few other partitions where I can place my music, video, pictures etc? Would that be risky??

Also, R and C are primary partitions, while only R is active. I understand that I can only have one active. And I also understand that I can mark a partition active if it contains the OS. So, should I mark C as active or should I leave it the way it is?

FYI; partition R is marked as 'system, active, primary partition' while C is marked as 'boot, page file, crash dump, primary partition'.

----

That's all for now, I might be back with fresh and interesting(!) questions

Thanks in advance, this forum has been a great help to me so far...

----

In case of shrinking the C partition and having an unallocated partition, should I format that part? Again, I just want to store files that has nothing to do with the system, such as pictures, music, videos and maybe other simple applications, just maybe.

--

Here comes another question

I have that folder called windows.old which takes up to 20 GB space on my hdd. Should I or can I delete that folder, as it contains nothing that is important for me? Can I simply delete it, or should I follow another way? I heard that disk clean up is better, but I don't know how to choose that specific folder to delete with disk clean up.

Too many questions, I know. Hope you guys don't mind.

 

I had the same problem. My PC did the Blue screen also. I reinstalled Windows 7 reinstalled all the drivers again and then BOOM! blue screen again. I was able to copy down what was causing the blue screen; turns out it was the wireless drivers. I reinstalled the drivers from Dell, then the Intel Drives and that seemed to fix my issues, oh and I don't connect to Wireless N, I stick with G and I haven't have a blue screen since, but then again I don't use my laptop that much.

Specs:
Dell XPS L501x
Intel i5
6GB RAM
1080p screen
Intel 1000 B/G/N wireless

 

Hmm, interesting. Maybe that was my problem as well, who knows..

My computer seems to be working great at this moment. I reinstalled win 7 and all the up to date drivers from dell's website, including intel ones and all. As far as I can tell by looking at the connection status of my wireless, I'm using Intel Wifi Link 1000 BGN.

I don't know if that relates to N or G tho

But all my drivers were (according to the drivers and utility media dell gave me) from around september 2010. So, since I downloaded all drivers from Dell's site, including BIOS A06 (mine was A04) and all that seemingly essential stuff, I hope that I have fixed the problem for good.

Also, I don't use McAffee, I downloaded MS Security Essentials. Looks fine so far. Any suggestions for a fee antivir software?

 

Hey there everyone,

Recently just purchased the XPS 17 L701, everything works wonderful, except one small very minor problem (not really small at all)...

I can't run any Source games (Valve games that run on the Source engine, I.e, CS:S, Team Fortress 2, etc)

GTA IV also seems to fail at launching :/

Left4Dead 1 and 2 both work fine, which is surprising :/

Here's the msinfo file copy/pasted

Also, yes I have added profiles in the nvidia control panel for the games but nothing works.

What happens is, (those familiar with Steam will know), that I press play, the box comes up saying its starting, it goes away, my avatar in the bottom right goes green for a bit, then it turns blue. Nothing launches!

Anyway, that msinfo file...

OS Name Microsoft Windows 7 Home Premium
Version 6.1.7600 Build 7600
Other OS Description Not Available
OS Manufacturer Microsoft Corporation
System Name
System Manufacturer Dell Inc.
System Model XPS L701X
System Type x64-based PC
Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i5 CPU M 480 @ 2.67GHz, 2667 Mhz, 2 Core(s), 4 Logical Processor(s)
BIOS Version/Date Dell Inc. A07, 24/12/2010
SMBIOS Version 2.6
Windows Directory C:\Windows
System Directory C:\Windows\system32
Boot Device \Device\HarddiskVolume2
Locale Australia
Hardware Abstraction Layer Version = "6.1.7600.16385"
User Name
Time Zone AUS Eastern Daylight Time
Installed Physical Memory (RAM) 6.00 GB
Total Physical Memory 5.74 GB
Available Physical Memory 4.01 GB
Total Virtual Memory 11.5 GB
Available Virtual Memory 9.07 GB
Page File Space 5.74 GB
Page File C:\pagefile.sys

GPU - nvidia GeForce GT 435M 1gb

I'm still browsing through the thread to see if there's any info that could help me, as I was sort of directed here from another user, but I'm hoping someone can help me anyway!

 

That's kinda odd but you do realize you posted about an L701 in a thread about the L501 right?

Anyways I'd start with the graphics driver. It may need to be updated.

 

May be a faulty adapter. I have the same adapter and it works fine for me. I've seen some bad adapters with bad on-board memory (yea they have a little) cause random crashes like that. I run Wireless N as well.

 

Was redirected from here:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/532182-dell-xps-17-l701x-thread-229.html

Well, referred from anyway.

Drivers are all updated 100%.

 

Ahh ok. I see now. Anyways it seems really odd but I won't be much help now that I see it may be a potential Optimus issue. I have an i7 which lacks that technology.

Nvidia's newer 266 series drivers from the nvidia.com website may work for you. I remember the beta working for Optimus chipsets so I'm betting they kept that for the WHQL release they did.

 

Do you have a link to the seller or the sellers name on ebay?

 

Not sure if this is the right thread to ask this.
What are the Asus and Acer equivalents of new Dell XPS 15 ?

 

Just got mine. After reading all the reviews I was expecting the 1080p high-gamut screen to be something special. Color reproduction doesn't seem any better than my old Vaio FW290 with the 1080p screen. The Vaio's screen is certainly above average for a 1080p TN panel, but I guess I was expecting more "wow" factor from the XPS screen.

 

Hi can anyone with the i5-560, 420M and 6 cell battery tell me how long they get on a single charge?

I only get 1.5 hours on a single charge, max 2 hours, when only browsing the net and 1080p screen turned down to minimum brightness and Dell power saver settings activated plus I have IE set to use integrated graphics!!

That's pretty bad, my previous Studio 1558 without optimus and i7-620M would last at least 2.5 hours, I'm beginning to wonder if I have a poor quality battery!!

 

just wondering what's dell policy for dead pixel ? pop 1 suddenly after 1 month use

 

Hi all. I did a clean install of my new XPS 15 and noticed in the Device Manager that there was a yellow exclamation point next to the following:

PCI Simple Communications Controller

I cannot figure out for the life of me why. I thought maybe the modem driver would take care of it, but that wasn't it. Hasn't anyone run into this problem? Thanks from a noob.

 

Could be a chip set driver issue. Dell suggests you to install the drivers with a given order. Especially the first few system drivers should be installed accordingly, the rest is not that important I guess. I have the same laptop and did a clean install, did all the driver updates accordingly and works fine now.

Enter your service tag and let Dell find you the latest drivers for your system;

Dell - Drivers and Downloads

And then, try to stick to the installation order that Dell provides/suggests. This eliminated all my problems so far.

How to Download and Install Drivers in the Correct Order | Dell

-----

This is another topic from the Dell forum that I have found having people with similar problems, just for your info.

What dell drivers fix the pci simple communications controller highlighted in the device manager? - New to the Community Forum - New to the Community - Dell Community

Good luck!

 

Thanks! Very helpful info.

I already installed the two Intel chipset drivers for the XPS 15. But I did not install the "Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor Software" because it is labeled as an application, not a driver. Could that be it?

Also, I did try to install something called "JMicron" in Chipset but it was unsuccessful. Not sure what that one was for.

 

Anyone else have problems with the JMicron reader? I have no problems with Memory Stick Pro, however I cannot get it to read SD or SDHC cards. I even attempted to reload the drivers with no success.

 

I am having an issue with my Dell XPS 15 laptop. On the left side of my screen i have what looks like 1 dead(black) pixel. I have shut my computer down and cleaned it with appropriate cloths but when I boot it up it is still dead. I have only had this laptop for 2-3 months and this is really disappointing. It is not a high def monitor. Is it possible to fix it by deleting and redownloading the graphics drivers?

If it is completely dead I would like to contact Dell and see if there is any way they can fix this because it is very distracting to me. Thanks for your time and any tips would be greatly appreciated!

 

I'm not sure about the Turbo Boost stuff. I have it installed, but it has an exclamation mark on it. I think it needs to be activated via BIOS, but that's another story I guess.

Maybe you should uninstall all drivers and then reinstall them in that given order? That could work, however, I'm really not that qualified to give accurate advices about this. I'm sure someone will help out here!

---

I remember my 9 in 1 card reader not being able to read Micro SD cards (Kingston with an adapter, in my case), and when I did a clean install and reinstalled all drivers from scratch, it started to read Micro SDs as well!

I think reinstalling the latest software is pretty much the key here...