Dell XPS 15 R2 - L502x - Owners Lounge

Dell Reinstallation DVD for Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, that came with my XPS 15 laptop when delivered Novmber 2011.

How can I tell if Dell's Reinstallation DVD is SP1 (Service Pack 1)?
(The printing on the disk just says Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, doesn't say "SP1".)

If it's not SP1, would it be better to download the Windows 7 ISO that includes SP1 from Digital River?

 

I'd get the iso in any case and isntall form USB, in my experience, installing from USB is faster.

 

If I install from the DIgitalRiver ISO, will using ABR to restore Dell OEM product key and cert still work?
Or, does that work only if using after installing from Dell Reinstallation disk?

 

Now that I'm not in the wrong thread.

Recently I discovered this forum after searching for some answers about my laptop. I have the L502x and I had problems with it for months. I've found my answers here. I've replaced the thermal paste, i cleaned the laptop inside ( i did not removed the dust filter). The laptop was freezing in games, the temperature was always high ( 90c ). After those things I mentioned early , undervolting and did some tweaks in nvidia control panel I managed to play Battlefield 3 like i used to. I'm still playing, testing to see how the temperature goes.

But I don't understand, even when I'm only using programs like Mozilla, Skype, the temperatures are exactly the same as I'm playing a game.
Any solutions? Is that normal.

 

zNowkid

if you have a gt540m GPU and it freezes on game you may wanna give a try to undervolted bioses, many users reported the crashes were gone after flashing the bios.

you can get them from my signature.

 

I already did that and I would like to say thank you.It seems to work great now, after repasting and flashing the bios. I was asking about the temperatures after closing a 3d application.I've changed the procesor power managment at 90% and now the temperature stays below 60(cpu) and 50(gpu) when I'm not in a 3d application.

About the temperatures in game now.
The GPU is at 80c max, but the CPU got at 85-90c. Is that ok?

 

glad you liked it

yeah, those temps should be nice for this laptop ^^

you dont have to worry about

 

Hey! I've owned my Dell for over a year now. Unfortunately it doesn't seem to like me much because it keeps having issues pop up every two months or so. It's rather frustrating owning something that may break down whenever I need it the most... thankfully I haven't run into any problems like that. Has anyone had any problems with USB ports failing as much as I have? My monitor also had a red stripe across it at one time. It's just filled with little mishaps, somehow I feel like I should've just gotten a macbook air -_-.

 

I've never had problems like this with any laptop I've owned: HP, Dell, Lenovo, even Acer. This sounds like damaged or loose hardware, and not much can prevent that other than taking good care of your laptop.

How does your USB port fail? Do you get error messages in Windows, or does your device just suddenly disconnect while it's plugged in?

As well, for the red stripe that goes across your screen, have you checked your drivers, and also made sure that there's no physical damage to your computer?

Finally, have you tried reformatting the computer and re-installing Windows? Often times a good re-format can solve lots of little issues that pop up

 

Even though I do move it around quite a bit, I try to take care of it. Most of the issues have been fixed, the only thing that's still giving me problems are the Webcam and the dang cursor.

As for your questions, my USB ports just stopped recognizing devices when I plugged them in. If I moved the cable, it would connect and then disconnect. I'm not entirely to sure what the red stripe was about, but a monitor replacement fixed that issue. Yes, I've also reformatted my laptop about two times already. I've pretty much given up on the webcam because it's just too much of a headache to straighten it all out. The moving cursor drives me nuts, but hopefully I won't have to deal with it soon.

 

Anyone install these latest packages for WiFi and Bluetooth on your Dell XPS?:

Intel PROSet/Wireless Bluetooth Software for Windows 7, version 2.2.0
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=21713&lang=eng

Intel PROSet/Wireless WiFi Connection, version 15.1.1
(Intel main page said 15.2.0, although details page says 15.1.1.)
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=21244

 

Honestly, if you think a Macbook Air could replace an XPS 15...you probably should have gotten an Air. A Macbook Air doesn't have an internal subwoofer, a discrete graphics card, a 1080p screen...

 

That's probably very true. I thought I'd be happy with something that I could have an all around use for, but in relation to school it probably wasn't a good idea to go with a XPS in the first place.

 

Anyone have trouble keeping certain USB flash drives connected in the USB 3.0 ports?

Most of my USB flash drives work fine with all three ports. But some, like the Duracell USB flash drives, don't seem to seat well in the USB 3.0 ports (left side and rear of the XPS 15). As such, touching them sort of jiggles them slightly left or right and causes them to disconnect and reconnect. Certain drives like the Duracell USB flash drives just don't fit as well in those two ports, like perhaps they're not inserting as far as others do or perhaps they're somehow more loose.

Anyone else notice this?

 

Hello, I have L502x with nvidia 540m and I am having a problem when I try to use my new external monitor DELL U2212HM via hdmi -> dvi cable. I am getting a little big of lag and freeze. Like when I scroll or watch movie when everything moves. Drivers are the newest. Is this somehow related to the pic I attached? What should I do? How to fix this problem. I read a little bit about hdcp and I am confused, because I don't understand which hdmi -> cables support it and which not.

 

Anyone here running windows 8 on their L502X?

If so, how goes it?

 

yes i am running the final build it goes quite well
touch pad works well on the start screen u can even zoom out with pinch to zoom but in the apps it does not scroll in smooth i guess we have to wait for synaptics to release generic windows 8 drivers

windows will automatiall get the drivers for some stuff ie web cam ... and some intel drivers .....

audio works good
dell quickset works but the button for windows mobility center does not work it opens the windows 8 short cut menu instead (if u right click where the start button used to be)

i think i get better battery life on windows 8 about 4 hours 4 15 min doing light surfing ....

boot is slightly faster gonna put in an msata drive if some one would let me know if this system supports it )

dell webcam central is not needed as windows had a built in app for web cam and you can use the free cyberlink you cam software from the windows store

it installs fast
also running office 2013 on it (beta)
pm me if u wanna know more

btw some drivers or apps will throw an error so if it does use the windows 7 compatibility mode

 

No, I don't think your lag is caused by the HDCP. HDCP is basically DRM over HDMI.

It should not introduce any kind of lag when you scroll or view videos.

Could you describe the "lag" further? For example, how is this lag exhibited on the external monitor compared to normal behaviour on your internel L502x monitor?

 

hi all,

i've run into a problem on ym l502x with regards using a mini displayport to hdmi adapter. i've been using it this way with a sony tv for ages without any problems. i just switched to an LG TV and now the screen goes blank every 20 seconds or so. NO clue as to why. has anybody come across this problem before? using the HDMI out to the TV works fine, its just out the mini displayport into an hdmi adaptor and to the TV that is causing the problems.

thanks!

 

Have you noticed how much quicker it boots
Edit:
Just saw you covered that...
Boot time for me was amazingly quick, almost as quick as my desktop pc with an ssd

 

Do you have it set to projector only? (As in, the image is only displayed on tv...)

 

lol yes its almost instant still gonna put in an m sata ssd or regular ssd lol

 

Eh I'm going to have to put of my screen upgrade and SSD, just ordered
U2713HM.
Originally I was going to lose the HDD and just replace with SSD as I don't see the reason for that much storage anyway..
Do we have 3G or 6G sata? Would Crucial M4 work at the full speeds?

 

Interesting conundrum: I have the stock Toshiba 640GB in a caddy, and a Crucial m4 128GB in the main slot. According to the SMART stats, my SSD has been on (Power On Time) for 2184 hours, which is 91 days which is about right (had it for about a year now).
However, my hard drive has been on for 185191 hours!!? Eventually, I figured out that it's showing time in minutes. Isn't it odd how one drive shows time in hours, and the other in minutes...

 

Yup. Been running it since the early releases. Running the "Enterprise 90 day Eval" right now. Don't care that I can't upgrade. Gonna do a clean install anyway when Professional is finally released on the 26th. It's pretty damned awesome on this machine. Fast, easy to use. The touchpad works perfectly. The only drivers that I had to install were the Dell Quickset stuff (for the special touchkeys and the like), the accelerometer driver, and the video card. Everything else pretty much worked out of the box.
-joe-

 

6Gbit/s (Sata III) and M4 at full speeds...

 

Has anyone here been having mysterious issues with their l502x? Yes that's a vague question...but earlier this week, I left for an exam and came back to find the screen completely blank, and the laptop unresponsive. Solid power light, so it wasn't on standby of course...And just today, I came back to find it completely powered down. Event Viewer shows an "unexpected shutdown." No other errors I can see, but the last event looked to be something with Adobe flash update service stopping...but 40 minutes before the shutdown...I sure hope this isn't a GPU issue. :\

 

try running some mem tests.

I think windows 7 had some memory tests, the laptop also have some diagnosis tools.

just turn off the laptop and hold FN+F while you power it on until the diagnosis tools come up.

then let it test the memory for a while.

if the memory is ok, it may be related with high temperatures, damaged motherboard, or corrupt windows installation

 

Hello everyone.. I am about to order the screen B156HW01 V.7 from laptopscreen.com.. It is the one with h/w 1a, although mine is h/w 0a. Does anyone have ordered from this store and fit this screen to his L502X. Will it be compatible?

 

Thanks capitankasar, will look into those tests if problems persist.

One other small "issue" I'm having is with Optimus and HDMI output. Applications which normally run under the integrated GPU tend to use the discrete GPU whenever I'm using an external HDMI monitor. I know this is because the discrete card is required to output HDMI on this model. I was hoping, though, that there might be a fix. The programs I see being used by the discrete card whenever plugged into HDMI are Visual Studio 2010, Google Chrome, and Norton 360.

 

@supertoast92



that is because the hdmi input is directly conected to the nvidia gpu.

intel graphics are wired to internal display and minidisplay port, you can use both intel+nvidia on those.

however the hdmi input just use nvidia gpu as far i know.

if that is a problem for you, you can try get one of those minidisplay to hdmi port and use it from there instead the normal hdmi port ^^


I think I saw cheap adapters for 2 or 3$

 

Ah, okay thanks!

I don't mind the Nvidia GPU being used, it's just the applications that normally use integrated start using the Nvidia GPU when I'm plugged into HDMI. Then, if I want to move to a new location and run off battery/integrated, I have to restart those applications because they're stuck on the Nvidia GPU.

Guess it's a limitation of the Optmius technology. Guess I can spend a few bucks on an adapter

 

Sorry for the double post, but as a side note: Does anyone else run this machine directly through an HDMI external monitor? If so, have you noticed some of your applications using the GPU only when they're opened with the external plugged in? (And then, they continue using it once the external is unplugged?)

 

Hey guys,
I am very happy with my Dell XPS 15 L502x laptop. Its almost a year old now. So far so good. Anyways, I need some help with one issue. I am using a Logitech device called ' Logitech Wireless Speaker Adapter for Bluetooth® audio devices'. It streams music from any Bluetooth compatible source to my home theater system. I have used android and blackberry phones to stream music and there is no problem at all. However, When I try to connect this device with my L502x it does connect and stream music flawlessly but the volume is very very low (even at max level on laptop as well as my home theater system) as compared to other devices like android or blackberry at even half the volume level. Please help me with this issue and provide with your expert advice. Thanks in advance. CHEERS..!!:hi2:

 

Hi,



I am trying to restore my system from windows 7 image that i created earlier.


I have restored my system very successfully earlier with this same image. Now the restore and backup utility is not able to detect the system image folder on external hard drive even though i could navigate to the image folder through windows explorer.

I have researched quite a few hours on internet but could not find a helpful solution.I am frustrated how could Microsoft provide a backup utility that has this bugs.



Please help I need this system restored.

 

Has any one tried an Msata drive in this system and it worked ??? i think one person tried idk if it work let me know plz thanks

 

Hey, you saw my reply to this question back in July: no can do.

 

ok thanks man

 

Shouldn't it be possible to plug my ipod in to the mic jack on the side and when the dialog pops up tell it its line in and play my ipod through the laptop speakers?

 

Not only is it possible, it will work. You will just need to adjust the line-in volume in sound manager.

 

Disaster has struck. I completely wrecked my beloved L502x today, basically smashing a glass full of coke in the display, soaking it in the process. It looks like the mobo is more or less toast. Fortunately that's easily replaceable. What I'm worried about though is the display that cracked. Does Dell still have the wonderful 1080p displays? I really dig my L502x, and don't really want to replace it with anything else. But I can't live with a 1366x768 display either.
Has anyone gotten a display replaced recently? Is there still hope?

(Obviously, I've got accident protection, so I assume the hardware will be fixed or replaced)

 

Well that sucks. With accident protection they may just give you a new one. That'd be sweet. Hope the hard drive made it through the damage safely. The data is the most important thing (usually).
-joe-

 

Fortunately, I regularly backup to a raid5 nas, so most if my data is safe. I'm hoping the SSD has survived though. That was a bit expensive.
I'm not so sure that getting a L521x is "sweet". From what I hear there are wifi issues and the display isn't as good as on the L502x. And the sound isn't as awesome (for a laptop) as on the L502x either.
The Ivy Bridge upgrade and better graphics wouldn't hurt though...

 

yes dell will have the 1080p screens still as long as thier are customers with complete care warranty dell will keep parts for the system on hand for all or most configurations you may not gat back the same graphics card but cpu , ram display an speakers will be the same if they change the mother board ....

the l521x is not sweet is lame cuz it has issues sexi looking but lame

 

Excellent. I pulled the SSD, and it is working, so my system should be back to normal when they get around to fixing/replacing it.

 

Does anybody know why I can't download any Windows 8 drivers from the Dell website? It just keeps saying error.

Thanks

 

The model name of the screen is AUO B156HW01, just look on ebay/amazon you'll find it for 100$. I would not bother to contact dell for this it is pointless, they'd ask double the online price for the same panel.

 

Anyone installed Windows 8 on L502? Anything I should look out for? About to do it myself. Wish me luck

 

For Win 8 get a tablet better, I tested the preview versions and did not like the GUI because the desktop/laptop version is really annoying to handle.

BTW, has anyone tested the 3 new drivers updates launched this past Friday?

 

do those drivers include new updates/features for win8 users only? or it also includes updates for the win 7 users?

I dont plan to upgreade win8 yet.


edit:

oh, forgot to say, dell also relased the A12 Official BIOS for l502x

ftp://ftp1.dell.com/FOLDER00950861M/1/L502XA12.exe

it contain some stuff for windows 8 users.

here is the changelog

Code:

changelog:
Fix system resume from S4 automatically after upgrade to Windows 8.

I'm also currently testing a modded version of the A12 version with new features such microcode updates and ME updates, I will relase it at the other topic when it got enough tested ^^