Harddrive noise

Hi all,

I just got my M1530 a couple of days ago and I have a few concerns and I wondered if you would be kind enough to comment on.

This is my spec:

• XPS M1530 CORE 2 DUO T9300 2.50GHz,800,6M
• Display 15.4" UltraSharp Widescreen WSXGA+ (1680x1050) TFT with TrueLife
• Memory Dual Channel 4.0GB (2x2048) 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM
• Hard Drive: 320GB Free Fall Sensor (7200RPM)
• 8xDVD+/-RW Slim Slot-Load Drive, including SW
• Battery XPS Primary 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion
• Graphics Card 256MB NVIDIA GeForce Go 8600M GT
• Integrated Sound Blaster Audigy ADVANCED HD Audio

Firstly, I notice that my hard drive (I assume the hard drive is located on the left palmrest side) always appears to be spinning loudly enough for me to notice. Is this normal? It also makes weird clicky noises intermittently and I have no idea why.

The CPU fan seems to be on an awful lot. I have a Gateway MT6821 and the fan only comes on under heavy load, with the dell it's on almost all the time.

Finally, build quality - I have noticed that the trim that sits around the LCD panel is about 2-3mm away from the screen on the left side. Is this acceptable or should I return and ask for a replacement laptop?

I paid nearly £1200 for this and think it should be worry free.

Thanks for your time.
Karl

 

The hdd on these laptops tend to be pretty hot. If it makes clicking noises when you move your laptop,then it is the head parking itself to avoid damage. If it makes the clicking noise without any reason, then it is a failing hard drive. I think you should ask for a replacement because of the build quality. Common man, it's a £1200 pound laptop. It's quite expensive. Therefore you should receive a premium product!!!

 

Only you can be the judge of what you are content with. If there is any issue with the laptop you are not happy with, contact Support/Customer Service and tell them you want to return it and re-order.

Bear in mind, if you have support come out to replace any part, it will be a refurb part - support does not furnish new parts. All are refurbished.

As for your issues:

1. Hard Drive - I believe the only (Dell) 320GB 7200 Freefall sensor is the Seagate. If this is the case, you may want to take a look at this firmware update Dell posted. If your laptop was just shipped, it should've been added - it may have been missed. Be sure to look at your Hard Drive in Device Manager and confirm the model is "ST9320421ASG". Don't worry - the patch wont work if its not the correct model. Patch link: http://support.us.dell.com/support/...eid=R211337&formatcnt=2&libid=0&fileid=297636

2. CPU FAN - Not sure on this one since I don't own a 1530. You may want to post in the 1530 Owner Lounge thread for assistance. One thing to do if you haven't already, download HWMonitor. It is a small application which shows your thermals. It will display your CPU and GPU temp as well as your HDD temps. HWMonitor can be found here: http://www.cpuid.com/hwmonitor.php

If HWMonitor shows your GPU temp is high (again, not owning one I can't say for certain, but my guess would be that the GPU shouldn't be over 75c at idle), you might want to contact Dell as the 8400m and 8600m GPU in the 1530 were documented by Dell as having a possible thermal issue (see: http://en.community.dell.com/blogs/...te-limited-warranty-enhancement-details.aspx).

I'm not trying to scare you with that last link, so don't take it that way. Just be aware of the recent history of the 1530 and that Dell STILL has not confirmed the issue has been corrected and current units being shipped are free from this GPU problem).

With that being said, the reason why you may have constant fan noise is this. The System BIOS was updated to keep the fans on from startup but at a lower RPM. Essentially, they will always be on.

3. LCD Panel - Only you can be the judge of what you can live with. Personally, it would drive me nuts. Have you tried to apply pressure to that side to pop it in place? Either way, be careful messing with it yourself.

Hopefully, this will point you in the right direction.

 

This display thingy is clearly a problem. You should go for a replacement. It's a lot of money invested and you surely don't want your computer to fail in a few months. Contact dell and tell them about your clicking problem and your misaligned lcd. They should be sending you a replacement laptop. If you ask them with a pleasant tone, they may allow you to keep your laptop till the time you receive the new one.