Issues being faced by Dell XPS 1530 users

I'm more than happy with my M1530. I've had two issues, one was the static issue, which is fixed now by a 3 pin PSU, and the less than impressive touchpad.

But for the money and the spec i really like it.

 

my issues.

terrible screen bezel that doesnt fit properly!!

constantly accessing hard drive, noisy

a strange tingling on the palm rest

 

strange tingling would be "electricity" people have been shocked with 100v of electricity from this if it has time to build up charge and not be grounded. Get the 3 pin psu and it will fix it. It needs a ground. This was a stupid idea by dell.

 

Yes it's true that everyone doesn't have problems but it shows you what problems are prevalent. ie everyone has the trackpad and webcam issues because it's a build issue.

 

Ok, so my 1530 is being delivered today and I have a few questions.

#1 How do I know which screen I recieved?
#2 How do I know if I got the two pin or 3 pin?
#3 What's a pin?
#4 Any tips on what I should check to make sure that I got a good machine before my return period has expired?

Thanks guys!!

 

#1: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=1420705&postcount=5
#2: Look at it
#3: a grounding pin on your power cord, either 2 pronged (not grounded), or 3 (grounded).
#4: use it and abuse it

 

Ok, so when you say 2 pin or 3 pin you're actually talking about the AC plug that goes into the wall? I figured it was something having to do with the computer itself.

 

Ok... so I have the 2 pin and I'm getting minor shocks on the 1st day - how do you get the 3 pin?

 

Both the AC plug AND the pins on the Adapter itself. You may have a 3 ping plug but if it's only a 2 wire cable then it still won't be grounded.

 

Contact Dell.

 

No majors , coudnt be happier .
DVD slot a little clunky when loads.
No HDD noises , 1440 screen is great
3 pin socket so no static.

best notebook for price and performace and looks on the planet. m15x does better but in UK very overpriced for a 20 % performance increase (if that)
btw UK/EU dells made in Ireland , US/NthA dells made in malaysia maybe differeance in build quality ??

 

I returned mine back to dell and my company upgraded my work laptop to the point that i do not need a second laptop.
Returned due to the following issues.
DVD would not burn any CD's or DVD, using either the Sonic software, Nero, or other software. 6 out of 9 CD's were coasters and i never did get it to burn a DVD.
The Screen was ok but not great. I had a Samsung screen and you could see the issues it had especially in a game that had dark rooms.
Random crashes, It was a week old and i had loaded Open office on it and 2 games. It would crash while surfing the internet, either lockup or bluescreen.
I tried the recovery option built into the M1530 but that crashed as well, so it was returned to Dell.

These were my main issues. I think it had a couple of hardware issues.
I never had the CPU whine, or problems with my power cord.
The Headphone jack did hiss (so did almost every notebook i have had).

All in all it was a good notebook it looks very nice that is for sure, if my company had not upgraded my work notebook (the CIO does not like Dell very much) i would still have it and would have had it replaced.
I can say the return process was fantastic and i received the refund within 7 days of the return.

 

sounds like a whole lot of bad luck. too bad man.

 

choop, r u clear about the three-prong and two-prong adapters?

 

Also... are the prongs your talking about the ones that plug into the outlet or the one that plugs into the AC adapter?

 

Both need to be three prongs. It should be like this:

http://www.8starshop.com/images/products_images/unfurl/wnb087162.jpg

 

That three prong adapter won't fit into the current adapter I have - so they would need to replace the entire thing?

 

jboo7, yes they have to replace both pieces. be careful
to check both the ac adapter (pictured from Atbnet above)
and the cable that connect to wall.

 

Awesome! Thanks to everyone who contributed on this issue, I called Dell and they are exchanging my 2 prong for a 3 prong adapter. If it wasn't for this thread I'd be continuously shocking myself silly.

 

Yeah now I am, thanks. The picture definately helped too. I figured you were talking about the wall plug and the little round plug that went into the laptop itself. I understand it's the piece between the adapter and the wall now. Thanks guys!!

Weird thing is I have the three prong plug that goes to the two prong adapter piece on my E1505 and I've never been shocked. Is this shocking thing something that's specific to the XPS's??

 

ive had the computer for a couple of hours so far

1) space key is messed up its not on the same level with the other keys, its tilted and sticks up.
2) got zapped ( yes 2 prong adapter)
3) got a samsung screen looks alright ( very similar to my toshiba sattilite my dell latitude d630) , im gonna compare it to the computers in future shop to see if theres any difference.
4) it lags a little when playing dvds ( t7250)( didnt do a clean format).
5)speakers suck at high volume.
i will update this if i find anything else..

 

indeed, the speakers SUCK!!!! though im impressed with the power given to headphones. I have sennheiser hd215's and they sound awesome with it.

I also have a high res Samsung and it isn't bad at all, although viewing angles are atrocious!

 

Hey .. checking in.

I got a m1530 about a month ago. I like it .. price was great and power is great. Here are some findings that may or may not assist you:

It gets hot!
- I'm using a lapboard with 4 desktop PC circular stick-on rubber isolation feet attached to it in a rectangle. It gives my m1530 lots of clearance underneath for moving air. I've noticed the fan runs less.. so if you game, consider raising the fan intake as a cheap insurance policy when its on your lap (or remember to never cover the air intake!).


With RMclock .. my whine is 100% gone in vista (but not in other OS's yet .. I can live with that)


My palms are not being shocked , thankfully ..
- but I've noticed my 2-prong AC power supply appears to have crickets living inside it. Although I like the fact I can hear with my ears how much power the PC is drawing , I will use the experiences posted here to request a grounded charger and kill the crickets. (Thanks for the info)


The screen is definitely grainy. I am still deciding whether I'm going to attempt the LG replacement that everyone is doing through warranty .. I dont know if it will be worth the hassle (screen isn't THAT bad .. and not a single dead pixel. Great response time also)


Monitor's viewing angle is Horrible, its on the wrong axis!!!
- i.e. If the screen is aiming slightly high or low relative to viewers eyes .. . screen seems very washed out. I find myself adjusting my screen very frequently. I've used many laptops in the last two years ... and this should only happen when you're eyes are horizontally off center to the screen , not vertically!!! I understood that LCD's were oriented that way for privacy reasons and for viewing convenience .(not having to adjust the screen everytime you move your head up and down). This is one thing that bothers me to no end....
- Do those with the LG screen have the same issue? It is noticably brighter when it you are centered facing it , rather than if you were to move your head a foot to the left or right.
- I will soon be walking into my local bestbuy with the laptop to compare it to all the others ... I will report findings here afterwards


Finally, The speakers ... still low.
- I noticed this: click the volume icon in your systemtray while music is playing. Make sure everything is all the way up. Notice how the green "sound level" meter within the volume slider peaks at only ~ 25%?? I am thinking that something is adjusted incorrectly between the audio source and the OS ... and not necessarily the output to the speakers. Although, the same 25% peaks happen with headphones. Don't headphones need less volume then speakers usually? (right?)
- I found this fix: ( The DVD playback volume in Windows Media Player or in a Windows Media Center application is not loud enough on a Windows Vista-based portable computer) ... unfortunately it made no difference.

The only other problems I've had are none. Vista is REALLY growing on me .. and this pc is super fast .. runs FSX on med-high settings, on dual monitors, without a single glitch. I couldn't be happier in the power department!

 

just want to add one thing. Those having trouble with the touchpad:

Go to a story that has laptops on display. Notice how the majority have space between the touchpad buttons and the touchpad itself? I am beginning to realize that this design decision is the reason the pad seems so "touchy"

When your finger is on the button .. keep in your mind that this is not a multi-touch pad! A finger resting .. or even NEAR enough to the pad will cause it to be very difficult to use. NExt time you're having problems, remove your other hand from the buttons, make sure your palm or other fingers do not go near it. This usually cures the problem (except when I have just opened the top)

 

Anyone have issues with the Blu-Ray Drive pausing, then skipping during playback? This has happened about 4 times with 4 different DVD's. Don't know if it's extremely sensitive towards dirt. Maybe there is a better driver to install? Any help would be appreciated. Thank you in advance.

 

My experience with the WSXGA+ Samsung panel in the M1530 is the same. I returned 2 so far and I'm waiting for my next order to arrive. I took one unit to the Dell Kiosk and compared it to the M1530 floor demo. The LG panel is far superior to the Samsung panel. With the 2 units side by side and moving around to compare the angles it was evident the Samsung was nowhere near the LG for angles.

 

That's really a shame. You'd think it wouldn't be that hard for Dell to spend a little more money, stock up with decent panels and maintain a decent reputation. Even if their LG panels cost a little bit more ($50 or even $100? I doubt it), I think everyone would appreciate it.

 

mine have no heat problems at all maybe because i am using an extended battery which provides an elevated bottom from the table surface which i think helps alot to cool the system

 

Do these 3 pronged and 2 pronged adaptor have any Dell part number ?

 

Im going to get RH778 .Is this 2 or 3 pronged ?

 

issues:

noisy HDD
****ty touchpad, damn you Alps
bad driver support from dell

 

I had some sound issues, minor but a little staticy with the occasional dropouts when playing MP3's. I disabled WiFi "A" Support as I read that in a thread on this board as a possible cause on interference. I use wireless "G" on my router so this presented no issues. Secondly I removed all of the creative software and sound enchancements and rely soley on the Sigmatel Drivers. Now my sound is excellent, I run my M1530 to my Outlaw 990 Processor and Outlaw 755 Amp to a 5.1 Paradigm Speaker set-up and it now sounds excellent.

 

creative drivers/apps are for the webcam, have nothing to do with sigmatel or audio

 

Actually, the Creative software is for the Audigy HD Software Edition that is an option on the M1530.

 

What he said /\ The Creative Software works as a second layer of sound processing/matrixing however it uses your CPU to process as aopposed to a Co-processor on a sound card i.e. Audigy, X-Fi etc...

 

my two prong 90w power supply is P/N GX808 Model FA90PS0


To those who uninstalled the creative sound stuff .. do you still have a system-wide equalizer available?

Does anyone know of a program that can replace Dell QuickSets functionality?? I would like to speed up the rate at which the touch-sensitive volume button repeats .. its VERY slow. Also the stupid overlay won't stay where I put it , and it will appear behind windows 50% of the time. Grr

 

Try a Dell bluetooth stereo audio headset if that doesn't bother you or your ears too much for issue number 1

 

Issues faced with my new XPS 1530 :

1) Touchpad lag (I think it is a salient feature with XPS 1530 ,may be Dell might solve this problem with some new driver,so far issue is unresolved)

2)The HDD does get quite hot (but if the left front portion is raised this issue gets resolved).If you put your laptop on the bed without raising it ,HDD will really get hot)

3)I received a 3 pronged 90w adapter so no shocks but even this adapter gets very hot despite the leather covering .Could anyone help me here ?

4) Audio noise sometimes but issue solved to a great extent by using Dell bluetooth headsets .

5)Regular "ticking" noise heard in HDD if heard carefully .May be other company laptops have even more HDD noise .

I dont think the above issues are of very serious nature but Dell should look into them .

 

1) this issue WAS fixed with the A08 BIOS version. Upgrade yours if you see A07 when you boot

2) normal. think about having it spin down when idle if the heat bothers you.

3) no. normal

5) look up my posts. The clicking noise can be stopped if you set APM for the hard drive to 254. DO NOT ask me how to do this ... look up my posts and you will find the exact instructions.

-----
to the person that asked about CPU whining . It will be a high pitched whine when the laptop is idle. If you dont know if you have it or not , dont bother trying to fix it. Fixing it entails a fix that will lower your battery life and make your laptop a little bit warmer.


hope this helps

 

It did for me. Noticeable, unmistakable difference. Thanks for the link.

 

This can be enabled in the BIOS settings in the A08 update. I'm not sure about the original BIOS version.

I'm having another problem with my battery charging. My 1530 is about 7 months old and my battery won't charge. This started after installing Vista Service Pack 1. After some googling I discovered others are having the same problems with their notebooks after installing SP1, and that includes other notebook brands like HP. I'm wondering if the Vista OS with SP1 causes some kind of BIOS problem with monitoring the batter. My power adapter is no longer recognized either.

 

How come this is NOT in the XPS area?

 

i have vista x64 w/ sp1 and my battery is fine..........

 

My 1530 stopped being able to charge the battery...so the Motherboard had to be replaced a few weeks ago..that was my only issue...I think the socket/soldering was loose ...but it's fixed and better now!

My only other issue, is that the *touchpad* get's a little schitzo at times...

But that may be more of a *user* issue.

 

This made me laugh. I dont think a hard button would of made a difference with the machine still powered off. Think about it no infact test it! go to your tower PC that has a hard button. put a CD inside it and power it off. Now try to hit the hard button to get the CD out.... Notice something???

 

Does anybodys eject button make WMP 11 stop temporarly. Its not that big of a deal but it is kind of annoying. Haven't tried with any other media players yet.

Thanks

 

yes I have the same problem...Actually regardless of what i am doing if i press the eject button my computer will pause for about 2-3 secs and stutter(if some music or movie is playing) Another problem that is driving me nuts (and I've read about 100 threads on here but unfort. nothing has worked) is an issue regarding my sound/wireless card. If i am playing any sort of audio and have my wireless card turned on(dell wireless 1395 mini card) my sound skips or pops very often..Not a big deal but enough to drive u crazy if u are a music freak or producer which is my case..I have tried literally everything and NOTHINg fixes this problem. I spoke to dell and referred them to a huge forum post on their site which talks about this isse and i demanded a new wireless card. Problem is I;m in Brazil and the new wireless card is now in NYC. I'm hoping a swap of cards will fix this issue as i am about ready to toss this thing out the window(anytime i listen to audio i want to pull my hair out!) Anyone have any other ideas?? So just a warning to those looking to buy an xps make sure you dont get a dell wireless 1395 card bc as it seems this is what causes these skips and pops in the audio.

 

I recently purchased dell XPS 1530( resolution 1440x900), i have some problems with the video.
when i play any online movie the picture quality is so bad,it was so blurry. if i play the same movie on any other laptop the video quality is good. I can clearly see the difference if i play the same video on my xps and on my old sony or any other laptop. i called dech support they troubleshooted for 2 hours and say there is nothing wrong with the video ,they say its my perception. Does any one have the same problem ? i decided to return this laptop.
$$1500 for this XPS

 

Web cam is .5 megapixels better than the usb one i have on my desktop yet the pictures/videos come out a lot worse.

vista slows down the computer.

 

I don't know if this question has been answered already, so forgive me if it has.

Does anyone know why my Dell XPS 1530 has occasional trouble turning on?
It will work fine for a while but then one day it won't turn on properly, here's a description of the problem:

1. Laptop has been working fine for weeks
2. I restart to install a program, etc. or just turn off the laptop.
3. When it powers back on, the blue power lights light up, my mouse glows and the harddrive whirls just as usual.
4. The problem is that no image appears on the screen, as if it's on hibernating mode or something.
5. I press the power button again but it just flashes at me then resumes it 'hibernating' stage.
6. It's plugged in, and I've already tried to run it on battery power with no luck.
7. Have already tried waiting, sometimes this work but now it isn't.
9. Have already tried unplugging everything, to no avail.

I think other people have had this problem, from what I can gather searching Google.

Any suggestions?
Specs are in sig.
Thanks for the help!