**Latest Driver/Software Updates for StudioXPS 1640/45/47**

Change Log:
2/17/2011
+AMD Catalyst 11.2 v8.821
+Synaptics TouchPad with Scrybe v15.2.7
+Intel® Turbo Boost Technology Monitor v2.1.23.0
+Dell WirelessLAN v5.100.235.13
+IDT Audio Driver v6.10.0.6314

 

Someone try this newer IDT Audio Driver, I am too lazy to intsall it myself

 

It works. New version 6.10.0.6314, dtd 28 Nov 2010.

 

Thats gr8 Seeker, Thanx . Am gonna link it..

 

Running the new IDT Audio drivers myself... all is well thus far

 

What are the benefits of updating, I am still using the same drivers from when i got my system (bar GPU, BIOS, Wifi) and its running fine, never had any problems.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying its pointless, just inquiring.

 

No idea... I just like to keep my computer up-to-date at all times Actually, one difference is that the "SRS Premium Sound" setting is actually working again for me, which it wasn't with the previous driver update I performed. I hate anything that alters or effects sound output, so I always disable this anyways, but still, it is something

Concerning updating drivers: while I understand the mentality of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", I've always been one to keep everything as "up-to-date", clean, and fast as I can. Even if I read the release notes for a driver and I don't see changes that will impact me directly, I'll still install them. Sure new drivers sometimes cause problems, but I've never had a catastrophic failure from just installing new drivers that can't be solved by a quick removal and installation of the old ones. My personal experience has been that always having the latest drivers for everything keeps my computer running smoothly and keeps it compatible with new software I install, preemptively fixing many problems.

In any case, I'm not trying to convince anyone to do as I do, just explaining my mentality. I can never get the Dell website to show me the latest drivers for my system (it is still saying the newest soundcard drivers are from April of last year), so this thread is wonderful for me

 

i need the driver for the intel 6300 wifi link. i did not pay for the upgrade at the time for the card and it was an option. i cant find it anywhere. dell techs cant seem to cough up one.

 

Just get it from the Intel website, which is where you should get it anyway, the Dell drivers are way out of date. The link in is the first post of this thread.

 

Well i updated my driver from this link and everything is working fine, but i can't open CCC. What should I do?
When i try opening it, windows starts loading something, but nothing comes up.

 

This these Steps. Update .NET components given in that post to make sure its not the cause of it not working.

 

http://ftp.us.dell.com/network/R296892.exe

WIDCOMM Bluetooth Software v6.3.0.7600

Caution: Make sure to delete contents of 'svcpack' folder under Win32 or Win64 from extracted download linked above then dbl clk on 'Inst.exe' in order to install updated unified Broadcom WIDCOMM driver backwards compatible w/Dell Wireless 375,370, ect. w/o attempting to flash Dell Wireless 1701 Bluetooth v3.0+HS DFU firmware...

 

I'm not saying that your driver and advice doesn't work perfectly, but I'm not going to touch Bluetooth since in the past 2 people on the forums lost the contents of their HDD's trying to update their Bluetooth.

 

Maybe because they allowed the wrong Dell Wireless bluetooth DFU firmware update to run by default...

 

I did the above successfully but in the process of doing it, I managed to strip the head of a screw badly (it was way too tight and in a half-inch hole and I tried turning both ways and it wouldn't budge. I used the right size screwdriver but the metal or alloy was way too soft and it just got worse and worse.) but drilling it with a 3/32" bit popped the head off and I removed the threaded part with a set of pliers. Pretty scary doing this into a laptop but it worked perfectly and there really wasn't much risk. The one thing that the directions are incorrect on is the cable for connecting the optical drive externally and really you need this one...

eSATA-USB cable (eSATAp), connect SATA optical drive externally [slimSATA-eSATAp-C06] - $25.95 : NewmodeUS, Hard Drive Caddys for Notebooks

I highly recommend this if you want to switch out your HDD for an SSD but still need storage without the need for an external hard drive. Anyways, I know I could talk about this elsewhere but the above forum is closed and I figured others would be interested here, too.

 

You could check out my post from a few pages back ( http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-xps-studio-xps/532412-latest-driver-software-updates-studioxps-1640-45-47-a-24.html#post7142829) that explains how to manually install the driver. I had the same issue with CCC not opening also for the past few updates. The method I've been using to manually install has been working like a charm though!



_____________________________
SXPS 1645 / i7 720 / ATI 5730 / Win7 HP x64

 

+ 1 Thanks ! I've been to lazed to do any updates..this weekend will be a good time.

 

The pleasure is all mine

 

CoD4 freeze after 10-15min with IDT Audio Driver v6.10.0.6314.
No problem with older driver

 

This isn't SXPS specific, but it still applies:

Windows 7 Service Pack 1 was released today, so make sure to run Windows Update!

Here's a little article about it from lifehacker.com: Windows 7 Service Pack 1 Now Available

____________________________________________
SXPS 1645 / i7 720 1.6GHz / ATI 5730 / Win7 HP x64

 

I've installed Service Pack 1... no issues during installation or with anything else thus far.

 

Any improvements in terms of boot up time or anything for that matter??? I don't think there is any difference that would make it better in terms of speed or visual effects
Windows has always been buggy. Windows 8 may be renamed to Windows Buggy too.... who knows

Except for the gaming factor, i find UBUNTU much much better and its way faster in terms of boot speed as Win7 takes nearly 5 minutes flat to load all the crappy things it needs. The only reason i keep using it is cuz of GAMING!!!

 

Did you install it after removing the previous driver coz thats what I did and I have had nil problems.

Thanks for the update, It works gr8

I think Windows 7 has been the most stable OS yet, not even XP beats it. I have had nil problem with it and no bugs what so ever. Compatibility is the reason I will always choose Windows than any other OS. And my OS works just as speedy as it was in day one

 

My thoughts and experience with Windows 7 as well. This really has been a fantastic operating system. Very stable, quite fast, and everything just works. I can't remember the last time a program crashed that also resulted in the OS crashing (BSoD) unless it was a direct result of my own fooling around and screwing with stuff that I know to be troublesome

 

You just did define BUGS "it was a direct result of my own fooling around and screwing with stuff that I know to be troublesome" Simply Human made.

 

**VERY IMPORTANT**

I was trying to install windows 7 service pack 1 and encountered an error saying some required components are missing and a windows reinstall will fix the issue.

I researched and came to realise that Driver Sweeper deletes some folders in windows that doesnt let us to install SP1.

Here is the Link. Restore those files from the backup and you will be able to install Windows 7 SP1

 

Nice to know..Thanks for the heads-up

 

how much time does it take for you laptop to show up the desktop after you switch on your power button ?

bwt thanks for the WIN7 SP1 issue. haven't ever used driver sweeper so guess i'll be okay when I'll upgrade.

thanks in advance !

 

for me it's about 20-30 seconds to get to the Welcome/Login page, and then about 1.5-2 min from entering my password to everything on my desktop fully loaded.

mind you i have many services that need to be loaded, so i expect it to take as long

 

thanks ! same here too. but, getting to the logon screen takes longer.

 

What are the services you have running on start up? Still 1.5-2 minutes is kinda fast..... I have a dual boot with Ubuntu and 7. And previously also with 7 alone when booting up it used to take i think a minimum of 4 minutes to fully load everything. I also have a lot of things in the startup. I think that the Intel Rapid Store Technology Driver's software with the drive and the tick mark takes the longest to load becuase for a while it shows the ! mark and then after it turns to a tick mark then my laptop is kinda fast and i can start using it.

Yahoo Widgets (2 widgets)
Windows Gadgets (2 gadgets)
Rocketdock
The rest is all drivers like bluetooth n other peripherals. For some reason i feel that my 7 is almost the same as XP after some time it takes a while to boot up.

I just wanted to know whether you guys have more items in the startup cuz if not then i think there is some issue in my system....

 

I have no discernible difference between pre-SP1 and post-SP1 except maybe a couple of seconds but I am not certain. If you guys really want to fix your boot and load times, get one of these...

Amazon.com: Intel X25M 120 GB Solid State Drive with Internal SATA and Power Cables MLC Flash Technology, 2.5-Inch Form Factor SSDSA2MH120G2K5: Electronics

or similar. Hands down the best upgrade or money spent on your computer is an SSD. My boot and OS/app load times were pretty poor until I got one. Now it takes right around 20 seconds from pressing the power button until login/logon screen (and I am using an unlocked, modded BIOS which seems to take a few extra seconds now but this delay started before the SP1 install) and like another 12 seconds to load the apps. I just timed them and I am not running a ton of apps when Windows starts but even when I did, it took probably less than 30 seconds after I logged on. There may be other issues with your systems but this will help a ton and a clean install should fix the rest. Best of luck.

 

I don't use the IRST Driver because it makes my HDD Indicator light blink. I guess slow load times is another reason.

I got the default 500GB drive and it takes about 40 seconds to get to the login-screen and an additional 40 seconds to open up Firefox.

 

If i may make a quick point first: i have 3 user accounts on my 1645.
my "personal" account for every day, everything use
my "business" account that i use for work
my "misc" account that my partner uses for her hobby photography work

the login time that I'm listing here is my "business" account as it has the most startup services, etc.

here's all the notable services i've got:

• Acronis True Image 11
• Cisco VPN Agent
• Dropbox
• ESET AV
• Google Calendar Sync
• Input Director
• LogMeIn
• Logitech SetPoint 64
• MySql
• MSSQL Server
• MS Visual Studio 2010 helper plug-ins
• VMWare
• Windows Mobility Centre
• Web Matrix (MS tool for local WordPress dev)

here's all the "expected" services in Windows 7:

• AMD/ATI CCC
• Dell QuickSet64
• IDT Audio
• Intel RST
• Intel ProSet/WiFi
• Windows Gadgets (only 1 gadget)

The Windows gadget i have is called "DriveBuddy" (i think) it's just an image of a DVD, that if you click it, it will eject the DVD in your drive (it's handy when i have my LCD panel closed).

Other than that, I have the usual array of Windows 7 services, like Windows Updates, occasional updates from applications like Adobe CS5 suite (just got it from work, but seems faster than CS4). Of course, there's also the slew of drivers that Windows can be notorious for.

i don't mind that it takes this long, as i often hit the power button then go away for a coffee and quick chat with colleagues in the halls.

 

Hmm, I think I'll reboot soon and check my boot time. How are you guys determining the time from entering password to everything loaded up? Seriously, I feel like my laptop is usable within 20-30 seconds of entering my password, but obviously the harddrive continues to be accessed and stuff is still loading up in the background.

 

I measure 3 points- pressing the power button, when the log-in screen is available, and when an application I open is fully loaded (usually Firefox). I'm guessing everyone does their own thing. With Windows 7 using the HDD indicator isn't really useful since it may stay on 3, 5, or 15 minutes after a start-up, so I thought opening an application was a good idea.

 

ditto here, but in my case it's the Outlook 2010 opening splash screen, asking for my Exchange password

the HDD LED is not an indicator of activity, since Windows will always search your hard disk for indexing services, etc. (by default).

 

If my laptop were fast enough I would just turn it on and use it, but due to the loading and everything, i usually turn it on and leave it for a few minutes and do other things. Maybe get my other laptop things out and set up my area or sometimes just go and eat a snack. I've pretty much gotten used to it.

But for those interested, there is a windows gadget that monitors drive activity...

 

Alright, cold boot (ie, pressing power button after laptop is completely off) starting time is pressing the power button:

To password screen: 40 seconds.
-entered password as quickly as possible and hit enter

To Chrome loaded up and displaying gmail: 80 seconds (from start, ie. 40 seconds after password screen) Chrome (with 6 tabs) itself was actually loaded about 10 seconds before this.

I was going to guess between 1 and 1.5 minutes boot time, so this seems about usual to me.

 

i'd like to make a minor addition and correction to my previous 1.5-2 min boot/load time from login screen to ready-to-go.

my Outlook actually is in my Startup folder in Windows, so that it's automatic upon login. given this, the splash screen usually loads before my Windows gadget loads. all my taskbar icons are loaded already by then, but even so Outlook seems to open about 20-30 seconds before my Windows gadget loads, which is the final item before everything is loaded and ready.

given this, i think my boot time is still 20-30 seconds from OFF to Windows login screen, and ~2-2.5 mins from Windows login screen to ready. Not a drastic change by human means, but for an i7-based computer that's about... 10 minutes?

 

Hmm, that seems pretty long, though I suppose it all depends on what you all have that loads on startup and how often you reboot. (ie, I might put up with a long reboot time that loaded up all of my favourite gadgets and random programs if I hardly ever rebooted).

Maybe I'm just a little OCD about keeping my computer running fast, but if there is anything loading at start-up that I don't use very frequently or that I don't know exactly what it does, then I usually edit it out of the start-up. For example, in the task bar there are 6 icons, which includes: volume control, networking, battery, action center, antivirus (MS security essentials), and the synaptics touchpad icon.

 

considering how much stuff i have running, and how many services load at startup, i think that 3+/- mins is actually pretty good.

startup is a little bit laggy, but immediately afterwards when i'm doing my work i never notice any lag or problems.

 

When I use this restart calculator, it gives me 33 seconds with the SSD.

See What Your Windows 7 Restart Time is. - Microsoft Help | DSLReports Forums

 

Used that program, got 58 seconds. Woo woo!

 

Hmmm... I thought that the start up time was usually found out from the time you press the POWER ON button to the point where there is no activity a.k.a IDLE state. Did not know this was the way to check it out. Anyways, let me check with a proper timer and that VB script and see how much i get...... Fingers crossed.....

 

There doesn't seem to be a really great, consistent way for everyone to check and compare their boot times, but at least that script is something.

 

After installing a game and doing some work on my 1645, i decided to restart it and see the time from restart to fully loaded state.
2:30 seconds exactly, took me from pressing restart until getting to this forum.
my system is pretty heavily loaded, 1/5 HDD free space and many background apps.
SXPS 1645 - i7 Q840, 6GB ram, 500GB 7200rpm HDD, Win7 SP1.
Pretty satisfied with my loading time, but for some reason going into Hybernate mode is twice as time consuming.

 

True - Hibernate is best with an SSD, that's for sure! It's a slow process compared with sleep, but so much better when you have so much stuff running that you don't want to close, but need to preserve the battery...

 

I installed the Intel Turbo Boost Monitor 2.0 a few weeks ago and it stops working after like 6-12 hours. It never crashes right away. It always takes plenty of time to do so. Anybody else experiencing the Monitor crashing? I probably need to do a clean install but I think I already did. Thanks.

 

Intel turbo boost Monitor is a gleechy driver. once i installed it, i did not see any improvements at all. it was also incompatible with my 1.5 TB External drive via Esata. whenever i tried to cut/copy-paste something from/to my external HDD, my computer was freezing to death, without BSOD. i had to power down my laptop to bring it to working state. I got rid of that program and since then, never experienced any problems with HDD.