**Official Dell XPS M1530 Owner's Lounge**

Hey all. Just recently purchased the XPS 1530 and I just have a few questions with regards to this laptop. Maybe some of you fellow owners can shed some light for me on some issues I am having. So I have the Windows Vista Ultimate version, 3 gigs ram, 2.4 Ghz processor, 8600Gt. Most of the specs you have likely seen. My issues are with the slot load dvd drive and the graphics card.

First I've trying to be watch some DVD+R's that I have which are in avi format but the drive has trouble reading the disk. It will start fine and then begin to stutter and spin as if trying to load the disc. Sometimes it will load them sometimes it won't. I wasn't sure if it's an issue with the drive or the disk. I'll try this disk on my desktop and see if it works properly. If so then what could the issue be?

Also as far as the graphics card goes. Just curious on what games people are running on this laptop and at what settings. I tried running unreal 3 and it's just not looking good. I was hoping to have this game looking like what I had been seeing and I can get it to run looking like UT 2004 barely. I would like this game to run at a smooth fps while at least looking like the game I had been seeing or at least in the ballpark. I'm not sure if it's the card, Vista or what. I know that I could go to laptopvideo2go.com to get modded drivers but not sure how that affects warranty and plus I don't have some the programs that the site suggest for uninstalling and installing new and old drivers. I really want to love this laptop but I just need this issues cleared up or some sort idea of what might be going on before I can be at ease with this purchase. Thanks in advance.

 

Just bumping this.

 

Only thing I know to answer your questions, DOS3, is that using modded drivers does not void your warranty.

I am surprised that you're having problems with UT3. I installed it on my 9400 with a 7900 GS and it ran fine. Are you running on batteries? I have had problems with video going into power save mode when running on batteries, and not going back into performance mode after plugging in until I rebooted.

If your disk runs fine in your desktop, there's nothing you can really do, that I know of, although I do recall seeing a disk drive firmware update on the Dell site that was marked as urgent or something. You might check for something like that.

 

I noticed that I had to put mine into High Performance mode in the Power settings so that it wouldn't stutter during gaming, even when plugged in. Also, get the modded drivers because it doesn't void your warranty and they might give you a performance boost. I wouldn't know because one of the first things I did was uninstall the Dell drivers and installed the 169.28 drivers and it runs CoD4 on Max with 2X AA with no problem.

 

Ok I wasn't running my laptop in performance mode. I'll give that a go and see where I'm at. Also does anyone know of where I could get the programs used to uninstall old drivers. I think I saw something about a program called driver cleaner, but I'm not sure if it's free or still available for that matter.

I've read good things about drivers 169.28, 169.04, 169.21, but that's discussion for another forum.

Also I have yet to try my dvd on my desktop, but I will definitely update on if it's the disk or the dvd drive. What exactly would a disk driver firmware update do? Ensure that the computer is reading your disk properly? Just curious. Thanks for the help guys. This is my first laptop so I appreciate the insight.

 

This is the copy of Driver Cleaner Pro I used, even though its really old, it works.
http://downloads.guru3d.com/download.php?det=745

 

bah went to install drivers for my tv tuner (non dell) and cant fit a minidisc in the slot load >.<

 

I've found video performance to be astounding on the 1530.
Installed the 169.04 drivers, got around 4300 in 3dMark06, ET:Quake Wars runs perfectly at high detail, Bioshock at High detail with shadows on medium and DX10 off. Will be installing COD4 tonight to see how that runs.

From reading other threads, it seems as though the 1530 is a bit faster than other similarly specced 8600DDR3 notebooks.

 

After putting my 1530 in high performance mode I definitely see a difference in UT3. It looks more like what I was hoping for, though the fps isn't quite up to speed of what I am looking for though I am assuming this can be fixed with the modded drivers.

Also I tried out that DVD on my desktop and it works just fine. The DVD is formatted as a data cd so that I could put more files onto that disk. I tried watching a regular DVD on my laptop and saw some stuttering issues during the rogue pictures intro going into the movie(the movie was Balls of Fury). Once it got through the inital opening everything was fine. I even started the movie over at the Rogue Picture intro and the stuttering issue wasn't there. Is this just something common with DVD drives, some stuttering at the beginning and all's well once it gets going? I was curious if my DVD drive is having a problem and I had to return the laptop, is this something that can be fixed without having to give me a new computer. I would really hate having to reinstall all the programs I put on the laptop. Maybe they could put the hard drive into a newer 1530?

Super twisted I am glad to see this computer, once set up properly, can hit some good benchmarks and play some of the best games, visually and gameplay wise, on the market today and play them the way they should be played.

Also are there any programs, drivers, etc. that come installed on the computer that should be deleted or uninstalled because they are either useless or possibly hinder performance?

Oh and r1n7r4h is that version of driver cleaner vista compatible. Thanks in advance yet again.

 

Just giving it a bump.

 

It is compatible atleast from my experience. I have used it on my M1530 and my uncle's Inspiron with Vista Ultimate.

 

Ok r1n7r4h, good info. I've read in another forum that driver cleaner is hit or miss with Vista. I'll do a little more research and then see if it's worth it.

As I scroll the pages of this topic and forum in general I feel like a kid with the training wheels still on. I saw a term, "bloatware", and I am curious what this is. I think this might tie in to a question I had in an earlier post. Obviously it's not good, so how would I get rid of it?

Thanks in advance........yet again.

 

Bloatware is extra unnecessary crap that PC sellers put on to try to get you to buy more crap and keep you under their control. Like AOL, or unwanted power management software.

 

i'm about to order a m1530 off the dell site. i'm also very, very broke. i have just enough to order the base system+the 8600m gt. is it possible to get the T5450 processor now and sell it and switch in a T7500 or T7300 later?
Thanks

 

Well after trying a few more DVD+R's I have found this drive either doesn't like the disc I'm using or doesn't like the files on this disk. I was able to watch these files on my desktop no problem but when I put the disc in the 1530 it either loads some files and not others or just spits the disc out which I was surprised by. I'm guessing it's the drive. Does this sound like a drive problem, disc problem?

Also the touch buttons on the laptop aren't registering when I hit them. Maybe I'm doing this incorrectly, but I figured when you press or hold it down the volume will continue to decrease or increase in one steadty swoop, not decrease or increase as if pressed once. I press and press and get nothing sometimes. I think this may be going back and we'll see what happens. Thanks in advance.

 

Updated all the drivers today: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=193815

 

Read the Dell documentation on processor replacement. If it seems like something you'd be comfortable doing, then there's no reason why you couldn't upgrade the processor at a later date. You might even be able to swap in one of the new Penryn units.

 

when i set my 1530 to "do nothing" when i close my lid it goes to sleep instead.. this is heaps annoying especially when i want my notebook to keep running when i close the lid. Is there a way to fix this??

 

hey is there a reset button for this notebook? how do i reset the thing when it hangs??

 

Did you fix your lid issue ?

Im interested in this point as i plan to use this mostly for hooking up to my HDTV and playing bakc HD stuff so dont want to keep the laptop lid open.

Also as we cant view these in the UK was wondering your oipinions on colour.
Dell guy told me he prefers red but im not sure which one to go for , red or black ??

Help needed - thanks in advance

 

hold down the power button for 4 seconds. The notebook will power down immediately. This is basically like unplugging all power, so of course all unsaved work will be lost and possibly files can be corrupted. I do it occasionally, though, and haven't had any problems. It is a last resort, though.

 

What is the best way to use my battery when im plugged in alot? just leave it in my notebook, or...

 

leave it in the notebook

 

Hmm really? For my old inspiron I was plugged in 99% of the time, and the battery died after a year and a half. I figure if I had left it out and only stuck it in when I needed to go portable, I would probably still have a working battery heh.

 

anybody tried overclocking for 1530? would u recommend Rivatuner for noobs? is it worth it? only game I'm considering is crysis and company of heroes

 

Anybody got any thoughts re color options
Crimson red or Black , its all we can get in the uk

 

I'm gonna say black, but that's because I prefer basic simple colors with regards to the laptop. I was thinking about red but it seems like a bit much, at least for me.

 

yeah im thinking that
Actually i think id love red, but maybe only for the 1st month or so
Thinking id soon regret getting it instead of black,
can they be changed by the owner or is that it once youve decided the color

 

nope i shut my lid just then and the comp went to sleep (everything turned off) i had the option set for it to do nothing and to keep running but it didnt!

colour depends on u, imo when your out in public red gets more attention, mines black.

 

ok now my lid thing works now.... i went into power options and it was already set to "do nothing" so i set it to "do nothing" again, even though this was already selected previously and then it worked... how wierd. but the touchpad is screwed after reopening the lid aargh so many small frustrations with this notebook and this is dells flagship 15.4" consumer notebook >.<

 

sweet, thanks for the info
maybe ill hold off ordering for a while
also read problems about switching between external tv and laptop screen
I will be doing this alot and cant be arsed to switch resolutions all the time so maybe ill have to wait for a better solution to this too

 

Not sure if the laptop can be changed as in sent back to Dell for another color once you get it. As far as changing the color yourself, via paint or other options I think that that is up to you. This is a very new laptop for Dell not sure if anyone has actually done any visual mods to this laptop, plus I think that voids warranty or might void warranty if parts are broken during the process of changing the color not sure.

 

I have a question regarding notebook coolers since I am just puzzled at this point.

I've been looking for one for my M1530 but it seems all the decent/good ones all lift your laptop up, like the Zalman or the Coolermaster Notepal Infinite. My problem is that I like the angle the keyboard is right now with the 9cell. Are there any other availible options? Preferably cheaper.

 

I use a throw pillow. It's comfy and it's perfectly level, too.

 

That doesn't sound like a bad idea because my temps aren't that high to spend $50 just for a cooler. After an hr of Team Fortress 2, Speed Fan was showing 40 degress Celcius for my HD, 50 for my CPU and my 8600 was at 70 degrees. If anything, I guess I'll go with the Bytecc cooler. Saved me atleast $30, thanks.

 

I am currently having a problem with my m1530 and was wondering if anyone had the same issue/knew the fix:

I reformated and put on XP Pro. I found all the drivers for my 1530 in a driver pack and installed them. All the devices show as working in device manager, however, whenever my computer goes to sleep, it refuses to wake back up (screen wont turn back on).

Does anyone else have this issue, or know what could cause it?

My specs are:

T7800
4GB ram
200GB 7200 hdd
256MB Nvidia vid card
sxga+ screen

 

I'm confused about the whole vista 32 bit vs 64 bit thing. How do I know which one I have, and is one better for gaming/entertainment? I just bought the default option for OS (genuine vista home edition premium).

Also, I've read that the default video driver is from Dell, and I should replace this with a driver from nVidia? Will there be significant benefits? Thanks.

 

I don't know a lot about it either, but I'm pretty sure that Vista Ultimate is the 64 bit OS. If you have anything less (Premium, Home Basic etc) then you have a 32 bit OS. Someone feel free to correct me if I'm wrong.

I've had my M1530 since Dec. 19th and it never runs hot at all for me. I don't push it really hard, other than playing Crysis, Call of Duty 4, running AutoCAD, Photoshop, Illustrator, etc...well maybe I have pushed it a little bit, but the laptop has never gotten very warm. Definitely the finest laptop I've ever used. For reference I have 2.2ghz intel dual core, nvidia 8600gt, 2.5gb memory with Vista Premium.

I saw a few folks complaining about build quality. Don't know what's up with yours if its bad, because mine is built perfectly. I couldn't be happier with it.

 

Dell home laptops only come with the 32 bit version of Vista.

 

Hi, I'm interested in buying XPS M1530 some time soon (as soon as the LED screen option will be available). But I'm worried about the noise of the HDD - is it that loud as it says in the http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=4135 review? Maybe it's just the issue ot that specific Hitachi model? I'll propably put Hitachi 7K200, did anyone, by any chance, made this modification? Is the HDD noisy?

 

Mine does that too! I hate having to close the lid for a few minutes and then to open it again with the touchpad screwed for at least a minute or so. It is very annoying and frustrating.

 

I think its because of the magnet in the screen for the open/close sensor.

 

I sure hope you guys are reporting these problems to Dell so that they are aware of them, otherwise this issues will never be addressed.

 

I just received my 1530 a day ago.
I have 2 strange problems.

1. I cant see History in internet explorer.
2. Cant open .jpg files, I mean my camera pictures.

Any solutions !

 

1.To view history, open the Favorites tab and click the history tab. If you mean its empty then set IE to save history for a longer duration of time.

2. Did you install something that changed the default program? Anyways, just right click on a.jpg file and choose properties. Then change the Opens with to Windows Photo Gallery.

 

So I tried a few of my DVD's and it seems my drive has trouble reading DVD+R's or at least the specific brand of DVD+R I am using, which as an off brand. It will either read it and take awhile to load the files or not load them at all or will just spit the disk back out. I have no issues whatsoever watching these discs on my 2 year old desktop. Also it seems things take a minute to get going as well meaning disk don't load as quickly as I was expecting. Not sure if this is common or not. If you have DVD+R's give them a shot and see if they work.

 

I just got mine!!! It's BEAutiful. The screen is perfect as it is an LG, and I got it first time. Blessed or lucky huh? I love this laptop. It will replace my Inspiron 8600 very well. My specs are below if you like to read that stuff:

T7700
3GB ram
200GB 7200 hdd
8600GT 256MB Nvidia card
Wxga+ screen
Blu-ray drive
LG SCREEN

The only slight problem is the HDD making a tiny tick-like noise. I think I will follow the guidance off this thread below, though if anyone has any better solutions, please tell me:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=168425

 

Well after getting off the phone with tech support they said it was likely the brand of DVD+R's I was using, which was Dynex. Also I guess the touch buttons used for volume and the disk eject aren't as sensitive as I thought they would be. So I guess my laptop has no issues except compatibility issues with certain DVD+R's, which still doesn't make sense to me since it wasn't like the disk drive was not reading any of the files on the disk, just in some cases it would eject the disk or load only certain files on the disk. Well my laptop is fine I guess.

Also how do you find out if you have the LG monitor? I see people stating how great it is and I would like to know if I have one. Thanks in advance.

 

LG is not that great..it just has less of a failure rate it seems. But Compal one is perfectly fine

 

Checking screen model:

If you are happy with your screen and it looks good, no point in bothering. As judgedee said, "LG is not that great," but in my opinion, if LG is able to produce the least failure-ridden screen (as I have derived from the forums) for the XPS M1530 today , they're the most wanted. I also agree that other companys can have screens that are as good as well (SEC, AUO).

On XP:
Control Panel > System > Hardware Tab > Device Manager > Open Monitor Plus Sign > Right Click Plug and Play Monitor > Details Tab > Pull Down Menu > Select Hardware ids.

On Vista:
"The easiest way to get to Device Manager is to right-click Computer in the Start menu, choose Properties, and click the Advanced System Setting link. Then, navigate to the Hardware tab and click the Device Manager button." From there, open the monitor plus sign, right click plug and play monitor, click on properties, go to the details tab, then the pull down menu, and select "Hardware IDs"

I also think you can also just run this devmgmt.msc to get to device manager.

Hope this helps