Side led light and ESATA problems on a refurb 1640

Hi everyone, I just got a SXPS1640 refurbed from Dell Outlet. So far this thing is beautiful, RGBLED, 4670, etc. Although I have been having some issues I have tried to search for with no luck.


1.) It seems like every now and then the back light on my LCD will flicker, almost as if when the CPU usage spikes or something every now and then it will dim just a bit for a split second.

2.) ESATA doesn't appear to work at all. I have tried it with two external drives. One of them a 2.5 inch, ESATA doesn't even power the drive. The other is a 3.5 with its own power brick, ESATA doesn't do anything. I've tried different ESATA cables as well. It is as if the drives aren't even plugged in. The USB part of the port works fine but ESATA seems to do nothing.

3.) Not a big issue, but the ring led on the left screen hinge by the power button doesn't work at all but the right side one by the power adapter does. I'm thinking I might either get them both working or unplug them both, one or the other, how do I get to these?

4.) Every now and then when the CPU usage spikes or something I hear a little click/crackle from somewhere. I think it might be my A/C adapter. I did a search and saw some other people have this issue with the PA-3e. Since I am on the go a lot I am thinking about just using this PA-3e as my travel adapter for when I need some juice in a pinch when the battery is running out and buying a new adapter for home use (which the computer will be plugged into most of the time.) I saw that new PA-4e's, the 130watt version seem to go on ebay for the same cost. It won't damage my computer or anything if I buy the 130watt adapter will it?

Thanks in advance!

 

One more issue I was going to ask about, on Dell's website I can't download any of the software that came with my notebook after I upgraded to Windows 7. It tries to install that service number checker, I hit install, then after that, absolutely nothing. Anyone have any ideas? I just want some of the basic stuff like the webcam software and whatnot.

 

send it back imo. you got a unit that was not tested properly. who knows what else is wrong. dell has issues sending out NEW units in fully-working condition, i'd never touch a used system.