**The Official Studio XPS 1645 Intel Core i7 "Owners Lounge" - Part 2

I'd use PartedMagic, here's a step-by-step guide Parted Magic ,Save your low performance SSD - GSKILL TECH FORUM Please note that Secure Erase will erase EVERYTHING including the recovery and all other partitions, so back everything up to an external device or 2nd hard drive first.

 

I have the 1645 with the I7/820 processor. Overall, I like the laptop, but have a few lingering issues.

1. Heat. Runs hot (it did come with the larger power supply). Not sure how best to deal with dell on this issue, I have had two support calls, they just say it is normal to run hot.

2. When lid is closed, in sleep mode, it wakes up, can run for hours while I am gone and it is like a toaster oven hot, can't be good for it. I disabled auto wake up in the network card, download of any updates, disabled updates in media player, still wakes up though.

3. When I connect to wireless networks, takes forever or it will just never connect and I have to toggle wireless on and off, eventually it usually connects or I have to restart the system and it connects right away. This happens almost every time, rarely does it do a quick re-connect to wireless, yet other laptops and desktops connect right away, no issues.

Any ideas? I wish I had not gotten this laptop, not really liking it too much.

 

1. Ya, it runs hot if you are doing anything more than web browsing or other basic tasks. This will depend a lot on your Power Mode though (little battery icon in the task bar). I like the "Dell" setting or balanced when I'm not playing games. Can even go to power saving if you really want to keep it cool.

2. Again this can be solved by going to your power setting. In this case, go to the power icon in the task bar again, right click -> power options. For whatever plan you are using, click on "Change plan settings". Then "Change advanced power settings". In there, go to: Sleep -> Allow wake timers, then disable for both battery and plugged in. I think that should solve your middle of the night wake up problem.

3. I haven't had any network problems. I uninstalled all of the intel garbag (my wifi program and such), and I let windows handle my networks. Seems to work very well. Quick wifi connections and seems stable!

 

How hot is "Red Hot"??

 

You uninstalled the Intel Proset Wireless/Wifi Software?

 

you can choose to just download the driver instead of the whole program package.

 

Ya, I don't like bloatware or in fact any software that doesn't serve a purpose on my machine, especially if Windows can do what it does already. So, yup, I uninstalled the Intel Proset Wireless/Wifi software and then just installed the stand alone drivers. I feel that sometimes those network programs fight with windows for control and mess things up, but maybe that's all in my head. In either case Windows does perfectly fine without it

 

How I fix my slow SSD:

1. Use Windows' built-in system image function to put an image on a external hard drive or a BD-RE or two. The former is heck of a lot faster, if you're curious. Make a system repair disc, too; it's in the same window.

2. Use Parted Magic to do it's thing. You'll 99% get stuck at 4-2, saying the Drive is Frozen. Get your screwdriver out, unscrew the bottom panel of the SXPS 16. Disconnect the SSD and plug it back in. Try Parted Magic again. Should work.

3. Boot into the system repair disc and select "Restore from Image" or whatever is close to that. Should be on the first window. Select the image you made on your external hard drive.

4. Boom, new SSD performance in maybe 30-45 minutes of time. I do it every 3 months or so.

~Ibrahim~

 

Thanks for expanding on the guide. Hopefully I'll never actually have to do this though, with TRIM and SandForce garbage collection, but you never know.

 

Right, only non-TRIM SSDs need this. The Sandforce stuff should run without a fluke.

However, I have TRIM on my drive (so says CrystalDiskInfo), and Rapid Storage, but still after a few months, I'm back down to 15MB/s writes.

 

The responses to your sleep issues I think have been addressed - but I fond that it was stupid McAfee security center that was waking up my laptop.

Best if you disable general wake up as indicated by the other poster - but you could always go into the preset tasks and find which ones are allowed to wake up the computer.

As for the internet issues, I also do not use the intel software (just the drivers). As for heat - if you want to get rid of your xps 1645....just keep complaining over and over - and eventually they might offer you the new xps 15 as a replacement - but this could take a while and a whole lot of patience.

 

Ok, thanks for the advice.

 

So I finally got my m1530 replaced by the 1645 even though they said it would be a XPS 15, but whatever. The only thing disappointing is the screen. Its 1600x900, higher then my previous 1440x900. But it does not look as nice. Does anyone know if its LED blacklit? Its relatively dim compared to my old screen and the coloration is a little iffy for me compared to my old screen. Are other screens significantly different, otherwise I might ask Dell to change my screen. Heres the part # on system information YR2XT MODULE, LIQUID CRYSTAL DISPLAY, 15.6, HIGH DEFINITION+, LOW COST, 1645/1647.

 

They are all LED backlight, and should be quite bright, maybe the one you got is already a bit old and the LEDs have began to fade (they don't fade nearly as quickly as CCFL backlights do, but it does still happen eventually). You could always call Dell and complain and see if they'll replace it. FWIW, the 900p screens are usually quite good for laptop displays.

What actual display do you have? Go into your device manager, click on 'generic pnp display' go to properties, then advanced, then select 'device id' from the drop down menu.

 

The display is LGD0214

 

Just reinstalled Win7 on my new SSD and so far its working blazingly fast again. My WEI scores are 6.7 minimum, with the HD scoring 7.4. Thats without Intel's Storage Matrix Manager installed.

My question is it useful to have this installed. Would/could it speed up or slow down my system?

 

Supposedly it could speed up certain operations for SSDs (and RAID setups), but you probably won't be able to tell the difference.

 

That's the same one I have. I had to turn the brightness down to 70%, as at 100% it was so bright it hurt my eyes. I'd call up Dell and ask for a replacement.

 

You need to install it, as the generic windows drivers do not support TRIM. Without TRIM your drive's write performance will degrade significantly over time.

 

!!

It's not the Storage Matrix Manager you need. It's Intel Rapid Storage Technology.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...-software-updates-studioxps-1640-45-47-a.html

Check there.

~Ibrahim~

 

My bad, you're right you need IRST, lol, MSM is the old version. In my defense though, they are the same software, they just changed the name.

 

Speaking of that IRST/MSM stuff, does anyone else find that the software makes their HDD Indicator light blink at a perfectly steady rate? The actual cause has something to do with the CD/DVD drive polling, so I know it's not accessing my HDD constantly, but I find it annoying enough that I don't leave it installed.

So to those who installed the new version- if anyone had the blinking "problem" before, and after installing the new software the blinking went away, please let me know! I'd install the new version and test it myself (to see if the blinking goes away) but I had a bad experience with an old version of the software which required a system restore to completely eliminate the blinking (plus it requires 2 restarts to install; evil ).

 

Does Dell making new BIOS for xps 1645 or not?

 

Yeah, mine is constantly blinking, though I never noticed it until you pointed it out. I actually use my laptop on my lap most of the time, lol, so I generally can't see the indicator lights on the front.

 

Dell Studio XPS 1645 Suddenly running VERY slow and crashing on desktop!

I have a laptop i purchased just 2 months ago. It suddenly 2 days ago boots completely fine but when i get to the desktop screen it is ridiculously slow and crashes.


Heres what i have done:

-run anti spyware and antivirus scans in safe mode
-I cannot run a system restore as i have not created any restore points yet

The laptop runs absolutely fine in safe mode which makes me think it could be to do with the video card but i cannot seem to re-install the drivers in safe mode?

I cannot re-install windows as I have left the disc at university.

Please any help is really appreciated!

 

if you can uninstall the drivers in Safe Mode, try doing a sweep with Driver Sweeper. after that run the video card driver installer to extract its contents (by default it should go to C:\ATI\Support\"filename"), then run the installation file manually via command prompt, eg.

Code:

C:\ATI\Support\10-10_mobility_vista_win7_32-64_ccc\Bin64\setup.exe -install -output screen

this will install the driver without the need for the C++ redistributable package, which sometimes doesn't work at all for some users (myself included). it should also open up Internet Explorer with the installation results (successful or not)

i hope this at least helps you install the video card driver within Safe Mode!

 

OK my 1645 has treated me well until today. I have been playing single player Crysis 1 on low settings. Today I made it to level 10 out of 11 levels and for some reason my systems shuts down out of nowhere. I did not have this problem with the other levels and it happened twice after playing for about 20 min. My palm rest is hot but not hotter than any other times I have played. What could be the issue?

 

I'm guessing you can restart it?

Check the event log, I'm thinking your GPU reached shutdown temps and killed itself to preserve it... there should be quite a few alerts about it if that's the case.

 

You are most definitely right Should have know to check there.

'System shutdown due to graphics card overheating'

That is pretty grab for running a game low settings. Will a cooling pad really help?

 

There's couple of things that people do/have done.

I'd reset the paste for both CPU and GPU with something like AS5 (insert your favorite there). This will by far and most likely have the biggest impact with temps.

Get yourself a cooler, I have NC-2000 which works nicely and (IMO) looks good while raising the level beyond the 130W adapter giving better air-flow.

Then there's the BIOS mod OC thread where people are getting good results with removing the mesh cover under the fan (connected to the back-plate). Haven't tried this myself yet as I'm dealing with some dumb issue on my laptop ... but I think it's easy enough to put back on if it happens not to work for you.

add: and if you've never cleaned the fan area, do that. It's possibly blocking air-flow with a lot of dust.

 

Hello! Just a quick question, that I could not find the answer to after searching the forums. I have a TV streaming device connected to my network that I play on my sxps 16, that is stuttering. Ive pretty much figured this is down to bad transfer rates across my network and so was planning on replacing the wireless 1397 minicard with the Intel 5300 version, as this is 802.11n compatable. (should have just chosen this option on ordering!)

I was wondering if anyone had any advice with the following: Are these cards in any way proprietary to Dell? As in would ANY Intel 5300 card work, or would I need a specific "Dell Friendly" Intel 5300 card.

Also the entire physical operation looks fairly straightforward, get the bottom off, fish the old one out and screw the new one in. Are there any unexpected things I should be aware of?

Cheers all!

 

i can't say for certain about the Intel 5300, but from what I saw on my Intel 6250, it is just the "generic" Intel card. My belief is that I could take it out of my 1645 and plop it into any compatible notebook and it should work.

I may be wrong though, perhaps others can confirm?

 

They are generic as far as I know. I had 2 5300's (both from Dell) and one was much better than the other. I am pretty certain the one was defective but I still had issues with the replacement and bought the Intel 6300 (and installed it myself) and it is quite an improvement over the 5300 and when I bought it on Amazon, the 6300 was cheaper than the 5300. And it looks like it still is but not as much of a price difference (I think I actually saved $5 over the 5300 at the time)...

Amazon.com: Intel Ultimate N 633ANHMW IEEE 802.11n (draft) Wi-Fi Adapter - Mini PCI Express - 450Mbps: Electronics (6300)

Amazon.com: Intel Intel 5300 Ultimate N Wi-Fi Link Wireless Network Adapter - Mini PCI Express - 450Mbps - IEEE 802.11n (draft), IEEE 802.11a/b/g: Electronics

Otherwise, if you are still having problems and you want it absolutely solved (and don't need mobility), this is THE solution (besides buying a new wireless router because your router usually makes all the difference in connection quality, speed, etc.)...

http://www.amazon.com/NextG-USB-Yagi-Range-antenna-2200mW/dp/B0044D7J1W/

or a cheaper alternative and more mobile but made by the same company and would assume it is excellent, too...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B003ZD25Y8

 

Something weird is happening on my 1645. When Im using windows explorer stuff like browsing thru my documents and click on folders, the loading/click sound plays and my music would come on thru my speakers while my headphones are on! It switches from headphones to speakers when the click sound plays. and then back to headphones real quick.
Anyone know whats wrong?
Also it doesnt seem to be happening every time but it happened more than once.

 

Cheers for the advice guys. I was looking at the 5300 cause a) its 99p on ebay and b) the 6300 has 3 antenna and as far as I know my 1645 has 2 installed. I havent opened it up but im guessing dell would have only wired 2 antenna in for my 2 antenna card. But if the 6300 offers other advantages and I dont get the other one for 99p then I might look into it, if amazon has some good prices.

On a separate note, im guessing manually wiring a 3rd antenna in would be a huge pain in the ?

Also, those wifi aerials look wicked! Didnt know they made something like that, if im still having problems I'll get in on one of them too.

 

I don't know exactly what causes it (probably bad/old drivers) but I used to have your problem especially with Skype. However, I know what solved it for me and that was updating my drivers.

Yeah, I definitely think the 6300 > 5300 so if they are close in price definitely go for it. Also, look at your wireless router. This is the main thing that will make a difference. There are quite a few that have great specs but don't work the best especially with certain wireless cards. For instance, this router works well when you are right next to it but when you get to be 15 feet away forget about it (4 different computers have had issues at a short distance and the firmware is updated and settings have been changed numerous times but always problems)...

Amazon.com: Belkin Wireless N+ 802.11n Router (Black): Electronics

I definitely think a good router is key and more important than the card. As for adding a third antenna, it can be a bit of a pain but I have heard that it can make a big difference. I believe your 1645 should have come standard with 3 antennas and one is not in use. The 5300 uses 3 antennas, too. That is what the 3 stands for. If your system didn't come with 3 antennas, you can buy a third antenna for like 9USD on Amazon...

Amazon.com: Tyco Wifi & Bluetooth Antenna: Everything Else

Best of luck!

 

EDIT: Hmmm, maybe I'm remembering wrong. Amazon shows the 5300 with 3 antenna hookups. There is definitely a stray cable that isn't connected, though.

My SXPS 1645's 5300 card only has two wires coming out of it. IIRC, there is a third antenna cable, but the 5300 card only has two antenna jacks, so it is just tucked away unused.

The stuttering while streaming: you've tried to reinstall the drivers, right? This happened to me once, could not figure it out for the life of me until I uninstalled/reinstalled network drivers. Who makes the chipset on the Dell card? Maybe check their site for updated drivers.

~Ibrahim~

 

Yep, definitely 3 antenna hookups, I have had 2 of them. The 5250 and 6200 have 2 hookups and the 5300 and 6300 have 3 hookups and the second number of all these models indicates the number of antenna connections.

 

The stray cables I have are for the 3rd mini card.

One goes to bluetooth and 3 to the 5300 - that leaves 2 stragglers for the 3rd mini card (WWAN).

Just a question, can the 6300 use both 2.4Ghz and 5Ghz at the same time or is it one or the other at a time (5300 can only do one or the other AFAIK)?

 

Thanks rnbaker and error-id10t.

It is the WWAN card hook up!

Unsure on the 2.4Ghz/5GHz....

 

Hey y'all. Just quickly wondering if the 1647/1645 mobo is a direct drop in for the old 1640. I'm starting to feel that the graphics and processor are getting a little out of date and the whole DX11/win7 thing is starting to sound pretty nice. Most of you would probably say "why not just get a new computer?", well the screen is fantastic, build quality is something you won't often find etc. so I'd like to stick with this computer if possible.

Secondly, would I be able to order it from dell or would I have to go to some third party vendor? I remember hearing something about the part numbers for these mobos (if anything I'd like the one with the latest ati on it... 5730 or something like that?), if I give them the part number then would they ship it to me?

 

cheers for all the help! I'll probably go for the 6300 then, and check if there are 3 antennas inside. I am also going to get a new wireless router, but when i move to a new place that doesnt have adsl.

Cheers again!

 

Getting the 5730 mobo is the hard part.. haven't found any yet on ebay. Other than that, I'm not sure if it comes with the heatsink and fan setup and of course (I think) the fan exhaust is smaller on the 1640.

 

Yea but the heatsink is alot different, no what is it? north/southbridge on 1645

 

somebody in another thread mentioned that the 1640 chassis doesn't quite fit the mainboard for the 1647/1645. something about the screw holes not aligning properly? i can't quite remember which thread though, sorry.

if you ask me, you might be better off contacting Dell and telling them that you're suffering from severe throttling, then negotiate some sort of replacement (probably a refurbished 1647)

 

Also, the motherboards for the 1645 and 1647 are different despite looking the same and having the same chipset.

 

If I ask for a replacement then I'll lose the awesome screen, not to mention that I'm well out of my warrenty period now too. I also get the impression that if I asked dell directly then they'd spout something awfull about it not being possible when the reality is that a) they don't know whether it would fit or not b) they just don't want to send me the MB.

 

Hello, i do have the same problem with my current XPS 1645 what u do have guys. my system gets throttling when i try to play games at maximum level and it is very annoying. i have read that most of you have been able to get replacement laptops according to this issue. can you point me any way where i should look for the replacement laptop? or whom i should tell about this issue and demand replacement.

 

if you're within your warranty period, just contact Dell Support directly, either through chat or over the phone. as for the exact steps, you'll have to ask somebody else, i've been lucky by not having any of the problems people report.

 

I have been having this frequently with the keyboard of my XPS, which I have had for 5 months, back and forth to school. Originally mentioned in this post, the day that I received the notebook, it already had one loose CTRL key, so I sent it to the depot and came back within 3 days since the location is a hours drive away from me. Well the keyboard had been replaced, as stated in the report. Two weeks later I noticed that I was having incorrect symbols show up if I were to press symbol keys (accented E's) on the right hand side. Now I had this exact same issue occur with my 2003 Dell Keyboard, where symbols would be typed instead of commas and quotation marks. Symbols that were affected would seem to have been re-mapped to top of the keyboard on the set of number keys. Also none of the language settings were enabled for bilingual usage.

Basically after doing some research on Dell, I came to the conclusion that my keyboard decoder/micro-controller was just part of a list of issues with keyboards Dell Community Forum Thread

I love the battery life and speed of my machine. Though it is very disconcerting that the keyboard, something so important in computer operation and usage was not given either new hardware or new software to correct such issues. Either that or the depot where it got fixed did not catch a small issue like this.

Also I feel that my XPS 1645 has a lot of body warp, and is unsteady on its feet, sometimes noticeably. I think Dell could have put more screws, or shore up and reinforce the area where the battery and vents are, since I always get the feeling that any pressure would crack or bend the plastic.

I still like Dell products, since currently are coming out with products such as the L107x with great battery life and performance, for a great price compared to what has come out from Asus who is usually what I think is superb company as well.

But the XPS 1645 series has left me with a bitter taste in my mouth. Being a student enrolled in a 4 year Degree in Computer and Communication Networking course, I wanted a machine that would have lasted me at least 4 years of typing, presentations, and labs. But I must say the build quality is not great anymore, and the keyboard should not be causing such issues this early.

I could be wrong, and this being a isolated case.