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

Thanks for the heads up. It seems the inverter is in the LCD assembly. From what I've seen a lot the replacements out there are sold as a complete assembly and Dell themselves even replace the whole assembly. So I'm wondering if anyone knows if its hard to get into the whole panel assembly? It looks somewhat hard and I'm not seeing instructions on Dell's service manual. In fact it says "To avoid damage don't dissemble edge to edge display in the field."

 

Hello guys, i exchnaged the BluRay Drive with a SSD.

I then broke the interposer... (I would say it was very weak anyway)



Called dell and let them send me a new one 1,90€.

Will I now get problems with my warranty?

And in case I do get problems, what happens if my Laptop breaks fully will cmplete care still cover it even though i broke a little plastic piece?

What do u guys think?

This is what the dell site says:
Documentation


CAUTION: Before working inside your computer, read the safety information that shipped with your computer. For additional safety best practices information, see the Regulatory Compliance Homepage at Regulatory Compliance | Dell.
NOTICE: To avoid electrostatic discharge, ground yourself by using a wrist grounding strap or by periodically touching an unpainted metal surface (such as the back panel) on the computer.
NOTICE: Only a certified service technician should perform repairs on your computer. Damage due to servicing that is not authorized by Dell™ is not covered by your warranty.
NOTICE: To help prevent damage to the system board, remove the main battery (see Before Working Inside Your Computer) before working inside the computer.

 

I dont know if this is the right section to post in (i hope it is ) , i just ordered my new laptop , it is Dell XPS 15 , with i7 2670 QM CPU , 8GB RAM , 500GB 7200Rpm HDD ( big enough for me as i have managed to put 40GB of data including the OS in my Desktop in 5 years time ) , NVidia GT 540M 2GB , windows 7 64 bit . It was not easy to decide what to get , better looking machines out there , and better build quality to , but this was very good price
and i believe that what is inside that matters , i am happy with my choice , only one thing buggs me , and that is the 720p screen , what do you people think about this display is it ok or is the 1080p one much better - worth upgrading ?(170£ extra) The speed is what i am after , the rest is just eyecandy , but sweet .
Any tips , recomendations , Warnings ?

 

WRONG SECTION

 

Thank you

 

Hi!
I have a big problem...my RGB Display was broken, and I have replaced...
wen the display was broken the fan stay always at higher speed and the leds for the touch button (up right button used for eject cd and volume control) goed off and the button itself are not working. i looked on web for LTN160HT02-001 LCD Display pinout (thie LCD is the original one) and I have not foun any information (only for HT01 or HT03, but this ave CCFL Lamp) because I think some voltage are not present due a damaged mainboard components..and I wish try to repair it.

some one can help to find the pinout or a complete electric diagram of mainboard)

TNX!!!!!

 

Hello everybody !

I have a SXPS 1645. For last week or so I have been encountering issues with my display.

Suddenly while working on the system, screen becomes distorted then flashes and becomes normal again BUT with a pop up : "AMD video drivers stopped working and recovered from an error'. I have tried updating the drivers but still the problem exists. Also, I have run all hardware tests and no problem was found.

Please help me in this regard...

 

your gpu is probably failing. call dell if you in fact are under warranty

 

Thanks for the reply, already called Dell. They are replacing the motherboard but I dont think there is a hardware issue as all hardware tests went well and result was pass in all of them.

Also googled it and found many people are having the same problem with ATI graphic card within last 3-4 months...

 

Hi guys, I've had the XPS 1645 for 3 years. My warranty lasted 1 year and the remaining 2 years werequite uneventful. But recently, I've had this problem where the graphics are heavily distorted occasionally and the entire thing crashes. Most applications seem to trigger it so I was wondering if anyone has experienced a similar problem or you know what's wrong with it? Thanks.

 

Look like graphic card is failing.

 

yeah that, mine had an ominous graphics card driver error a few days ago, i think mine is on its way out also...

funny thing, my gateway with an old 8800gt is 2 years older, and still on 24/7, never an issue

 

Considering the fact that the graphics card is togethet with the motherboard, I guess a motherboard replacement is in order. Either that or bricking it. Funilly enough, this doesn't constantly happen. However, as soon as I see these distortions when I've passed the welcome page, it always crashes. Currently, it's on a loop of starting, graphics distortion, crashing then shutting down.
Is it a confirmed hardware problem? I'm considering a new desktop but I currently am studying overseas, so transport of the desktop will be a bother and I'd prefer to spend less on repairing than replacing.

 

One thing you can try is check whether the thermal pads on the VRAM are still OK or already disintegrated. If the VRAM is overheating it can cause the same problem.

 

I apologize for noobness, but what is the VRAM?
The shut downs and graphics distortion are only occasional but it always happens together. I also noticed that the crashes occurred usually when I either use the diagnostic tool at the boot screen, ie F12 or whenever I push my laptop to do something above web browsing.

 

VRAM is video RAM/memory.

 

Hmm. VRAM is fine, I think. I'm trying to take it apart just to check what's wrong. Anyone happen to have the manual to take it apart?

 

Don't "think" or assume. Physically check the thermal pad on the VRAM. If GPU core, we can monitor the temperature but not VRAM.

You can get the manual here:-
Documentation

 

Ok. checked. VRAM inspected, fine. Reapplied thermal paste either way. Processor is well covered as well. Now I'm not sure what is malfunctioning. Any ideas?

 

Hi guys...
I have a doubt.... Is it possible to put in one of these bad boys with the Sata 6gbps option???
Momentus XT Solid State Hybrid Hard Drive | Seagate
The new Momentus XT with the 750 GB option! I mean does the 1645 with the i7 720 support this HDD???? I really wanna know... Thanks a lot in advance...
Because the one we are using is the SATA 2 3gbps option.... So i just wanted to know...

 

You can use that SSD but it will work in backward compatibility mode. It will work in SATA II 3Gb/s speed.

 

So will it be as good as using a normal sata 3gbps hdd???

 

Guys my laptop is almost 2 years old and it get very hot even for 10 mins of playing games and shuts down.. I guess too much dust and thermal paste is gone.. Hope should I proceed with costumer care for help?

 

Why not do it yourself. Open her up and vaccum carefully, then apply some MX-4. Must be a link above or on youtube for this specific XPS...

 

I'm not sure if I could do correctly, Dr J..Anyway will keep it as my last resort.

Contacted CC..He asked me to do some diagnostics. then restarted..BOOM, BSOD with C000021A fatal error.. He immediately said to format and there is no other option. He started irritating me with his retarded answer. He said he can do nothing from now on other than formatting the drive. He didn't give any *&%$ for my documents and data..I hung up the phone and started doing something on my own. tried safe mode, last known config, and suddenly it logged in and I immediately backup ed all the data safely..

Now tried to restore my system to factory settings. Strangely my laptop gets overheated very quickly without even running any heavy process. I got shutdown in middle of restoring and its happening again and again.

Any help?

TL;DR: System shuts down due to over heat before I could restore to factory settings.

UPDATE: After few tries, managed to restore before its getting shut down. It was a interesting 30 mins. Now what BIOS should I use? what should I do from here? I'm sure throtting issue is going to come again.

 

Cannot be certain but perhaps a heat sink has pulled away contact from the cpu?

Did you just vaccum your external fan port? Have confidence that you can open her up and check things out. There must be a link here or on youtube (google is your friend) on how to open up the XPS 1645 and repaste the cpu gpu...

Did you download the diagnostic program hwinfo 64 to see what is heating up? http://www.hwinfo.com/download64.html

Post on the alienware m17x area as there are a lot of smart guys that will help you there...

 

Not sure how much it will help, @nmpraveen, but here is a guide on repasting the XPS 1645: http://forum.notebookreview.com/del...ging-thermal-paste-as5-studio-xps-1645-a.html

My 1647 was having some heating issues last week, but I opened her up and a quick clean and blast out helped out significantly last week..

 

Thanks Dr.J and Cin'

Downloaded OS from Microsoft and installed freshly.. Its lot better now.. But still heating slightly in normal mode..Guess I should take thermal paste option..

Are you guys sure, that Dell customer care can't do anything for this??

Each time I called they do some diagnostics or ask me to reinstall CCC..

Not sure if they don't know really about throttling issue or acting to save paper works..


Anyone from India here? Can you suggest some thermal paste? that MX-4 is available only in newegg. Any Indian brands would you suggest?

Ebay link for thermal paste

 

Amazon also has mx4. One of the online CPU sites just reviewed them. Frozen CPU also sells many.

Skip dell support and do the repaste yourself. Did you vacuum it out yet? Do you have a cooler pad?

 

Yes I vacumed out dust and I have normal cooler pads.. I'm going to buy MX-4 and some good cooler pads now.. Will report back when everything is over.. Thanks for the help..

 

@nmpraveen: why don't you try this ??
Buy Arctic Silver | Arctic Silver 5 Thermal Compound

& i'm from India too

 

hello, has anyone tried windows 8 yet? seems to work but there is 2 drivers that arent recognised and im not sure which they are. i havent installed dell system tools or quick set since i think they caused issues. furthermore dell support center isnt working anymore...

 

i figured it out.

 

It drove me nuts for a while, and the cause of the confusion that drove me nuts inadvertently caused another PROBLEM (below)..

The confusion that drove me nuts was that the surround 3.5 mm audio jacks on the side of my xps1645 computer are not in the order that the IDT control panel says they are ...
audiojack - IDT CP - ACTUAL
back jack:- rear - LFE/Center
middle jack:- LFE/Center - rear
front jack: - front - front

A bit quick to get it all done at once I assumed that the problem heard was caused by the SoundBlaster X-FI MB software (which at first I was not correctly running setup in Vista SP2 compatibilty mode). In the end It was just the confusion caused by the IDT panel problem causing me to slip.

So for us here if you are having problems setting up surround speakers:
1) consider that the IDT control panel speaker setup diagram is wrong (I haven't seen anyone else confirm this)
2) run X-FI MB setup in Vista SP2 compatibility mode (this is discussed elsewhere http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3517/p/19303454/19585562.aspx#19585562)

In my frenzy of reloading this that the other I screwed one thing up. I am quite sure that running the X-FI MB setup once accidentally in XP (not Vista) compatibilty mode that I really messed up Windows 7 booting.

PROBLEM That is after booting Windows does not see my sound (which is in device manager as it should be). I can re-run the IDT setup (R226903 (IDT Oldest), R261324-201005 IDT 92HD73C1 Audio Driver A18 (Dell), or R289922 (IDT Audio NB Forum 2011)) and get the surround audio working perfectly (it really sounds awesome!) , but after reboot back to no sound.

I can't get back far enough with Restore :-(. Startup repair didn't help. I can't do a repair install now that I am >SP1.

How can I fix this W7 booting problem?

also http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3517/t/19444078.aspx

 

hey guys im a new owner of a dell studio xps 1645 i7 and my laptop is insane hot even after downloading newest bio's. i tried to find a soulition but the dell site doesnt help me at all. i know there's a throttling issue but dont know what that means? is that heat.. have i just wasted a grand on this ? please help, i feel really fustrated.

 

You paid a grand for the 1645??? Atleast you could have gotten the 1647 or even the new XPS 14z for that amount???

 

Have you checked the cpu and gpu temps while playing a game or running a benchmark?

It sounds simple but did you vacuum out the screen on the bottom of dust?

Depending on your observed cpu and gpu temps you might need to repaste with mx-4...

 

yess i checked temps for both. its 56-69 degrees when only running facebook or youtube and nothing else. i cleaned my hink sink with compressed air and their isnt a spec of dust now. i even tried taking out the filters and there isnt a difference in heat.. i've tried a cooling pad and that only changes about 2 degrees. it was around 80+ until i got a 130w ad. i updated the bios. seems like nothing i do can change the heat.

 

i know lol but the specs of the mechine seemed to good to pass up. i didnt realize there was some heating issue and this is also my first laptop . so im kinda a newb .

 

I would repaste my cpu with mx-4. check here and youtube for a how to instructional.

 

i tired downloading throttlestop also and that seemed to do nothing. ill try paste but not sure if that'll work but worth a shot

 

Yes, have a look around inside and see what is loose potentially. There are posts from years ago where the heatsinks pulled away from the cpus due to the cheap dell crap paste... Oh and thanks for repping me!

 

Could anyone post their Geekd3D FurMark Score.. I got 184 in default options.. Running A13 bios.. I think its very low..But how low compared to other 1645?

 

I got a significantly higher score of 320.

No idea is this is good, but it certainly is higher than your's.

https://docs.google.com/open?id=0B62Ori3uQrZWMXJqOUlsb3hOVmc

I just did the "Benchmark Preset: 1080" Though... don't have time to do the 15 minutes burn-in benchmark

 

Thanks..Mine is clearly very low..I ordered for replacement of motherboard and heatsink setup.. Hopefully I would see some change..

 

Just out of curiousity, are there still many 1645 users out there? I haven't been really active on the forums recently, but occasionally I pop in and see mostly posts concerning the newer laptops from Dell.

No matter the case, I still LOVE my laptop, play games on it daily for hours, and it does everything I could ask of it and more. Best laptop purchase ever

 

Mines still kicking, never had a throttling issue either. And i have the power hungry combo. I7 + RGBLED screen. I'm also heavily overclocked on my gpu. Love the machine but it soon going to be replaced i need more gpu power. But i will miss the screen so much

 

Definitely going to be sad to lose that screen... I don't have the RGB screen and I still love (best of any screen I've seen). I haven't run across anything that I want to play, but can't yet, so I'll probably keep this baby around for a while yet. Was fooling around with the Diablo 3 beta last weekend, no problems there.

 

Yep, I also played with diablo over the weekend. Ran great, 1920x1080 at all max except shadows no slowdowns. Mind you im overclocked to like 900 1150 on my gpu.

Idk why but i haven't had any problems with my 1645 no throttling at all. But i broke the sata connector in my optical bay last week lol. I also have my m1330 which im typing from right now but i have no problems with it. It overheats when you fire up a game but if your not playing games it's great and still gets great battery life.

 

Would someone like to help me.. I recently ended up briking my laptop. It had ati 4670 ;( I am now trying to recover using blind flash but to no avail. Would some be able to try to enter recovery mode on theirs and let me know the key combination to use? Tried everything fn key, power with fn key, end key all combinations. The laptop is not responding... Appreciate if some can help

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