XPS 12 Owners Lounge

Trying to make a restore USB flash drive on my base-model XPS 12. I was expecting to need an 8GB flash drive....but it's saying we need 16GB now!

 

You need a flash drive of whatever size the restore partition is. Just look at your partitions and see. If it's more than 8, then you need a 16 to hold it. In a way, larger is better -- that's space you're getting back, after all.

 

I just received my order w i7.

Overall the out-of-box experience and build quality is exceptional. On par w MBA.

Adjusting to Win 8 needs more time as I find myself keep flipping w Metro and Desktop. Pretty jarring experience.

Currently I am struggling a bit with the BT. Seems that my Microsoft Sculpt Mouse will go to sleep and not wake up. Installing updated driver from Dell doesn't help.

The other issue is I don't seem to get the graphics performance some are seeing. For example, in Diablo 3, even Low settings on 720p no AA or Shadows, I struggle to hit above 20fps. Using latest driver from Intel. Even set the Intel control panel to Performance mode and plugged into power source. Anyone any ideas ?

 

Do you mean accidentally flipping between the two, or just that you find yourself needing to go back and forth a lot? If the latter, I've had my machine for almost a week now, and I think that's kind of par for the course. I mean, unless you plan to do ALL of your work in app-based programs (in which case you may as well have just purchased a tablet), you are going to be on the desktop quite a bit of the time, especially if you are using a traditional browser, Word, etc. In fact, I find that I'm spending most of my time on the desktop--having the Windows 8 screen (I can't get used to calling it "Metro") is just a nice little bonus for certain things.

 

Oops, forgot that I had a question I wanted to ask. I mentioned a couple of posts back that I wanted to get a lap desk--does anyone have one that they particularly like/would recommend?

Here is one that I'm considering:
Amazon.com: Allsop Cool Channel Platform for Laptops 29591: Electronics

 

No, not accidentally. Just that most apps I am using still need to go into desktop mode while all the Windows tools have moved to Start screen.

I also don't see battery indicator above 5 hrs yet.

 

The start screen is literally just the old start menu except that it takes the whole screen instead of the bottom left corner. It even uses the same keyboard button to get there. Once you start thinking of it in those terms, you realise that your work habits really haven't changed much in Windows 8.

 

Hi guys,
I recently placed an order for this laptop. However my institution doesn't support Windows 8 for security reason and the IT department told me that they will try to install their Windows 7 image on the laptop but they don't guarantee compatibility.
I was a Linux user and I don't know much about Windows, can you help me out understanding if everything is going to work in this downgrade? I can't really find any information easily on the web
Thanks!!

 

This laptop has only ever existed with W8 -- there may not be W7 drivers for certain things. It's likely that you'd be able to get everything working, but not guaranteed.

But... why would you get a touchscreen convertible laptop if you can't use W8? This machine is heavier and has a smaller screen than comparable laptops, in exchange for features that you literally won't be able to do anything with. It really makes no sense to use this laptop without W8. For the same amount of money you could buy a lighter MacBook Air with a bigger screen and put W7 on that.

 

Okay, I have the machine. Everything I loved about the Ivy Bridge version is till there, with nice battery life, too. Nothing is broken or defective. The trackpad isn't amazing, but it's certainly fine, and (somewhat to my surprise) left and right edge gestures work beautifully, which is rare. But, the two-finger scrolling is terrible... sometimes.

I'm really confused. Two-finger scrolling is outright borked in Firefox. You have to be firm and intentional just for the scroll to register -- otherwise, the pointer just gets buried at the top or bottom as if I only used one finger. When the scroll does register, it ranges from twitchy to broken. Basically, in Firefox, two-finger scrolling is unusable.

In iTunes, it works, but it's twitchy and slow. But, eh, useable.

Now, in Internet Explorer and MS Word, the scrolling is okay. Not great, but it mostly works, and it's rare for the gesture to be completely misinterpreted.

So... what the hell? I realize that IE is fine, but I like Firefox and I want to keep using it. iTunes I could take or leave. But I can't have every third-party program be a crap shoot for the touchpad. I've never had this sort of problem before, where the touchpad works fine for only certain programs.

(I did try disabling "smooth scrolling" and "auto-scrolling" in Firefox. Did nothing. If there are other scroll settings in there, I'm not aware of them.)

 

Thank you! If you know of any tutorial/technical case with other XPS on the web, I would appreciate (I will forward it to the IT department)

Because I have no choice. It is US government and they support only DELL or Apple but they have specific images of the OS for security reason and they can't install windows on Apple, I asked..... I could have bought an older model, but I guess I will still be able to use powerpoint with the touchscreen and in general use it as a tablet, I hope...
I also hope that in one year or so, they will support Win8. But that is unlikely.

 

Just in case anyone was looking for some resolution regarding my image retention persistence issues (basically like burn in on a plasma screen)...

Dell sent out a technician and replaced the whole screen. So far the new screen has no issues so I'm happy.

If you are interested here are a couple pictures clearly showing the issue I was experiencing. The first is from Photoshop where everything is normal, the second is from the Windows 8 tablet search menu after the screen has been left in Photoshop for a couple minutes beforehand. The search screen should be showing a single solid colour but as you can see the ghost image or burn-in is very pronounced.

Either way... new screen is working as expected.

 

Hello everyone, I have just received the new XPS 12 Haswell.
As this is the first time I have owned any recent laptops, I was wondering whether the Powershare USB port on the XPS 12 is suppose to be have the same functionality as the other USB 3.0 port?

I have this question due to having a USB 3.0 hard drive working correctly when plugged into the normal USB 3.0 port. However, when I use the Powershare USB 3.0 port, the hard drive appears to be continuously connecting and disconnecting on the laptop.

 

I'm not sure that I have seen this particular question before. When I first got my machine last week, I was having some issues with it NOT waking from sleep, so I disabled "Smart Connect," the fix I found here.

Now, it wakes from sleep fine--i.e., I can move around screen, etc.--BUT, I have no internet service for a good 20-30 seconds. This does not seem like much, but it can be a real interruption. The computer actual starts up more quickly after a full shut-down!

Are there fixes for this? I've already been to Device Manager-->Intel Wireless-->Power Management and turned OFF the setting "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power." Is there something else that I can do???

 

I assume you mean that you disabled Rapid Start. Smart Connect is something else. In fact, disabling Smart Connect might be part of the problem you're having, since it leaves the wifi connected in sleep mode.

If you haven't actually touched any connection settings, then are you sure this happens with all wifi (and not just you home connection)?

I haven't touched any connection options and my wifi is connected shortly after sleep, so what's happening to you isn't standard.

 

New Bios Version A02 for XPS12 is available...

 

Sorry, yes, I meant rapid start. I haven't yet used any internet connections other than at home, so I can't speak to that, but I can say that 1) I wasn't having this problem with my previous laptop, and 2) I've researched the problem online, and others ARE having this issue. Unfortunately, regarding #2, I haven't found a good fix yet...

 

Where ?
I checked still old one on dell site

Driver Details | Dell US

 

One thing it did today first time is come up and say that the power adapter wasn't recognized and then loaded but everything ran like . I rebooted and replugged and it seems like it went back to normal.

Any idea all of a sudden why would do that.

Lemme know ill test it some more

 

So, I wrote a post on the last page complaining about the two-finger scrolling. Just in case, I re-installed the Dell drivers, and predictably, that did nothing. Then I installed the "raw" Synaptics driver, but that's so bare that it's basically unusable. So, seriously considering returning the machine over such a terrible trackpad, I re-installed the Dell drivers again and... what the hell, things are better! I wouldn't call two-finger scrolling good now, but in Firefox especially the different is quite noticeable -- an improvement well beyond anything I could be imagining. It went from broken to tolerable-ish.

I don't pretend to understand how it happened, but I now understand how you folks could possible NOT be frothing at the mouth over the terrible scrolling. It's not a great scrolling experience, but it's probably something I can live with.

I'm still nervous, since problems like this have a way of coming back, especially if it was "fixed" independently of anything I actually did. But, for the moment, I'm much happier.

 

Decent deal on Haswell XPS 12 @ bottom.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004GAR91S/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

 

I don't know what happened to my last post...seems to have disappeared.

The other thing that has disappeared is my ability to use 2-finger tapping! This was working FINE, so I have no idea what happened. I have tried playing around with my touchpad settings, but nothing seems to get the tapping back--I actually have to PRESS DOWN now to get the menu, which kind of defeats the purpose. HELP!

 

Not to sound silly, but mine shipped with a cypress trackpad/drivers. I am going to assume that you have a haswell version and they changed it to synaptics, but I was just shooting that out there.

 

Pretty sure this is for the haswell version...

 

Yeah, after all the complaints about the Cypress trackpad, they switched to a Synaptics pad for the Haswell refresh. It's definitely better, but still not as responsive as a premium laptop's trackpad should be. Perhaps driver updates will fine-tune it a bit over time. Scrolling issues aside, there's just enough input lag to be noticeable, giving it a slightly slippy feeling. Dell should not be proud that my Vostro V13 which was $300 more than two years ago has a noticeably more responsive touchpad than the flagship W8 convertible.

When I was playing around with the touchpad settings, I managed to turn off two-finger taps while still having it checked off in the driver settings. Un-checking it, saving that, re-checking it, and then saving it again brought it back for me.

Overall, it's definitely disappointing that Dell seems to have done only the bare minimum in improving the trackpad for Haswell. If Samsung can get amazing performance out of the second-tier Elan trackpad in their Ativ machines, Dell should be able to get Synaptics pad to work flawlessly.

 

That one is 1199 in Canada already at dell.ca currently

 

That worked for me--I love you!!!

I thought I had tried everything to fix it, but I didn't try actually turning the setting OFF and then back on--thanks so much!!!

 

No - That's the i5, 4GB RAM, 128GB SSD your looking at in Canada.

The i7 Haswell, 8GB RAM, 512GB SSD is actually $1,999 at dell.ca., It is $1,750 in the final listing below.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004GAR91S/ref=dp_olp_new?ie=UTF8&condition=new

 

Yeah the @bottom part was unclear to me at first since when you first read the link in big black it talks about the I5 version. My bad.

My I rot in hell forever

 

You are all good my friend, as I am quite the amateur at all this.

The link below claims it will be $1,718, then $1,698, etc. each day til they're gone.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/offer-listing/B004GAR91S

I may try and wait it out a few days and see. Thanks again for feedback.

 

International Warranty for XPS 12

The highly intelligent (Not!) product managers in Dell have seen fit to not offer in Australia a 512GB SSD option for the new XPS 12.

Give that buying an 256GB model from Dell Australia and installing a third-party larger (the largest available I can find is only 480GB) SSD is not really an option because it apparently void the warranty my next best option is to buy an XPS 12 from Dell USA and ship to Australia via a USA mail box service. My question to the forum is: Does anybody have any experience with or knowledge of Dells' international warranty policies? I have read the following Dell web pages:

* International Laptop Warranty Contact Information | Dell US
* Ownership Transfer | Dell US

and it appears that it is possible for me to buy the XPS 12 from DEL USA and then some time in the future (i.e. about five months) transfer the warranty to Dell Australia.

Also does anyone have explicit confirmation that simply upgrading the SSD completely voids the warranty on all other aspects of the unit?

Thanks in advance to all who reply.

 

Here are some videos I done on gaming performance w my I7-4500uDiablo 3

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQvZVlUR5ho&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Guild Wars 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVz2RUS0UVI&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Shogun 2

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mz8Vp9KIa5o&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

How does that compare to the hd4000

 

BYE BYE Dell XPS 12. Damn...

After 9 repairs on my first Dell XPS 12 (ivy bridge) I finally received a new one. Now I had 3 new repairs on the Haswell XPS 12, so that's a total of 12 repairs. After doing some very bad online reviews the Dell twitter team found out how mad I was and finally gave me my money back...

I'm sorry, but this product isn't ready yet!

 

sorry, on the German-Site it is Bios Version A02 available (9Q33)

Treiberdetails | Dell Deutschland

 

All I can confirm is that before buying the thing the sales guy told me when I mentioned I might do that, that it would inf act void the warranty. I think it would as most systems sold as a complete proprietary system would have that clause in it.

 

I dunno... I had some growing pains with mine but honestly nothing really to repair on it in 2 weeks.

 

Hey - Thanks so much for Haswell comment. I'm about ready to buy but could you please explain in a bit of detail what your specific three (3) repairs were on the Haswell model? Very interested in hearing from you.

Thank you kindly.

 

If I want to nuke the partitions is there a way to just add the size back to the main windows drive or do I have to create new ones.

Thanks

 

Hi there.

Can someone help I wondering if Sleep is the same as Hibernate ? So if I get rid of the rapidstart partition will it affect me sleeping the computer ? I don't think I ever saw an option to hibernate even with rapidstart enabled.

Also can I nuke the partition and then just reassign the space to C: or do I need special software to do that ?

If anyone can share an easy way that would be great

 

Waiting on my "new" 512GB version to arrive today...I'm excited, but nervous. I didn't have any of the issues on the prior unit which I returned this past week that you all are talking about with the trackpad (except the two finger jumpy scrolling that was easily fixed). Hope the QC is the same on my new model that it was on the first one I bought.

 

The native resolution (1920x1080) unfortunately does not provide the option to scale, which is ridiculous. All of the other resolutions in the "Intel Graphics and Media Control Panel" provide the options of "Maintain Aspect Ratio" and "Scale Full Screen" under the "Scaling" option in the General Settings tab; 1920x1080 is stuck on "Maintain Display Scaling," however. I asked Intel about this and they said it has to be something Dell has done. I tried contacting Dell about it a couple times through their message board but I couldn't get a response; seems like the kind of thing which would be difficult to call them and ask--I'd probably have to talk to dozens of people before getting to someone actually knowledgeable regarding that.

I use "Display Changer" by 12noon to allow me to automatically change the resolution before loading an older game, and then restore it once I exit the game.

 

Sleep will work just fine without Rapid Start. You can use the Disk Management program included with Windows 8 to delete that partition, and then extend your C: partition. Should work, although admittedly I haven't tried it

 

hmm. were you experiencing permanent burn-in images? or just transient ones? I experience transient ones that gradually completely fade, and I had just assumed that was normal for this laptop.

 

first: When I flipped over the screen, it came completely stuck. I had to put a screwdriver between the screen and the frame to free it. You can see the problem here: Problemen Dell XPS 12 - YouTube, or here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dwc1dtiFhwM
second: The same problem! All the new parts do have this problem. They had 3 new screens for me, all 3 had this stucking problem!! The escalation service of Dell did some polish and crafts on location and that fixed the stucking problem.
third: Touchscreen stopped working, unknown why, even a new touchscreen didn't work, probably motherboard or something like that. This is never fixed, because this "third" time was actually my 12th repare, so they are going to do a refund.

This is not normal for a notebook with this price. Dell can replace your screen for it, but I had 4 new screens, 2 of them had this problem with image burning in.

 

Anyone else has this problem: When the computer goes to sleep, the fans kick on to 100% and use the battery We left the computer unplugged and it brought the computer to 27% from 100% in one hour. I suspect this has to do with the Intel rapid start but just wanted to make sure that disabling it would also fix the fan issue. I have the issue where it doesn't wake from sleep and I know applying that fix will fix the sleep problem

 

Intel Rapid Start Technology is at fault here, for the not coming back from sleep and running the system at full bore which kicks in the fan while in sleep/IRST. The issue is being discussed with dell Re: No screen after resume from Sleep, XPS 12 9Q33 - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community not sure when a fix will be out. The workaround is to disable IRST or uninstall the IRST application. IRST is not required but would be nice to work out of the box.
My system did the same thing, I left it to sleep on a pillow with the power connected. The next morning the fan was at full throttle and the system would not turn on cause it was so hot. I don't mind IRST not working cause in sleep the system eats very little power anyway. I just set it to power off after x amount of hours in sleep. Turning on this laptop from cold boot is ridiculously fast anyway.

 

I'm not having the problem with the fans running during sleep, but this brings up my earlier question--is it better to shut down the computer completely at times? I especially wonder about this since it is still taking my machine about 10-20 seconds to re-connect to the internet after being asleep.

 

Not sure how to qualify the complains on fan noise, from serious issue to 'I would rather not have a fan'. This system has a fan. Will kick in when it needs to. Watching a movie or youtube will rarely kick in my fan. But you never know when a background app or system diag is running that will increase resource use. There are probably more auto update applications out of the box to list on all the digits of my hands and feet. Comes with the times, these auto update deals. Fan noise? Sure the fan will spin but it is quieter than some MacPro or Air hard ware in my opinion.
Not to say there maybe some crazy loud fan units out there. If you do, could you youtube it with the system running prime95 I would like to get a hear on some of these complaints.

 

My last unit was fine with the fan...like you said, kicks in occasionally when it needs to. And yes, it's easy during the first few days to have it louder than normal because of all the background updates and other such do dads in our cloud enabled world. You can easily see what's using the CPU with CTRL+ALT+Esc and expand that window - sort by CPU usage. Windows 8 may not be loved by most, but the extra visual metrics on your computer it provides is a nerds dream (file transfer speed graph to name another). So yes, the fan becomes quite audible when straining the CPU. This actually keeps the unit quite cool, so it's effectively moving heat. It can be a little loud sometimes, but that's generally reserved for intensive operations (games, lots of little file transfers, Prime). Right now I'm noticing "Net Runtime Optimization Service" is causing the CPU to eat some cycles and kick the fans into gear.

With my new 512GB, the fan adds a bit of an uneasy "wheezy" sound to it, which is only heard if I pick the unit up - something with the acoustics of it are off. If I were to ask for the heatsink/fan to be replaced...could a Dell Tech come out to Swap? I haven't had a dell in forever, so I'm not sure about the warranty repair service that's included.

Also...anybody else have the 512GB...I've been around the PC game long enough to realize that you never effectively get the full capacity labeled on the SSD/HDD itself, but mine seemed extra low, even taking into account the extra partitions. Out of the box, on the 512GB unit, it said 416GB were available! A full 100GB lost!

I realize Windows is about 30GB, the RST and recovery partition are about 18GB, and a few misc other things around maybe 1GB, but the total capacity of the drive was 456GB...so all together I am "missing" 30GB?

If this is what other 512 owners experience, then I'd love to hear...I've still got TONS of room to breath with this huge SSD, but just want to make sure I'm getting my moneys worth.