XPS 15 (Haswell) Owner's Lounge

jphughan, I have tried both doing an ipconfig release/renew and also disabling/re-enabling the wifi adapter.
Neither of those does anything to fix the problem.
Rebooting works - but then it is the only solution for all others who are experiencing grief from this wifi card.
There's actually a thread on this forum, too - where folks are discussing issues with this card - http://forum.notebookreview.com/networking-wireless/716325-intel-7260-a-32.html

I am going to call Dell in a day or two to see what they suggest.

 

Hi folks - I have the top spec XPS 9530, however I'm having an issue when playing some games. If I play Battlefield 4 (in fullscreen mode), at 1600x900, rather than scaling the graphics to fill the display, it it a tiny screen surrounded by huge black borders. I've tried the various Optimus setttings like "maintain aspect ratio" but nothing seems to work. The only way I can get it to fill the screen is by setting my desktop resolution to 1600x900 before I start, which is obviously a bit ridiculous! Can anyone help?

 

Unfortunately the automatic resolution switching doesn't work for BF4 and some other games (yet?). I agree that it is ridiculous and I hope it gets fixed eventually.

For now, I suggest using Display Changer to make the resolution switches quickly. I have icons for half and full resolution in my QuickLaunch bar so it isn't really a big hassle.

 

Thanks - I'll give that a try. Quite frustrating that it doesn't work! Reminds me of the late 90s!

 

Hey guys, any updates on the Intel 7260 AC drop of network / slow speed / being completely awful adapter / issue ? We are all in the same boat here, I got a Lenovo with this Intel piece of *your word here*, but I can't see any solution to this. The link to the Lenovo Y50 I guess you can find yourself, also there is a own thread at Intel forum here: https://communities.intel.com/thread/44899?start=210&tstart=0

 

Quote Originally Posted by leehu View Post
thanks for the info, though a bit disappointed there's no eta for the driver update. not sure whether to keep the 60 Hz monitor or replace with a 30 which is quite a lot cheaper...
There is a driver update. You just need to read the message I linked previously, and download the driver from the Intel website that I linked. The URL that jphughan linked is now out of date, as the driver has been updated - it just hasn't been formally released - nor has Dell created their own OEM version of it. But the monitor works fine in 60 Hz with the updated drivers. I'm using it right now!

Hi Ashers - I'd already tried that update. If i install that driver and then put the monitor into 1.2 mode, it immediately goes into sleep mode and any attempt to wake it up just tells me that there is no signal coming from my computer, so that driver is not working for me. Returning to 1.1 mode allows the monitor to power up again.

 

Very odd - I must have been lucky as it worked pretty much straight away for me. Have you tried, once it's in 1.2 mode, replugging it in to the laptop, changing the computer (using Fn-F8) back from PC screen only to extend mode. Also, press the power button on the monitor when you do this to make sure the monitor is not in sleep mode, in case that has an effect. You might also want to double-check that it installed the correct driver (10.18.10.3910) for the Intel card.

 

How to turn off the display without putting the laptop to sleep?

 

Got my MB replaced yesterday. First of all I have to say Dell Technician did a really good and clean job, thumbs up for that. The new MB has the part number TWG2C as already mentioned somewhere earlier in this thread. Also a BIOS update to RevA06 was performed by the Technician as this was the instruction he got from consultant. Below my first impressions after half an hour of testing:

- NO to BARELY noticeable scratching noise on start-up from the power button area
- NO to BARELY noticeable scratching noise while browsing web pages
- NO to BARELY noticeable scratching noise while watching flash movies e.g. YouTube
- NO to BARELY noticeable scratching noise while opening a program
- NO to BARELY noticeable whine while connected to AC

I did perform listening test with my ears as close as possible to the power button area where I noticed the noises before. So for me emission of electrical noise did reduce up to 95% I would say. Working with my laptop in normal position with my head in front of the screen I don’t hear absolutely anything.
Still need to test how it behaves now on 100% battery charged and still plugged to AC, as on my previous board I did clearly noticed the whine.

 

Go to the Control Panel – Then Power Options – On the left there is a Category titled Choose when to turn off display – Turn off the display on Battery and or Plugged in, Choose what time increment will work for you and in the Category below titled Put the computer asleep, Choose Never.

I hope that helps.

Regards,
SD

 

I'm assuming that there is no 3200x1800 options in the resolution settings in the game? ARMA3 had that same issue when I played it for the first time, hilariously small screen with lots of black. I just went into the graphics, selected the highest res option (3200x1800) and away it went.

If its scaling you're after/ needing, I wouldn't hold much hope, as there are lots of problems with Windows scaling reported in other forums on here, everything from Chrome to iTunes looks messy when scaled up. I guess we just have to wait for the programmers of those apps to release a version with higher resolution support, I for one am rather annoyed at iTunes looking like a blurred mess, no matter what I try.

 

You can also set the Lid Close action to "Do Nothing". And if you go into Screen Resolution properties, you can set the internal display to "Disconnect this display", which will keep it powered off even if the system is on and the lid is open, assuming you have at least one external display connected. If you configure it this way and disconnect all external displays, Windows is smart enough to automatically reactivate the built-in display -- and then disable it again when the external display is attached if that's how you last had it configured when external displays were attached.

 

WiFi Update:
- 2.4Ghz on this laptop is very finicky and I have discovered that it is over-sensitive regarding performance when placed on a desk vs being actually in your lap. Being in you lap - very negatively affects the 2.4Ghz wireless performance for some reason.
- 5Ghz on this laptop is much better. I am using this now and have had pretty good success with performance.
- I tested 2.4Ghz wifi in conjunction with using Bluetooth. BT interferes very very much with the 2.4Ghz wifi on the Intel AC7260 card to the point that it murders the wifi connection. Basically, you can't use them both at the same time without suffering the consequences.
- I tested 5Ghz wifi in conjunction with BT. Since BT works on 2.4Ghz, as expected, there is NO interference between the two when used simultaneously. This is what I am doing now and it is working well.

I have retired my Dlink dgl-4500 router (running 2.4Ghz 802.11g only) in favor of my new Asus AC RT-87u router for reasons that it supports 5Ghz AC (which I am now using), and also because its range and power are significantly better than the DLink. You can't go wrong with that !

I will keep testing my 2.4Ghz wifi from time to time - as Intel updates their firmware - to see if any improvements are made - but for now I believe I am content with the performance and behavior of the wifi using 802.11 AC on the 5Ghz band.

 

Hey guys,

Does anyone else get this crackling sound at boot when holding down a key on the keyboard (please see video below @ 9 sec)? Noticed this when entering setup (F2), but it is the same for all keys. Wondering if something may be damaged

Would really appreciate it if anyone could check!

 

You know how desktop computers have a "case speaker"? They're not as common now, but they were simple speakers either built onto desktop motherboards or (more often) built into the desktop chassis with the motherboard simply providing a connector for them. Before real sound cards existed, that was all computers had for audio. Nowadays if they exist at all they're pretty much only used for things like the POST success or error beeps. Well one of those error patterns was a rapid succession of beeps if you kept holding down an invalid key during the boot process; the beep rate would match the repeat rate of the keyboard. I suspect that the noise in your video is that rapid fire beep pattern in response to your key press behavior, and it sounds that way because this system has a cheap implementation of a mostly deprecated piece of technology. Why would you arbitrarily hold a key down during boot anyway? Even if you need to access setup (F2) or the boot menu (F12), the appropriate way to do that is to press that key repeatedly until you see the acknowledgement appear in the upper-right corner, not simply hold it down.

It's not damaged, you're just using it wrong.

 

So what is the exact process right now that I would have to perform for getting tzhe MB replacement ?

Also: Should I provide my own cooling paste or WILL the tech guy have a cooling paste ?

 

The replacement board will come with thermal paste, and the tech should clean off the existing paste from the heatsink assembly before applying the new paste and attaching it to the new board. If you want to supply your own paste, I guess it will depend on the tech. I can see some of them wanting to stick with official Dell stuff because if the replacement parts break after they use customer paste, they could conceivably get into trouble. Of course I had the exact opposite experience. The repair tech I got always carried Arctic Silver because he, like other here, noticed long ago that Dell's thermal paste doesn't hold a candle to better options out there and the factory applies too much, so he routinely uses Arctic Silver without the customer even asking.

 

Has anyone else been getting random BSODs ? Since owning mine for the last 2 weeks I have had two. The first one happened right out of the box before I had a chance to even install anything and seemed to resolve itself after updating the trackpad drivers and windows update. Last night I got a BSOD that was entitled Memory Management. The details of it in the my dell app pointed to a directx .sys file. I then looked at other system events for the last two week and saw a lot of exclamations relevant to intel tray apps, etc. In any event, have any of you been getting random BSODs and also what kinds of errors and notifications are you seeing in the my dell app ?

 

Hi all,

Got my Dell XPS 15 and quite happy with it.

But when I connect it to my 24" U2410 display as an extended desktop, the 1920x1200 output is not sharp.

I'm comparing the display when connected to my home PC, also using the same U2410 and another smaller 20" monitor as an extended desktop.

The difference in sharpness is huge! anyone knows why?

I have tinkered around with the display settings, but no luck yet.

 

Sounds like you're using the built-in panel at the same time and the built-in panel is configured as primary, in which case you're seeing Windows 8.1 per-display DPI scaling. The single-sentence explanation is that you can't use both QHD+ and a "regular" display at the same time and have both of them look their best. For more information, read this: Multi-monitor Setup - XPS 15 Wiki.

 

Hello,

I did a brief search, but couldn't find anything. Is anyone here driving multiple external monitors (2). I would like to get the D3000 dock and drive two external 24" dell monitors, is this possible?

 

I have two U2410s, one attached via DP and the other attached via HDMI. I can drive both of those and the built-in display simultaneously. Since the D3000 attaches over USB and essentially works as an external display adapter (using your CPU and GPU for video compression for transport over USB), the display configurations you can use with it depend mostly on the dock. Dell's product page for the D3000 explains supported configurations, but yes two 24" displays will work as long as they're not higher-resolution than 1920x1200. That dock won't drive even single displays above that resolution, though DisplayLink (who makes the chipset in the D3000 and pretty much all USB video docks like this) does have a new chipset that will allow driving dual 2560x1600 displays. No 4K support yet from those docks, although it's doable via the built-in MiniDP port at 60 Hz and via HDMI at 30 Hz.

 

Hmm, so I would be happy if I could just use DP for one and HDMI for another. Does this get me by without the dock? I would love to save the 130 bucks! It would mean I would have to switch out one of my monitors (Dell U214M which does not have HDMI), but I could just trade with someone at work that has an HDMI monitor so no problem there. If that works, that is what I'll do I think.

Or, I guess another options is to use DP on one of the monitors and HDMI->DVI on the other one.

 

Yes, direct display connections would allow you to get by without the dock. You also avoid installing additional drivers, taxing your CPU+GPU on video compression over USB, possible weird display issues from said compression, etc. The only downside is that you have more cables to connect and disconnect.

You don't have to give up a U2410, and in fact I wouldn't anyway because it's a great display. As I said, I'm running two with this system and no dock; I use MiniDP to DP for one and HDMI to DVI on the other. Both MiniDP and HDMI can be adapted to DVI, fyi.

 

Thank you so much for all your help. I'm currently running one of them with the HDMI to DVI and am waiting on a miniDP to DP for the other one. Amazing that Fry's has a bazillion miniDP to "blank", but no direct miniDP to DP cables.

 

Hi, have you ever succeeded installing the new PM851 firmware? If so, dit it erase all the data in your disk? Thanks.

 

Is anyone else experiencing the below:

- In the My Dell app, under Checkup, view detailed report.
Since day 1 of receiving this laptop, (even before installing any apps of my own), there always seem to be app crashes (exclamation under system events).
Apps mostly involve igfxTray.exe, WPNConnectFailure, Quickset.exe

- I find that the My Dell app affects Internet Explorer and File Explorer after it is run. Let me explain.
Test1 - after a reboot/restart. Only run the My Dell app, look around in it, then close it. Now, try to load Internet Explorer or File Explorer.
On my machine, both of those apps will not respond for at least between 30-60 seconds - after which they will operate normally. Note that Firefox has no problems.
This happens every time. It is almost like the My Dell app, even after it is closed, is holding something open for a period of time - preventing IE or File Explorer from doing their thing.

Test2 - after a reboot/restart. Open Internet Explorer and/or file explorer. Now open the My Dell app. With them open at the same time Internet explorer and file explorer are not frozen. Now close the My Dell app. Internet Explorer and File Explorer continue to work as they should.

I am not sure why in the Test2 scenario, the previous interaction of My Dell (which would temporarily freeze IE/FileExplorer) - does not happen.

Can anyone else please test this and let me know if you are also experiencing the same behavior ?

 

Haven't done it myself, but it shouldn't do that. Most SSD firmware updates (including those from Samsung for their other SSDs) can even run inside Windows now. The days of having to create bootable media and wipe your entire SSD to update its firmware are long gone.

 

Like I said, If I can somehow Help "Anyone" then please kindly ask.

I only wish I could get needed questions via my email, as I just am not afforded the time or to keep the Forum opened in a browser as many can.

I performed both of your outlined Tests to a T and I did not have one Freeze episode in either, as both IE and Explorer opened and worked instantly without any delays at all.

Kind Regards,
SD

 

to update my evo I had to boot from USB (hirens bootcd has minixp/win7 to allow this) after setting the evo to a secondary boot device as it is locked if set as primary and any updates are refused.

 

If I want to restore this laptop to the Factory image (using the recovery image/partition) - how do I do this ?
- What is the Windows method (from within Win8.1)
- What is the boot-up function key method

Thanks

 

How long ago was that? I've updated Evos inside Windows using the Samsung Magician app.

The Windows method is here: How to refresh, reset, or restore your PC - Windows Help.

There isn't another method, at least to my knowledge. The Windows method is designed to be available even from the Startup Repair interface if needed, so providing another method would have just wasted storage on a redundant factory image. And on Win8 at least when using a UEFI system, there is no more F8 boot menu. Microsoft removed it because UEFI boots so fast that the window of opportunity to press F8 was too short, and they didn't want to artificially increase boot time just for the rare occasion somebody would need to access that menu. So now the way you access the equivalent menu is by holding Shift when you click Restart, as well as a few other ways. You can read more about it here if you're interested: http://blogs.msdn.com/b/b8/archive/...or-pcs-that-boot-faster-than-ever-before.aspx.

 

So who else has installed windows 10? It's working pretty good for me other than windows explorer having to be restarted once and a while.

 

Hmm, I agree with you. But Dell delivered only dos version of firmware for SAMSUNG SSD rather than the windows versiong for LITEON and other brands. What should I do...?

 

Do you mean an extra evo you purchased or the original one with your machine? Mine came with PM851 from the begining.

 

Grabbed it, put it into a VM, but haven't poked around much in it yet. I'll see if there's anything that makes me want to run it on hardware. So far from what I've read it seems like just a UI merge of Win7 and Win8. Microsoft will be releasing mandatory automatic updates to add functionality and fix bugs over time though, so I'm sure it will become more interesting as time goes on. But if you've found any interesting stuff, let me know.

As the instructions say, you need to create a DOS bootable USB flash drive -- though they just say "Search 'USB boot utility' on the Internet for help with that", which is pretty lame. But you may be able to find a floppy image of a Windows 98 SE DOS boot disk that you can apply to a USB flash drive with a tool like Akeo Rufus. From there just copy the firmware files over, switch your BIOS to Legacy mode (and your SATA mode to AHCI or Legacy), boot off of the USB device, and update the firmware. If that sounds like too much of a hassle, then if the SSD ain't broke..... It's not like this firmware update will radically improve your performance. The notes just say it improves support for DEVSLP. And in fact given that it was released in July, there's a good chance your SSD already has the latest firmware. Have you checked Device Manager to determine that?

And hmm, the notes say that this update WILL erase all data, at least for some of the SSD models that can can use this firmware update -- but under "Applicable Models" they have a note saying "No Format". Proceed with caution, I guess....

 

Hey guys, it's been a while, and that's a good thing. Can someone spare some patience for me...and address whats been going on with this machine in the last 9 months....imagine I took a nap back in January...and haven't been awake to read the 600 pages of posts...what would one of you experts tell me today to do to my beautiful 9530 to get it up to snuff in todays crazy world. I am talking updates, fixes to "coil whine" or things of that nature.

I am on bios A06. I think I have the latest and greatest ac7260? drivers updated. please be kind/patient..i was an old stalwart on this forum before some of you were...well, here. I have the ssd 512gb.


I am always grateful to the folks on this forum. thx

 

Just as an update to this specific issue.
I went into the Dell recovery app and restored to factory image.
I reloaded my almost all my software - one by one - each time doing a restart after each install - each time testing this (my dell app, freezing IE and File explorer).
No issues with anything UNTIL I installed Firefox.
THIS was the issue, however I don't know (why).
After installing Firefox, I tested it.
I started the my dell app, closed it, then tried opening IE and File explorer - and they FROZE like before.

I then Uninstalled Firefox, rebooted and tested.
The problem that Firefox created (whatever that is) - remained.
So now I am left with no other option but to do this ALL over again - but stay away from Firefox !!!

I don't know what Firefox did - but obviously it installed something, or overwrote a file that did not get removed when uninstalling Firefox - because it is not working properly - again - even though Firefox has been un-installed.

Anyone have any ideas ?
I have no issue with never using Firefox again, but seriously - there must be a solution to this.

 

You might want to consider the new Dell docking station (Dell D3100):
Dell Docking Station - USB 3.0 (D3100) : PC Accessories | Dell

It gives you 1x UltraHD 4K and 2x FHD ouputs allowing three external monitors to be run at the same time.

 

Just about to get rid of mine, as much as I like the XPS it really isn't a reliable product as far as my experience is concerned. It's put me off Dell completely. I've already had the display and motherboard replaced. I still find the wi-fi to be unreliable due to the now infamous Intel 7260, the mouse driver routinely crashes freezing the cursor. Heck I even get failure to boot routinely after I've been forced to reboot due to one of the previously mentioned issues. I've tried everything, clean OS install, reinstallation and update to drives etc.

It's just an unstable laptop with significant design flaws.

 

Hey guys, you know if it is good time to buy the XPS 15-9530 2014? Any word on any review? This model came to market in late 2013?

I'm buying it, I'm afraid touchpad has lag? Is sentivy? and it's too noisy when working?

Thank you

 

Aaargh !
The freezing problem has returned on its own today just out of the blue without any changes to the system at all.
So this means Firefox is not the problem after all.
Somehow, some way the My Dell app is doing something that freezes the operation of IE and File Explorer after it is run and then closed.
As a test, I decided to try waiting for a while (a few minutes) after I closed the My Dell app - before trying to open IE or FE. That waiting made no difference. It would appear that no matter when I try to run IE or FE after using My Dell, there will be a period of freezing to go through before those apps will run properly.
Maybe this is all an issue with (only) the My Dell app alone.
Perhaps, knowing this now - I should just try to work around it, as I have exhausted my ability to troubleshoot it any further.
:-(

 

PROBLEM SOLVED !!!!!!
%#$@!!! MCAFEE

I just remembered that the ONLY thing that happened today was that Mcafee updated itself, and rebooted.
It was AFTER that, that the issue of freezing returned !!!

I promptly UN-installed McAfee and guess what - no more freezing problem !!!
This is awesome. Now I can finally enjoy this laptop.

I noticed that Windows Defender is now enabled. I don't know much about how good it is as an antivirus program.
I may install Avast.

Bottom line - Get RID of Mcaffee !!!

 

defenders fine.

 

Friendly BUMP

 

If I couldn't clean install a system, McAfee would be the first app to go. I've run Microsoft Security Essentials since it was released (built into Win8 under the resurrected name Windows Defender) and have never had issues with it. It's free, lightweight, unobtrusive, and free. It may not be robust enough protection for grandma, but it's enough when paired with reasonably good common sense behavior IMHO.

Glad you got it sorted, though I probably would have just jettisoned the My Dell app. I'd much rather manually check a Support page occasionally than have extra bloat in the form of background applications and browser plugins just to automatically detect my hardware and notify me of updates.

 

Hope you have used the MCPR tool to well and truly get rid of Mcafee as it still lurks around in the background causing issues sometimes.

 

THANKS for that.
I had my doubts that another tool would be necessary - (after all, why wouldn't simply removing it using Add/Remove Programs be enough) - but after running the MCPR tool it was clear that it still had stuff to get rid of - as it took a good minute to remove everything.
Bye-Bye Forever, McAfee !!!

 

So I received the replacement XPS 15 and guess what, this one is even worse. I thought that the coil whine issue have been resolved. Don't know what to do now, should I ask for another replacement? If I just ask for refund I will lose my 2 coupons I used to purchase.

 

I had on-site service earlier this week, guy replaced the motherboard which so far has resolved any issues with coil whining when on AC power. He did forget to re-plug the speaker back in lol.

Also if anyone still looking for anti-glare screen protectors, I just fetched this one by Cooskin Amazon.com: Cooskin Anti-glare(matte) Clear LCD Screen Protector Film for 15.6 Inch 16:9 Laptop Notebook Computer 345mmx194mm--retail Packing: Computers & Accessories . It does the job at eliminating the mirror reflection and touchscreen works fine, but placing it on is a @#()$*!!!