---> OFFICIAL: Dell STUDIO 14z Owner's Lounge <---

I had the bug in RTM.

 

Yes you're right; sorry too many windows open and getting confusing.

Still, I think my original comment about the price would kind of put an end to anybodies plans to upgrade past 5GB.

Mayhaps, but your suggestion has not worked for me in the RC version.

 

Yeah, probably the only thing I''m not 100% happy with is the touchpad and mouse keys. But, at Karan's suggestion, I've found that -- for me -- adjusting it to its most sensitive setting has taken care of most of my basic problem. Still can't really get the scrolling to work well for me, but at least the touchpad itself is working better for basic functions.

I haven't noticed any cursor lag or anything yet, though. I'm still running Vista; don't know if that has anything to do with it.

Glad you seem to be happy with your lappie otherwise, as am I.

 

just received my laptop, it is beautiful. after uninstalling most of the bloatware it's running pretty smooth, still gotta undervolt.Can someone tell me what their nvidia driver version is? I can't seem to update mine for some reason.

 

I can confirm that the on-screen audio level display is fixed in RTM. So is a problem I had with the Dell Touchpad app refusing to save settings and a problem I had with my TV Tuner - under RC the computer wouldn't boot with it installed. I had to remove it from the expresscard slot before rebooting.

 

I am able to set the "width" of the scroll areas in my mouse settings. I use the largest setting and it works very well when I have dry hands. As a general rule, when you want to scroll, you should actually be in contact with the border of the touchpad in regards to finger placement. It works very well for me. Then you can even start making circles at the top and bottom edge of the pad to continue the scroll, as opposed to lifting your finger and moving back.

I've found the only reason my mousepad skips/isn't working well when my hands are sweaty/wet or a drop of water got on the touchpad. The alps pad is, however, much more susceptible to messing up from moisture than the Synaptics pad on my buddy's Toshiba sitting next to me.

 

back a few pages ago (I can't find it exactly), someone said that the 14z will fit well in the 13" macbook cases due to its dimension ratio. Will this work do you guys think?

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...t_shr?_encoding=UTF8&m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&v=glance

 

Finally received my 14z that I ordered on the 4th, and right on time might I add. It's a shame that it will be leaving my hands soon, without even having been opened. Waiting for a second 14z though!

 

Pics please!

 

Yes - that should work


EDIT: Uh - I spoke too soon. The item is called a 13" sleeve, but the description says it will fit most 12" notebooks and the internal dimensions of that sleeve are really small. I'm fairly certain it's just a description error, but you should check.

 

well here it lists the real dimensions(shoulda linked this one). It's .45" too small in length, but i dont know if the depth and stretch will make up for it.

http://www.caselogic.com/case_logic...tail/index.cfm?modelid=101941&lastterm=xas-13

 

My guess based on trying my 14z on numerous other cases also listed as having less than 13" length is that it will work fine.

 

I tried to install a WWAN card in my 14z and it turns out the WWAN antenna and cables are not there!

The notebook has the WWAN card slot as well as a sim card slot at the back, the only thing missing is the cables and antenna! I thought this notebook is suppose to be wired for WWAN regardless of whether you buy it with WWAN card or not. I remember seeing on the Dell website that the 14z is "wired for mobile broadband".

Has anybody opened up their 14z laptop and had a look inside to see if their laptop also has no WWAN antenna/cables installed?

My notebook was ordered through Dell Canada which doesn't offered pre-installed WWAN cards. I guess for those in the states the antenna installed regardless of whether you ordered it with a WWAN card or not, since WWAN service is offered through Verizon and AT&T.

I'm wonder if I'm the odd man out without the wiring for WWAN.

 

any way to get the 14z to scroll like macs do? (i mean just dragging two fingers)

 

I'm pretty sure there isn't. It's the same reason that macs can't have a "right" click... because microsoft patented them.

 

Thanks for your input! So I decided to use Krylon Fusion Black-Satin and I began sanding and priming all the other parts, including the lid and the shiny part of the battery. As for the chipping issue you mentioned, the foundation/base of all the components are already black (except the palm rest) so it'll make it harder to see any chips or scratches. That's one of the reasons I decided to play it safe and go with black.

Anyway, I'll try and post some pics soon.

 

I'd never have the guts to paint my new laptop ><. But yeah, pics'll be awesome.

 

There's dual finger scrolling vista support for Synaptics touchpads, but I don't think ALPS pads are supported yet. You can find the project that enables this using the link below:

http://code.google.com/p/two-finger-scroll/

There's at least one request for ALPS drivers (if this is indeed possible). I suppose it wouldn't hurt to put in another.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.


YARR!
}:^)~
TwoFingerCorrupt

 

I just found this resource for two-finger scrolling via some custom ALPS driver configuration:

http://forum.voodooprojects.org/index.php?topic=567.0

I have not thoroughly read the material, but it's worth going over. It looks as if it *may* be for OSx installs on non-mac hardware. However, even if this is possible, and assuming that the ALPS touchpad on the 14z is capable of the feature, there's a good chance that 14z can enjoy two-finger scrolling via a config/driver modification.

Worth looking into. I'm sure if I had a 14z, I'd look myself, but I don't mind pointing you good folk in the right direction.


YARR!
}:^)~
Capt'n Corruptillious II

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I hadn't thought about adjusting the scroll zone width. On all my prior laptops, the touchpad was so small I always wanted to scroll zone as narrow as possible. But, there's plenty of "real estate" on this one, so I'll definitely give that a try.

And, on an incredibly mundane note ...,

Does anyone have any suggestions for the best method/products to use (or not use) to clean the screen on a 14Z?

I was helping a neighbor research something yesterday and she kept pointing at things on the display and touching the screen. And now I have greasy fingerprints all over the place.

I remember a few years ago my brother used Windex to clean one of his laptop screens and messed it all up, so I thought I'd see seek out the combined wisdom of the assembled ... um ... wise type people here.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions.

*EDIT* zhaden, you are a genius! Increasing the width of the scroll zones works like a charm Thanks!!!

 

Dunno what part is the antenna exactly, but here's what it looks like inside mine.

 

Thanks for posting.

The WWAN cables are labeled #2 in this photo from the service manual. http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1440/en/sm/braxtoa4.jpg. The antenna I believe is actually located on the back side of the display.

It seems like you don't have the WWAN cables/antenna either. Did you order your notebook through Dell Canada or USA?

What is odd about your first photo is that it seems like your WLAN (802.11b/g/n) cables aren't connected, since I don't see any wires running to the WLAN card either.

 

A bit of water and a small microfiber cloth.

I bought a microfiber cloth from the local dollar store (the Dollarama for fellow Canucks) and it works like a charm. It leaves a PERFECT clean finish and takes only seconds to wipe down. I just dab a bit of water on one corner of the cloth and wipe the unit down until the surface is dry.

A point of note, I do this on my laptop (Acer Aspire One), and not the 14z, but it'll work on the 14z as well. The microfiber is soft, so there's no risk of scratching and since it is only water, it's also cheap, safe and easy to clean.

I've not found a better solution, and it only costs $1.

For those of you that have the fingerprint-prone chainlink finish, this is a MUST BUY accessory. It'll make short work of those fingerprints.

Let me know how it goes for you!

YARR!
}:^)~
Corruptarama

 

USA.

Could I have possibly disconnected it? My laptop is almost completely disassembled at the moment.

 

I am about to order a 14Z, but I can't find a second ac adapter to buy on the dell website

Is the AC adapter compatible with Latitude D or E series? Anyone have a part number please?

 

eBay search: dell pa-2e power adapter.

Per Dell, any power adapter from the "e" family will work with the 14z, the most prevalent being the pa-2e family and pa-3e family. The adapter that comes with the 14z is pa-2e.

 

does anyone know why this driver won't install on my 14z?

http://forums.laptopvideo2go.com/topic/24727-v18567-windows-vista-64bit-nvidia

 

The device should be: DEV_0866&SUBSYS_02BA1028

If you're comfortable with editing the infs, you might get it to install. I know the mobile 186.03 drivers will install after an inf edit. I was getting a 4.4 graphics WEI with the dell drivers and get a 5.5 with the 186.03 drivers.

 

I doubt you accidentally disconnected it. If your WiFi worked before it means the antenna and the cables were connected. It's probably because the picture is blurry that I can't see the connection

 

First post to the forum.

Thanks to all for the info, I decided to order one after careful consideration (do I really need more than 3gb of memory for notetaking? Probably not...)

Looking forward to undervolting--but first I need to try it out on my good ol'
Inspiron 8600.

 

^I suppose your username comes from the mathematics program of the same name?

Good choice, and 3GB should be plenty for your uses.

 

I keep a small bottle of distilled water in my laptop bag for just this purpose. Make sure you use distilled water so there are no minerals to leave streaks.

 

I bought a Studio 14z from Best Buy for $699 with Free Optical drive (pioneer) = $750 after tax but still undecided if i should get Sony NW 180J/S (can get new for $860) or NW 130 J/S ($700) . This is primarily for general browsing , basic picture editing, PIcassa/Photo Plus and music ..........primary owner wife...who likes the sleek svellete Dell ....I like the reviews on the dell but the lack of optical and flash drive and issues with the touchpad are getting me confused....

Form factor, likeability vs specs....Should i consider another machine in the sub$800-850 range...or get the Sony Vaio...

Help...thoughts welcome

 

Also how do u rate the BBY Version of the Studio 14z for the price as compared to configuring on Dell

 

Wow that's an awesome deal. I bought my 14z from Best Buy a month ago for $750 (around $820 after tax) without an optical drive.

 

my studio 14z has shipped! Estimated shipping date was august 24th and we're the 16th! 1 week earlier!

Does anyone know how long it takes to ship in canada? (Quebec province in Montreal)

 

I must say that dell 14z is a very beautiful laptop,it look pretty fat at the back, the palm area is pretty normal. I think i am going to buy this laptop if i can, i am in australia and i am not sure whether they going to ship down under.

 

That is nice mine is sceduled to ship the 24th so maybe it will get bumped up as well.

It will come from Malaysia to the us and then up to one of purolator's distribution centers, once it hit the US it is usually a couple of days to get to Canada and than usually a day or 2 to you.

 

Hehe, yes, I "borrowed" the idea from Wolfram Alpha. Clearly an inside joke meant for myself and now you Mastershroom.

With the exception of extra processing power you can only obtain from Dell, I would go so far as to say the BB model is a good deal if you don't need the 900p screen, the backlit-keyboard (at least I didn't notice one when I went to BB), internal Bluetooth, or another color cover. Those upgrades on Dell run between 25-40 (and more for the beefier processor, obviously.)

An identically spec'd model on Dell would run about $780 before taxes.

I'd say stick with the BB deal if you don't need the extra horsepower or the other Dell-only upgrades. I shouldn't say I absolutely needed the extra bells and whistles on my 14z, but given my computing habits I figure they'll come in handy.

 

Yes - i got mine around 6 days before ETA.

 

So I painted my 14z over the weekend, and while I wait for the paint to cure, I assembled it to make sure nothing was damaged. Well, everything seems to work fine, including the painted touchpad, but the backlit keyboard does not light up! Thankfully, the actual keyboard works fine, but does anybody have any ideas on how I could fix/troubleshoot this?

The quickset image does not appear either when I press F6. There are two connectors, one for the keyboard and one for the backlight. The backlighting one appears to be creased, but I'm pretty sure it was like that when I first opened up the case. I tried disconnecting and reconnecting it about 3 times and I still can't get it to work.

The paint job isn't finished yet (I'll be buffering it to make it more smoother and blacker) but some of you requested pics, so here ya go:

 

Other people who've had this problem have noted that had one of the connectors upside down so you may want to try disconnecting, flipping over one of the connectors and reconnecting.

 

Looking good enoya. I definitely want to see some pics of the finished product.

I read on a different forum somewhere around here that when you're plugging the wire into the board for the keyboard it needs to be plugged in upside down. Maybe that's your issue? I do remember those same guys mentioning that it was somewhat loose in its slot, so you may want to check it out based on that.

I wouldn't know about quickset - unless you made some significant software changes, i.e. installed win7, because it's been more or less confirmed that win7 doesn't play nice with quickset, but that will be fixed with the release version.

 

YES, IT WORKED!!! THANK YOU!! And you too, Karan.

Will upload finished pics in a few days.

 

Good lord! I can't wait to get my grubby mits on this lappie!

Does anyone know roughly how long it currently takes after ordering from dell.ca to receive the 14z in Ontario?

YARR!
}:^)~
C_pt'n C_rr_pt

 

they shipped mine to Quebec 6 business days after the date of purchase

 

Thanks folks, I knew you'd have an answer!

I keep distilled water on hand for my humidor (and ironing clothes), so just need to find a microfiber cloth.

That and teach my friends that it's not a "touch screen" so they can keep their grubby fingers to themselves!

 

By the way, I directly tell all my friends not to touch the screen, neither with fingers nor with a pen. The same way I tell them not to touch windows inside my car when they want to wipe them with hands. I think that's completely normal, and if they don't know that, I can educate them a little.

I use microfiber cloth too, it works very well.

 

Ok, I returned my first 14z due to some issues with it and since it was purchased from the Outlet I didn't get to choose things I would have if I had ordered new. I'm thinking of placing a new order for a 14z and was wondering if this was a good price:

Midnight Blue
P8600 2.4Ghz
3GB Ram
Backlit KB
320Gb 5400rpm HD
900p Screen
8 Cell battery
1yr warranty

$954 before taxes.

There aren't any current coupons out, and from what I've seen in the past few months there haven't really been any. So opinions on price? Is it pretty consistent with what others have paid recently?

Thanks...

 

I found a microfiber cloth yesterday and was wiping away at my big-screen tv for a full 5 minutes.