Dell M1330 Condition Received Thread...and Poll

You made mention of your DELL laptop disconnecting from WIFI regularly. My Latitude D830 Vista machine. Everything els eis perfect (I have to type fast so as to get this typed before it disconnects). If I switch the WIFI switch off - it shows the blue tooth going off, but when I switch it back on again only the blue tooth comes on on teh hardware lights but the screen shows the image of both Bluetooth and WIFI logos for a moment. and then teh blue tooth icon in teh systray but no change to the wireless stautus. It is asthough there is no wayto reinitiate the wifi adapter other than a reboot. Any assistance or commenst would be gratfully received.

 

why is this poll closed?

just got mine today, the cpu whine is intermittent, i think it's the southbridge problem though.

i also have an uneven base, i tried the method where i kind of "bend" the opposite corners while having the lid open, still not fixed

 

This thread hasnt been in use in a while although I will help in any concerns you may have or assistance with Dell if needed..

 

The uneven base has to be the most annoying thing about this laptop. I would buy one if they fix this issue.

 

thanks for the concern, im not sure if you can help too much. I think the uneven base is pretty annoying, i thought after bending the corners I had fixed it but after picking it up and moving it to another table the wobble came back.

i'll try switching the 6cell and 9cell out.

i know this is OT for this thread, but would you consider vista ultimate 64bit worth the hassle?

mine came with home premium, im pretty decided with dual booting xp/vista, but not sure if i want ultimate 32/64

 

First with respect to the unevenness, can you see an unevenness in the system. Successfully, others have put a small piece of 2 sided tape undernesth the rubber pad that doesnt touch the desktop. Apparently you can unstick that and then glue it back in giving it a bit more height which fixes the problem.

Next, you can contact Dell and have them send you a replacement system at no cost. You keep that and then when the new one comes in, you send one of the two back...so you can choose which is better.

Im not an XP fan so I cannot give you good advice there. I still dont understand why anyone would choose to stay with XP when Vista is FAR superior in graphical properties as well as everything else..oh and it NEVER crashes.

 

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I received my XPS M1330 today finally after much anticipation and unfortunately there are some build quality issues. As far as performance goes the computer is great but there are some problems with the construction. I first noticed that the lid did not close flush against the base which led to me discovering that the left speaker is not completely depressed into the base and will not go down, there is a gap on the left hinge, and lastly the border at the bottome of the screen (the part with the DELL logo) is bent outward in multiple locations.

So I called Dell today and after a bunch of transfers and a little bit of holding, and without any fight whatsoever, Dell will be sending me a brand new laptop within 8 days. Hopefully they send me a winner because if I have to deal with this garbage again I am going to start getting mad.

I must say that despite the issues, I really love this laptop, the only thing that really bothers me is that the slot loading drive is pretty loud but I can live with it. Overall it is a very nice and well designed slick little laptop and I can't wait to get one that is put together a little bit better.

 

Mine does. Not very frequent, but my VISTA-implemented M1330 crashes / automatically reboots once out of every dozen times the Notebook is in use.

I'm guessing it's my combination of applications but I can't rule out faulty HW. Either way, VISTA can be brought to it's knees

 

oh yeh, add me to the group of ppl who think the dvd drive is obnoxiously loud

 

There will always be the XP/Vista controversy. Its kind of like them ole guys looking for straight blade razors when they can use and electric one.

I need to reiterate that Im using 64Bit Vista...I believe this is a large reason why I cannot bring 'it to its knees' as someone above stated.

 

How do you compare the m1330 against the SZ 430 series? (comparison against the SZ 6x would be unfair, I'm trying to decide between models.
thanks,

 

My first laptop had what I thought was a build quality/integrity issue w/the display panel. When I squeezed the left silver edge of the display to lift up the display, the plastic front piece squeezed into the back piece making a flimsy clicking sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LTh4Vcm6Rq0

My second m1330 has a solid display now but has a defective expressCard slot. When I put in the remote, it gets stuck. When I push the remote in further to activate the spring loaded mechanism to eject it, I can feel the spring mechanism activate but it won't eject. It feels as if the top and bottom of the slot is screwed together too tightly or the remote is too thick so the force of the spring isn't enough to push the remote back out. There's a screw on the bottom of the laptop next to the slot and I loosened it to the point of removing it and that still didn't loosen the slot enough to allow the force of the spring to eject the remote. There's probably other screws nearby the slot that need to be loosened as well but I don't want to walk around w/a $1600+ laptop whose expressCard slot will only eject if some of the bottom screws are loosened.

I just emailed the rep I'm working w/at Dell, she's been great so far but it's a pita not having a laptop and having to ship back for replacements due to these issues.

 

I had 2 M1330's 1st had bad build quality and a bad screen. 2nd has southbridge whine, bulge in keyboard and a gap along the top of the screen!!

Sent it back, added an extra £600 and got me a Sony VGN-SZ61WN/C! I know you wanted a comparison of the SZ4 series, but Im guessing the built quality will be identical to the SZ6 series, but the specs obviously wont...

So with regards to quality, the Sony wins hands down, and with regards to specs between the M1330 and the SZ4, it all really depends on how you plan to configure your M1330, and which SZ4 you are comparing it with.....

A handy thing with the M1330 is the on-site warranty tho! However, you are more likely to need it with the M1330 than you are with the SZ4!

 

H3rmAn,
I used to have an SZ before it got stolen (I know). It was an SZ430N/B with 2GIG RAM and the Dual Graphics card. Nothing fancy like the hybrid drive of the 6 series, but I got for around $1400 which was fair.

I'm thinking of either
a. Going back and replacing the same SZ for another 430 that I could get my hands on. I loved the lightweight and powerful aspect, and the bright screen (much better than the mucky D620 I used to have)

b. Getting this M1330 which looks really really cool...with the NVIDIA card and same amount of RAM 2 GB. I do a lot of CAD and graphics work, but I NEVER game. I simply never have time to do it.

I'm keyboard neutral, I like the SZ but I also like the dell keyboards. I think Thinkpad keyboards are the best.

 

One problem that I had when I received my M1330 was an uneven keyboard. Dell sent me out a new one and now I am

 

well its really up to you mate, the 8400M GS in the M1330 will help with the CAD programs, but if your fussed about the buid quality of your stuff then I would avoid it. Just read this thread and look in the forums to see how many people have had build issues and general problems with the M1330.

Then go and look at the Sony section and do the same for the SZ....you'll see a BIG difference!!

 

I now know that my first m1330 also had power issues, now that I've recieved my 2nd replacement unit. This is my rig and my battery runtimes on the first unit:

-T7500 2.2G cpu
-Nvidia 8400 GS gfx
-13.3" LCD
-9 cell
-Vista Home Premium (default factory settings)
-CONDITIONS: wifi on, bluetooth off, full brightness

Results are pathetic!

TEST 1
11:19am - 1:50pm = 2hrs:31min

TEST 2
4:08pm - 6:04pm = 1hrs:56min

Test 3:
9:31am - 11:51am = 2hrs 20min

Test 4:
4:55pm - 7:39pm = 2hrs 44min

SECOND REPLACEMENT UNIT

I've been able to run 2 tests on my second m1330 and the results are much better! Same test conditions as teh first unit.

TEST 1
5:43pm - 9:21pm = 3hrs 38min

TEST 2
9:45am - 1:29pm = 3hrs 44min

However, my 2nd replacement unit has a defective expressCard slot:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FtcoA5jG2iU

The m1330's spring-loaded eject mechanism of the expressCard slot works JUST LIKE the SD memory card slot. IE, you have to push it in again further and then the card ejects out. However, I can't even push the remote in any further, it's just stuck, I can push it in as hard as I want and it won't go in ANY FURTHER. So, the remote is now stuck in the slot.

 

Mine is perfect. Except for the little hang when you eject a cd. It's brief, but really annoying. I've contacted dell about it. Love the laptop though!! Its gorgeous and really powerful!

 

You're lucky! I hope my 3rd one is a charm. Can't wait to put a clean install of XP on mine. It doesn't feel speedy running Vista.

 

If its not speedy running Vista, try my tweaks below.

 

Why do you post any longer on the Dell site when you are a Sony
person who appears to diss the Dell all the time.
Just curious...

 

My M1330 came today... uneven base produces a slight wobble. It's very annoying when typing. Anything I can do to solve this problem? I hear that loosing up the screws and tightening them again will make things better, is this true?

 

My THIRD m1330 replacement came yesterday and I think I got a refurb?

There are two slight dents in the aluminum palm rest. One is just below/beside the lower right corner of the mouse pad. The other is just above beside the upper right corner of the mouse pad.

Also, the palm rest doesn't feel as slick as the previous 2 m1330's I received. I can feel the ridges of the brushed aluminum. Maybe they forgot to clear coat it as well?

Also, and this is why I think it's a refurb and not brand-new, there's usually clear plastic film (like the ones that go on the surface of LCD's for protection) that protects both sides of the hinges where the round Dell logo is on my previous two laptops but on this one, the plastic protective film has already been peeled off.

What do you guys think? This is frustrating as hell.

 

I never had the plastic coating on my hinges and your 'dent' concerns were experienced by others so its not necessarily a 'refurb' issue.

You gotta be asking yourself if your ever going to be happy after receiving 3 defective laptops. I received 7 thusfar and the biggest issue I had was a small crack in a spare battery.

 

Ok, so I called them this morning and got this nice, Indian girl and she offered me a $100 GC after I told her about the two dents in the palm rest. It sure took a while but I can definitely say that Dell does try its best to take care of its customers and I'm really happy with this laptop now.

Dude, I can't imagine having to get 7 replacements!? WTF? That's crazy, where do you get the patience for that? I thought getting 3 replacements was bad. I'm glad my case is closed and I can now start customizing this little bad boy!

 

Order my m1330 on 1/2. Received it on 1/10.

I got the following specs:

Crimson Red
Core 2 Duo 2.2 Ghz
4 GB RAM
250 GB Hard Drive
128MB NVIDIA® GeForce™ 8400M GS
HDMI Port
Intel Wireless 4965AGN
Bluetooth
Slim LED Screen w/ Webcam
Fingerprint Reader
Windows Vista Home Premium
6 Cell Battery
9 Cell Battery

Pretty sure I covered it all.

Absolutely no problems or defects. The system arrived very quickly and is flawless, and is an absolute rocket. I'm used to XP, and after first few days, Vista does suck but I'm getting used to it. This is my work and vacation/when im not home laptop. At home I have a desktop monster, therefore I was looking for something to match it in terms of performance and style.

 

funk... I never received 7 replacements.... I have purchased 7 M1330s or assisted in their purchase where they were received by me personally. The only defect I have encountered thusfar was the ncracked battery.

Ace... Check out my tweaking Thread below and consider the Clean Install as well. I find Vista much faster than XP.

 

I just posted in the clean install thread.

I'm trying to figure out how a clean install will benefit me?

Basically I'm using the Vista disc that came from Dell with the Dell loogo on it right? And then install just the OS, like a normal computer, without any trialware of dell installed programs? Besides drivers, any issues with doing this?

 

I see the polls over. I should add that I got mine in perfect condition, no gripes here.