Dell Studio 1555

That is exactly my fear. Which is why I may just return it for a refund.

 

hey guys,

I have a minor problem. Before today, when I use the standby button; my laptop automatically goes into hibernation mode.

However, as of today, when I use standby mode, if i do not immediately close the laptop cover; it just goes to the login page.

Is this normal? Thanks.

 

It looks like the bezel is just not snapped in all the way. Try pressing down on that spot. It may take some force, but it should snap into place; that thing is only held there by plastic tabs and one small screw. Worst case, you're right back where you started.

 

I specifically asked about that when I exchanged mine and they said that within the 30 days you get a new one. I have the person's name, etc. so I can complain if I get a refurbished one.

They claim that my replacement is "being built," so it seems like it is actually new.

I would be pissed if I got a refurbished computer to replace a BRAND NEW computer that arrived damaged.

 

Wow, can't thank you enough. I was sitting on hold, transferring from customer care to a return specialist when I saw this, so I figured why not? You were absolutely right, with a moderate amount of force it popped right in.

Guess I won't be returning it after all. Now the only thing I can complain about is Vista. I'll be installing Win7RC ASAP anyway, so all is good here now.

Thanks again.

 

How do I get the backlit keyboard to always stay on? Sometimes late at night I'd like to keep it always on. I only see 1, 2 or off. I can't find the setting except for the F6

 

Glad to hear it worked. An error like that still shouldn't have made it past QA, though.

I've taken apart my Studio 1555 at least three times, down to the motherboard, over the course of the past week and a half. I figure I should pass on the useful tidbits I learned as I did that.

If you have the yellow and purple QS icon in your taskbar for Dell QuickSet, open that and keyboard options should be there.

If not, navigate to My Computer > C:\Program Files\Dell\QuickSet\BacklitKB.exe and take care of it there. You will be able to adjust the timeout setting of the backlight, which includes "Always on".

 

Cool thanks I found it using your 2nd method. It was set for 1 min so I changed it to 5 mins, will see how that works. I wonder if keeping it always on will drain more on the battery?

 

I don't think the keyboard backlights take a huge toll on the battery. I used my old Studio 1535 with the backlit keyboard in class away from the AC adapter for two hours a day. I never really noticed an obvious difference whether the keys were on or off. I just set it to Always On and turned it off myself when I didn't need it.

 

I got my 1555 over 3 weeks ago, and I am really amazed how bad the screen is. I ordered a 720p screen, and, as lucky as I am, I got the Samsung screen. I know that people were complainig about it on this board, but I seriously had no idea that LCD screens that bad even exist. I remember my last laptop, a Toshiba, which I thought had a terrible screen comparing to a Gateway I had before. The Samsung beats it. I can agree that brightness is decent, but contrast and colors - terrible. I realy wish I had ordered a 1080p.

So my question is this - is there any way to actually make dell replace it, with no further cost (other than the upgrade to 1080p)? I noticed that on the left side of the screen, a section of the screen is slightly darker than the surrounding area - could I just tell them it's faulty and make them exchange it under warrantee?

 

You could try it. The AUO 720p is pretty decent.

 

Does the Studio 1555 Comes with
"Intel® Centrino® 2 processor technology" or
"Intel® Centrino® 2 with vPro™ technology" ?


I have installed "Windows Virtual PC" (on my windows 7 32bit)
"http://www.microsoft.com/windows/virtual-pc/download.aspx"
But when i try to use it, it says
"Virtual Windows XP Could not be started because hardware assisted virtualization is disabled. Please enable Hardware-assisted virtualization in BIOS and try again"

I have enabled "Intel Virtualization Technology" in BIOS

 

huntersvk: Did you completely power down the laptop, or just do warm restarts? Gotta go fully powered down.

 

THANKS LEW..
I had done just warm restart..had not thought about that
Switched off and tried now..it is working now..

 

damn i've come back from holiday and realised i'm out of budget now as dell have hiked their prices again. it now costs £100 just to get the 1080p screen! why do they charge so high in the UK when in the US it's half that price?

 

Hi, this is my first post here but I have been following this thread pretty closely for a while. Using information from this thread I ordered and just received my brand spanking new Studio 1555 and I think I got a pretty killer deal on my config based on the 25% off coupon that I found thanks to this thread!

I opted to do a clean install of the OS and everything went very well except on the Dell website I cannot find the driver for my 6X Combo BD-ROM/DVD RW drive. They have the drivers for every other drive up there but this one. Did anyone else have this problem?

The drive seems to be working OK with the default Vista driver but figured it might be better with the latest Dell driver. I was having some weird problems watching a Blu Ray with PowerDVD (couple hangs, one time it came up without sound) and wasn't sure if it was a driver problem or if PowerDVD just stinks.

Thanks for the help!

 

You do not need drivers for an optical drive.

 

For those who have installed Windows 7 RC, what drivers and/or utilities did you find you specifically needed to install?

 

Hi
Here you can find order for installing drivers

http://supportapj.dell.com/support/...all_order?c=au&cs=audhs1&l=en&s=dhs&~lt=print

I have installed Windows 7 RC 64 bit I but don't remember what drivers I have installed and what was already installed by Windows

I had some problems with Quickset but I think is easy to repair

 

Sorry guys, I can't seem to find a clear answer. Does the 256MB 4570 come with GDDR3?

 

Thanks, I know what drivers are available. Win7 does a good job of setting things up, so I know that I won't really need all the drivers, but there will be some that are more necessary than others.

For example, I had to install the synaptics touchpad driver because I didn't have any touchpad scrolling with the default driver. I'll also have to install the bluetooth 370 driver, I don't think any driver was loaded for that.

Not sure at this point if I will install the Radeon 45xx driver, seems to be fine with the driver Win7 installed.

I tried to install Quickset last night, had no luck, so if you have any tips, it'd be much appreciated.

 

Yes, mine has GDDR3.

 

Dell just sent me an e-mail saying me studio 15 just shipped! I ordered on the 13th. Hopefully I'll have it in my hands before the end of the week. Seems like the computer was built in Nashville.

 

Just received my new 1555 - changed colour to Lime Green microsatin at the last minute and am very happy with it. It's a rubbery finish that doesn't show fingerprints too easily but isn't a matte finish either.

Also took a chance with the 1920 x 1200 screen as my eyesight isn't great at reading distance but it's fine for me if I set font size to 120dpi.

Have removed the Centrino sticker easily but Vista one is stuck on very firmly - has anyone removed this?

Plan to install Windows 7 RC soon but want to make sure everything's working first...

 

Mastershroom;

Did you ever figure out how to get all the gestures working properly on your trackpad? I'm considering a Studio 1555 but want to make sure the trackpad works properly before I do.

Thanks...

-C_Guy

 

how's the fan on everyone's 1555? I have the Radeon GPU and was wondering maybe that's what is setting off my fan from going off so often, I'm considering selling this one and going with the Intel 4500HD integrated graphics since I don't game or do anything video intensive anyways.

 

Gestures that work out of the box with Dell's own drivers include Chiral scrolling, edge scrolling, edge zoom and two-finger pinch zoom. Supposedly two-finger scroll works if you can find the right driver, but I haven't tried this yet. I know this is a third party app that enables two-finger scroll anyway, though.

I have the 4570 256MB, and the fan usually only comes on while I'm gaming, or when I use the laptop on something that blocks the vents, like a pillow or bed. Then again, I replaced my thermal pads with Arctic Silver 5 and a copper shim on the GPU.

 

Could you turn off gestures? Like I don't want the edge zoom or two-finger zoom is that possible? Thanks

 

Looks like Fedex says my studio 15 is coming tomorrow. So excited! Just praying it comes w/ no problems.

 

Yeah, if you want, you can disable everything.

 

Which ones are the centrino processors?

 

this might seem like a stupid question, but how come service pack 2 does not show up in the list of available updates in windows update? i just got my studio 15 and i know it's running on sp1....

i know how to force download sp2 but is there any reason why i shouldn't? do you notice an increase in performance if you upgraded?

 

Is the Lime Green any different from Spring green? Spring Green was the only green option for mine, when i ordered on the Canadian Dell site. I've also seen Neon Green mentioned online, are they any different from each other?
Also, i think i recall reading somewhere that you can buy and change the face plate (or whatever they are called), is this true? Cause i kinda regret not getting it in red, lol. We'll see how i like the Spring Green when it gets here though.

I'm also curious about the best sticker removing technique.

 

All of them. Centrino requires a combination of the right CPU, chipset, and wireless module. The Studio 1555's PM/GM45 chipset is already fully compatible with the Centrino 2 platform, and so are all the Core 2 Duo processor options, so all you really need is either the Intel WiFi Link 5100 or 5300 wireless cards.

It takes a few other updates and reboots for SP2 to show up in the automatic updates. In my case, it didn't show up until the day after I installed Vista.

 

hmm so i went ahead and upgraded to sp2 even though it didn't show up in my automatic updates.

haven't really noticed any performance differences. for some reason, boot up times seem a bit slower than they did with sp1. also, ram usage after boot up is slightly higher than before.

 

Thanks for that info Mastershroom.

Anyone here familiar with replacing the wireless card of the 1555? I went with the default Dell wireless card and now I'm thinking of buying an Intel 5300 off of eBay. They seem to be going for about $20. Not bad compared to Dell's $45 lol. So is it hard to replace the wireless card and does it void the warranty? Is the 5300 worth the upgrade? Will there be an issue with wiring seeing that the default one only has two connections and the 5300 has 3?

 

It's pretty much the easiest replacement possible, after the RAM. You literally just have top pop off the bottom panel and remove one Philips head screw. It won't affect your warranty. The 1555 has all three cables (black, white, grey), even if you get a wireless card that only uses two. In fact, the 5300 can run with two cables (black and white) just fine, without the center grey cable.

 

I emailed Dell about this because the web site said Lime Green and the order confirmation said Spring Green. They replied: "As per the Dell Website the color Spring Green is just like Lime Green so it will be the same color."

 

Hey guys, I am back with another question.

I think shroom told me a few days ago that Wifi/Bluetooth both activate/deactive with the F2 function key.

Is tehre a way I can disable the bluetooth function (to save battery) while keeping the wifi function active with the F2 key? I checked the Boot screen but didn't see anything/.

Thanks!

 

That should be an option in BIOS. When you boot the computer, press F2 at the Dell splash screen to enter the BIOS settings. Press the right arrow key to get to the Advanced tab, and select Network Device Options. You should have the option to enable or disable the Bluetooth device.

Alternatively, you can turn off the Bluetooth adapter from within Windows as well; right click the Bluetooth icon in your system tray, and select the option to turn off the device. The little Bluetooth logo should change from white to red, on the blue background.

 

Hey...I just completed my first Heavy Usage Battery test for my day old Studio 1555 ..It involved-
Throughout the test Wifi, Bluetooth were on..LCD on Full Brightness and Backlit Keyboard on-
40mins of Guitar Hero III gameplay
30mins of COD 4 gameplay
30mins connection to a 40" LCD TV through HDMI cable involving some video, music and gameplay
30 mins of Movie watching(LOR last part)
and 20 mins of general browsing and usage
So in total it gave me 150 mins or 2 and a half hours..approx..
So how is it this performance for a 9 cell battery on this laptop??

 

Hi
How can I see if my display (720P) have color issue?
Sometimes is like blue is purple or maybe is on my mind , how can I go to the store and tell that I see purple instead of blue, they will need prove...
What part is replaced and what is the procedure for going to warranty
Thank you

 

Ah, thank you.

 

Hi, I thought I would register to give some feedback on my recent Studio 1555 purchase.

I was pleased with the laptop, performance was good but I was very disappointed in the screen. It was fitted with a 720p LG unit which had very narrow vertical viewing angles. I contacted Dell who did not suggest a replacement but offered a 10% discount on the price paid. To me that suggests they are aware of issues with certain 720p screens and would rather offer a discount than have the laptop returned.

I declined the offer of a discount and asked for an upgrade to the 1080p screen, however they said no. The laptop is due to be collected tomorrow as I find the screen unacceptable. Indeed, Dell would not waiver the collection charge either (£23) which I think is unfair as their product is at fault.

I will be placing my concerns in writing to Dell, although I'm probably wasting my time.

 

When doing a clean install of vista do I need to download and install the BIOS again for 1555?

Also for the drivers, for the applications there are 4 drivers do I really need all of them? seems like Quickset is the only one that matters.

 

Is anyone running Windows 7 on their 1555? How does it perform? Upgrade-worthy then it hits retail?

I also have a question about Dell and Windows 7. I recently ordered a 1555 and the Vista Edition had the "Qualified for Windows 7-upgrade" in the name. Does that mean i get a discount when W7 arrives, or does it just mean that my Vista-version is upgradable?
(How the hell can i not know this)

 

No, the BIOS will remain after reformatting the hard drive, as its kept in a separate physical chip.


Spett, Win7 performs awesome, definitely upgrade worthy for XP users, Vista users may not want to pay again which is understandable.

If its qualified for the Windows 7 upgrade, go to dells website and register, they will ship you a free copy when it launches.

 

Just got my GF one from the outlet, its the 256mb video model with the 720p screen. Wanted to make sure it can play WOW ok??

 

Anything from the turn of the millennium can play WOW ok, lol.

 

Well I waited all afternoon for fedex to arrive w/ my laptop and they never showed up. On there website it said i wasn't available. I know they didnt show up b/c no fedex tag was left by my door. Called Fedex they said they couldn't do anything about it. What terrible service. Waiting all afternoon looking out my door and then they say i wasn't there. Totally BS