Official Inspiron 1545 Owners Thread

Hey Hippix,

Firstly, I understand English may not be your first language, but please try to avoid overuse of capital letters and "text speak". This is a mature forum and that sort of thing does not go down well with some people.

OK, now on to your problem.

Often when switching a USB device to a different USB port that it has never been used in before, you will find Windows needs to reinstall drivers for it. This is a pain, but is not unexpected. As the drivers are already installed on your system, it wont require inserting a disc of anything, it should find them of it's own accord.

Now, if you're getting an error message that says unidentified device, it's possible that:
a. The USB port is faulty
b. The device is faulty

I had this problem with an old USB drive that I had knocked against a table, which bent the connector ever so slightly inside the notebook. I could only ever get the device to read from that USB port from then on (unless I applied pressure to the device in another USB port).

First thing to check would be if your USB device works ok in USB ports in another computer. If so, then your USB device is ok, so check if that particular USB port on your laptop is able to recognise other USB devices.

Hopefully it's the first one, because that's a simple fix - buy a new USB thumb drive.

Now with regards to your USB mouse, whilst most USB mice will be detected by windows straight away, it may be that yours requires drivers. What make and model of mouse is it?

Regards

 

Thank you for your message.
Its a cheap usb mouse(frisby). It works on another computers.
I trıed all slots and not worked. And ı trıed another mouses.

Only Usb flash memory working on left side ports. On right side. nothing..
Im on vista.
i dont know its hardware or software error.

do u have usb mouse? can u upload me its drivers? please.

 

Windows has generic drivers for USB mice; but it's possible that yours requires it's own. Try looking for the Frisby homepage and select the mouse you have - that may work. I believe Frisby is a Turkish make? I tried to find the site, but I only speak English, French and a little Japanese, so could not make much sense of it I'm afraid.

Just re-read your post: Did the other USB mice work?

Does your USB mouse show up in Control Panel > Device Manager?

With reference to your usb stick; have you tried it in another computer?
Do you have any other usb sticks to test in the right side ports on your laptop?

 

well i got the usbstick problem only just on the rigth side works i dont know why. besides that all my usbthingys works.
fragilexx dude are you having issues with the audio on ubuntu 9.04 64bit, it seems that the volume just go from realy loud to mute on 4-5 presses from the volume.

ubuntu boots in just 30 second wow!!! and 64bit flash player rocks

 

Not fussed about having 64bit flash player, but yes I have the same problems with ubuntu sound. I'm sure there is a setting somewhere that I just can't find.

 

well i found in ubuntu forums that is a know glitch and that it can be semi solved by maxing you volume in windows. i did notice a couple of more presses.
and have you notice if the processor is stepped down ? mine always says 1.2 ghz maybe i aint doing anything processor intensive.

a dell's website changed the default color of the 1545, the default color is now black!!!

 

Hey, i'm new to this board and I have a question or two. I've had this laptop for a couple months now and I have no real problems with it, but last night I was playing music and it sounded quite scratchy. I know they've never been perfect speakers, but they were always listenable. Sometimes they crackle too. Has anyone else had this problem? Would it worth taking it in to get checked? The only problem there is I have a small crack in the corner of the screen's casing, (caused from a small drop that hasn't - or shouldn't have - effected the actual laptop) and i'm not sure my insurance will cover it. If it's just an indication of use (after barely two months) that's pretty disapointing.

 

Hi Carrythebanner, welcome to NBR!

First thing I would suggest is trying out external speakers to see if you have the same problem, this would rule out a software fault.

As you say, typically laptop speakers aren't up to much. I've not noticed mine crackling, but then most of the time I only use sound when at home, and there I have a 5.1 USB sound card.

One other thing, have you downloaded the latest audio drivers from the dell website - they recently(ish) released an update to the sound drivers - I think the latest is version A02. This might solve the problem if it is software related.

 

Hi folks, new to this board, I too am a happy owner of a new 1545. No real problems so far but will be around to ask for help if I need it!

Having said that, the only niggle I have right now with the 1545 out of the box is the battery life! Arghh ... only get about an hour of life on the 4-cell job that shipped with the PC, and I do need to use the laptop on the road quite often, even though it is technically meant to be more of a static or office laptop.

I know I can purchase a 6-cell battery or a 9-cell ... Do any of you fine folks have either of these? I notice that the 9-cell battery adds about a half a kilo to the overall weight.

My questions are:
1) Does the 9-cell battery stick out significantly from the back of the machine? ... and
2) Does the extra weight seem that significant to you when transporting the laptop? My last machine was a Samsung R60 with a 6-cell battery and was heavy as a brick at 4 kilos, not fun to haul around for several hours!

Any responses would be welcome, and I hope I can help some of the others along the way ... long last this lovely 1545!

Cheers, highland

 

Hi highlandhalo and welcome to NBR!

With the Inspiron 1545 I'm afraid the 9 cell battery does stick out of the back and adds noticeable weight to the machine. The 6 cell is a much better option, I get about 3 hours out of mine, a bit more if I'm careful.

Some things that might be worth pointing out:

1. I assume that as you got a 4 cell, you likely bought it from PC World or Tesco or somewhere (seeing that in the UK only the 6 & 9 cells are an option online). Therefore it is likely you have the integrated graphics. If however this is not the case and you have the HD 4330, you should ensure that your power saving mode turns the powerplay features of the HD 4330 to maximum battery.

2. If you are not needing it, make sure you turn off the wireless features. This can save some battery life.

3. Obviously pay attention to all features in the power saving advanced options screen

4. Pay a visit to this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824
It discusses undervolting. This is basically lowering the power required from your processor to work. It does not impact the performance of your laptop

Regards

 

well i know mine isn't gonna last long is always plugged in to the power outlet and is a 4cell. i should get a 9cell for mobility, so i can use the 4 cell at home for like a power supply 'cuz the electric company sucks in my country!!

 

Having the laptop always plugged into the power outlet doesn't actually shorten the batteries life per se.

 

Thanks folks for your helpful responses! ... thanks esp to fragile for the recommendation on the 6-cell battery. I am concerned about portability at the moment but overall very pleased with this laptop.

To answer your point No. 1, fragile, I bought the laptop online in the UK from Dixons along with a nice package of peripherals (wireless mouse, kick-butt headphones, T-mobile dongle and padded Belkin bag). Altogther it makes a really nice bit of kit, I just wish the battery would last a bit longer off the charger.

As to point 2, I cannot really turn off the wireless features. As a freelance journalist I really need to be connected to the internet literally all the time, unless I'm asleep!

I will give points 3 and 4 a crack! Thanks again, cheers, highland ...

 

Sorry about double-posting, but I thought I would add my two cents here about a painful lesson I learned which may seem very basic to most of you.

The reason I am now a happy owner of a Dell 1545 (wicked cherry red colour btw!) is because my Samsung R60 was stolen off of me in a mugging in north London two months ago. Not pleasant.

I was on my mobile phone, my missus had just rung me, and two crackheads approached me. One asked me for a light for a cigarette to distract me, whilst I was trying to brush him off, the other nicked the mobile phone out of my left hand.

When I tried to pursue the first guy, the second guy (Mr Can I Have A Light Please) smashed me down from behind into the street and stole the Samsung laptop off my right shoulder (which was in a backpack slung over my shoulder, silly me, I know ...)

I gave chase along with some nice youngster who was walking his dog, a good Samaritan, however at 45 years old I am not Usain Bolt and was not able to catch the crooks. I was not seriously injured thankfully although the cops gave me a lecture for chasing after the thieves! The pity of it is my wife had to listen to the whole thing go down over the mobile phone ... she did not even know if I was safe until an hour later when I was able to call her off a mate's phone.

The moral of this long-winded saga is: always watch your back! If you like your laptop as much as I do, there is always someone who is willing to steal it off of you, even if all they are going to get is £20 for crack.

One of the things I love about using a laptop is the freedom to use it wherever I want, in a cafe, at home, in a pub, etc ... but even Kensington security locks are not foolproof. Here in north London it is very much a walking/take the bus/take the tube society ... nobody uses their cars so locking away your laptop in your car is not an option.

Still, you would be surprised how many people I see on a daily basis who are casually carrying their laptops/i-pods/misc gear in a haphazard fashion.

I learned my lesson two months ago, and with the 1545 securely tucked away in the padded Belkin bag, I feel confident carrying it around, as long as I am wearing it in cross-strapped fashion (ie, strap over left shoulder, going across the chest with laptop bag hanging over right hip). If someone wants to steal this laptop off of me, they are going to have a hell of a fight.

Sorry for the long-winded post, but I thought I would give a bit of background as to why I am now a Dell 1545 owner, and hopefully it will serve to remind commuting folk and those who take their laptops around with them to be careful.

Cheers, highland

 

It is unfortunate that these things happen, but at least you are ok.

At the end of the day, as more and more technology becomes portable we must all be mindful about how visible it is and how the opportunists out there will view this. This is why I tend to recommend using a laptop backpack rather than a traditional laptop case. It at least disguises it a little.

Thanks for sharing though; hopefully others will find it of use.

With regards to longer battery life; you could always try to look for a 6 cell on eBay. Just be mindful to check the date of manufacture if possible, as Li-on batteries degrade as soon as they are manufactured.

 

Thanks, i'll try this. It's not a massive issue, maybe i'm just being overly picky about things; sometimes I hear it and sometimes I don't. Perhaps I was just listening to a bad quality mp3 or something. But i'll check out what you said and see from there.

 

Thanks a lot fragile ... 1 more question please ...

My 1545 shipped with a slot for an ExpressCard. Is there any way for me to upgrade my integrated graphics with a souped-up video card? Perhaps a TV tuner card might be more useful for my lifestyle right now ...

 

Hi highlandhalo.

Technically yes you can upgrade your internal graphics card via the expresscard slot. This can be achieved one of two ways:

1. Buy an expresscard to pci express converter. I have only seen one company making these and to be fair they are incredibly expensive - like £200-£300 , and then you'd need to buy a graphics card as well.
2. Buy an expresscard docking station from Belkin. This has a built in graphics processor, and can be used to power either a VGA or DVI monitor. Dabs.com have these for about £40 at the moment. However, the card provided really is not that powerful, and there is no option to upgrade it as far as I am aware.

In both of the above cases, there remains a problem. Typically modern graphics cards utilise a pcie x16. The expresscard is only pciex2 (I believe). This essentially means that not as much data can pass through the expansion port in the same time as a pcie x16. Therefore the quality would not be as good.

The other main problem with both of these solutions is that neither would improve the graphics displayed on your notebook screen, only on external screens as far as I am aware.

In short, probably best to avoid either of these options.

A TV tuner card is an good choice for the expresscard slot. What I tend to do is use an eSATA adaptor in there though, as I have a few eSATA compatible external HDDs.

 

LOL, just re-read my last post and I think another negative to point out is that either of those options regarding external graphics cards will make it so you are not exactly very mobile.....

 

Are there any options to get high res screens on the 1545? (900p or 1080p)
In Canada, we don't have these options... I was just wondering if that was universal.

 

well you could always get a 1555 screen!! i think they are the same size wise.
a 1080 screen will make my 720 tv shows ans movies look bad!!! 900p woul b ok!!!

 

Hi All,

Just ordered a Inspiron 1545 with the following spec:
Operating System: Windows Vista SP1 Home Premium
Processor: Intel Centrino 2 - Core 2 Duo P8600
Memory: Memory 4096MB (2x2048) DDR2
Hard Disk Drive: 320GB HD SATA (5400rpm)
Video: Graphics 256 MB ATI Mobility Radeon HD 4330
NoteBook Screen: Display 15.6in Widescreen WXGA with TrueLife CCFL
CD Read-Write Drive: Optical Drive Blu-ray Disc (DVD+/-RW + BDROM)
Drive including software
System Color: LCD Back Cover Pacific Blue Custom High
Gloss Finish
MISC: MS Vista Premium Logo Label NB (small
Wireless Intel WiFi Link 5100
Battery Inspiron Primary 6-cell 56WHr Li-Ion
Wireless Europe Dell Bluetooth 365 Card
Camera Integrated 1.3 Mega Pixel Camera

I'm pretty happy with the deal I got. basically £500GBP.

Anyway a couple of questions...
1. Anyone recommend a decent backpack (rucksack) case for it?
2. Can anyone with the same setup let me know what Windows Experience Index points do you get for the above setup?
3. Is the laptop compatible with any Dell docking stations? I have a PR01X for my works laptop.

Cheers in Advance.

 

We're missing which processor you got in order to tell you our WEI. I have near enough the same setup with a P8600 processor. My WEI is:

Processor: 5.3
RAM: 5.9
Desktop Graphics: 4.5
3D Graphics: 4.9
HDD: 5.8

However, I have a 7.2k RPM HDD, but I believe when I had the standard 5.4k my HDD score was 5.5.

No the laptop is not compatible with any docking stations other than USB or expresscard ones.

That is probably a very good deal; it depends on what processor you got.

 

Hi, thanks for the quick reply, i have spec'd the P8600 CPU.

I've ordered it from the Dell Outlet.

 

Is there any tips or tricks for when it arrives?

 

1. Reformat and re-install as a general rule to get rid of any bloatware. This is assuming they provide you with the OS & drivers CDs/DVDs, which they probably will.

2. Download the latest drivers from http://support.euro.dell.com/suppor...emID=INSPIRON1545&os=WLH&osl=en&catid=&impid= as there have been some updates. Make sure you change the drop down boxes to either Vista 32bit or Vista 64bit depending upon which one you have.

3. Check out this guide for vista tweaks http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=166532

4. You may also want to check out this guide on undervolting if you want to maximise battery life and reduce heat http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=235824

5. Ensure you have your preference of Virus software & Firewall as a minimum. Recommendations for free versions are (in my order of preference, but yours may differ):

Virus Software
AVira Antivir Link
Avast Link
AVG Free Link

Firewall Software
Comodo Link
Zonealarm Link

6. Defrag your hard drive after you've installed everything you need to initially (virus scanners, office programs, copied music onto your machine, etc)

Then I think you are good to go.

Heh, you hadn't when you'd originally posted though

Regards

 

well ppl i just did the automatic voltage on rmclock no problem so far let see if red alert 3 can BSOD this low voltage. stockwas 1.2560 now is 1.1500 the max

 

Red Alert 3 is probably not a good enough test to be honest; in fact I'd recommend against using a game to test as they tend to utilize your GPU.

There are several stress tests you can run, the one suggested in the undervolting thread is ORthos, and it works well enough for the task.

ps, love the P8600. My max voltage without lowering is like 1.1375, lower than you got yours with undervolting

 

I currently have my T9500 set to 1.0500V at the highest multiplier.

 

wow the p series is very battery friendly !!!
i got the otrhos test but imma test it in the nigth. rigth now im about be with no electricity.

well the settings now are just the automatics ones. so i think it can go lower!!!
maybe on saturday i can lower it a lil'bit more.

 

wey i just notice mi power ligth isnt powering on!!!!!
yesterday it did!!!

 

It's just an LED, sometimes they die. Unusual though, you tend to get more hours use out of an LED than you will the laptop itself by quite some way.

 

imma start crying i miss my power ligth!!!!
is the only ligth i have :'(

 

I hate that power light. I repainted my palmrest because the finger print magnet was annoying me. Took time (as you've got several layers of paint that you need to let dry), but it's much better now. Plus I covered over that light. However, it's being relegated to my desk at work and I'm looking for another laptop for travelling back and forth; it's just too big and heavy for use on public transport.

 

can you post pics of your work ?

i even reflashed the bios to see if it was a glitch but apparently it just died!!!
BTW new dvddrive bios!!!

 

Well I did as suggested and tried some earphones which sound fine (couldn't get hold of any speakers but I assume it'll have the same effect) but the speakers are sounding worse than ever. I mean they sound like an old mobile walkman would - scratchy and crackling and not something you'd expect after paying £400. I heard there were new drivers, but the link didn't work. Is this something PC World might help with? I could try and record what it sounds like somehow for anyone wondering. It sounds awful and it's getting worse. They also crackle and scratch on windows alerts and such, not just music.

 

If headphone sound fine then most likely there is nothing wrong with the speakers, just that they are poor quality. Unfortunately laptop speakers are normally pretty rubbsih to be honest.

However, it also sounds like it may be something else. I'd speak to PC world, see what they say. If it's quite close then I'd probably recommend you bring the computer in to them so they can hear. It will also give you the opportunity to compare with their display model to see if there is any difference.

 

When you get it can you tell me how wow plays on it? beacuse the guy from dell set me up with the same packege?

 

When who gets what?

WOW plays just fine on my machine, if that's what you are talking about.

 

on another subject----

on my 1525 , before the monitor DIED after only 2 years, i had the synaptics touchpad driver that had a few more options than i can get now on this 1545.

anyone know how? or if its possible to get it? or anything to be able to get the MORE options buttons lit in the setings of the 1545 touchpad---specifically the BACK --both buttons--- option>?

 

You can download the driver from Synaptics themselves, instead of Dell, assuming the 1545 has a Synaptics pad.

 

The 1545 uses an Alps touchpad.

You might want to check out this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3181910#post3181910 as they were also having problems with gestures etc that they were used to with synaptics pads.

Regards

 

In that case, corybaby, you're pretty much out of luck. Alps touchpads are, generally speaking, crap.

 

They tend not to be as good as synaptics touchpads, but seriously check out that thread - I'm pretty sure they got somewhere in the end.

 

I've actually had a look through that thread and tried all the drivers. Synaptics drivers leave me with less than I have now; I can't even edge-scroll or middle-click with them. Different Alps drivers disable different things, like circle scrolling or scroll zoom.

 

Ive had both Apls and Synaptics. My experience with Alps was and still is horrible, where as my Synaptics experience was amazing, and one of the most responsive touchpads that I have ever used.

 

Thats what i was afraid of, i did try getting the driver from synaptics but it was no luck and yes Alps pads do suck, its wierd though that in the alps settings there are more settings available, but they arent highlighted for use, tells me there must be or might be an update for it... someday?
Thanks for all the efforts, i will check out the thread listed, thanks
Cory

 

Was tossing around the idea of updating my old Inspiron 2200, and I came across the Dell deal for the Inspiron 15n starting at $299... After crunching numbers, I bit the bullet & just opted to buy a new laptop... After bumping up the processor to the T4200, and getting the integrated webcam (necessary for when I telecommute) it ended up a bit over $400. Should be shipped by 07.21

To that end I started looking around for a new laptop backpack that I can use to carry the 1545 around & fits the laptop well. Anyone have any suggestions? I saw that Amazon & Buy.com have good sales on some SwissGear backpacks that caught my attention. What do you guys use?

 

Yup Swissgear here; found they are one of the better ones + don't actually look that bad either.

 

I use a SwissGear backpack to carry my Studio 1535 around to and from classes daily.