Owner's Thread: Dell Inspiron 11 3147 2-in-1

I picked one up and before any hard drive upgrades have to do a BIOS update as the unit will not let me install the new OS on the SSD drive

Also have the Dual band wifi card on order Intel 7260.NGWWB M.2 will test it next week and see how it does.

Memory upgraded to 8 GB as well


@ unammed - Opening up the laptop does not void the warranty

 

So, I was thinking of picking this up to use as a stereo hub (my current old laptop doing that is on its last legs). I'd want to transplant the SSD from the old machine to the new one, and put W8 on it. I've been trying to figure out just how hard that would be, and I keep seeing different answers. Just to be clear, is it possible for me to create a recovery stick, shove the old SSD into the new machine, and then recover over it from the stick? Or, alternatively, can the same be done with a proper W8 install stick, which I can presumably pester Dell for?

I think from reading this thread that the simple answer is "no," and the complicated answer is "yes, with extra steps." Could anyone elaborate? I'm not a complete tech n00b, but I've also never swapped a drive before. I'm comfortable with physically moving the drive, but I'm not familiar with the little things to make everything compatible.

Anyway, assistance or (even better) clear, idiot-proof instructions, would be much appreciated. It just seems silly to keep the included hard drive when I have a perfectly good SSD inside a dying machine that could be transplanted.

 

You have some choices:

1) Just move the SSD over and have the system reinstall all the drivers. (always make a backup)
2) From the new computer use the software included to create an install disk (USB must be at least 16GB)
3) Create your own WIN8 OEM install stick (8GB USB) (The product key for windows is inside the bios) *With this option, make sure to install Windows 8 (not pro)

It's really up to you which you prefer. Some people have difficulties, but if you do the following you're OK.

1) The USB stick should be FAT32 formatted (NTFS not supported, which means don't use Win7 & earlier bootable USB methods)
2) Have a compatible Windows in the USB

 

Ah, thank you very much for setting it out clearly.

My understanding is that #1 won't work. The SSD currently has W7/32 on it, which apparently cannot be upgraded to W8/64 (and I want W8 on the machine). So, I need to install/overwrite W8 onto the drive.

For #2, are you using "install disk" as a different thing from "recovery drive"? I've read reports that you cannot just recover from a usb stick and successfully overwrite an SSD. If it's really that simple, I can do it easily, but for some people it appears not to work. Are there additional steps?

For #3, I wasn't aware that W8 let you create your own install stick. Could you point me to good instructions for this? Apparently there are utilities to get the product key out of the BIOS -- I assume that's not too tricky?

I might be overthinking this, but the impression I get from at least some sources online is that I cannot just plunk in the old SSD, recover/re-install over it from a usb stick, and have a working W8 computer with an SSD. Am I wrong about that?

 

Don't need it but just picked one up (Pentium version) from the Dell Outlet for $306 with 25% off coupon code 88?1BW?WGH71D6. Hopefully it's not as slow as people are saying.

 

Sorry about that, old language... Recovery drive is the same thing. I went as far on the computer as seeing that it allows you to create a USB drive with a Win8 recovery drive, but with some DELL extras (#2). At this point I stopped because the ISO file with this method was over 8GB, while the clean Win8.1 OEM (#3) was slightly under 4GB... I like my systems to run clean.

Check your PM.

 

Aaaaand... this coupon code was enough to push me over. $309 after tax for me, and for the pokey Celeron version, but that's fine -- this is for my stereo, and it just needs to run iTunes.

 

What will upgrading the RAM to 8 GB do for system performance?

 

For the average user, probably nothing. For me personally, it wouldn't do anything, since my usage habits have never once taken me over 40% of 8GB on my other laptop. If you don't know whether adding RAM will help you, then the answer is that it most likely will not.

But, if you *are* a RAM-hungry power user (RAM-hog programs, every program auto-starting at boot, or an absurd number of browser windows, for example), then it's worth upgrading because RAM is pretty inexpensive.

 

In practice, close to nil. The reason is that most apps that require 8GB also require a faster CPU or GPU.... In practice you will see a bigger performance bump with an SSD drive instead.

 

I think I "accidentally" resolved my issue...what I did was change the Power Options - Power button action - and set both to "Do nothing". Now it works as it should. It was previously set to "Sleep".

 

I made a clean install of Windows 8.1. Then I tried the Synaptics touchpad driver 18.1.7.8 and 18.1.15. With both I have right-click not working, left click working intermittently. Anyone have the same issue?

 

spoke too soon...the issue is back...

 

Do you have Intel Rapid Start enabled? If you do, try disabling it (or even outright removing it -- it's not hard to reinstall). It replaces shutdown with a deep hibernation mode, and when people have issues with sleeping, hibernating, or powering down a laptop, it's often the problem.

 

Use synaptic drivers from earlier models like 3137. In all the 18.x that I've tried I have found at least one flaw or another. Personally, I use the latest synaptic drivers directly from synaptic but these require you to log into safe mode with digital signing verification turned off for them to install.

 

I had a problem with the hard drive and it wouldn't boot anymore, attempted to restore windows using the recovery flash drive made earlier.. when the system completes step 3, preparing your hard drive, i get this error

error 0x4001100200001005 if problems persists contact Dell support

only option is to click on and start over. any know what this means? The flash drive is not corrupt.

 

I am new to the site

Thanks for the site

i have bought dell inspiron 11 3148

my internet speed is good in wifi

But when I connect using a USB 2.0 ethernet adapter LAN the speed is very slow is there is a way to solve it

Is there way can I replace the USB port with Ethernet LAN port - RJ-45 10/100/1000

Thanks

 

Where did you buy the 3148 from? What is the model of the Core i3 in the system?

*EDIT* looks like it's available only in Singapore and comes with a i3-4010U processor (1.7 GHz, 3M Cache).
Intel Core i3-4010U vs Mobile Pentium N3530
Intel N3530 vs Core i3 4010U
http://www.game-debate.com/cpu/inde...pentium-n3530-2-16ghz-vs-core-i3-4010u-1-7ghz
.
You nee to find a USB 3.0 Ethernet adapter and your speeds will increase.

 

Well, I've backed up all my files, downloaded Win8.1, and created a boot drive. I'm all set to open my shiny new laptop, install my Samsung 830, and go to town.

Except the laptop doesn't arrive until Tuesday. *siiiigh*

I'm barely even going to use the thing -- it's just for my stereo. But I'm not good about delayed gratification.

 

Thanks

I bought it from India

Can you name one good USB 3.0 ethernet adapter

 

Try putting the HDD in a different machine (or boot a live Linux CD), delete the current partition table, and recreate a GPT partition table on it.

 

Thanks. I installed Synaptics driver 17.0.19 by turning off the digital signing verification. This driver works flawlessly.

 

where do i go to further check if i have it installed/enabled? i don't see it under programs and features. i also checked in BIOS and it's not there.

 

All, I am trying to do a clean install with a ssd hard drive and having problems getting the keyboard/trrackpad to lock when going into tablet mode, basically flipping the screen all the way back. Also the touchpad drivers on dell's website do not install the touchpad app. Right now, Dell's website driver section for the 3147 isn't even working.

Don't want to do a factory restore, trying to avoid UEFI and all the junk partitions that goes with it.

Thanks.

 

Then you don't have it and that's not the problem.

If you read earlier in the thread (it's only eight pages), you'll find solutions to both of these problems. The short answers are that you need to install Dell Quickset to lock the bottom in tablet mode, and Synaptics touchpad driver 17.0.19 apparently works great.

 

See post #93

 

I can't tell -- Dell's driver page for the 3147 is currently down, and my own hasn't yet arrived. Does the machine have an Intel 7260 card or a Dell 1707 card in it? If it has a 7260, then there's your wi-fi and bluetooth drivers. Looks like a 1707 card has only one driver for both.

Are you getting those from the 3147 drivers page? Is the page up for you? I still get a "This service is temporarily unavailable" message. That distresses me a bit, since my laptop arrives tomorrow and I'll need those drivers to do a clean W8 install. The 3148 page is up and should have the same drivers for most things, but I'd rather not try to guess which ones aren't appropriate for a Celeron processor (or any other hardware changes I don't know about).

 

Mine came with a 1707 card [P/N:Y23YP - MOD,CRD,NTWK,DW1707,CSMB,WW] and I replaced it with an Intel 7260-AC NGFF card and also upgraded the ram to 8 GB and stuck in a 256 GB SSD that I had laying around. It was pretty easy to upgrade except the side screw on the HD frame got stripped because it was over tightened at the factory. I had to break out the dremel and convert that screw from a phillips to a flat head.

FYI... The 3148 supports SATA-III and the 3147 only supports SATA-II speeds. The Pentium has 7.5 watt vs double that for the i3 in the 3148.

I also noticed that some of the screws inside my notebook were not tight, but not loose. I tightened up all the screws and there seems to be less keyboard bounce.

 

Go to control panel and device manager before reformat for a clean install, will show the correct hardware there. Get the free app called Double Driver to backup all the system drivers beforehand. Someone said the SATA controller is SATA-2, not SATA-3, which would result in an ssd running slower, not sure.

Get the drivers here:
Product support for Inspiron 11 (3147, Mid 2014)

CPU:
4th Generation Intel Pentium Quad Core N3530 Processor 2.16GHz

Display:
11.6" LED IPS Backlit Touch Display with Truelife and HD resolution (1366 x 768),
Intel HD Graphics
Touch Screen Enabled 2-in-1 Yes
720p Webcam Integrated

Wireless and Buetooth:
Dell Wireless 1707 802.11b/g/n (2.4GHZ)
Dell Wireless 1707 Bluetooth 4.0 LE.

Hard Drive:
Seagate Momentus Thin ST500LT012 500GB 5400 RPM RPM 16MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 2.5" Internal Notebook Hard Drive

 

Ah, a working drivers page! Many thanks! My machine is on a delivery truck right now, so I'll need that later today. I don't want to dupe all the drivers because some I can happily live without -- easy enough to download the ones I need now that I have an alternative driver page that actually works.

My question about the hardware was actually to the poster I was responding to, who didn't know which driver to use. I remember reading a review that said dual band AC was available as an option in Australia, so I imagine that's why both drivers are included. (And yes, Pentium and Celeron only support SATA-2, so any SSD that people add won't be quite as fast as its full potential. It'll still be plenty fast, though.)

*edit* Laptop arrived, SSD is installed, fresh W8 is running, and I'm now downloading drivers and futzing with settings. Note: the touchpad driver on Dell's download page still isn't fixed. I'm currently running a Synaptics driver, but I find it twitchy and I actually prefer the Dell interface. Does anyone know if the 3148 touchpad driver has the same problem? Or, is anyone successfully running a Dell driver from another Dell download page (like, the 3137 or something)?

Overall impressions: Wow, what a fantastic little machine. It looks more expensive than it is, it's reasonably sturdy, typing feels decent, and the screen is nice (if a bit jaggy). My main machine is an i7 XPS 12, so obviously the 3147 doesn't compare favorably, but I think this thing is pretty awesome for how inexpensive it is. Definitely worth the $300 I paid for a refurb, and I think I'd still be happy at $400 retail.

 

See post #93

 

crap! if i've known, i should have waited for just a week...oh well...

 

Having the same issue - the official Dell touchpad driver does not work. I did a total rebuild of the OS and all the drivers loaded with the exception of the touchpad. I've had success with a few of the touchpad drivers mentioned in this thread however the touchpad does not shut off when in tablet mode - only the keyboard shuts off. I've tried everything to include the dell quickset program to no avail. The touchpad driver on dell's site simply does not function - I even scrapped the full touchpad driver installation from a full functioning non-touched 3147 with zero success. Not sure what a rebuild of Windows has in common with touchpad drivers however the touchpad driver will not load on a clean rebuild.

Hopefully someone has some input on getting the mentioned functioning drivers to work properly so when the machine is used in tablet mode the touchpad is disabled.

 

I've now finished my clean install and re-driver (all from the 3147 page on Dell's website) and this is where I am too. I get no errors or warnings about missing devices. I currently have no touchpad driver at all installed, since I can't find one I like. The one on the 3148 page got me closest, but two-finger rightclick didn't work.

Other people online have complained about the touchpad not locking, so it seems to be common. Question: does anyone who kept the original W8.1 installation have this problem? I'm wondering if it's not that something is missing, but simply that Quickset is buggy. Can anyone confirm that the touchpad definitely does turn off for them in tablet mode? Should be simple enough to see if that person has something installed that we don't.

Also, two minor questions from me:
1) Doesn't Dell usually have webcam software?
2) It won't let me shrink the W8 interface elements. I'm used to that option being on, and so all the "metro" elements seem huge to me now. I guess it's because the screen is only 720p. Does anyone know of a reg tweak or something to enable this option?

*edit* Aaaah =( Windows 8.1 did away with the "dim the display after" option. I liked that a lot. Using my old laptop as a stereo, it could dim to almost nothing after 1min and still show me what was playing without being too bright. Why on Earth would MS remove that? Meh.

 

See post #93

 

So, the trackpad locks properly for you in tablet mode?

Also, the default touchpad driver (the one that's broken on Dell's download page) is a decent driver?

Ehhhh. I could always swap back in the original hdd and then clone that to the external ssd, then put the ssd back in. That sure sounds like a pain, though.

 

See post #93

 

***UPDATE***
I finally solved my issue - I re-ran the Intel Chipset driver and presto the missing drivers appeared and the touch pad disables in tablet mode. Anyone having this issue try re-running the Intel chipset setup straight from Dell's driver section for the 3147.


Yes - the touch pad is disabled when in tablet mode. I've done some additional investigative work and have found there are additional drivers on the untouched fully functioning 3147 - under the "Human Interface Devices" section:
- I2C HID Device
- Synaptics HID Device
The 3147 which has a fresh install doesn't list the drivers above within the "Human Interface Devices" section.

Within the "Mice and other point devices" section of the untouched fully functional 3147 are the following two drivers:
- Dell Touchpad
- PS/2 Compatible Mouse
The 3147 which has a fresh install contains one driver - currently the "PS/2 Compatible Mouse".

These are the only differences I have found thus far between a fully functioning 3147 and one with touch pad issues. The two mouse drivers are odd as the fully functioning untouched 3147 has never had an external mouse connected.

 

Thanks for the links with the comparisons, I automatically thought the Core i3 would be better than the N3530 until I read the performance results.

 

Does anyone know if Windows 7 OS would run on the Dell 3147? Also, is it possible to keep the original WIN 8.1 OS installed, but run the WIN 7 ??

Thanks.

 

Yes - Install Hyper-V or another virtualization environment and load Win7 as a guest OS. The 3147 has virtualization capabilities built in and can run Hyper-V. I have Hyper-V running on my 3147 with no issues. BTW - sometimes the virtual switch can be a bear to get DHCP leases to the guest OS.

 

Just tried it, and this did nothing for me. I just downloaded the driver again and re-ran it. Did you do anything else (like uninstall it first)?

 

Revised 7/14/15

These instructions will help you do a clean install on a Dell 3147 laptop with the existing hard drive or a replacement ssd hard drive. Tested on Windows 8.1 - Please do not ask for Windows 7, Windows 10 or Linux assistance.

1. Update to latest Bios
2. From another pc, download these drivers/apps (link below) to a flash drive:

1. ST Microelectronics Free Fall Sensor Driver, Version 2.2.2.20, A00
2. Dell Wireless 1707 Wi-Fi + Bluetooth Driver. Version 10.0.0.297, A02 (uncheck bluetooth app when installing)
3. Chipset Driver 9.4.4.1006,A00
4. Trusted Execution Engine Driver 1.1.0.1064,A00
5. Synaptics Touchpad Driver 18.1.2.9,A01
6. HD Graphics Driver 10.18.10.3408,A00
7. Audio ALC3234 Driver 6.0.1.7283,A01
8. Airplane Mode Switch Driver 1.4.1,A00
9. RTS5176 Card Reader Driver 6.3.9600.30175,A00
10. USB 3.0 to Lan Dongle Driver 8.10.1009.2013,A00
11. Quickset Application 11.1.21,A00

​

3. Press F2 during bootup, choose 'Boot', disable 'Secure Boot', Enable 'Load Legacy Option Rom', set 'Boot List Option' to Legacy, press F10 to save and reboot.
4. Erase the pre-installed Seagate 500gb HDD and all partitions then change GPT to MBR with AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard Edition (link below), replacement SSD should be set to MBR already.,
5. Press F11 and boot your Windows 8.1 media, At the 'Install Now' screen, choose 'Create New Partition', will automatically create a small partition for the bootloader and a large partition for Windows.
6. Click 'Format' on the large partition and proceed with install of Windows. You can re-size/change partitions with AOMEI later on.
7. Activation key is embedded into bios, will ONLY automatically activate after connecting to your wireless network for Windows 8.1 base edition, if you have a legal copy of Windows 8.1 Pro, feel free to use that instead and activate by phone.
8. Copy drivers from flash drive to c:\Dell. Please do **not** do any Windows updates just yet.
9. Right click on 'Desktop', choose 'Personalize', click 'Control Panel Home', then select 'Device Manager'.
10. There will be three unknown items listed in Device Manager, right click on each one by choose update driver and point to c:\Dell for the folder, all unknown items will be assigned. Expand 'Mice and other pointing devices', right click on HID Compliant Mouse and update driver, will change to Dell Touchpad. (get drivers from factory pc link)

1. Airplane Mode Switch
2. I2C Host Controller (adds HD Complaint Mouse)
3. ST Microelectronics 3 Axis Digital Accelerometer Solution​

11. The other three items in device manager will be assigned once you install the drivers sets in order above from steps 01-11, please do that now.
12. Connect to wireless network, Windows will activate ONLY if your using Windows 8.1 base edition
13. Do all Windows updates except for the one below , reboot as needed.



**Keyboard/mouse will now lock when in tablet mode. Enjoy.**

Software Links
AOMEI OneKey Recovery 1.2 - FREE

AOMEI Partition Assistant Standard - FREE

Changing to 'MBR' from GPT

Classic Shell 4.2.2 - FREE - Brings Back the Windows Start Button

Dell's 3147 Driver Page

Dell's 3147 USB Recovery Media - Restores PC to factory system specs with pre-installed software. View read.txt for details.
Part 1/7
Part 2/7
Part 3/7
Part 4/7
Part 5/7
Part 6/7
Part 7/7

Dell's 3147 Driver's from Factory PC

Macrium Reflect 6.0.708 - FREE

Rufus 2.2 FREE - Create Bootable USB drives the easy way

Windows Installation Media Creation Tool to get Windows 8.1 ISO - FREE for clean install, (Choose English, Windows 8.1, (not N or Pro) x64 and download the iso)

Video Links
How to replace ram and hard drive video tutorial. Ram voltage must be 1.35V


OPEN ME UP! Dell Inspiron 11 2-in-1 Disassembly


Dell Inspiron 3147 Video Review


Amazon Links
$12.98: Grifiti Chiton 11 Neoprene Laptop Sleeve and Deck 11 Travel Laptop Lap Desk Combination for Macbooks, Laptops, and Other Small Notebooks and Netbooks. Sleeve fits the 3147 perfectly and comes with a lap desk.

$14.95 Fosmon USB 3.0 to RJ45 10/100/1000Mbps Gigabit Ethernet LAN Network Adapter AX88179 QF QFN68 Chipset (Black)

$1.37: 5 Pcs Stylus Set Aqua Blue/Black/Red/Pink/Purple Stylus/styli Touch Screen Cellphone Tablet Pen for iPhone 4G 3G 3GS iPod Touch iPad 2 3 SONY PLAYSTATION PSP PS VITA Motorola Xoom, Samsung Galaxy, BlackBerry Playbook AMM0101US, Barnes and Noble Nook Color, Droid Bionic

 

Different CPUs require different Intel chipset drivers. What hardware isn't installed yet and what CPU do you have?

 

Thanks for all the troubleshooting, man. Could I ask a favor? Any chance you could upload your folder with the complete driver package? That'd save me having to switch the original hdd back in just to get the drivers, and hopefully the missing Dell touchpad and touchpad-lock drivers will work for people even without a re-install.

 

See post #93

 

Thanks, much appreciated!

Hmm. Okay, a snag in the plan is that in the device manager, I have nothing that shows as unknown or missing. So, for example, I don't have the second mouse device slot, so I can't update it with the Dell drivers (and the first slot reads as having a current driver). I suppose I could just re-install W8.1 and start fresh -- doesn't sound too difficult...

It's a good thing I don't need this laptop for much, so I can tinker with it instead of actually having to use it for something productive

 

Please refer to post #93.

 

Thanks very much for the effort. I did a fresh re-install (was quick and easy) and used the downloaded driver package to fill in the missing devices (also very easy). By far the longest part of the process was updating W8.1, but now that's done.

And... the touchpad still doesn't lock in tablet mode, and the Dell touchpad driver isn't working properly. "Dell touchpad" is now listed in the device manager, but no toolbar icon appears, and when I try to get to the Dell touchpad settings through the control panel mouse section, it hangs forever with the spinning blue circle when I click the link. I gave it half-an-hour, and it never managed to open the Dell settings. So, I'm more-or-less where I was before, which is a bit disappointing.

So... I just popped the original HDD back in the machine. And guess what? The touchpad still doesn't lock in tablet mode, and while the Dell touchpad driver settings are available, two-finger rightclick doesn't work even when it's enabled. That's where I was two hours after the laptop first arrived. It turns out that all this time, I was trying to fix problems in my fresh install that were also there in the original. Well, in my frustration I ordered a cheap usb/sata cable from Amazon, so at this point I'm just gonna leave the hdd in and clone it to my ssd when the cable arrives.

*edit* Holeeee cow, the original hdd is slow. You forget what a spinning drive is like when you don't use one for awhile

 

Using the original image here... the touchpad does not lock in tablet mode.