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

After the Dell Touch Pad shows in device manager, install the Touch Pad app from Dell Backup and Recovery which came with your system, otherwise your Touch Pad won't function correctly. The problem is Dell drivers do not do this automatically, so you have to inject the driver, then the app. After you do this, the Touch Pad icon will appear in the tray bar and open in mouse settings. You also need to install Quickset and ST Free Fall Sensor to lock the keyboard The updated driver package includes everything, please download it.

 

I recently bought my dell 1 and i upgrded it to samsung 840 evo. i have cloned hdd using easeus. Everything is working fine but this program cant clone that 40MB oem partition i have tried few times. So my question is what is that pratition do i need it? And my second question is how to reinstall windows on this notebook. On my old machine there was a separate option while booting and here i have only bios f2 and boot menu f12

 

I used Miray HD Clone and had no problems cloning the original drive.

 

I just bought a refurbish unit from dell outlet, and the touchpad does not lock when in tablet mode too.

 

Have now had the Inspiron 11 3147 for 3 weeks and enjoy its compactness. However, it is slow and I have a Samsung SSD 840 EVo 250 GB ready to install once the cable arrives. Reminder: When buying the SSD don`t forget the cable to upload your HD contents to the SSD prior to installation. I have seen comments re required alterations to the Bios, but know nothing about this. Would appreciate advice on this.

I hope I have better luck with the SSD than I did with the 8GB RAM upgrade. I installed the following and got nothing but a very alarming beep each time I attempted to turn on the laptop. So I took it out and put the 4GB unit back in. Evidently what I purchased is not compatible. If anyone knows differently, I would appreciate any advice. Thanks

Kingston Technology 8GB 1600MHz DDR3L (PC3-12800) 1.35V Non-ECC CL11 SODIMM Intel Laptop Memory KVR16LS11/8

 

I didn't have to change anything in tbe bios after cloningmy drive witb Miray HD clone. I used CL9 memoey in my system not CL11.

 

Oh man, you updated the driver download to include everything, including the files that came on a recovery cd I have no way to play. There's even a utility in there to pull up the W8 reg code. This is a thing of beauty.

I just did everything from scratch according to the new updated instructions, and it all works perfectly. The touchpad driver works properly, and it even locks in tablet mode (which it doesn't do on the factory install).

Seriously, many thanks. My laptop is where I wanted it to be, and I learned some useful things along the way. I appreciate that you put a lot of work into this. If you have a favorite charity, just let me know and it's getting a donation (PM if you prefer, although others might want to thank you as well).

(If anyone is wondering, a fresh install according to the above instructions saves more than 10Gb of space over the original hdd even after the bloatware is removed. That might be because my refurbished unit came preinstalled with 8.1 non-update, and I guess more recent versions are leaner to fit on tablets. But, I'm using an old 120Gb ssd, so getting an extra 10Gb isn't trivial. Something to consider if you're not sure whether to do a fresh install.)

 

Are we able to do a clean install on an SSD with BIOS operation for SATA Operation set to AHCI? I am using a crucial m500 and the OS needs a driver to recognize the SSD to pick a location for the install. Without the drive being recognized I can't install a Clean Windows 8 of any version.

I have tried with and without UEIF ect. Done a clean format with MBR or GTP doesn’t matter as the Drive is not recognized with AHCI on. Oddly a clone or image restore fails to successfully boot as well, but the SSD works fine in another Laptop so it’s not the drive.
The original slow hard drive works every time without issue as well.
Please post you bios configurations and or a working SATA AHCI driver. The stock intel ones present 11 options, but none work successfully.

 

Do you guys think the quad core pentium -3147 worth an extra 100euros (here in Greece) over the pentium dual core 3137?
I want it for casual use, multiple tabs web browsing, microsoft office, mainly word and also hd movies.

 

Has anyone had success with using SATA Operation set to AHCI instead of ATA in BIOS? Everything seems to be working with Windows 8.1 installed on my M500 in ATA mode, but it just isn't sitting right with me that I am unable to locate the needed driver.

Both tests below have not worked. And I am unable to locate a driver to install during the windows installation to see the SSD when bios option AHCI is select.

Change from IDE to AHCI after installing Windows 8 - Super User
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/2751461

 

For what you want it for, I doubt you'd notice a difference. I have the slower celeron, and I have no trouble doing any of those things. Personally, I'm happy that I didn't pay an extra US$50 for the pentium, so I definitely wouldn't have paid 100 euros extra for it. The 3147 is reasonably snappy with those basic tasks for such an inexpensive machine, at least with an ssd. I you weren't already planning to put in an ssd, 100 euros is definitely better spent on that.

 

Does this Dell 11 3147 support Intel Wireless Display WiDi?

 

Ok I figured out the included dell 1707 wifi adapter does not support WiDi. Could I replace it with an Intel 7260 wifi adapter and make the WiDi works?

 

The 1707 works with Miracast and Add Wireless Display.

 

So any word or update if you can get an SSD installed and working with SATA operation set to AHCI.

If so can you share the driver used during the clean windows install or if you have the same problem which I suppect you do post in the Dell forumn to get the ball rolling on this one.

Inspiron 11 3147 can't detect SSD in AHCI mode. - Laptop General Hardware Forum - Laptop - Dell Community

 

I'm running mine on AHCI no problems. I cloned the original disk drive to a Samsung 830 SSD...



FYI... the Windows 8.1 Update 1 iso has the driver built in. Just tried booting my Windows 8.1u1 To Go USB stick on the system and it works with AHCI mode.

 

Thnx Epic!

 

I just finished reinstalling my laptop. Everything in BIOS is in stock settings and set to AHCI. Maybe I don't have this problem because it has the latest bios firmware?

 

What SSD are you using exactly?

*** UPDATE ***

Tested and confirmed WORKING with AHCI BIOS setting - SAMSUNG 840 EVO MZ-7TE250BW 250GB

Currently Installing Windows 8.1 update 1 on it

Same configuration with no changes tested and confirmed NOT working with AHCI BIOS setting - Crucial M500 CT240M500SSD1 240GB. Updated to the latest available firmware as well.

Reported that Intel 530 was not working by another user in the dell forumns

 

So over on the ASUS UX302 thread, they were having issues with the system detecting Crucial mSATA in that device. It must be a similar scenario here.

 

I'm using the Samsung evo.

 

Hi,
I ordered my Dell 11 3147 for the Microsoft Store for $449. Not the absolute best price but about par for what I'm seeing. The reason I went with the Microsoft Signature series was that the machine comes without bloatware and tweaked for the specific machine. Considerably faster in many ways.
Buy Dell Inspiron 11-3147 Touchscreen 2 in 1 - Microsoft Store
And even though it's win 7 oriented:
Microsoft Signature | Windows 7 content from Paul Thurrott's SuperSite for Windows
More about the Signature Edition:
PCs with the Microsoft Signature Experience - Microsoft Store

 

Well, you could have installed a fresh W8.1 and tweaked the settings yourself for free, but it doesn't seem like you paid too much of a premium for your machine anyway. Hope you enjoy it. It's a fun little device. If you're interested in performance, you'll want to install an ssd -- that'll give a boost much greater than a fresh install and shutting off unnecessary background operations.

 

Yeah, I don't think I would have paid a premium for having a clean install but I do appreciate not having to spend hours doing so. I'm definitely considering installing a ssd and am searching some of the ones mentioned in this thread. Not 100% sure what to look for and a price point that I can live with. $200 +/- if that's even doable.

 

Just how much space do you NEED? You can get a perfectly good 120GB ssd for $70, and 240 is something like $110. I mean, $200 would get you a drive almost the same size as the spinning drive that came in the machine, but now you're getting into "premium" territory that seems awfully large for a budget machine. Unless you plan to make this a media center or something, and just want to keep dozens of high-res movies on hand at all times, what would you need the space for?

Bear in mind that the processor doesn't support full speed on these, but it's still a huge improvement over the spinning drive.

 

I just did a clean install of the win 8.1 on this notebook on a 256gb Crucial MX100.

I ran a crystaldiskmark and the performance seems rather slow.



This is the first time I used CrystalDiskMark so I am not sure if the settings are correct. Do you guys think the results are a bit slow? The max sequential read and writes for this SSD is supposed to be 550 MB/s and 333 MB/s, respectively. I am not getting anywhere near those numbers. More like 246 MB/s and 243 MB/s. Even if the SATA connection is SATA-2 on the 3147, I should be getting better results than what I am getting. I checked the offset alignment and it is correct. I am kinda stumped.

I have SSDs on other computers and they feel much more snappy and programs and apps load quicker than on this notebook. Thanks for your help.

All the best.

 

I notice something interesting about this notebook. When I try to turn on or off the wlan (dw1707) from the keyboard, it turns "airplane mode" on and off, instead of wifi. Is that how it is supposed to work on the 3147? I have other dell notebooks and when I turn the wifi on/off from the keyboard, that is exactly what it does.

Thoughts?

 

When I use this key which is located between the F12 and Insert key it toggles airplane mode on and or off as well, but when airplane mode is on it should be turning OFF Wifi. That is essentially what mine is doing so if yours isn't turning wifi off when airplane mode is On then you would likely have a driver or software package missing.

My setup is a clean install of Windows 8.1 on a Samsung EVO 840 250gb similar to post #93

 

Your read and writes are pretty much inline for Sata 2 and inline with what I am seeing on a Samsung 840 Evo 250GB. If you do a Google Search for "ssd speeds on sata 2" you can research more. Here is a great example of benchmarks Results: Sequential Read And Write Performance - Is A SATA 3Gb/s Platform Still Worth Upgrading With An SSD?

 

As implied by cfendrick1 above, and mentioned previously in this thread, this chipset is limited to SATAII, so you're not getting the full speed out of the ssd.

This is how Dell laptops do it. "Airplane mode" turns off all connections, both wi-fi and bluetooth. If you want to turn off wi-fi but leave BT on, you'll have to toggle it manually in the settings (which only takes a few seconds to get to).

 

Thanks for your post and the toms hardware link. It was a good read. I also have a spare Samsung Evo 250gb that I was debating using instead of the MX100, but decided on the Crucial until Samsung fixes their firmware bug on the SSD on Oct 15. If the speeds I am getting on the MX100 is inline with SATA 2 speeds, then I supposed that is as good as it is going to get on this notebook. I had thought that I would be getting sustained speeds closer to the low 300MB/s, as the max throughput on SATA-2 is supposed to be 3gb/s which I guess should be around 375MB/s +-, unless my math or logic is off.

All the best.

 

Also, thanks guys for explaining to me how the airplane mode thing works. That makes sense.
Awesome forum and I am so glad to have joined the conversation and the help that I received. :thumbsup:

 

Does anyone know if this supports MSATA SSD?

 

No mSATA conenctor. It's a a 2.5" 7mm drive.

 

Like this?

Drivers & software for HP EliteBook Folio 1040 G1 Notebook PC - HP Support Center

 

That's very disappointing. I was hoping this would support MSATA so I could pick up a 64gb MSATA SSD and run the OS off that and install a large 2.0 TB for data.

Has anyone tried to install a standard thickness 2.5" HDD into this? Specs are showing the stock HDD as being the thinner 7.0mm variety.

 

The specs are correct. You could likely squish it in there if you really wanted -- the SSD isn't right up against the side of the machine, and the bottom cover would probably flex enough to support it. You might need to bend the screw holders on the drive mount a little downward (or find longer screws) though.

 

Can someone with the Pentium N3530 tell me if it can handle a VM "ok"?
Any Problems having several browsertabs open? Any performance problem with everyday office things?

 

Would I want to RUN even the simplest of VMs on a stock setup no, but it will work. Why, because it worked on my 6yr old latitude d620 with half the specs. Can I run a VM over USB3 on a portable HD while my OS is on an SSD and I have 8gb of ram sure. It's then capped at the USB3 speeds for the most part. It's what I do.

It's not going to win any awards, but it works.

I have never really tested on stock, but I don't have any real issues and am only limited by screen size to the amount of tabs etc.

I did a clean install of Win 8.1 on an SSD with 8gb of ram and have had no issues with every day office tasks. Can't speak for a stock setup, but it should work fine, just a little slower with all task.

 

I can't speak to a VM, but with the standard 4gb of RAM I've had zero problems with browsers and office stuff. I haven't even come close to maxing the RAM, and I'm usually well under halfway. W8 is pretty well optimized for lower RAM, since it's designed to also run on tablets with half the RAM of this laptop. Everything is reasonably zippy, although that's with an ssd installed.

 

I just bought one of these. Is the touchpad supposed to be disabled in tablet mode? Mine still works, wondering if it's defective? I think it should be disabled because in tablet mode, my fingers touch the touchpad on the backside of the screen and it is not a good user experience.

 

How the heck is everyone obtaining a Windows 8.1 ISO? Are you torrenting it? I can't find a legit version on Dell's website, and when I tried the official Microsoft download, I get "This product key cannot be used to install a retail version of Windows 8.1."

Am I missing something? TIA

Edit - Nevermind.. I guess everyone is imaging the recovery DVD that came with their system to an iso and then building a bootable USB stick from there... at least that's what I did.

Word of warning when removing the back panel.. after you take the screws out, you have to do some serious prying to get the clips to release. I was worried I was going to break something and I did... be careful not to pry where the SD card slot is. The plastic is very thin there and you will bust through it just like I did... grrr.

 

Yea I've taken the bottom panel off a few times and the easiest way to do it, is unscrew all the screws (obviously) and then pry up gently from the back by the hinges. Then the sides will pop up and front unhooks/demagnetizes.

 

When putting the bottom panel back on, I'm struggling to get the front right corner by the power button flush. It's not even and sticks out/is raised more than other areas. Anyone have this issue?

 

Also after adding a SSD and 8GB of Ram (over kill) this thing is quite fast and nice for a mobile/secondary machine. The outlet was selling them for $429 with 30% off. I paid around $316 after tax for a Cert Refurb that looked "like new".

 

Also I take back the 8GB over kill, just using iTunes, store, weather, malwarebytes and a couple misc programs, the memory is at 48% utilization. This was done not even thinking about or trying to max the ram. Just wanted to put that out there.

 

I bought one of the 3147's for my wife to use with her Smartboard at school. It'll connect via the HDMI cable. I am wondering if anyone has used a particularly good fine point stylus with this machine?

 

$1.03
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
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005AOKW8Q/

 

For anyone looking for this info...

I was able to install a standard thickness 2.5" notebook HDD into the 2.5" HDD bay. It does make the bottom plastic cover bow/protrude/flex at the area where the HDD sits. However, the amount of protrusion is VERY TINY. You can hardly tell. So, if you want to put in a 2.0 TB 2.5" Seagate Slim HDD into this, it fits very well!

My family member also has an XPS 14 which uses the slim 2.5" HDD and I replaced it with a standard thickness 2.5" notebook HDD. The XPS 14 has much more pronounced flex than this.

 

That only happens to me when the touchpad driver messes up or something which is really annoying cause when I boot it up everything works then 5mins later it breaks. 1 the touchpad sensitivity goes really low and barely usable, 2 gestures stop working (ie 2 finger scrolling), and 3 when I fold it into tablet mode the touchpad still works. I have the latest driver, and everything. Don't know what causes it to mess up/crash.