Studio 15 media sensitive button problem

What section is it labeled in the service manual? I looked at it and it never referenced the panel specifically.

 

The whole Service Manual: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1537/en/sm/index.htm
Media panel remove: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1537/en/sm/cntrcont.htm#wp1180201

 

Thanks.

What about using some kind of metallized tape to cover the buttons and to wrap the ribbon cable? This should cut down on some of the EMI.

 

I thought about using some foil tape, but foam tape works perfectly for me, and there's no risk of it ever shorting something out

 

Yeah, I'm going to do this mod on my extra media panel (Dell sent a replacement and told me to throw the broken one away...the replacement was broken too.)

I'm thinking about using electrical tape (from wrapping up regular wires) to completely cover the back of the media panel and wrap up the white cable linking the panel to the motherboard. If that doesn't work, I'm going with the foam method.

 

I also have two media panels, neither of which works without the eject button sticking.

I think I might just do both. Cover both the ribbon cable and the media buttons with electrical tape, and put a strip of foam tape in between the tape layers. Heck, I might even put a layer of aluminum foil in between. If I could find lead foil, that would be perfect.

 

Great stuff, Deepak! I recently purchased a 1537 and the poor sound quality combined with the known media bar defect has completely turned me off to it. I'm battling with Dell right now to get a FULL refund and avoid the 15% restocking fee. The battery life is impressive, is that a 6 cell or 9 cell?

 

...then add some titanium, 24k gold and you got yourself a winner...

So that's the reason Dell doesn't want to fix the problem...

 

That's pretty sad if that's the case. Sure, those of us who are sufficiently technically inclined to physically fix it ourselves can do it with little trouble, but what about the other 90% of the people who buy these? I've played with a Studio XPS 13 and 16 before, and they use a similar touch-sensitive media button design, but there hasn't been any sticking issues. Why don't they just apply that to the Studio series?

For that matter, they should make them stay lit like they do on the Studio XPS series as well.

 

I used chrome tape and it did not solve the problem. This is actual metallized film that I tested in a previous application by heating it to 400F+ and it didn't melt. I may try 3M double-sided tape next to further isolate the ribbon from the media panel buttons.

 

Yeah, I just installed a layer of foam double-sided tape and a layer of aluminum foil on top of that to separate the panel and the cable...it worked fine all of yesterday, but when I booted up this morning the eject button got stuck again. >_<

 

I would try it with just the foam ... it's possible the foil actually makes it worse. How big was the foam piece you used?

 

Are we using the foam between the ribbon cable and the panel itself?

 

I guess I'll try that. For the record, the foil is on the side of the foam next to the ribbon cable, not the media panel. The foam tape I used was Scotch brand double-sided mounting tape. The foam is a couple millimeters thick, and the strip was 1 inch wide, which I cut in half for a half-inch wide strip. I made it as long as I could to cover the media strip without covering any screw holes, or the actual ribbon cable plug.

That's what I did, and what Jason Novak did, assuming I didn't horribly misread his directions.

 

You can only be sure about it if you keep it shutdown for several hours.

Question for you and Mastershroom: did you actually tried to re-route the cable AND tape it? Or just using a different tape to fix the cable?

 

I didn't re-route the cable. it's pretty stiff and already bent in a very specific way, and I really can't see any other possible ways to route it, and I don't want to damage the cable by forcing it to bend in a way it doesn't want to.

I just have a layer of foam tape running directly between the media panel button strip and the ribbon cable.

 

What a shame that we Studio 15/17 owners have to jump through all these hoops to try to fix something that Dell should be fixing, themselves. Very disappointing.

That being said, this current Studio 15 that I have does not exhibit too much of a problem -- so I'm not touching it unless it becomes more of an issue. *knock on wood*

This thread does interest me however, to see the different ways people are attempting to fix this and the varied results they are obtaining. Keep it up, guys!

--Eric

 

I applied the tape yesterday after waiting over 8 hours, so I thought the double-sided tape worked. This morning I wake to find that the problem is still there.

 

Some people reported that they succeeded with the re-routing. I will try it later today, will report you. Maybe you have an older version of Studio 15, that's why your cable is stiff. I got mine 2 weeks ago.

 

Is it as bad as it was before? The first time I did it it would sometimes get stuck, but only for a few seconds, unlike the 10-15 minutes like normal.

 

Let me know how that goes, and if it works, tell me exactly where you re-routed. I don't think it's an issue of old vs. new; I bought this notebook originally last August, and I just got a replacement media cover two weeks ago, probably around when you got your notebook. It's completely identical to my original media cover in appearance, and has the same stiff cable.

I removed the foil layer yesterday and just left a layer of foam tape, and it was fine yesterday, but I just booted up for the first time this morning, and the eject button stuck. >_<

This is leading me to think it's not an EMI shielding issue. I've tried to shield it 3 different ways, and none of them have worked any better than no shielding at all.

 

It's strange you saw no improvement ... both the credit card and tape methods, even if they didn't work completely at least seemed to make it a lot more acceptable by only being stuff for a few seconds rather then minutes. It's strange that only the three buttons that are glued get stuck, the rest of the cable is still pressed up against the buttons. It's almost like the glue they use is causing the problem.

 

No improvement at all that I could tell. On my boot this morning it was somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes before it started attempting to eject 10 times or so.

Also, three buttons? The only button that has ever gotten stuck for me is eject, and that's on two different media panels and endless attempts at shielding the cable.

And it's probably not the glue; I completely removed all the glue on my original panel's cable.

 

I'm not sure why this would be an EMI or interference issue. If it were then why wouldn't the problem continue the entire time the laptop is powered on? Instead, it only happens for the first few minutes and then is fine. It almost seems like it's heat related......maybe after the laptop warms up the cable in question becomes more pliable, expands slightly, and the connection is finally completely made?

 

An interesting theory, but then why would discharging the capacitors work? Even if it's a completely cold boot, if you remove the battery beforehand, and hold the power button for a few seconds, then replace the battery or power cable and boot, then it will not stick.

 

Hi All, was so getting so excited about ordering my STUDIO 15 (15.4" screen,P8600 processor, 4096mb, 320 gb ) on Monday but after reading a year's worth of comments about this speaker issues, drive ejecting, 10 minutes bootup etc.etc......I think i might opt for a different brand altogether. Anyone has any ideas about what I can get for my £550 when I get back to the uk in 3 weeks time I appreciate it.Thanks all for your comments and help.

 

Dell makes fine laptops. I was issued a Latitude D830 at work (Core 2 Duo T8100 / 2GB), I have my Studio 1537, Mini 9, Inspiron E1505, and Inspiron 1545. They're all great and reliable machines, but the 1537 has given me a bit more trouble than in the past. The DVD disappears from time to time, and the media panel is a big PITA - but they're all related to the Studio line. I would boycott the Studio line for now and look at the Inspiron. I'll probably never buy another "fancy" Dell in the future and stick with the basics.

 

Yeah, just avoid the Studio line. I also heard that the new Studio XPS 16 has heat issues but that could just be a rumor.

 

Was posted earlier in the thread, but here you go:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1537/en/sm/cntrcont.htm#wp1180201

 

Dell has the instructions for you right here on their support website:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1535/en/SM/cntrcont.htm#wp1180201

EDIT - KingRaptor, stop being faster than me!

It's pretty simple. Just shut everything off, remove the battery and unplug the power, and turn the laptop upside down. In the battery compartment there are two screws labeled "K", which you can remove with a small Philips head screwdriver. Once those are out, open the laptop up and start separating the media cover from the base at the back. This is a bit tricky; the display gets in the way, but you should be able to pop off all the snap connections. I believe there are 5 in total, I can't remember. Once you have the whole back edge of the panel loose, just pry it up. It will take a bit of force, so don't worry when it starts to resist.

Once you have the panel fully detached, you can turn it over and see the white ribbon cable, and disconnect it from the panel itself if you like.

If you want to reach the other end of the cable, where it connects to the motherboard, you'll have to remove the keyboard as well, but that's just as easy as the media cover. There are two screws at the top edge of the keyboard. Remove these (the same Philips head screwdriver from earlier should work), and just slide the keyboard up and out, and disconnect its data cable (and power cable if you have the backlit) from the motherboard. Underneath that is the other end of the media ribbon cable.

Also, here's Dell's official guide for removing the keyboard as well:

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/studio1535/en/SM/keyboard.htm#wp1180366

Hope ya find that helpful, otherwise I just wasted a good wall of text.

 

Though I was fast, you were more detailed in your explanations than I.

I tried covering the cable and buttons with electrical tape (to shiled from EMI,) so far, no good.

Just wondering though, does everyone who have the eject button issue also have a backlit keyboard?

 

I do, but I installed that myself. I had the regular non-lit keyboard for several months and it didn't affect the issue.

One neat little trick I've noticed that you all might find helpful...if you hold the power button when you turn your notebook on, and let the media lights do their little back and forth motion, and let the power button go once that's done, then the button won't be stuck. I'm assuming it just discharges the capacitors in that 2 seconds or so while you hold the button down.

Through a bit of experimentation with timing, I've observed that if you hold the button for the entire duration of the back and forth lighting and let go once it's complete, the eject button will not stick at all. If you just tap the button to turn it on and release it before the motion even starts, then the button will stick for 10 minutes or so. If you let go of the button in the middle of the back and forth media button motion, it will stick, but not nearly as long, and will probably stop sticking before you boot fully into Windows.

 

Thanks for the great tip, I will try it on the next cold boot.

By the way, I tried the re-route trick. It's not as stiff as I thought, I could easily route it 1,5-2cm's away from the original position. For the first cold boot, volume up and eject both sticked, but the media panel was usable after 2 minutes or so, not 10. I disassembled again for another re-route. It was a pretty simple modification to the first one, and guess what? No button stick at all so far (did the re-route 2-3 days ago), but I can't use the media panel in the first 10-15 minutes. My theory is you need to do an exact route copy of a working one thats good. I will test a bit more, and report you. If my theory is valid, I will ask Fredline to upload some pictures of his route version.

Have a nice day!

 

Great observation Mushroom. I will definitely try that trick when I cold boot.

Now I wonder if I can hold down the power button when waking up from sleep as that's when the problem is most common for me. I use the sleep function a lot.

 

Any word on holding the power button?

I also found that if you hold the Media Direct button, it will turn on the laptop even if you don't install Media Direct.

 

Power button didn't help me. Wiring tape shielding didn't help either. I ended up disabling the media buttons all together.

Someone on a Dell forum posted what each of the pins of that little wire does. I covered some of the pins and now none of the buttons work, but at least the drive isn't ejecting anymore. The WiFi, Bluetooth, and HDD lights still work though. (I left those pins open.)

 

I tried the power button trick tonight and the eject issue didn't occur right away as it typically does after booting up, but alas, it eventually did finally rear it's ugly head once again but it just took longer to happen.

I saw that message about disabling the media buttons the other day as well and may just end up doing that too.

 

Do ya think you could re-post that here for us? I'd like to attempt that.

 

Here is the link: http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19247625/19422661.aspx?PageIndex=3

Go a bit over half way down the page and see the post by Dimmphotographer. It's the only post with a bunch of photos. Kudos to him for finding the workaround. It's not a complete fix but enough of a workaround that I can deal with it.

Edit: another linky: http://dimmphoto.livejournal.com/5297.html

 

Is it worth me sending my two week old 1537 back to dell in the hope they can fix the eject button problem?

 

Another link to pictures on how to disable the panel

 

Has anyone tried contacting the Dell Unresolved Issues "department" regarding this issue?

 

I just sent my Studio 1537 back to Dell for a refund. The media button issue was very annoying. I was also disapointed in the speaker and the slot load drive. I even had a disk stick in the drive forcing me to physically pry it out of the slot. Boot times were horrible.

My previous laptop is an Inspiron E1505 and I was very impressed.

I talked with tech support before doing the return and all they could tell me to do was flash the BIOS to A08 and install the latest version of quickset( both of which I already had ).

 

I have a E1505 as well and use that as my travel laptop. I just ordered an Inspiron 1545 for my dad and I actually love that laptop. I recommend you look at the 1545 or another Inspiron - they're chock full of value.

 

If you like the concept of touch-sensitive buttons, you might want to give the XPS M1530 a try. It has similar touch-sensitive media buttons, but they don't have the same problems that the Studio 15 has. They have similar specs as well, plus the M1530 has options for a much more powerful graphics card.

 

Actually, I think the touch buttons are lame. Especially when they don't work. I would have much rather have had hotkeys on a standard keyboard.

I've upgraded my E1505 quite abit from it's original configuration. 2GB RAM, 320 GB Western Digital Harddrive, DVD/RW, and Vista ultimate. So I might wait untill fall when the new products come out.

I was attracted to the Studio 15 because I wanted something with a bit more kick then my current Inspiron, has vista ultimate available, has Intel Wireless N, can play some 3D games and Blueray movies, yet still has a decent battery life. The battery life issue is my biggest complaint againt the XPS series.

In a way, it looks like if I stay with a Dell, my best bet is to buy another Inspiron and upgrade some of the parts myself.

 

You might want to consider a business-class Dell, then, like a Vostro, Latitude, or Precision. I know some of those have the option for Vista Ultimate, and I'm sure some have the Intel WiFi Link 5100 or 5300 wireless-n cards available.

Also, you say you want a bit more kick than a Studio and would rather have keyboard hotkeys than capacitive buttons...you might like the Studio 1555 when it gets released here. It's 15.6" (16:9 instead of 16:10, regrettably), has no media buttons and instead has all their functions on the F keys. It also has significantly more powerful graphics; an ATi Mobility Radeon HD 4650 instead of the current 3450.

 

How do you tell the model of that is going to be shipped when ordering from the Dell website? For both Inspiron and Studio, unlike the past, Dell now only gives the monitor size. You don't get to find out the exact model until the order is placed.

 

For the Studio 15's, at least, you can tell by the FSB speed of your processor, the frequency of your RAM, or which integrated graphics card you have.

If your processor has an FSB of 667 or 800MHz, it's probably a 1535 (PM/GM965 chipset), although it could still be a 1537 (PM/GM45 chipset). If the RAM speed is 667MHz, it's a 1535. If it's 800MHz then it's a 1537. If your integrated graphics option is an Intel X3100, then it's the 1535, and if it's the Intel 4500MHD, then it's 1537.

I'm not sure about the Inspiron numbering system, I've never really looked into it.

 

I just checked the Dell website today.

The current Studio 15 has either a "720p" or "1080p" display and Radon 4570. Is this the new studio 1555? Without the busted media buttons?