** XPS M1330 A04 motherboard exchange thread **

Apparently, no M1330 part can be replaced by end users. What BS. I had to accept it though, since the whine on my machine is unbearable. I swear, if I have to do what I think would be my sixth replacement after this tech screws something up...

 

I worked with my service call tech. I called to get the part for her.

 

1.5ghz core 2 duo
mine is silent and I received mine yesterday as I doubt I got the new moterboard

 

My A01 Mobo has no whine, but if I did have one, I would be worried to let the field tech change it. Worst part is I'm not that confident doing it myself neither.

 

ask for her e-mail while on the phone to her, and e-mail here this link...and tell her that even the DELL tech support in the forums say there's a new mobo, so she can stop chatting BS and give you the new mobo!

 

I just called dell, I had to take off the back panel and one of the memory sticks to find the motherboard version, which was a01.
Dell is sending a replacement motherboard and a technician, they'll give me call once the technician gets the part

First time taking the memory out, it was scary, I was afraid I was going to snap the white prongs that held the memory in place...
Whew, it's over now

 

btw, was taking the memory out really necessary to find the motherboard version? On that copper colored piece of metal connected to the fan area, there was a sticker on it with the words: "REV A01"

 

Yes! It's the only way to 100% tell what mobo you have!

 

I had to get a supervisor in there, and even he was reluctant. They both insisted that changing your own parts was not allowed. My touch button media panel had to be replaced, and the supervisor I spoke to that time said it was no problem for me to replace it myself. I even had the chatlog with the other supervisor saved, and when I showed it to this new supervisor, he just completely ignored it.

I think the Indian tech support is much more accommodating than the regular Canadian tech support... This time I had "XPS Mary" and "XPS Joel" and they were all perfect English and all that, but they were extremely disagreeable.

Whatever, if I get an idiot who's never even seen an XPS before as my tech and he screws something up, I'll be giving them more than a few slices of Hell.

 

You cannot just order parts for yourself. The parts are to sent to Dell certified service call. If you certified dell tech allows you to help, then it is a good experience to do so. I helped dell tech on the m1330 since she hasn't worked on it that often. She got a hard time getting everything apart.

 

You're not understanding what I'm saying. Back when I had to replace my media panel, I was given the option of skipping the tech completely and doing it myself, which I did. A tech was not involved at all. And a supervisor authorized this.

 

Yup, I have replaced many parts on my 1710 that were not user serviceable. On top of that, my warranty was return to depot and I still was able to convince Dell to send me the parts (I told them I use my system for business and cannot be without it for as long as it would take them to send it back).

 

I replaced the palmrest on mine a few weeks ago (which requires removal of almost everything), and for the motherboard they said I can replace it as long as I have a tech on the phone with me while I do it, which I agreed to. I know I could do it without being on the phone, but it's the only way they'll let you replace the mobo on your own without voiding the memory, and it's far better than letting one of the "certified" techs do it.

 

Any success stories yet?

 

From page 1...

 

why would it come with bios A04?
the newest bios is Ao6

 

good point..

 

It may have come with A04 as there was rumour that there were revisions in later bios which might cure the whine. Since its fixed in the mobo now...they just set back the bios...a thought

 

No no no... You guys are all confused... Unless I'm the one who's confused.

There are hardware revisions and BIOS revisions. When we're talking about A04 fixing the whine, we mean the hardware revision of the motherboard itself. The BIOS rev is different.

Or am I totally and completely wrong?

 

if you re-read it, he says that the A05 BIOS comes with the A04 mobo, not the other way round.

And newer BIOS' can sometimes cause more trouble than anything. I remember updating the BIOS on my current laptop just to find that the keybiard repeat rate became stuck to a VERY slow rate! And no matter what settings I changed (registeries included) I couldn't fix it.

Then eventually, a fix came 2 months later, in the form of another BIOS update...

 

The A04 mobo DOES NOT fix CPU whine!! I just got my new M1330 about 20 mins ago, and it has CPU whine!

I have it open sitting right next to me, right now! And it says "Rev A04" right underneath the 1st stick of RAM! That's the A04 "fix" theory out the window then! The BIOS installed is A06!

Can anyone please upload or e-mail me BIOS A05? And tell me how to downgrade the BIOS?

Cheers!

 

right, I just downloaded RMClock, and disabled C4 state, and as soon as I clicked "apply", the whine went away! So I DEFINATELY had CPU whine with the new A04 mobo!

If you havn't upgraded, then dont bother, cos there's no guarantee that the whine will go away!

 

Great.

I hope that at least the Penryn CPUs are going to solve this issue. Anyone has a guess when they will be available?

I'm dreaming of a T9500 CPU and a 64 GB SSD.

 

the whine went off the moment it boot up with the new A04 mobo! nothing is guarantee to work but why not give it a try again till the problem solve? btw my new A04 mobo came with bios A05. Maybe you should downgrade the bios version...cheers

 

If somebody wants the A05 bios and they see somebody mention in a thread that they have it saved/sent they would probably get a reply sooner if they PM'd that person with an email address of where to send it to.
Dell sent me the A05 bios as i asked somebody pretty high for it and they sent it to me and i have sent it to several people who gave me an email address to send it to.
H3rmaN i would be very happy to send it if you PM me with an email address.

 

I've reboot it several times and I have even done a clean install of Vista. Still has the whine! I cant find the A05 BIOS, but have contacted RachUK with her generous offer of e-mailing it to me!

Cheers! PM sent!

 

I was told be the Dell rep that there would be no whine whatsoever with the A04 motherboard... I can't believe I'm saying this but maybe I should have gone Mac... It's been over two months since I received my M1330, I don't think I can get any type of refund now. I just hope the A04 motherboard works for me...

 

For anyone who wants A05. I have uploaded it here !!

 

ok this morning i ran on battery for the first time and i noticed the whine
i downloaded rm clock, disabled C4, its gone
but as soon as i exit RMClock, computer freezes and I have to hold the power button and restart
is their another way to disable C4?

 

there should be a way to disable C4 in the Bios
I have A06

 

right, I just got the A05 BIOS from RachUK via e-mail, and downgraded. But the whine is STILL there! Think I'm just gonna stick with RMClock loading at startup until there its a proper BIOS fix from DELL!

Good luck to all those who are getting the upgraded motherboard! But be aware that it MIGHT not work!

 

have you tried disabling C4 and exiting RMClock after?
everytime I exit my computer Freezes

 

yes, my computer is fine...dont know why yours freezes tho!

 

My guess is that it just may not be CPU whine that you are experiencing.

Call Dell and ask for a trouble shoot, and what to replace next.

 

if it wasn't CPU whine, then why does it go away when I set RMClock to disable C4 state? But when I enable C4 state in RMClock it comes back instantly!

 

I was assuming the new mobo by Dell would eliminate the problem. It seems like all you can do at this point is call Dell again and see where it takes you.

 

its not a new mobo from DELL mate, its a whole new PC! But I opened it up and looked under the RAM to see that it says "Rev A04", even tho I have CPU whine!

TBH tho, I'm not fussed, cos RMClock fixes the problem perfectly fine, and I dont want a "qualified" technition to come round and cause more problems! Was just letting other peeps know that the new A04 mobo is not a 100% fix. Thats all.

 

That was really dissapointing . I am sorry for you, H3rmaN, keep telling how do you fix it finally (I mean asking for another system, calling a technician... etc).

Good luck

 

i just decided to use RMClock, it loads at Windows startup, so I never get any whine! I'm sure that DELL will eventually sort this via the BIOS!

I cant be assed getting a new one or getting a techy to "fix" something that has no real fix!

 

Doesn't RMClock freeze your machine when using Vista?

 

I was thinking the same thing because rmclock was completely unstable in Vista for my 1330...

 

Nope! RMClock version 2.30.1, Build on 2007/09/22 works sweet as on my machine! And I'm running Vista Home Premium x86 (what came with the lappy)

I just downloaded it from here...

I'm typing this in Vista on my M1330 with RMClock running in the background!

 

i hope A07 Bios will have a option to disable C4
People say disabling C4 brings down your battery by 12 percent
I disabled C4 on my macbook and I didnt even notice a difference

 

Ugh, with the battery sacrifices from A05 to A06, 6-cell people really can't afford more cutback on battery life on a future BIOS revision...

 

RMClock does seem to work for me now without freezing. The whine did go away using it, but I get a little whine here and there, even when it's on. Must be something else, not the regular CPU whine we're all talking about... Should I still go for this A04 motherboard upgrade? I'm worrying a bit now...

 

Ok, RMClock froze me up again. I guess it's going to be this A04 motherboard or nothing!

 

Disabling C4 with RMClock does absolutely nothing to change my CPU whine... Blah. I guess I'll just go through with the replacement and see what happens.

 

Dumb question here, I'm gathering the new motherboard will come with the processor attached as well? I just want to make sure everything is replaced with what I already have in here...

 

They will take out all the components off your mobo, put them all back to new mobo.

 

I wonder what they did to the new mobo to make it whine free...