My wife was surfing the net and watching TV last night when her Inspiron M5030 got the blue screen of death.  There have been no other errors or performance issues until now.  When she tried to reboot, the laptop just gave 7 loud beeps over and over.  Followed the suggestions found elsewhere in this forum, disconnected the power cord, removed battery, held start button down for 30 secs, tried to reboot, but got the same result.

After browsing this forum I've found a lot of people have had the 7 beeps on start up issue with the M5030.  I've had really good experience with Dell over the past 8 years, so it's sad to see so many bad comments about them here.  In my company, if there's a known problem you just do the right thing, period. 

The warranty is up so does anyone have any suggestions??

Thanks,

Jim

I recently noticed ghost images on my Dell XPS 12 Duo. If a bright image on dark background stays on the screen for a couple of minutes and then I switch to somewhat dark background I can clearly see the previous image on the screen for some time before it fades away. Once I noticed it I started spotting even more subtle ghost images. I even managed to capture it in a picture with a low-end digital camera - http://imgur.com/a/RIYff (notice the tray icons clearly seen in the Win 8 start screen and even the facebook ad is visible). It is far more clear when you look at the actual screen and not on a picture. I already arranged replacement laptop (as I had other issues with this one) but yesterday I read news about mass defects in Apple's Retina MacBooks ( http://www.ibtimes.com/print/macbook-pro-retina-display-problems-apple-faces-class-action-suit-ghosting-issue-1129939 ) with practically the same issue. Now I wonder if it is possible that all Dell XPS 12 Duo screens have this problem.

So anyone else seeing this on his machine?

Hello everyone!

Nearly 9 months ago, I bought a XPS 12, the one with the rotable Touchscreen. It worked perfectly until Windows 8.1 and Office 2013 stroke.

Long story short: I have a Windows 7 x64 Pro licence here and I would like to put her on the xps 12.

Here is the question: What would happen? Can I expect the very basics (Touchscreen, Trackpad, Internet) to work, or is a "downgrade" to windows 7 impossible?

Thank you in advance!

Hello, I was wondering if anyone can help.

I have had my Dell studio 1537 for a few years ago now. I replaced the battery and AC adaptor back in August but just a week or so ago, I heard a loud pop ( it could have been in the computer or the AC adaptor, I couldn't tell). From then on, the battery light blinked a few ambers and a solid white. The AC adaptor also stopped working. I ordered a new adaptor which powers the computer but not the battery. I then read that the blinking lights mean the battery is faulty. So I ordered a new battery but this new one also won't charge. I have checked my setup screen and unfortunately is says under AC adaptor that there is not one ( I think it should say 90W instead).

I think the pop I heard might have been the connection between the battery and the adaptor within the computer but I really don't know and I don't know what to do now. 

Can anyone offer me any advice?

PS computer terminology baffles me :-)

The solution to fix the 7 beeps is to take a bed comforter and wrap it around your laptop while it's beeping for about 15mins. This will cause the laptop to heat up allowing a heat flow. This is only a temporarily fix, if it happens again repeat the process. The way dell offers, by removing the battery and holding the power button down does not even wokr.

Dell should of recalled this system and compensated all of their customers who bought it. If there was a fault in a car from a car companies manufacturer there would be a recall .I called dell support about this yesterday, and they said they would fix it for $400, and then lowered it to $190 after I refused. I seen posts where people said they called them up and got theirs fixed for no price. And they didn't even have warranties on the system. Mine expired and still I had to pay. Your manufacturers fault for building this laptop with a faulty processor/motherboard, Dell should be the one fixing it for free. And I quote from Dell "There will never be a recall or compensation" I guess Dell does not care about its customers. 

Hello,

I have made a few queries and posts into Dell Ultrabook battery life extension ideas...  Since we are unable to remove the battery casually in standard notebooks, it always remains plugged in..  So that means you only have 2 options to power your system.. Leave the AC Adapter charged in or charge the battery up, then unplug adapter and use till its drained of power...  We all know that leaving the AC Adapter in continuously to power the laptop can degrade the battery over time.. This is a MAJOR setback to ultrabooks in my opinion...

In my other laptops, standard notebooks I would ALWAYS detach the battery underneath so I can use only the AC Adapter as a power source thus extending my battery life..   Especially since there are times where I am using my laptop now for 4 plus hours or more at a time.. Almost on a daily basis...

We atleast have some new features where we can use the options to such as Dell Extended Battery life - such as powering the battery in the range of 50% to 100%... As well as a meter showing the effectiveness of "normal" battery options..

HOWEVER.... After rigorous testing I found that the battery charges fully every single time in the same amount of time!!!  Never does it range between 50 to 80 to 100%  ... every time I plug in the AC adapter, with all extended battery life options checked off.. the battery will charge to 100% each time..

All DELL has to do is come out with software to somehow electronically disconnect the battery as an option to strictly use AC Adapter power.. This day in age I am sure it can be done.. Especially since they already have this software tool to extend the battery life options...

OR... fix Battery Mode and Longevity Mode where its supposed to charge between 50% and 100% and 88% and 100% respectively - yet, instead it charges straight to 100% each time.. I know this because I unchecked/disabled Longevity mode/Battery mode... And it took approx. the same time - give or take to charge the battery to 100% !!

Is anyone else having this same issue?  Or can offer up some additional suggestions to extend battery life in my Dell Inspiron 15z Ultrabook??  IS there any way to disconnect the battery so I can only use the AC Adapter to power the laptop?

THANKS!!

Marc

Is there a Webcam Driver for Latitude D630 running under Windows XP?

I had download the Webcam Manager but it asked me to install the driver for the webcam.

Thx.

I have purchased Dell Inspiron 5110, few months ago, now it is showing this message while starting the laptop:

Real tek PCI: PXE-E61: MEDIA TEST FAILURE, CHECK CABLE, PXE-MOF: EXITING PXE ROM. REBBOT AND SELECT PROPER BOOT DEVICE OR INSERT BOOT MEDIA IN SELECTED BOOT DEVICE.

What is this type of error, any possible solution?

I've got newly created hard drive images with Vista Business 32-bit and Vista Ultimate 64-bit on separate partitions. It seems I've installed all the appropriate drivers, and yet when I put an SD card in the SD reader, nothing happens, and I don't see it in Explorer or Disk Management.

In Device Manager, I see SD host adapters --> SDA Standard Compliant SD Host Controller, and driver appears to have installed correctly, just nothing happens upon insertion of an SD card.

My HP laptop will read both SD cards just fine, but I can't get the E6500 to read them.

Anyone have any ideas?

Hi,

I recently purchased an Alienware 17, I've had it 4 days and now the screen is acting up. If you imagine watching tv when the aerial is not set up properly. I can't see anything distinct on the screen as it flickers so much and so erratically. Any ideas on what to do? 

Cheers

Andy

Okay, so I have decided to revise this thread to accommodate the recent interest by customers who own this notebook.

Nutshell Explanation: The E6540 and its "one-fan" design is totally inadequate for properly cooling the i7-4800MQ and the AMD HD 8790M. The advertised specifications (2.7Ghz) are unobtainable during realworld and benchmark testing scenarios. The cooling system just can not handle the thermal footprint of the CPU/GPU. 

Long Explanation: I have spent a lot of time and effort in researching this problem. Here are a few things I have discovered. First, Dell has a history with producing systems that can't handle the thermal requirements of the chips installed inside of them. One would think that Dell would learn from their mistakes... Second, the Latitude E series is probably an "end of life" model. Dell jumped the gun on the E6540 and failed to do the engineering. They assumed that the E6530 design could accommodate a CPU/GPU combination with a higher TDP than it's predecessor (E6530). Likewise, the E6540 was one of the first enterprise-grade Haswell notebooks. So I'm sure the pressure was really on at Dell to push this out of the door. These machines are inherently flawed. DOA! We have been scammed. For those of you who have upgraded to the 2.8Ghz model. You really got scammed! You will never be able to use that horsepower.

I have been a 15+ year Apple customer. This has been my first PC in a long time. Frankly, I'm very disappointed.

Now. Let me go ahead and leave a few links here that reference other forums/sources that discuss this issue:

[Notebook Review: Forum] http://forum.notebookreview.com/dell-latitude-vostro-precision/729032-e6540-owners-thread-29.html

[NotebookCheck.net Reviews] http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-Latitude-E6540-i7-4800MQ-HD-8790M-Notebook.97595.0.html

As a customer, I have been instructed to 1) Update the BIOS 2) Reinstall Windows 3) Send in my machine for repair

My touchscreen stopped working and I can't get it to work. 

I went to the Device Manager to look for the human Interface device... but I don't have that as an option. 

Can someone please advise on what to do now.

Thanks, Shannon

Hi,

bought a brand new Dell Inspiron 15R 5537 laptop a month ago. The machine is running Windows 8.1.

Everything seemed to be fine but recently I'v discovered few issues:

a) Laptop reboots without any errors or messages;

Event viewer log:

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power
Date: 2014-03-13 15:40:30
Event ID: 41
Task Category: (63)
Level: Critical
Keywords: (2)
User: SYSTEM
Computer: JustoPC
Description:
The system has rebooted without cleanly shutting down first. This error could be caused if the system stopped responding, crashed, or lost power unexpectedly.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Power" Guid="{331C3B3A-2005-44C2-AC5E-77220C37D6B4}" />
<EventID>41</EventID>
<Version>3</Version>
<Level>1</Level>
<Task>63</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000000000000002</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2014-03-13T13:40:30.970801100Z" />
<EventRecordID>7725</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="8" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>JustoPC</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="BugcheckCode">0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter1">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter2">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter3">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="BugcheckParameter4">0x0</Data>
<Data Name="SleepInProgress">0</Data>
<Data Name="PowerButtonTimestamp">0</Data>
<Data Name="BootAppStatus">0</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

b) After reboot event viewer has few warning messages:

Log Name: System
Source: Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power
Date: 2014-03-13 15:41:50
Event ID: 37
Task Category: (7)
Level: Warning
Keywords: 
User: SYSTEM
Computer: JustoPC
Description:
The speed of processor 0 in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 71 seconds since the last report.
Event Xml:
<Event xmlns="http://schemas.microsoft.com/win/2004/08/events/event">
<System>
<Provider Name="Microsoft-Windows-Kernel-Processor-Power" Guid="{0F67E49F-FE51-4E9F-B490-6F2948CC6027}" />
<EventID>37</EventID>
<Version>0</Version>
<Level>3</Level>
<Task>7</Task>
<Opcode>0</Opcode>
<Keywords>0x8000000000000000</Keywords>
<TimeCreated SystemTime="2014-03-13T13:41:50.857020200Z" />
<EventRecordID>7754</EventRecordID>
<Correlation />
<Execution ProcessID="4" ThreadID="212" />
<Channel>System</Channel>
<Computer>JustoPC</Computer>
<Security UserID="S-1-5-18" />
</System>
<EventData>
<Data Name="Group">0</Data>
<Data Name="Number">0</Data>
<Data Name="CapDurationInSeconds">71</Data>
<Data Name="PpcChanges">1</Data>
<Data Name="TpcChanges">0</Data>
<Data Name="PccChanges">0</Data>
</EventData>
</Event>

Laptop is fully scanned with antivirus, Dell Diagnostic Tools and Driver updates. Found no errors or driver updates.

Any ideas? 

I've enabled UEFI in the boot menu in the BIOS on the Latitude E6320. I re-installed Windows for UEFI.

Everything looks good as far as the installation and configuration in the BIOS. But the PowerShell cmdlets used to confirm it's configured report UEFI SecureBoot are not enabled.

What gives? Why even have UEFI in the BIOS on this laptop if you can't really use it?

Anyone know?

Thanks

Looking for some troubleshooting tips on the above issue  It has been happening since I got the unit two months ago, although in the past two weeks it is now happening every other boot. I've been going back an forth with tech support on the issue.  What I've already done:

• Ran Memtest on memory module (this is the 3rd memory module I've had due to upgrades from 2 to 4 to 8GB; the freezing occurred with them all)
• Ran the MyDell stress test
• Ran PCMark 7 benchmark  (hoping to get it to freeze or otherwise freak out)
• Made sure RAM was properly seated
• Checked all motherboard connections
• Checked for viruses using multiple scanners

I was planning on re-installing Win8 anyhow, now that my touchpad issue is resolved (see other thread!) however I have a feeling this is hardware-related.  Anyhow, any input appreciated...

What's the best way to add a SSD to the M4800? Replace hard drive with SATA SSD or add a mSATA SSD to the WWAN/mSATA slot? Is there any speed difference between mSATA slot and the main hard drive location? The manual says:

Drives configurations:
M4800
one internal 2.5 inch SATA HDD/SSD (SATA3) + one mSATA SSD (SATA2)

Optical Drive:
Interface•
SATA 1 (1.5 Gb/s)•
SATA 2 (3.0 Gb/s)

So if I install it in the mSATA slot or optical bay the speed would be limited to half that of the hard drive bay, correct?

I just got my new XPS 13, but I'm having a heck of a time hitting the control key .. I keep getting the fn key.

Is there a way to swap the functions of these two keys? I don't care about the labels being incorrect, but since I use the Control key much more frequently, I want it to be the closer key.

Thanks!

Dell Latitude E6420 with all latest updates running Windows 7. Using the same image from my old hard drive.

A few weeks ago windows noted i was having hard drive failure so since this is a company issues laptop, Dell sent me a new hard drive. The image of the hard drive was installed on the new hard drive and swapped out. 

I thought it was a dual monitor issue or even when docked but now after getting it back from the company where they thought the imaging didn't complete correctly, I have narrowed it down to not being the monitors, the cables, the docking station or the power settings but just a plain issue of when the lid is closed the wifi doesn't work.

I can't even have the lid opened and two monitors plugged into the laptop, one using a hdmi and one using a standard vga cable without the wifi acting up. The laptop will allow the built in display and one external monitor only.

What I noticed is when you click the icon on the bottom right corner of the screen to see all wireless networks in range with the lid opened i can see several, usually around 12. Once I close the lid to use just the one external display, within a minute, the 12 drops to 3 or 4 with mine showing at the top. I try to reconnect and after a few seconds, a message that windows is unable to connect to the network and to troubleshoot.

The power settings for the lid closed are all set to do nothing, even the battery option is set to do nothing. The wireless power management option that allows the computer to turn off the power to the device has also been unchecked. 

To verify everything is ok with the wireless adapter installed, i uninstalled the adapter software and reinstalled it. The wifi still doesn't work right with the lid closed.

So before I had to ship the old hard drive back to dell, i began swapping the old and new back and forth and when the old was in the laptop, everything worked fine. It could be docked, lid closed and both external monitors used to view the output and wireless worked fine. Put the new hard drive in with the same image of the computer (this was prior to sending it back to my company and having them just wipe it clean and start fresh) and it still wouldn't work.

Now the tech at my company states that the laptop works fine when docked and using two external monitors and stays connected to their WLAN network. 

There is also NO ethernet cable to my docking station and I don't see that as an issue since I have now am NOT connected to a docking station. 

Its just the laptop with one monitor attached to it with the lid open to work. Close the lid, wifi does something other than work. It recognizes networks, but not all like with the lid open. And it won't connect to any of them.

Its not a router issue because I went to my neighbors and I can't connect but they can. I have a mifi hotspot and it won't connect even with it within a few feet of the laptop. It all revolves around the fact the lid is closed and the new hard drive.

I have a two-month-old Inspiron 14R-5437 running Windows 8.1. It came with a 1TB 5400rpm drive. Everything works fine, but I want to switch to an SSD, an option not offered on this machine.

I've used Macrium Reflect (free version) to migrate to the new drive, with the new drive connected via USB. However, the system refuses to boot from the new drive (even when it's the only drive in the system, not connected via USB), and the Reflect repair USB drive isn't able to "Fix Windows Boot Problems" on the SSD because it says there is no active partition.

I suspect there's some UEFI magic going on here, and I don't understand it.

Can anyone suggest how to accomplish this migration, preferably without buying a $100 software package? Tech support at Samsung (the drive manufacturer) all but stated that their included data migration software doesn't work with pre-installed OS systems due to some kind of licensing requirement. That's all quite irritating, since the software was one reason for purchasing that brand.

By the way, only 300GB or so of the 1TB hard drive is being used. The 500GB SSD has plenty of room for my anticipated use.

Thanks.