Dell E6400/E6500 problems thread

Need to order 3 new notebooks for the office.
I've been wavering back and forth between the T500 & E6500 for the past few weeks, but been pretty satisfied with our past Dell fleet and their service.

Up to Monday I was pretty much set on the E6500's, but I'm starting to see more and more threads about troublesome issues on the E-series. Things that would certainly bother me and my team.

Maybe we can keep track of all the issues and hopefully resolutions to them on this thread.

Here's what I've compiled so far:
Let me know what else to add.


1. Poor quality WXGA+ LED screens
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=300810
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=300846

2. Drifting Trackpad / Lack of proper sensitivity adjustments
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=299905

3. Keyboard issues
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=299905

4. DVD burner problems
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=296366

5. Crackling/poor audio
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=297054

6. Random lockups
http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_general&thread.id=289406

 

After three weeks of using my E6400 my only issue from that list is the burner.

I find the keyboard action very nice and the touchpad buttons excellent.

I've no issues with the (LG) screen. It washes out when the brightness is very high but I find that half brightness is fine for indoors use.

I've just been playing a DVD through external speakers and the audio sounded fine. The internal speakers are barely worthy of the name.

John

 

I am waiting to see if others have the similar keyboard / touchpad and trackpoint issues I have mentioned in those threads to see if it is an isolated issue.

A friend with a similar older precision (m4300 maybe?) does NOT have the same multiple key press issue.

 

John,

Wondering if you could do a very simple test for me? Please open up notepad and press c and then try and press d at the same time. Does the letter d come up while pressing c or only after you let go of c?

 

You have to let go in order for the other keypress to be registered.

Sigh...why, just why, did Dell decide to put that "feature" in? Stupid.

 

Feature or bug? It only does it on some key combinations. It wouldnt be such an issue. Except that I administer lots of linux machines and 'cd' happens to be the command to change directory and I am constantly typing it in wrong!

I am really interested if the new M4400 has this 'feature'... Or maybe.. I just don't know how to type properly?

 

I can't get d to register if I'm holding down c, but I can get most letters on the keyboard to register when I'm holding down c. The same applies to other keys. Most work but a few don't.

OK, it's a bug because it is inconsistent but why, in real life, is this a problem? What have I been missing out on all these years of thinking I should press one key at a time (except for shift, etc)?

John

 

It may be just typing habits then. I type commands in fast and when I type 'cd' and then space and the a folder name I am typing it so fast the I hit c, then d, then space all sequentially. But I do not lift of of c after hitting d and space. Space registers while pressing c. D registers after letting go of c so my input is 'cd <space>' and my output becomes 'c <space> d'. Never noticed this on another laptop or keyboard before...

 

It's not obvious to avg windows user (it still might be) but I can see this being a major PITA for us too while ssh'd into the *nix consoles.

I'm typing this on my i8600 (due for an upgrade). If I do this slowly; when I press the c key and hold it, it repeats until I press d, then inserts d.

 

The touchpad drivers cause the vista busy cursor to stop spinning.