Dell Precision M6700 Owners Thread

Just got word from Dell that my M6700 order is delayed again. There seems to be yet another parts shortage. I am told the customer service team will let me know by Friday about the specific part and the length of delay. I've never experienced anything like this before in well over 2 decades of computer purchases which included several new OS launches. Has anyone taken delivery of a M6700 ordered any time in October yet?

 

Wow, I guess it is not just me... My M6700 is on its SIXTH order. But, now my M6700 is getting an IPS screen and a Bluray drive (I was originally upgraded to a covet but apparently the covet chassis was back-ordered for about a month). I just heard from the Dell customer care associate and she said that my M6700 is in the final stages of production and the preliminary ship date is Oct 29th. So, with any luck, I may have it by late next week.

 

Has anyone gotten their M6700 with Windows 8 preinstalled yet? I'm curious if the models that ship with Windows 8 have a different hardware revision.

 

I downloaded this update - it updates/flashes about 5-6 things, I lost track; I have not seen that before, usually a BIOS update is just a BIOS update. It's a big update. BIOS goes from A02 to A06. I just finished it, it updated flawlessly no problems.

 

I was actually talking about this one, which is just for the camera:
Drivers and Downloads | Dell [United States]

But there is a new A06 BIOS for the whole system this morning. I'll check it out after I run a backup.

A06 BIOS changelog, looks like UEFI secure boot is here:

Fixes/Enhancements
------------------
1. BIOS adds support for Microsoft Windows 8 operating system including:
- UEFI Secure Boot
- TPM/TCG Win 8 Support
- Legacy Option ROM / CSM ON-Off Boot Settings
- OA3.0
- IPv4 / IPv6 Support
- Seamless Boot
- ACPI 5.0
- Fast Boot
2. Improved Grasslake functions and remote HDD Wipe functions.
3. Improve SecureBoot module functionality.
4. Improve FlashUpdate module functionality.
5. Enhance Planform stability on Windows 8.
6. Improve Lid functionality on Windows 8.
7. Improve HardDisk Passowrd functionality.

The BIOS release has been validated on the following operating systems:
1. Microsoft Windows 8
2. Microsoft Windows 7
3. Microsoft Windows XP Service Pack 3

 

I installed the A06 firmware update. Biggest set of changes I've ever seen from a firmware update.

Interesting points (some with regards to Windows 8):

Pre-boot screen with the "Dell" logo now uses the native resolution of the screen. Nice and pretty.

UEFI Secure Boot works as expected. There is a section in the BIOS setup to turn it on and off, and also manage keys. When Secure Boot is on, you are forced to turn off the "Legacy Option ROMs" and obviously you have to have the boot mode set to UEFI. (I already had mine set to UEFI, but I had to switch it to Legacy and back to UEFI for it to stop yelling.) The RAID status screen does not appear during boot if Legacy Option ROMs are disabled.

When booting Windows 8, the Dell logo remains on the screen (instead of the Windows logo). I believe this is what they mean by "seamless boot". There is also a "fast boot" option where it blasts through the BIOS initialization phase.

Windows asked me for the BitLocker recovery key (twice, actually). Not a surprise considering the scope of the changes. The BitLocker recovery screen now uses the panel native resolution instead of a blurry scaled-up screen like it did before. I suspect the same is true for other Windows recovery screens (safe mode select screen for example).

 

I'm gonna have to update i guess, how is the process done usually, this is my first Dell, with Asus, i would do it within the bios using a flash drive, but i don't think i can do it that way on my M6700.

 

I submitted my order on Oct 4. My re-instated order (after Dell mysteriously cancelled the first one after two weeks) was dated Oct 16 with a ship date of Nov 8. Despite repeated requests, I have been given no explanation for the delay, nor any status updates other than "we are working on it".

The frustrating thing is the online configurator quoted $30 less and a 6-day ship time for the exact same config when I checked a few days ago!!!

I'm going to stick with this order as the M6700 appears to be a worthwhile machine, but there is no way I'll be purchasing anything else from Dell for lesser spec machines required for other employees. This is ridiculous.

 

It's super simple, just download the BIOS update (a .exe file) and run it. It will do some stuff and then shut down Windows, and then the flash will happen automatically, it will show you the progress while it updates.

 

I was informed that there was a significant shortage of the "Wireless : Dell Wireless 380 Bluetooth Card"-component.

Also the IPS screen and the associated webcam weren't in stock at the factory at the time of my order, but only in very small numbers.

My M6700 was ordered on the 18th of October 2012, is still estimated to deliver on the 6th of November 2012, and hasn't gone into production yet, it's still in Pre-Production. (Dell Netherlands order)