E6420 Owner's Thread

I have bought an Intel mSATA 80GB SSD SSDMAEMC080G2C1 SSDMAEMC080G2C1 for my E6420.

Newegg.com - Intel 310 Series 80GB mSATA mSATA (mini PCIe form factor) MLC Enterprise Solid State Disk SSDMAEMC080G2C1 - Enterprise SSD


Today arrived and I have very bad news... it don't works.

I tried it on both the WWAN slot and also the another slot that is on the corner.

I also tried to update the BIOS to the last one (A05).

Tried all possible configuration on the BIOS.

Nothing...


It don't works.


Neither the BIOS or the OS (Linux) will recognize it.


Sad news

 

Bunch of new files posted in the last few weeks, wonder if anyone had an info:

7/11/2011 Data Protection Drivers A03
7/11/2011 Data Protection Middleware A03
7/11/2011 Data Protection Application A02
7/18/2011 Free Fall Sensor A09
7/19/2011 TSST Firmware A04
7/21/2011 Dell ControlVault Firmware A23

The ones that sounds the most interesting to me is
7/13/2011 ControlVault Windows Biometric Framework Integrated A00
7/13/2011 Windows Biometric Framework External A00

They are new with that A00 rev on there. Wondering if that will allow me to use swipe for other programs?

 

Updated the video drivers today and my WEI went up.

7.4/7.6/5.9/6.4/7.9 - BEFORE
7.4/7.6/6.4/6.4/7.9 - AFTER

Went from a 5.9 to a 6.4. Nice update Dell!

 

Although someone here assumed it might work (on page 42), the mini PCIe slots in the E6420 probably don't support mSATA. You need a specific type of slot for that, as hothardware explains here:

the drive is built around the mSATA form factor. This is basically a mini PCI Express (PCIe) mini-connector, except that it supports SATA signals. Before you think about ripping your notebook's Wi-Fi card out and jamming this into the mini PCIe slot, save yourself the trouble, because it probably won't work unless the manufacturer did a bit of tweaking so that it will process SATA signals.​

There have been Mini PCIe SATA SSD's, incorporating a SATA or PATA controller on the board. OCZ used to make them (now lists them as EOL on their website), as did Ritek, Samsung and others. You may still find one of those somewhere.

 

guys, could you please help me ...

I have purchased refurbished e6420 and bring it back to my home in Europe , Czech Republic.

I have found out that only NBD warranty is accepted in Czech Republic, my current 3yrs Ltd waranty with mail in is not.

I have checked with local Dell , and extending to NBD warranty here will cost me ~200$.

I believe it will be cheaper to extend NBD warranty online via Dell US.

Could you please point me to a location at dell.com website, where can I do this? I mean by chat with sales person, because I do not want to call to US ...

Thank you in Advance

 

Great numbers. What configuration do you have?

I have the i5-2520, 8GB RAM, windows 7 64, SATA HD, Nvidia card and only get 7.1/7.5/5.1/6.5/5.9

Thanks.

 

I have an i7 2720QM, 8GB, nVidia graphics and Crucial C300 256GB SSD

 

I was using the driver off of the Nvidia website when I ran the previous WEI. When I downloaded the Dell specific driver for the card and re-ran the assessment I got a 6.4 on Aero and 6.4 on my graphics. Peculiar that the graphics number dropped from 6.5. At any rate, I suggest others not use the driver from nvidia.com.

Thanks.

 

I think I went direct to nVidia last time as well. Makes sense since Dell always seems to be a bit behind.

 

erblemoof on the E6520 thread had no luck with any mSATA or mPCIe card. Apparently the mSATA doesn't detect and the mPCIe controller-based card detects but won't boot. IIRC he tried the Intel 310 (Intel) and the SuperTalent CoreMV (Marvell).

There's definitely something amuck with the BIOS, since it won't even work with Expresscard eSATA controllers (SiliconImage).

http://forum.notebookreview.com/7553591-post169.html

If you're using Optimus, might want to use the Dell-provided ones to avoid any weird compatibility issues. Dell likely validates these as a set. If you're not using Optimus, would probably be better off with the latest and greatest (barring any nVidia 196.xx driver incidents).