Necessary to shutdown before docking/removing from dock? (E6400)

keep in mind the old D series docks used a different connection method than the new e series docks (which use pci express I believe)

I've hot docked and undocked mine hundreds of times with no issues at all, in Windows and Linux.

 

Is it possible to use one of the available notebook coolers when using a dock?

 

As a general rule you are perfectly safe to dock and un-dock a windows laptop whilst it is running.

The only time that this isn't possible is if the docking station has an extra video card in it - and this is because Windows XP / Vista doesn't support hot plug and play on video cards. In this instance the laptop will BSOD on un-dock and if you dock it and it is already running then you won't be able to use the extra video card until you reboot.

Note - this is different to having a monitor attached to the docking station - I mean scenarios like the D series D-Port where it has a PCI slot and you might have stuck a video card in it.l

 

I've been using a new E6400 for a couple of months now and am happy except for one issue. Occassionally when I dock the machine with it running it locks up completely and must be powered off. On the advice of Dell I had the memory chips reseated and this appeared to solve the problem for a couple of weeks, but I'm now having the problem again. I typically undock and re-dock 4-6 times a day and see the problem once every day or two. I've never experience a problem after undocking, only re-docking. A mouse, keyboard, and LCD monitor (all Dell) are the only devices attached to the dock. Anyone else having this problem? Anyone know of a solution?

 

Hi I have a Latitude D820 with Vista and a D-Port Replicator.
Vista has the Undocking option in the button to the right of the "power" button this button is a triangle to the right and it has several options (like Restar, Shutdown, Sleep, etc.) if your unit is docked the first choice in this menu is Undock. In addittion the Port Replicator has an Undock button that issues the Undock command to the OS (XP or Vista).
I Dock/Undock with the laptop running , no need for sleep, hibernate or power off to do this.

the only thing that might caus your problems is if you have a HDD connected to the dock and you wan't to undock while reading/writing to it, but the Undock command in Vista (or XP) will alert you to wait.

It really is very good and convinient to have the docking station with your laptop.

Hope it helps!

 

HHUERTA-thanks for this reply but I dont really undertsand what you are saying here. In particular: "Vista has the Undocking option in the button to the right of the "power" button this button is a triangle to the right and it has several options"-can you explain this statement further?

CCJOZIE-i have the same problems as you and then some. This issue that you describe actually gets worse with time; my screen doesnt properly adjust anymore, network settings dont adjust, system freezes, etc.
Couple that with the docked fan issue and youve got a handful.

 

HHUERTA - I also had no problems with my D620 which gave me an "Undock" option from the Start menu on XP. With the E6400 there is no "Undock" option so we're always hot docking.

AKWIT - Not what I was hoping to hear. What OS are your running? I'm on XP SP3. Have you gotten anywhere with Dell on the issues?

 

Ok in Vista where you have the "Start" menu you have a "power" button to the right is a "Lock" button and next to it is another button that displays a menu of diffrent options like Shutdown,Sleep,Restart, etc. and when you have the docking station it will add another option to that menu that option is "Undock"
I hope is more clear

 

No need to sleep or hybernate. Vista fully supports hot undocking as does the E-series docks.

Like with anything Vista, things can go wrong, so it's always a good idea to save any open docs and close any uneeded apps.

 

If reseating your ram resolves the issue for some weeks, then the problem it comes back the problem is likely that the ram is not properly secured in it's slots and is eventually loosening up from it's contacts or if used in a smokey or dusty environment, foreign particles are accumulating near the slot contacts.

Could also be faulty ram slots (I've seen this before) or faulty dimms. replacing the dimms is easy to test. Otherwise might have to replace the mainboard (to get the dimm slots replaced).