New M6500 Discussion Thread

We got burned on those Gateway tablets when the company imploded too. Wish Dell would finally get a decent sized and priced tablet out there. Tablets are one of the few things we are still trying to buy from Lenovo.

 

I'm the same way....I didn't pay for repaired unit....keep sending new until one works

 

Hello All,

Just took possession of an M6500 Covet last Friday. I've been lurking here while I waited for it to arrive. I spent the weekend re-installing the OS, finding and upgrading device drivers, and adding applications. I'm a technology manager for an automotive supplier, and most of what I do is CATIA based CAD design work.

First off, I am quite impressed with the machine. The build quality is amazing, fit and finish are solid, and the performance is what I need.

Second, what follows are a few tips for those doing a clean install. YMMV, but this process worked for me:

1) I followed the Dell document for re-installing the OS (Available in the downloads area with all the drivers)
2) After enabling USB3 and AHCI in the bios, I booted to a Win7 64-bit Pro disk, performing a clean install. (The unit was shipped in Raid 1 mode, but initial testing indicated the drive access was slow, and I wanted the extra space)
3) Following the install and the subsequent update reboots, Win7 was up and running.
4) I then attempted to install the Intel Storage manager, which promptly gave me a BSOD upon reboot. Contrary to what is stated earlier in this thread, the A04 version of the Intel software does not work with the A02 Bios. I found an older copy of the A03 Intel software, and all was well.
5) I then added the 1501 wireless driver from the Dell site, the latest video drivers from NVIDIA, The Turbo Boost widget, touchpad software from the Dell site, bluetooth software from Dell, the TI 1394/Flash media driver from Dell, and finally the NEC USB3 driver from Dell.
6) This left me with one perplexing device, Broadcom USH. After much search, I found out that even though I don't have a fingerprint reader, apparently there is still a controller for it in the system. I then installed just the security driver package from the Dell site, and bang, my last unresolved device was gone.

I've since installed all my relevant engineering software, as well as MS Office, and several other productivity tools (remote control, VLC Media Player, Firefox, etc). Knock on wood, I haven't had one issue. I used the unit all day today for work, and it was rock solid and very snappy.

Hopefully my opinion of the M6500 won't change anytime soon. If anyone has any specific questions or comments regarding the install, let me know.

 

I don't see too much on the Internet about Express Charge for batteries. This is an option under Power Options in the BIOS. Does anyone have any comments or hard facts related to Express Charge, good or bad? Does it shorten the life of the battery? Do you use it?

 

@All...

Hello to all !
Being a new 6500 user, I read this forum since some weeks now and found a lot of useful and valuable information...
So... Thanx to all

@jdm3tz...
I'm particularly interested by your experience as I plan to upgrade to an Intel SSD (currently using a Seagate Momentum 500GB).
As I understand from your experience, this is far from easy (BSOD).
It seems strange to me that Intel Rapid Storage A04 does not work with A02 BIOS (BSOD).
Do I need to install it for TRIM to work, or could I leave Windows 7 without it ?
If yes, where can I find the A03 version. The Dell website does not seem to provide older version of this driver.

Could you please detail further the process to fresh-install the OS (Win7-64) on the SSD ? (Do I need the Rapide Storage Pre-OS driver) ?

Thank you for your help

 

Win7 has built in TRIM support, no need for the intel drivers. I installed them and found no perf difference with my SuperTalent Ultra gx 128. So I went back to the Win7 driver.

Just be sure to set AHCI mode in your BIOS before you install Win7. Otherwise you need some Registry hacking to enable the msahci driver later on. If you arrive at that point google and bing are your friends to find guides how to tweak that.

 

Ok.
Thank you very much for this clear answer...

 

Well, finally have been able to rebuild the OS and all my software reinstalled. Took about 24 hours total since I had to call autodesk every time I activated ACAD, Revit & 3DS Max Design. Not to mention I lost all my favorites from IE8 with had all my texture and materials websites tagged. Not to mention the USB 3.0 ports won't even run 2.0 items so I'm stuck with only 1 working USB. That really sucks when you need to plug in a flash drive while using a wireless mouse with a USB receiver.

Dell better hurry up and send me that new laptop or I'm just goning to have to ask for my money back so I can buy a laptop that actually works out of the box. And I don't care how much they may have lost so far with all the Tech support time and parts and crap. I paid alot of money for this machine and I am entitled to a new machine that works. Not a stripped down cannablized one.

 

Here is a link to the A03 Intel Rapid Storage driver software:

Drivers and Downloads

 

Hang in there...it's worth it...no reason you shouldn't get a working machine like the rest of us.