New M6500 Discussion Thread

It seems we have to.
According to dmidecode either the chipset or the BIOS only supports 16GB. Unfortunately the hardware won't care for shipping configurations. So either another chipset will be needed, which I think will not happen or there has to be a BIOS update that increases this limit.
Of course I'd be happy if you prove me wrong. But please provide better sources than "because I say so".

 

How about this, it's shipping today. Can't bet that. The M6500 is shipping the same chipset it has been shippng since it launched and with 32GB of 1333MHz memory loaded it is able to see and use all 32GB, using a 64-bit OS of course.

 

Hey guys,

I've been lurking for several months and have read every post in this thread. I just unboxed my Outlet-refurbished M6500 an hour ago, and I get a BSOD on bootup. I can't boot into Windows, even in Safe Mode. I get the DRIVER_IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL and the iastor.sys driver error.

I called support, and they suggested I update the BIOS from A03 to A04. If that doesn't work, then reinstall Windows 7. If that doesn't work, then they offer an exchange.

My config is:

i7-920
16GB RAM
256 GB SSD
WUXGA RGBLED
Windows 7 Ultimate

Have any of you run into this? When I checked the BIOS, it was set on RAID, and I only have the one 256 SSD. Shouldn't it be on AHCI to enable TRIM? What do you guys recommend doing? I am so bummed about this ... I was all excited to spend all night getting it set up.

Thanks for any help you can give me!

 

Quick question.... anyone using a bluetooth mouse they'd recommend that plays nicely with the transmitters in the 6500? Looks like BT mice are getting harder to find from what I've seen at places like Office Depot/Staples.... most of them are 2.4Ghz things with their own stupid little usb dongles...

 

As one data point, I'm using a Microsoft Wireless Notebook Presenter 8000 Mouse:

Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000

Amazon.com: Microsoft Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000: Electronics

Advantages:

> Smaller size, but not the tiny travel size
> Quality construction; both of mine have lasted over three years
> Good battery life; I use it with rechargable batteries
> Coexists with Dell Touchpad device, software, drivers
> Includes wheel for scrolling
> More buttons/switches than I know what to do with
> Microsoft supported drivers and software
> Windows 7 x64 driver
> Laser pointer (bing)
> Protective hard plastic case


Disadvantages:

> A bit more bluetooth range would be nice; not a deal breaker for me.

This kit includes an external USB bluetooth transceiver which looks like a USB flash drive, but I've never used it. Instead, I use the Dell internal 375 BT card on both the M4500 and E6510 (and other Dell BT internal cards on older laptops).

It might also work for the 6500.

HTH

 

Impressive for sure.

If you care to share: What type of customer or application would need that much RAM and could justify the cost?

 

I would definitely try AHCI. The Dell factory installations of Windows should contain all the drivers for the different SATA access modes but a BSOD on initial boot strongly suggests a SATA driver problem.

John

 

Depending on the type of envirement your using your laptop for, 32 gigabytes of memory could be used for things like MySQL data work, web analysis stuff, the regulars like adobe/cad/autodesk and probubly for the most users mission critical data work with agencies like nasa/military/government/science.

 

You might try running the built-in diagnostics.

Power on the laptop then immediately press F12 repeatedly at two second intervals until the special Boot Options menu is displayed. Then use the arrow keys to select Diagnostics and press ENTER.

 

Thanks, John. I tried changing it to AHCI and still get the BSOD. Do you think I should update the BIOS to A04 before doing a clean install? Does the SSD work with A03, or do I need A04? I tried creating a bootable USB using the HP USB Disk Storage Format Tool and changing the boot order and can't get the machine to recognize it. It just goes straight to the BSOD.