New M6500 Discussion Thread

Thanks for the info Bokeh. And if I am correct, the only thing we need to do in order to have Win XP 32-bit shell is just to choose the Win 7, Professional or Ultimate version? Do we need to apply any changes in BIOS?

 

Hello all - received my M6500 yesterday, and have encountered a few issues so far, and am wondering if anyone else has as well:

1. I am seeing white horizontal lines (on a dark background) flickering on/off on the RGBLED screen. Seems to be the same horizontal lines that flicker in a pattern. I posted a quick YouTube video of the issue (you can see the white lines faintly, but they are visible in the video):

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MT067bm3cAM

The lines flicker even during boot-up, so I am guessing it is not a driver issue (just for reference, I am running Windows 7 Ultimate 64 Bit, and the video card is an nVidia Quadro FX 2800M). The flickering has stopped briefly at times, but seems to start back up if I tilt/move the screen. The behavior exists whether it is powered or running on battery.

If I connect an external LCD via VGA, the LCD does not have the same problem, so I am thinking it is an LCD issue.

Tech Support walked me through a couple of steps yesterday, and decided to dispatch a tech to take a look along with a replacement video card and LCD (should be here on Friday).

2. Bluetooth devices (Dell keyboard and mouse) will not stay connected after reboot (configured with Bluetooth 365 module). Must then be removed and re-paired to work.

3. Docked with the M6400's E/Port Plus, everything seems to function properly except I do not have an Undock option within the Windows shutdown options.

I am really hoping to get these details sorted out, because I really do love the machine so far (despite the initial headaches)!

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and/or empathy ...

 

That sucks... I have a Sony Vaio Z series notebook 10" laptop that did the same thing, it turned out to be the LCD transformer, however this was glued to the inside of LCD module with an epoxy so I had to replace the entire LCD from a lucky find on eBay, which I did and this issue stopped. It's a great little laptop with a full carbon fiber body. I do wish Dell offered that option as well.

So in your case I would say it's probably going to be your LED screen / or wiring inside screen module. The cable they use to connect those are as thin as paper, I work on them. It can't be the card I wouldn't think or it would do the same on external displays. Weird that it got past QC, at this price range Dell shouldn't allow anything out less than perfect. I also ordered a M6500 and it's in production. Will be checking for any issues as well before I decide to keep the machine. Good luck.

 

Hi pittpanther,

Sorry to hear about the issues with the new laptop. Hopefully it will all get sorted out soon

How was it dealing with tech support over the phone? Did you have to wait on hold a long time or transfered a bunch or was the process of getting with the correct tech person fairly easy? Also, which warranty/support plan(s) did you order with your new laptop... I'm wondering if specific support plans really do expedite the service calls.

Thanks and keep us posted on how it goes with the tech.

Ben

 

Anyone else noticed the sporatic popping sound which is probably coming from the speakers?

And bokeh, thanks for the INF update. It worked flawlessly!

 

Thanks for the responses ingenuitor and ygohome - much appreciated.

ingenuitor - it sure seems to be a "noise" issue, so I wouldn't be surprised if it is the power source to the LCD or something similar. It also becomes much more pronounced if I change the frequency from 60Hz to 40Hz in the display settings. Yeah, I was thinking the same thing (how this issue made its way through Dell's QC) - but it does to be somewhat intermittent, and can be faint at times. Then again, I noticed it pretty quickly.

ygohome - I actually tried the Dell Chat via their support page 1st, and spent basically 30-45 minutes just trying to get added into the Chat queue. It was pretty ridiculous. Once in the queue, I realized that my position was moving slowly, so I decided to take my dog out for a quick walk. Sure enough when I returned, my position had come and gone - which led me to making the phone call to support.

I would say I was initially on hold for about 2-3 minutes before speaking with someone, who then had to route me to the correct department. Another 2-3 minute wait, before speaking with Gene. He was reasonably helpful - walking me through some diagnostic steps. He remotely connected to it but was (not surprisingly) able to see the same behavior. I told him I had a YouTube video of it, but apparently they are not able to access that site. Total time talking with him was about 15 minutes, about 1/3 of which was used to procure the replacement part orders. I received a call this morning from the Tech who received the parts and I have an appointment with him for tomorrow (Friday).

Will definitely keep you all posted. Thanks again!

 

gradx - I have noticed this as well.

 

This is a known "feature" of Dell Latitude and Precision models, I have it on my E6400. I have complained to Dell about it on their IdeaStorm forum, but I don't think they will do anything about it.

 

I think this can be fixed with a driver update but since we are all first movers here, it may be a while before it's available.

Glad to see others m6500 finally coming in and I have no idea how I was the first to receive it.

 

Thank you guys for the info, I just got off the phone with Luke Barbian and here's what I ordered:

M6500 Covet
Intel Core i7-920XM
DDR3-1600 SDRAM, 2 DIMM 8GB
nVidia Quadro FX 3800M
64GB Encrypted SSD*2, non raid
FIPS Fingerprint Reader and Contact-less Smart Card Reader
210W/240W Slim Adapter
Blu-ray
Intel WiFi Link 5300
DW5600 Multi-Mode Gobi MB Mini-Card

I also got a free printer and free next day shipping, the total came about $4900 + tax $400.

I asked about the option of 16GB 1600 Ram, unfortunately they can't do it. I hope that 8GB 2 dimm is not a typo on the website.