Nothing but problems with my 6400:

Im so annoyed at this point, that I dont even try to fix problems anymore-ive just given up.
Id like see if anyone here can give me some input on the following issues:

1. CPU is constantyly running at between 40 and 60 percent and I have NO CLUE WHY. Ive checked to see what programs im running and my task manager shows im using only about four-nothing that could contribute to 50% usage on 4gbs of ram
2. Battery sucks. I get maybe two hours on balanced. The above is prob affecting this stat.
3. Cant stand the touchpad. I have the most update drivers; pad randomly highlights things on the screen. Scrolling up and down a screen is a total PIA becuase you have to keep moving your finger up or down instead of just "pullin" down" on the side of the pad and having the page move constantly.
4. Fan.
I could write a novel on the problems I have with this fan.
It runs at top speed 75%+ of the time in the dock and doesnt shut off when I put the computer to sleep, only hibernation.
Outside of the dock, the laptop runs super hot and blows VERY hot air. Its killing my battery.
5. Overall subpar performance for a "top of the line" laptop that I paid top dollar for and that has an Intel 9400/7200rpmHD and 4gb's of RAM.

Any comments/advice are appreciated.

 

Make sure that you selected "View processes from all users".

Honestly, I would skip that and just format the thing. It should fix just about everything. The only consistent problem that I've read about before is the fan running while docked. Other than that everything else should be fixed with a format.

Greg

 

What do you mean by "fixed with a format"?
What kind of format?

 

I was referring to a reinstallation of Windows, but if you didn't recognize the word format, it might be easier if we could find another solution. Reinstalling Windows can get complicated and you want to be sure that you aren't going to screw anything up.

Did you open the task manager to see the processes from all users?

Greg

 

Oh-thats what I was planning on doing, albeit with the help of a tech-savvy friend of mine.
Out of curiosity, why do you think that a format will solve all my problems?
How come it wasnt installed properly in the first place?

Also, should/can I try windows 7 beta?
Ill try anything that might improve performance.

 

While my experience with the Windows 7 beta has been nothing short of remarkable, I really can't recommend it to someone who doesn't have the ability to easily recover data and reinstall Windows. It still is a beta after all, and while it is an excellent one, there is still a small risk involved.

What you could do, even yourself (so long as you backup your data - this will reformat), is go into the one time boot menu in the BIOS screen (I believe it's F2, F11, or F12; it says when you turn it on) and there is an option to restore. I'm unsure of the exact name, but the other options would be something like, Hard Drive, Optical Drive, USB Drive, etc. Among them would be something like system restore.

Doing that would restore it to it's factory condition, though in your case we are hoping that it would restore to it's intended factory condition.

Greg

 

Greg-the culprit is "IDT PC Audio" using over 50% of my CPU.
Do you have any idea why that is?
Also, whenever I restart my computer I get a "Microsoft blocked some program on start-up" bubble notification-why is it telling me that and how do i turn it off?

 

If you are running Vista, simply uninstall the audio driver via the device manager. Restart and you should still have sound. If not, open up the device manager and scan for new devices.

I prefer to just use the audio driver built into Vista and 7. It's just as good as the Dell IDT driver, but without the bugs.

Do you know what program is blocked on startup?

Greg

 

I have no idea.
Where is the Device Manager?

 

Just type device manager into the start menu and click on it when it appears.

Greg