Precision 7530 & Precision 7730 owner's thread

is uninstalling what I don't need just as good? I dropped the money on this machine for speed, so I want to start with a lean OS.

 

Personally, I always reinstall; I did it on my Precision 7530. (I don't think of it as a "bother"... I have lots of experience doing Windows installs and sort of like going and setting it up myself.) There's no other way to make sure that you're getting nothing but what you want. (Well... Except for the fact that Windows 10 comes with its own pile of bloat these days...)

Microsoft makes the Windows installation media available for free. This tool will create a bootable DVD or USB drive.
https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10

Windows will auto activate with the product key burned into the BIOS at the factory (if you purchased the machine with Windows 10 — and install the same edition that you purchased, "Pro" vs "Pro for Workstations" in this case).

Note with the 7530/7730, the touchpad will be non-functional until you install the Intel serial I/O driver; you will need an external USB mouse to install. If you install the Wi-Fi or Ethernet drivers to get the system online, most of the rest of the drivers will come in via Windows Update automatically. You will have to install the Thunderbolt drivers and firmware, as well as the latest system BIOS, by yourself.

 

To be really pedantic, it's not absolutely necessary to have a mouse; the UI can be navigated using only the keyboard, and liberal use of the Tab/Shift/Enter/arrow keys.

 

I didn't.
And, to be exact, I realised the values I mentioned earlier are in fact for -100 mV undervolt. At -145 mV CPUs are able to sustain 4.2 GHz on all cores (no throttling).

 

Excellent. Thanks for all that info. Things have changed since I used to do this for a living.

I will probably do a clean install once I pick up a larger drive. The 2 TB EVO 970 that I had my eye on just sold out locally.

 

Ugh. I've had to do that in the past. It's not fun.

 

Well, first lockup with my brand new 7730, running SupportAssist's Scan Hardware Test. It completely locked up at 91% while running the Pattern Test.

Sometimes, Dell...

 

I hard powered off and ran SupportAssist again. This time it completed but:

1) It notes that "Updates are available. Click Update now to update the drivers." There is no Update Now button or link.

2) SupportAssist is encouraging me to complete my profile. I think I already have a profile, but I don't remember the password. When I click the "reset password" option, SupportAssist responds with "Sorry, we’ve encountered an error while processing your request. Please refresh the page and try again." Um, this isn't a browser. There isn't a "refresh page" option.

So far, my first impression is not positive. I really thought that this expensive, premium laptop would offer a smooth experience but no.

 

Just forget about SupportAssist. I've never used that before. If you want to run a hardware test, use the pre-boot diagnostics (press F12 at the Dell logo at boot time and select it from the menu). There are better memory test tools like MemTest86.

 

But why would would Dell install a piece of software that's flaky like that?

I keep having to lower my expectations for Dell.