Precision 7530 & Precision 7730 owner's thread

A command prompt is not the same as MS-DOS. I somewhat doubt you'll be able to execute a BIOS upgrade from that environment (but you sure could try)...

 

Thank you all for caring.
An MS-DOS bootable disk is a no-go: the TB18 firmware update program is a windows EXE.
So you recommend downloading a Windows 10 image, booting it up in repair mode and trying to run the program from command prompt? If I put the program on a USB key, how am I supposed to access it using command prompt (sorry but I haven't used windows for more than 10 years, and I don't have any skills with its command prompt...) ?

*edit* typos

 

Exactly. I strongly encourage writing the install image to a USB key, aka USB drive. Before you boot Windows you need to copy the update .exe to the USB drive, probably to the root directory.

Now boot the thumb drive and get to the recovery command prompt. The command shell will start in the USB drive's file system. Change to the directory containing the update executable ("cd \" will get you to the root directory) and run it by prefixing the file name with ".\" (no quotes; that's equivalent to BASH's "./", i.e., the executable is in the current directory).

It is possible to unpack the install .iso, add the update .exe, then burn optical media, but that's obviously a lot harder than using a USB key.

 

Just curious; have you tried it? Dell may be lying but the update page is pretty specific.

https://www.dell.com/support/home/u...e=dell-thunderbolt-dock-tb18dc&driverId=GCHJD

File format: Windows/DOS
File description: This file format consists of a BIOS executable file. The Universal (Windows/MS DOS) format can be used to install from any Windows or MS DOS environment.

 

Hi - All you guys & gals that have purchased a 7530.

I wondered if you could confirm something for me as I'd like to purchase one as well.
If I order one from Dell with just a 2.5" HDD installed and the smaller battery, will the SSD slots have the Thermal Plate installed already or do I need to try and buy one from Dell Parts?
I think I read that the 7730 comes with these Thermal plates installed on the empty SSD slots. Just wanted to confirm.
I'd rather buy the SSD myself as they are a lot cheaper if you don't order from Dell and wanted to make sure I wasn't going to get a runaround from Dell Parts.
Thanks, I appreciate it.

 

The slot with the 2.5" HDD installed (i.e. next to the battery) will not have the thermal plate; the other two slots will have them.

If you're getting the 2.5" HDD, it mandates that you have the smaller battery, which also locks you out of the Quadro P3200 option. Why not get the 256 GB Class 40 option instead, with the bigger battery? As mentioned earlier, the battery life on these machines isn't great...

 

Thanks for replying. I was under the impression no one saw my reply, heh.

I kid you not. I get equal battery life regardless of whether or not I'm using Optimus or not. This is absolutely lousy.

 

In general I have been using an HDD for storing data and am concerned that lifetime of SSD's isn't as good.
I install the OS and programs, etc. on the SSD. If there are issues then it is easy for me to re-install windows/programs and get up and running fairly quickly (3-5 hrs).
Recovering data is a more time consuming process for me.
Not sure if this whole rationale is sane... but that is what I have been doing so far.
The bigger battery would be nice. But in the past (precision 4600) I reduce screen brightness if I need battery life. I rarely run demanding tasks when I am on battery. Accounts, web browsing, email, etc. For the demanding tasks I plug in. This is more of a work computer. Simulations are the demanding tasks. Trading off battery life for a sense (false maybe) of data integrity lifetime.
Literally no play on this one. So no graphics heavy stuff. Hence I prefer the integrated intel graphics to reduce power demand and heat as well.

 

Any way to manually control the fans on these machines?

 

I reenabled C-states after installing BIOS 1.5.2 and the update to TB18 and had no keyboard or mouse stuttering which are attached to TB18 in the last 2 hours.

Maybe the combination of the two updates fixed that TB18 USB problem.