Questions about E6400

Hi all, I have been the owner of an E6400 for about ten days now and so far it seems to be running alright but I have a few questions.

1) I purchased a 2GB stick of RAM to upgrade to 4GB. To get access to the RAM all I have to do is unscrew the screw in the middle and remove the panel right?

2) I have heard that E series speakers have a habit of giving out a crackling noise. Could someone describe this noise to me? I hear something that sounds out of ordinary but I'm not sure if its the speakers or the hard drive.

3) How much omproved performance does clean installing the OS do? And where would I find a guide for doing this?

 

1. Yes. Remember to disconnect the mains and remove the battery. The bottom cover slides forwards once you have removed the screw.

2. See this thread about the audio problem.

3. Not a lot, I suspect. Most of the Dell software is there for a purpose. There's not as much bloatware as with some brands.

John

 

i recommend two pieces of software:

Auslogics Disk Defrag
CCleaner

 

You're right on the memory. I was nervous to do it to mine (showed up Tuesday), but it was a piece of cake.

My speakers are fine and my laptop shipped with Vista business.

I didn't notice any real "bloatware" on my system. I think it's more the home oriented models that suffer from this. You could always just uninstall the stuff you don't use.

 

The bloatware on my machine was minimal. Basically just Google Toolbar and Google Desktop. Aside from that, I reformatted mainly to go from Vista Basic to Vista Home Premium. Almost everything from the factory install was re-installed.

Upgrading the memory was a piece of cake. I love it when they keep both modules on the bottom of the machine. Just make sure you remove the AC power, the battery, and hold down the power button for a few seconds to discharge any power left in the machine. Then touch something metal (I use the frame for my patio doors) to remove any static electricity from yourself and open the bottom of the laptop up. You might want to place a cloth on the surface you are working on so that you don't scratch the lid.

I haven't experienced any audio problems whatsoever. I didn't install the IDT audio driver, I'm using the Vista one, and once I installed the Intel Storage Matrix Driver everything was flawless.

Greg