D430 owners thread

I wanted to start a Dell Latitude D430 owners thread. This is the thread to know more about the D430 or for troubleshooting if you have any questions.

I got my refurbished D430 last week. I love it.

This is what I got:

Item Number Quantity Item Description


1 Latitude D430 Notebook: Intel Core 2 Duo Processor ULV U7600 (1.20GHz, 533Mhz)
1 Certified Refurbished
1 65W Adapter
1 Operating System Label
1 6 Cell Primary Battery
1 Processor Label
1 Notebook Keyboard
1 Intel Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator 950
1 100 GB EIDE Hard Drive 8MM (4200 RPM)
1 Operating System Software CD
1 8X DVD +/- RW w/dbl layer write capability
1 Support Software
1 2 GB DDR2 SDRAM 667MHz (2 DIMMs)
1 No Floppy Drive
1 AOL Software Documentation
1 No Resource CD
1 Dell Wireless 360 Bluetooth Module
1 Power DVD Software CD
1 12.1 inch WXGA Notebook Screen
1 Genuine Windows XP Pro
1 Service Software
1 Shipping Material
1 Base Assembly
1 PowerDVD Software
1 Intel 4965 802.11a/g/n Dual-Band Mini Card

Total : $1079.00

Get 20% off refurbished Latitude D410, D420 and D430 Notebooks with this coupon! - $215.80

1 Latitude D430: 3Yr Ltd Warranty and Mail-In Service

Order Subtotal: $863.20
Shipping and Handling Total: $19.99
Shipping Discount: -$19.99

Tax Total: $60.41
Total Charges: $923.61

 

Did anyone notice the 120 gig HD at 5400 rpm is not an option now for the new D430 order?

Maybe Dell run out of parts? Or it spin too hot?

 

Dell always adjusts their 'options' based on current inventory.

Just out of curiosity, what 'condition' was your D430 and how does it look/function? Are you glad you got it?

 

Sure, I can tell you more.

It smell new. Does that mean its new?

It got a plastic label scratch at the top of the keyboard, right below the screen. It look like I can just peel off the plastic thing.

It got the Centrino label on the palmrest! What does this mean? I check the BIOS and the Control Panel and its a Dual Code 2 at 1200 mhz. Why do I get the Centrino label on it? I can just peel it off.

The screen looks bright. I do see a very very very slight band of whitesh gray at the top of the screen.

Yes, I am happy with it. I could have paid another $400 more for a new one.

You still have your x51v? I sold mine few months ago and got the Sprint Mogul and I love it too. Its the same company that makes the Axim.

 

Intel mobile processor (Pentium M, Core Duo or Core 2 Duo) + Intel chipset + Intel wi-fi card = Centrino (or Centrino Duo). So that's why you got the sticker.

 

Oh, not the normal Duo Core 2 label?

I got the Intel 4965 802.11a/g/n wireless also, so hence the full Centrino label.

 

Yeah, I don't worry about the labels at all.

I've got the x51v still, but if I get a D4?0 I'm selling the Axim.

 

A laptop to replace your PDA?

Dell defination of refurbished, does it mean any hardware that is older more than 6 months old?

So my laptop could be old that someone returned with new keyboards and new outer casing?

How can I find out what my Born On Date is?

 

I also sometimes wonder how Dell come up with those refurbished price.

I been looking at it for many weeks, before and after I bought my refurb.

Right now, the price cost more and has less features than mine. I do not include the discounted coupon price.

 

Quoted from somewhere ...

Centrino, a platform-marketing initiative from Intel, covers a particular combination of CPU, mainboard chipset and wireless network interface in the design of a laptop personal computer. Intel claimed that systems equipped with these technologies should deliver better performance, longer battery life and broad wireless network interoperability. The chips were developed at Intel's Haifa, Israel R&D center and, since their introduction in 2003, over US$5 billion worth have been sold.[citation needed]

To qualify for a Centrino label, laptop vendors must use all three Intel qualified parts, otherwise using only the processor and chipset will carry the Intel Core label instead.

----

Now I know why my D430 has the Centrino label, instead of the Dual Core 2 label.

I almost peel my Centrino label off yesterday. I though Centrino is older.

 

Hi. I received my Latitude D430 3 weeks ago and I can only charge it to 91%. What can I do to get it to charge it to 100%? I have read that you can change the setting at the BIOS, but I don't see that option in my BIOS.



Thanks in advance,

Guillermo

 

That is interesting. Mine charge to 100%.

I have used it a few times and it always say around 2:30 min of run time with backlight one step below brightness.

 

Right now there are 10 refurb with 100 gig HD. I have not seen that many.

Last week I saw a couple of refurb with 120 gig HD.

Never know or how Dell does its inventory.

But I still think I got the best deal with that coupon.

 

Hi,

Could you please tell me how noisy is the fan on your D430's and how frequently does it turn on?

Thanks in advance

 

I dont hear anything much at all.

I dont know if this is a fair test, but usually I am in the server room and there are fans everywhere.

Right now I am at Barnes n Noble and I dont hear anything on the fan.

I dont feel anything warm on the palmrest.

Nice little computer for surfing and chatting. But when you try to use something CPU intensive, like unRAR a file, you will see it get a little slow. I dont know if it is the HD RPM or the CPU.

 

Hi guys,
My D430 is 3 weeks old now, and I am experiencing some trouble with it.
The audio quality out of the headphone jack is not good when the vista master volume is set to low (about 5), it sounds like distorted low-quality mp3 in the old days. But when I set the master voume higher and set the per-application volume low such that the output volume remains the same, the quality is better this time. I wonder if anyone of you have the same issue.
Also, there is no way to make the memory to run as dual channel even I add another 1GB of RAM, right?

 

My D430 audio sounds alright. I know that the sound is not too loud enough. Maybe just use the headphones.

Do you hear any static/scratching noise when you move your volume up and down?

I guess if you are really very annoyed by it, call Dell. Ship it back and let them fix it.

 

hi, i am interested in getting d430 model. may i know with a 6 cells battery with wifi on and normal surfing net and using office applications, how long does it last????

 

Mine only last 2.5 hours with one brightness less than the highest with my
D430 connected thru USB to my phone and tethering with it on a 6 cell.

 

The D430 says it has 4 USB port. In actual fact there is only 3. The other one is just a power to the external CD.

So why does Dell say it has 4 USB port?

 

I'm lost...I thought there is only ONE DIMM slot in a D430? which means if you wanna upgrade to 2 GB, you would have to get one 2 GB module?

 

I read somewhere that all the D430 comes with 1 GB which you cant change. The other 1 slot you can fill.

 

Quoting myself

After I called the technician and replaced the mainboard but with no luck, the sound quality still sucks... Finally I come across this thread: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=132033&highlight=audio
I wonder why there are "enhancements" whereas no box ticked?

 

You notice that the D430 still got spaces around the screen?

I think a 13.3" is possible with this laptop.

 

I got my Mogul to pair with the D430 thru Bluetooth now.

I dont know if flashing to the new ROM on the Mogul did the difference.

I didnt open any port, not even Port 7 for ActiveSync.

After I have sucessful pair it, putting both in discovery mode, I just go to ActiveSync on my Mogul and hit Pair with BT and after that, it work great!

 

Hi,

I've got my D430 from dell outlet Australia (refurbished) and I've been using it for a week now. It's simply shiny.

The specs are :
U7600 1.2 GHz with 1.5 GB of RAM.
60 GB 4200 rpm Hard Drive
Windows XP SP2

The small form factor makes it very enjoyable to work "on the go".

It has also been fast for everything I do: documents, browsing and even some photo editing. The display is sharp and has good colour reproduction for my photography needs (I'm a photo-enthusiast). Also, I can connect it to my home theatre samsung LCD panel, plays movies in FULL-HD 1080 brilliantly Unfortunately audio output is only stereo, but the quality is not a problem once I plug it in into my sound system.

I just have a couple of things that I'm curious about:

- I'm using the pointer stick more then the touchpad when I don't have a mouse with me. I've found that you can actually do a left-mouse-click by tapping the pointer stick. Unfortunately it is not very reliable (sometimes it clicks, sometimes it doesn't). I can't really feel the click when I tap the stick, does anyone know if this pointer stick is touch-sensitive? Can anyone try to check if theirs is working better than mine?

- In another thread I've read that the D430 has a feature called speed-step to automatically control CPU clock speed. How can I tell if this is enabled or disabled on the D430?

- What do you use to keep it clean? Any tips are greatly appreciated

 

I use vacuum cleaner to suck the dust/dirty between the keys.

I use Windex to clean my keyboard and screen. Then clean it again with a wet towel and a dry towel.

How much did you get for your refurb Dell in Aust?

 

I got it for 1350 AUD, the same config as new would cost around 2600 AUD...