Dell 1537 and 1737 problems

jaffacaique · 20 Jun 2009 at 10:34

I bought a Dell Studio 1537 recently based on its fantastic review in What Laptop Magazine. After just 15 days the audio volume symbol would appear on the screen, the only way I could get rid of it was to log off and back on again. Also whenever I cold booted it the 1st time on a day it would begin to boot then the screen would remain blank, I tried switching off and on several times but each time the screen would remain blank at the same point. I only managed to get round the problem by entering into the bootmenu then exiting it, after this it booted into windows fine. I also noticed that the touch panel lights seemed to behave odd at times, when I booted the laptop the eject light would remain lit and at other times one of the other media lights would remain lit. I didn't consider this to be acceptable so returned it for a refund.

A friend of mine also had the same boot problem on a 1737 which was bought from a different retailer, and also the wireless kept cutting off, he recieved a replacement which seems to now work fine.

I've since checked on internet and discovered many others experiencing similar problems and they seem to point towards the hinge lid being at fault

julianhj · 21 Jun 2009 at 15:58

I'm on my third hinge cover in as many months, and about to complain again as it's still not right - ejecting repeatedly is the main fault, though with cover #2 I had a random increase in volume for minutes at a time.

Truly *****d off with Dell and their pathetic customer services. Wish I'd bought a Macbook Pro instead of a 1537... :mad:

jaffacaique · 22 Jun 2009 at 20:22

I looked on Dells 'US' site yesterday and noticed that they have released a new laptop the Dell 14z. I have looked at the pictures on the site it appears that they have decided not to include the media panel this time, hopefully they learnt by their mistake.

Monkeynut · 22 Jun 2009 at 21:10

Yep same problem here. On my second. Not fixed, still.

georges · 27 Jun 2009 at 12:59

My 1535 does the occasional touch button eject sticking when you boot up now and then. Quite annoying but I can live with it. Might send off before the waranty is up to get them to fix it though, can you keep the hard drive when you send off? I need the data on it.

georges · 27 Jun 2009 at 13:20

Check this out!
Krypebud's post:

http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19125998/19496461.aspx?PageIndex=10

"Everyone,

So far this is working for me and appears to be a legitimate fix- I want to see if it helps/works for anyone else:

Click or copy/paste this to download the new dell firmware for the "control panel thingy": http://csmicfool.com/files/FW7_X0D.ISO

Instructions (provided by dell support and tested):

Problem:

Media Control Buttons Disfunction on Dell Studio 1535/1536/1537

Description:

Media control buttons on Dell Studio 1535/1536/1537 systems may report intermittent disfunction issues.

The typical failures may include:
1. Media control buttons automatically light on.
2. Optical disk automatically ejected.
3. Some media control buttons have no response.

Solution:

Update firmware for system hinge cover.

Create a bootable CD:

NOTE: Please make sure you have CD imaging software installed in your system, which can create a bootable CD based on ISO image format.

1. Download the firmware installation file FM7_X0D.ISO, and save it in your system.
2. Run the CD imaging software to create a bootable CD based on this FM7_X0D.ISO file.

Take Roxio Creator as an example for the procedure.

1. Insert a blank writable CD in your system.
2. Open Roxio Creator.
3. Click File menu.
4. Go to New Project / Copy / Burn Disc Image to Disc.
5. Click Browse.
6. Add this FM7_X0D.ISO file from the location you saved.
7. Click button to continue, till complete the CD creation.

Flash firmware:

NOTE: Please make sure A/C power is being used while updating the firmware.

1. Insert this CD in your system.
2. Reboot the system, and enter one-time boot menu by pressing F12.
3. Boot from the CD drive.
4. The CD will autorun and update the firmware.
5. Once completed, screen will show pass and Flash Successful.
6. Shut down the system.
7. Remove A/C power cable and battery.
8. Replug in A/C power cable and battery to continue normal operation.

NOTE: Please make sure to remove A/C power and battery once firmware update completed."

Gonna go try it, they all say it works though!