Dell Vostro 1500

I need a little help and advice with my vostro.

I have reinstalled vista and im still having a few problems... When i boot up it runs fine, but about 20 seconds after i log in the screen flashes black and the number of processes goes up from ~38 to 55+, i have no idea why this is happening. Also, i find that my hard disk is almost constanly accessing. Any ideas?
 
hungryhungry123 said:
Is this "CPU whine" the same as the headphone noise people have mentioned or is it a different issue? If there is indeed a fix for the headphone noise I'd be tempted to make a purchase
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I don't whether this applies to anyone else, but for me the hum in the headphones is caused by a badly earthed 4-way or something similar. I only get the hum when the laptop is plugged in and when is plugged via an extension of some sort - if i plug the laptop directly into the wall there is no hum.

Thiras said:
Can someone post a link to the 8600m gt drivers page? I can't find them on the nvidia website.
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Errr... scroll up this page, about the 7th post from the top - laptopvideo2go innit!
 
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Thiras said:
I have reinstalled vista and im still having a few problems... When i boot up it runs fine, but about 20 seconds after i log in the screen flashes black and the number of processes goes up from ~38 to 55+, i have no idea why this is happening. Also, i find that my hard disk is almost constanly accessing. Any ideas?
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Don't worry about the services too much. Mine has about 50 running and its fast and responsive.

You could find one of the many service tweak guides, disable a load, reduce the running processes to 40 but then later on down the line actually require them. Only, its been ages since you disabled them and you can't actually remember which ones they are!

The windows services uses fractions of CPU time and very little memory. Leave them alone. Its the services that are started with programs you install that you've got to worry about.

The HD accessing all the time is the Indexing Service.

The first day running Vista, it will need to create the initial index. It will be crunching away at it for a while, and this might give you the impression that it’s a resource hog. But once the initial run is completely, you will barely ever notice it again, so give it the benefit of the doubt for a day or two.

Files are actively indexed generally only while you are idle, at a low priority I/O thread.

Mine used to thrash a way for the first day or 2, but once all of your applications are installed, you'll hardly notice it again.
 
hungryhungry123 said:
Is this "CPU whine" the same as the headphone noise people have mentioned or is it a different issue? If there is indeed a fix for the headphone noise I'd be tempted to make a purchase
Click to expand...

The headphone noise is only present when theres no audio being played. When you play an MP3 for example, it goes away. Mines connected to an external amp and can't even hear it when theres no audio. I have to turn the amp up to max to hear anything.

The CPU whine is when the Core 2 Duo CPU goes into a low power state. If I'm reading a website, I can hear it whining away. Go to load another, it disappears. Read the page, it returns. My room is very quiet in the evening so this whine really grates after a while.

This issue isn't only limited to Dell though. Other laptop manufacturers are having the same problem. Its either a dodgy batch of motherboards or CPU's.

I've got so fed up with mine that I called Dell earlier this afternoon.

Explained the problem and they agreed to ship me out a replacement straight away. Seems like the obviously know about the issue. I'll have to wait 2 weeks though but a least I know it'll be sorted. In the meantime, I'll be able to live with the whine for a little bit longer.
 
Bald Eagle, had BF2 on mine since i got it with vista i couldn't get it work, the patch just wouldn't install but since putting XP on it runs perfectly at full settings, a few times after about an hour of playing it has quit to desktop but i think that is heat.
 
GuruJockStrap said:
Right, just seen STALKER for a tenner.

Is the game any good? More importantly, how would the Vostro handle it you reckon?
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Great game, I got to the end then realised I'd missed out most of the game ..... well my main mission :p I could tell you how it runs when i get home if you like.


I've just heard the cpu whine again so ran RMClock, disabled C4 and the whine instantly disappeared :D
 
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sWiZzLe said:
Great game, I got to the end then realised I'd missed out most of the game ..... well my main mission :p I could tell you how it runs when i get home if you like.


I've just heard the cpu whine again so ran RMClock, disabled C4 and the whine instantly disappeared :D
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If you could that would be great. Looking to play at 1280x800 and just wondering what kind of graphical detail the 8600MGT will handle.

Keep an eye on that RMClock tweak. It will reduce battery life and some people have reported their laptops being unstable.

I got fed up with mine and contacted Dell. They'll be shipping a replacement out to me in approx 2 weeks time.
 
Shep_Cobain said:
So is it or not. The Thread is very long!!! :D
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I guess that all depends on the game :rolleyes:
Like, it can run Bioshock (but no sound after the intro - a bug with onboard soundcards). It runs Dirt nicely, but i cannot find a psx-usb hid driver for vista :( Warhammer 40k runs superbly, as does the Battle for Middle-earth II.
Im sure it will run most games, but if you want to play games, personally i would by a desktop so you can upgrade the fx card. Thinking about it, this laptop cost a hell of a lot more than my shuttle :eek:

I mainly use it for work and the odd film/game - ive never really got the hang of using the WASD keys for first person games, i always end up pressing the wrong one, I need the arrow keys :)

Yes this thread is painfully long, trying to find certain bits of info is a nightmare!
 
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