124 Comments »

1. Robin Said,

   July 1, 2005 @ 9:13 am

   You must have been bored at work this day!

2. Raybdbomb Said,

   July 1, 2005 @ 9:33 am

   … I’ll pretend I didn’t hear that

3. Ruchi Said,

   July 10, 2005 @ 1:17 pm

   Hi,

   I’m planning to upgrade my 700m to 1GB RAM. Just wanted to know the specification of the RAM you bought from newegg.com

   I think , the original RAM which comes along with the Dell 700m is of Transcend.

   Cheers!!!
   Ruchi

4. Raybdbomb Said,

   July 10, 2005 @ 1:47 pm

   I bought it from newegg, it’s a DDR333 PC2700, Kingston brand.

5. ed94080 Said,

   July 10, 2005 @ 3:01 pm

   Hello,

   I stumbled upon your site while google searching for info on the Dell 700m. I really enjoyed reading your review. Tons of great info and thanks for posting it.

   I just got a Dell 700m last week. The keyboard does take a bit getting used to, overall it feels pretty solid.

   Random question for you:

   With the 700m’s more limited video chipset do you know if it would work the Hauppauge Win TV PVR USB 2 product?

   http://www.hauppauge.com/pages/products/data_pvrusb2.html

   What I would like to do is to connect the 700m to a Dell 2005 FPW LCD monitor and the Hauppage product and be able to work and watch TV on the bigger screen at home but still use the portability of the small 700m on the road.

   Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions you might have…

   Best,
   Ed

6. Raybdbomb Said,

   July 10, 2005 @ 3:58 pm

   While I’ve never used that product, I don’t see why it would have any troubles. I would check out the requirements or contact their technical support if you’re concerned.

   However, one thing you might need to worry about is that this laptop only has one standard vga adapter, as you can somewhat see in this picture. Many LCD’s have the more modern DVI input instead of the standard VGA, so I would find out first if the LCD had a VGA adapter, and if not if it came with a converter.

7. Gdog Said,

   July 12, 2005 @ 11:42 pm

   Did you end up formatting and reinstalling Windows XP? I also ordered a 700m which will arrive next week. I’m curious if you could pass on some info. Great review, and thanks again!

8. Raybdbomb Said,

   July 13, 2005 @ 6:10 am

   Yes, I formatted as soon as I got it. It came with XP Home edition and tons of software that they load on it. I formatted and installed the drivers from dell.com and intel.com.

9. chopstick Said,

   July 14, 2005 @ 5:42 pm

   why did you get a 700m instead of the inspiron 6000? The inspiron 6000 gets better battery life. I dont kno if weight was an issue for you, but i think the inspiron 6000 would have been a better buy. The inspiron 6000 also has an option for dedicated graphics (ati radeon x300. I got mine for $1100 discounted, $1700 before the discount.

10. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 14, 2005 @ 6:17 pm

    The 12″ display of the 700m was the biggest detail that appealed to me. It was more about portability and size than battery life.

11. Venu Said,

    July 14, 2005 @ 7:41 pm

    Great review. Many thanks. I ordered a 700m yesterday… but the price I got seems to be way more than yours… (I wonder why?!).

    Briefly, my specs are: 725, 1.6GHz, 1GigRAM, 80Gig drive, 24x CDRW/DVD-ROM, regular + extra 65WHR battery, 2yr economy support. The price came out to $1352 + taxes ($94). Did I get overcharged?

    Thx!

    - Venu

12. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 14, 2005 @ 9:43 pm

    I’d say yes, but not by too much.

13. chopstick Said,

    July 15, 2005 @ 12:24 pm

    ok well im using the computer for college, and this is my first laptop. Is the weight (7 pounds) gonna slow me down alot?

14. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 15, 2005 @ 12:47 pm

    I doubt it. I had a 12 pound laptop before my current; and I took it everywhere.

15. Mike Said,

    July 16, 2005 @ 10:37 am

    I noticed you said you got three hours of battery with gaming, and that some of your games didn’t work that well. I always get much better performance when I don’t run off the battery. Check your games while you’re plugged in.

16. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 16, 2005 @ 10:52 am

    Correct, all games were tested while the power was connected.

17. mike Said,

    July 17, 2005 @ 7:15 am

    Thanks for the review. Mine’s in the mail. On the first-thing formatting — I’ve never done this on a Dell before, and would like to when my machine comes in. I’m a bit confused by the install of the drivers from the Dell and Intel sites. Are these drivers not on the diagnostic/recovery CDs that I thought come with Dells? Or is it that these discs no longer ship? I, and probably a few other readers, would appreciate any details about this process.

    Thanks for a very useful page!

18. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 17, 2005 @ 9:12 am

    Mine actually came with NO recovery CDs. However, if you reformat to a fresh XP install, it will autodetect your network cards, so you can install the rest of your respective drivers from Dell.com and your graphics chipset driver from intel.com. Let me know if you have any problems and I can help more.

19. xijio Said,

    July 18, 2005 @ 3:01 pm

    Ordered my 700m last weekend. Going to dual boot gentoo / win xp (mostly gentoo). I didn’t spring for the upgraded battery, ram or harddrive because I’ll buy all of those cheaper after-market I’ll let you know how the gentoo install goes though =D

20. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 18, 2005 @ 3:23 pm

    Yea good luck. I don’t think you can get a battery for much cheaper than the initial price with Dell.

21. rlim Said,

    July 18, 2005 @ 5:29 pm

    I heard that the inspiron 6000 had a problem with the amount of bloatware that is installed on the computer. How do i get rid of the excessive bloatware?

22. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 18, 2005 @ 7:04 pm

    The way I got rid of it was by formatting at the get-go.

23. rlim Said,

    July 19, 2005 @ 5:45 pm

    what does that mean formatting on the get go mean? I just got my computer today.

24. rlim Said,

    July 19, 2005 @ 5:45 pm

    what is formatting on the get go

25. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 19, 2005 @ 6:36 pm

    Hehe, I meant that I just formatted right away. And by formatting, I mean just popping in a WinXPpro CD and doing a fresh install.

26. Murali Said,

    July 20, 2005 @ 3:04 pm

    Thanks for the nice review, I am expecting mine anytime now ( 1.8GHZ, 256 RAM, 60 GB, 8 cell battery, dell media remote = $782/- after 750 off and a 25$ coupon.
    I have yet to order the RAM but want to do the XP install ASAP for my programming job. What are the steps I need to folllow after popping in the XP CD. Do I need to download the drivers you mentioned into a CD before that?

27. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 20, 2005 @ 3:23 pm

    You can download the drivers anytime from Dell.com. Just put in the XP CD and install a the new OS as usual; nothing special.

28. revaaron Said,

    July 21, 2005 @ 8:09 am

    I’ve had once since nov.
    awesome deal and it goes everywhere with me in my photobag.
    the case is a little cheap… I wish it was a titanium apple case.
    besides that, it’s awesome.

29. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 21, 2005 @ 9:36 am

    I haven’t had any problems with my case yet, but we’ll see. School starts up for me in about a month, so that’s when it will get the most rough usage :).

30. jc Said,

    July 22, 2005 @ 9:28 pm

    Hi, just ordered a refurb from the Dell outlet. 1.6 w/512M, 60G, DVD +/- burner, $680. Only after I placed the order I found this website, Grrr! http://www.recall700m.com Apparently an issue w/all 700m’s, although I can’t find any info if newer production models still experience this issue. Does your laptop have the mic problem. I’m a little worried, its the first thing I’m going to test as soon as I get mine. If there is a problem, its going back.

31. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 22, 2005 @ 11:34 pm

    Fortunately for me, I doubt I’ll ever use the audio recording.

32. skOObs Said,

    July 23, 2005 @ 12:10 pm

    I received mine last week, I did the format and install of windows xp pro. I went to put in a mouse that I had into the USB port and nothing happened. I haven’t been able to get anything to work with the USB. Since I did the formatting, are there certain drivers I need to download? I don’t see the USB drivers on the Dell website. Any help appreciated, thanks.

33. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 23, 2005 @ 2:54 pm

    If you right click on My Computer -> Manage -> Device Manager, you should be able to update the drivers for your USB.

34. Sumeet Said,

    July 24, 2005 @ 2:40 pm

    Hi,

    Let me thank you for posting such a detailed review and a nice QA section. I’m about to order a 700m and I’ve 2 questions for you:

    1. Does the 8 cell battery make it significantly heavier? Does the battery stick out from the chasis?

    2. By formatting and reinstalling windows you mean buying a fresh Win Xp CD(Not the recovery Disk) and reinstalling it so as to quicken up the PC.

35. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 24, 2005 @ 3:22 pm

    I previously owned my own copy of Windows XP Pro, and I ordered the 700m with XP Home (cheapest available OS). I’m not sure if the recovery CD has all of the useless addon software installed on it already or not.

    The battery does stick out of the chassis, as you can see in this picture:
    http://raydehler.com/photos/v/raystuff/dell-700m/DSCN0904.JPG.html

    The black item on the back is the battery.

36. Garry Said,

    July 24, 2005 @ 3:41 pm

    Do you have the 65W or the 95W adapter and how much does it weigh.

37. Ryan Said,

    July 24, 2005 @ 6:20 pm

    What is this $750 rebate everybody is talking about?

38. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 24, 2005 @ 7:43 pm

    @Garry - I have the 8 cell, 65WHr adapter. I’m not sure how much it weighs.

    @Ryan - I found the deal at http://www.slickdeals.net, but it’s posted all over the internet and deal sites every so often. Best bet is to just check there often.

39. xijio Said,

    July 25, 2005 @ 1:13 am

    Well, I got my 700m and I love it! I installed gentoo and am now reporting back with details (as promised). Check out my wiki page about the 700m, my configuration upgrades and installion of gentoo .

    Hope this information helps everyone

40. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 25, 2005 @ 7:57 am

    Thanks, I will be installing Xorg on my with Gentoo as well, this will no doubt help.

41. xijio Said,

    July 25, 2005 @ 11:10 am

    And if you need any more information or help feel free to contact me via email and/or aim (under the same name I’m posting as). I’m sure I have some other config files people would want Keep an eye on that wiki entryas I’ll continue to update it in the future.

42. xijio Said,

    July 26, 2005 @ 3:35 pm

    I registered http://www.700mUsers.com and have a phpBB forum set up for everyone that has a 700m to post at. Everyone go sign up and start discussing!

    Also, I’ll need a few moderators, if you would like to be a moderator, let me know on that forum.

    -xijio

43. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 26, 2005 @ 3:56 pm

    I’m there

44. Eddie Said,

    July 30, 2005 @ 9:33 am

    Is it okay to mix ram? For example: mixing Dell’s ram with newegg’s kingston ram together? Or better to keep the same brand rams in one machine and not mix them?

45. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 30, 2005 @ 11:39 am

    I doubt you’d have any problems with that…

46. eddie Said,

    July 30, 2005 @ 1:01 pm

    Thanks. Also, I will be having 1gb Kingmax and then the 256 Dell ram totaling 1.256gb. Is it true that it would be faster if both slots are 512mb? or both slots being 256mb. Or both slots being 1gb? Or is that all an urban legend?

47. Eddie Said,

    July 30, 2005 @ 2:19 pm

    Is this machine good with video editing? Has anyone ran Adobe Premiere on it? Or even photoshop CS?

48. Raybdbomb Said,

    July 30, 2005 @ 3:14 pm

    I have photoshop CS on mine, it runs pretty good. I doubt you’d have any problems with that, those program use very limited graphics that the chipset should be able to handle.

49. eddie Said,

    July 30, 2005 @ 7:15 pm

    I hear that you have to put the Larger ram under the keyboard. 1gb under the keyboard, and 256mb under the laptop. is this true? If so, why? Also, will it affect performance if the ram are not in pairs?

50. Eddie Said,

    July 30, 2005 @ 7:18 pm

    Is it true that you need to put the larger ram (1gb) in slot A which is underneath the keyboard, and the smaller ram (256mb) in slot B which is under the laptop?

    Also, does the ram have to be in pairs to be effective? And has more ram lowered your battery life? Thanks

51. Gizmodo Said,

    July 30, 2005 @ 7:19 pm

    Is it true that you need to put the larger ram (1gb) in slot A which is underneath the keyboard, and the smaller ram (256mb) in slot B which is under the laptop?

    Also, does the ram have to be in pairs to be effective? And has more ram lowered your battery life?

52. sid Said,

    August 3, 2005 @ 9:29 am

    hi just wanted to ask, my friend bought an inspiron 700m and was full of no use applications. we had to reformat it and i was wondering how can we facilitate in installing the correct drivers after installing xp? having a hard time setting up his laptop.

53. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 3, 2005 @ 9:35 am

    After installing XP, go to the 700m download page and download/install accordingly.

54. sid Said,

    August 3, 2005 @ 4:09 pm

    so you mean i have to install all those drivers starting from “applications” all the way to “video drivers”?
    by the way, is there any way we can save those drivers to a disk? or maybe just make our own recovery disc so that in the event the system crashes or what, we could just use our self-made recovery disc?

    thanks

55. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 3, 2005 @ 4:19 pm

    You don’t need to install ALL of them, just the ones you need, of course. If you don’t know which you need, then you don’t really need them, do you… =\

56. sid Said,

    August 4, 2005 @ 7:10 am

    mmm…. sorry raybdbomb but i’m kinda new at this. how do i know which i should install? i mean how do i know which of those i need to install coz it’s so many of the drivers i saw in the site.

57. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 4, 2005 @ 7:57 am

    Right click on My Computer, go to Manage. Then go to Device Manager. Any of the “Other Devices” require you to install drivers. If there are none, you don’t need to install any.

58. sid Said,

    August 4, 2005 @ 8:23 am

    oh ok but how do i know which drivers to install for these devices? i cant see the brand or model numbers for these devices? like the “Display Devices” i don’t know which to choose.
    thanks

59. sid Said,

    August 4, 2005 @ 8:24 am

    oh ok, i got that but how will i know which drivers to install for these devices? i mean i cant seem to see the model number or the brand of each device in the “device manager”. for example the “Display Devices” driver has many different models and i don’t know which one is for the inspiron 700m that im working on.
    thanks

60. RaeRae1616 Said,

    August 4, 2005 @ 1:00 pm

    For those of you with USB Problems . . . I also recently got my 700m and reformatted from the Get Go only to find out that the USB worked very inconsistently. At first not even detecting the DVD Drive for me to continue installing . . .

    1. I found that running the “Add New Hardware” wizard in the Control panel served as a temporary fix to redetect the DVD and finish loading other drivers that I downloaded from Dell and burned to CD.

    2. But then the USB was still inconsistent and would only work for my USB mouse when the mouse was plugged in before Booting up. But my USB JumpDrive worked fine no matter what. I found the fix for this was that you HAVE to run Dell’s Windows XP patch: “Dell Notebook System Software” located under System and Configuration Utilities on the Download page (posted above).

    I have yet to try the Audio though… so I’ll be sure to test that stuff out soon. But, it’s good to hear that an Audio PCMCIA card or something may be a good workaround!

    Thanks for all the Posts Everyone!

61. Mike Said,

    August 4, 2005 @ 2:31 pm

    Hello.. im Canadian and would like to know how I can get this laptop for a cheap price like everyone else (around $1000-1200 USD). From the official dell.ca site it will cost me $1800 CDN ($1,482 USD) just for the basics mostly with 1.7ghz.

    can anyone help by recomending me some online or store retailers? Dell.com seems to have all the deals and they dont ship to canada… I have to use dell.ca

62. John Said,

    August 5, 2005 @ 12:41 am

    Hey, I was just wondering if the 8 cell battery is an add-on to the existing 4 cell battery, or it is a standalone battery by it self. To explain my self more clearly, do you just have one battery (the 8 cell) or both the 8 cell and the 4?

    I ordered it almost 2 weeks ago and it has yet to ship.

63. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 5, 2005 @ 7:49 am

    It replaces the 4 cell, there is not room for 2 batteries.

64. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 5, 2005 @ 10:05 am

    @sid: Just try it, if you don’t have that device and you install a wrong driver, it will either not install or install but not harm the system in any way.

65. sid Said,

    August 5, 2005 @ 12:42 pm

    ok. thanks Raybdbomb.
    Got all the drivers already and it runs well. right now im more worried on how to create a recovery disc with the presently fresh system and apps that i installed. any suggestions? im trying to use the norton ghost but there’s an error message that comes out “Unable to find a free MBR slot in the Virtual Partition DLL. This is usually due to there being no free primary partition slots left on the boot disk.”
    Kinda don’t understand what this is. Can anyone please help me with this?

66. timbo Said,

    August 6, 2005 @ 7:25 am

    If you want the XP CD and the drivers CD sent to you use the e-mail support and type the following in:

    —–

    My system did not come with the XP pro OS CD or the Drivers CD or the Applications CD.

    My understanding because I want the security of having these CD’s in case I replace a drive is to contact support within 30 days of purchase and I will be sent free of charge the OS CD as well as the Drivers CD.

    —–

    It worked for me, maybe it can work for you too….

67. John Said,

    August 6, 2005 @ 11:36 pm

    I went to the intel chipset site and notice there is an even newer version of the chipset driver. Can you confirm if this is correct and should be the one used for the 700m: 14.15.0.4363
    link.

68. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 7, 2005 @ 8:26 am

    Yea, drivers come out multiple times per month for a good vendor. It would be silly for me to keep the current one updated on this post, so just check the driver page for updates.

69. apple Said,

    August 8, 2005 @ 10:55 am

    is it possible to change both slots of ram on this laptop? mine is coming with 2 256mb chips but If I can change both of them ill replace them both with 2 1GB chips.

70. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 8, 2005 @ 11:03 am

    Yes, and that’s what I did. If you go to the service manual, it has instructions on changing RAM in both slots.

71. Teh Blarg » Cleveland Trip Said,

    August 8, 2005 @ 12:21 pm

    [...] Going to Cleveland with my Laptop [...]

72. timbo Said,

    August 8, 2005 @ 4:09 pm

    Well, I got another 700M, except this one is a little bit different….every few seconds I hear a “click” from the hard drive….kinda alarming since on my other 700M I never heard anything from the hard drive. What do you gusy think?

73. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 8, 2005 @ 4:13 pm

    I would personally suggest you call Dell support and prepare to get the hard drive replaced (assuming it’s under warranty).

74. timbo Said,

    August 8, 2005 @ 6:12 pm

    Long story short…..

    I purchased a 700M but then decided to go for a better processor to keep it current as long as possible. My first 700M didn’t have any noticeable “clicking” noises coming from the hard drive.

    So I purchased a second 700M and I will be returning the first 700M and the second one has a very distinguishable “clicking noise” while accessing and while idle (eventually it stops if I don’t do anything on the laptop)…in fact, if I click start, all programs, and then hover over a folder I can hear the clicking noise on each and every folder…and if I keep it over the folder it keeps clicking every few seconds, lol.

    I contacted support and they are shipping me a new drive. I love the 700M, its a great portable notebook. To bad the one I’m keeping has a problem, but at least it will be fixed pretty quick!

75. Chrissy Said,

    August 13, 2005 @ 4:58 am

    I just ordered my 700m yesterday. My question is, for those of you with the extended battery, have you found the it is cumbersome the fact that it sticks out, does it make the computer much heavier? What about the way it looks, does it look strange sticking out like that?

    THANK YOU.

76. jc Said,

    August 13, 2005 @ 10:56 am

    The 8 cell extended battery adds about a pound to the laptop which brings its total weight to be around 5lbs. Still light when compared to some other laptops out there. The extended battery fits very well and snug on the back. I highly recommend getting it.

77. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 14, 2005 @ 1:09 pm

    @Chrissy I agree with jc, it looks like it sticks out a little bit farther than the default battery, but it is very much worth it.

78. Timbo Said,

    August 14, 2005 @ 3:20 pm

    Hey Guys,

    I went to the 855GM chipset link to download the latest driver. I could download it fine but when I try to install it says:

    This driver cannot be installed on this computer.
    Please contact the computer manufacturer for further
    information.

    Setup will exit.

    What am I doing wrong? Why won’t it install?

79. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 14, 2005 @ 5:31 pm

    Make sure you have the 855GM, go into your display properties and find the actual model…

80. Timbo Said,

    August 15, 2005 @ 12:46 pm

    I have:

    Intel 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics Controller

    which is what all 700M users should have, no?

81. Timbo Said,

    August 15, 2005 @ 12:59 pm

    Ok, I think thats the issue, the link in the article takes you to the 855GM chipset page…..which isn’t correct. I’m assuming 82852/82855 GM/GME means 852 GM chipset 855 GME chipset……or I have no clue what I’m talking about. You can’t choose your gfx chipset when you configure your 700M so I would be surprized if people have different chipsets…but of course I wouldn’t rule it out!

82. Timbo Said,

    August 15, 2005 @ 1:30 pm

    Well, I’m just unsure now why they won’t install…..Raybdbomb were you able to download the drivers off the 855GM page at intel.com and install them?

83. Mr. Bliss Said,

    August 17, 2005 @ 10:59 am

    I am really interested in the 700m, but before i buy i have several questions that i need to answer. Any help would be greatly appreciated considering I’m not much of a computer buff.

    First, will the fact that there is not graphics card effect watching DVD’s at all? Second, is there any differences (in terms of performance) between the 2 1Gb chips that you ordered aftermarket and teh 2 1 Gb chips that i could get form dell? Third, why did you format your 700m after you received it? Is that something that is necessary after you upgraded your RAM. Fourth, how well will a 700m that has the 2 Ghz processor and the 2 Gb of RAM run Adobe Photoshop 7.0 and other comparable applications? Fifth, so far i am planning on buying the aftermarket RAM, but could i really save much money if i also bought an aftermarket hard drive and battery? Sixth, is the larger battery that much of a hastle? Would i be better of to get the 4 cell battery and buy an 8 cell to use as a backup?

    I apologize for my ignorance on the subject. I just don’t get new computers too often and i want to make a wise choice. i thank everyone that can help me out.

84. Mr. Bliss Said,

    August 17, 2005 @ 11:12 am

    Sorry, one more. I currently have a Dell Inspiron 5150. I’m not sure how much it weighs exactly, but when i’m carrying it around campus all day it feels like it weighs a ton. Will i notice much of a difference with the 700m in terms of weight?

85. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 17, 2005 @ 3:59 pm

    @Timbo, I was, I’ll try it again with the updated drivers tomorrow and let you know how it goes.

86. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 17, 2005 @ 4:08 pm

    @Mr. Bliss:

    Graphics chipset will not affect watching DVDs.

    I’m not sure of the quality of RAM that Dell sells, but I would presume it’s comparable if not exactly the same.

    I formatted the Dell for two reasons; first I don’t like the software they bloat it up with (McAfee comes to mind), second I ordered it with XP Home (cheapest available) because I already own an unused copy of XP Pro. It was not required after the RAM upgrade.

    I’m not sure how to answer your 4th question… “Good”?

    I think it would save money by buying an aftermarket hard drive, yes. However, I haven’t heard of any significantly cheaper aftermarket batteries, the ones they sell on eBay aren’t much cheaper than getting it from Dell; and they should be the same exact thing (whereas the RAM or HDD might be different).

    I don’t find the larger battery as a problem. If I know I’m going to have the unit plugged in while used, I will even remove the battery to save on heat. However, I’ve never used the 4 cell.

    Weigh your 5150; the 700m weighs around ~5lb with the 8 cell battery and ~4lb with the 4 cell. Compare accordingly.

87. Mr. Bliss Said,

    August 17, 2005 @ 4:24 pm

    Thanks a lot Raybdbomb. Your information is quite helpful. I do have another question, what do you think in terms of buying an audio card with the system. Did you get one?

88. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 17, 2005 @ 4:39 pm

    I didn’t get one, but I don’t do a lot with audio besides listening to it for DVDs and music. You can always buy it later…

89. Mr. Bliss Said,

    August 17, 2005 @ 9:07 pm

    Does the 700m run very hot? I know my 5150 will get pretty warm sometimes.

90. Giz Said,

    August 21, 2005 @ 12:14 am

    WHen the machine sits for a while (30 minutes or more) still plugged into the AC adapter…the screen will go blank and there will just be a few lines illuminted in blue at the top of the LCD.

    The screen and keyboard are completely unresponsive and i have to hard power down the system to get it to reboot.

    I have reformatted and installed XP Pro. I have installed all the drivers and the intel chipset driver from the intel site.

    Any else have this problem? Thanks.

91. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 22, 2005 @ 11:46 am

    @Timbo, I just downloaded and installed 6.14.10.4363 from this page labelled as “Graphics Driver [WIN2K_XP1415.EXE] (5007KB)
    14.15 7/26/2005″. If you are unable to install that file on your 700m I don’t know what the cause of your problem is.

    Here is the complete diagnostic information from the Information option in the graphics control panel.

    INTEL(R) EXTREME GRAPHICS 2 FOR MOBILE REPORT

    Report Date: 08/22/2005
    Report Time[hr:mm:ss]: 11:46:17
    Driver Version: 6.14.10.4363
    Operating System: Windows XP* Professional, Service Pack 2 (5.1.2600)
    Default Language: English
    DirectX* Version: 9.0
    Physical Memory: 2030 MB
    Minimum Graphics Memory: 16 MB
    Maximum Graphics Memory: 64 MB
    Graphics Memory in Use: 8 MB
    Processor: x86 family 6 Model 13 Stepping 6
    Processor Speed: 1993 MHZ
    Vendor ID: 8086
    Device ID: 3582
    Device Revision: 02

    * Accelerator Information *

    Accelerator in Use: Intel(R) 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics Controller
    Video BIOS: 3104
    Current Graphics Mode: 1280 by 800 True Color (60 Hz)

    * Devices Connected to the Graphics Accelerator *

    Active Notebook Displays: 1

    * Notebook *

    Monitor Name: Plug and Play Monitor
    Display Type: Digital
    Gamma Value: 3.54
    DDC2 Protocol: Supported
    Maximum Image Size: Horizontal: Not Available
    Vertical: Not Available
    Monitor Supported Modes:
    640 by 480 (60 Hz)
    800 by 600 (60 Hz)
    1024 by 768 (60 Hz)
    1280 by 800 (65 Hz)
    Display Power Management Support:
    Standby Mode: Supported
    Suspend Mode: Supported
    Active Off Mode: Supported

    * Other names and brands are the property of their respective owners.

92. Timbo Said,

    August 23, 2005 @ 11:53 am

    Did you format your 700M and then install the gfx driver? I’m thinking that dell has dome something to prevent installing that driver since it isn’t offered by dell yet….

93. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 23, 2005 @ 12:16 pm

    I did, but I don’t see why they would have something like that…

94. chris Said,

    August 25, 2005 @ 10:02 am

    hi, I recently got a 700m and I just noticed that I get this grey-ish bar on the monitor thats especially noticiable when its displaying black or really dark colours (ie, the default windows loading screen)

    i was wondering if anyone had the same problem and is there a way to fix it??

    thanks alot…

95. Craig Said,

    August 29, 2005 @ 2:02 pm

    Giz, did you ever figure out what was going on? I had this problem a couple times over this past weekend with my 4-5 week old 700m… Light blue screen with a few lines of garble at the top… Not cool.

96. Raybdbomb Said,

    August 29, 2005 @ 4:53 pm

    You might ask on http://700musers.com/ they have a wider readerbase.

97. Giz Said,

    August 31, 2005 @ 4:48 am

    Check here, there has been a discussion about this problem here at dell forums: http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_video&message.id=139038

98. Teh Blarg » Shinza ZeroShock Notebook Sleeve Said,

    September 27, 2005 @ 5:20 pm

    [...] Thanks to a tip, I purchased a Shinza ZeroShock 12-Inch Notebook Sleeve for my Dell Inspiron 700m. [...]

99. aman Said,

    September 30, 2005 @ 6:11 pm

    Hi
    First of all, You are doing a great job in helping people with their queries. Keep up the good work.
    I went through numerous forums and sites about 700m. I am plannig to buy my first laptop but i am confused between 700m and HP nc6220. Dell definately is cheaper but i am concerned about issues with dell like screen flickering, mic having noise, dell Customer Service, etc. Also there is difference in chipset, Video card,RAM (DDRII in HP),Battery Life. Now I am not sure should i go for cheaper one or go for brand name and trsuted quality? Please help me make a dicision. Thanks a lot
    Aman

100. Teh Blarg » Antec Notebook Cooler Review Said,

     October 24, 2005 @ 12:42 pm

     [...] Introduction: I recently received the Antec Notebook Cooler from CompUSA for $10 after rebate. It was tested with my Dell Inspiron 700m 12″ Laptop. [...]

101. Teh Blarg » How To Setup an Ad-Hoc Network Said,

     November 2, 2005 @ 9:22 pm

     [...] I was interested in setting up an Ad-Hoc network on Windows XP for multiple wireless nodes, one of which is my Dell Inspiron 700m. After searching for a bit, I was led to a guide on Gateway’s Support page: Q: How do I create a peer-to-peer (ad hoc) network on a portable computer in Windows XP? [...]

102. sarah Said,

     January 5, 2006 @ 8:14 pm

     On this whole issue of USBs not working after you install XP pro - I had the same issue. I’ve installed Dell’s “Dell Notebook System Software” patch, but the problem persists. Any advice?

103. Raybdbomb Said,

     January 5, 2006 @ 8:37 pm

     You can get support for this on either 700musers.com or Dell’s forums.

104. Teh Blarg » Watercooled 700m Said,

     January 25, 2006 @ 4:39 pm

     [...] . At this point, I was thoroughly screwed. I decided to do all of my homework, projects and notes on my laptop this semester, so the homework due today that I had spent 2 hours on, and the project due this weekend that I had spent ~35 hours on were both inaccessible. Since I have a “3 year economy warranty“, good until 05/27/2008, I decided to call support to see if something could be done or replaced. [...]

105. Icester Said,

     February 28, 2006 @ 8:16 pm

     Anybody know of a fix/driver for the SD card reader? It will NOT read SD cards over 512MB! My 2GB card is completely inaccessible. Dell has not updated the driver since 2004.

     Any help would be much appreciated!

     Thanks

106. Raybdbomb Said,

     March 1, 2006 @ 7:46 am

     I’d suggest asking on here. There’s already a thread about it.

107. Andrew Said,

     March 8, 2006 @ 1:07 pm

     Hi, great site. Here’s are a few quick questions. I’m planning to buy a “new” , “in sealed box” 700m on Ebay, since they are no longer available from Dell.
     1. What do you think of buying this way? are the warranties listed still the same?Is it possible that “new”, isn’t really new?
     2. Will a 2.1 processor with about 1 gb ram drain the battery faster than the 1.7 or 2.0.
     3. If it lists “ultra ATA hard drive”, is that the faster drive?

108. Raybdbomb Said,

     March 8, 2006 @ 3:46 pm

     I really don’t know any of those, feel free to ask on http://www.700musers.com/

109. Teh Blarg » Viewsonic VA902b 19inch LCD Review Said,

     April 5, 2006 @ 2:31 pm

     [...] My Personal Thoughts and Opinions Even though I’ve never owned an LCD, or even a CRT over 17″, I’ve used many. At my work I have a 4×19″ LCD system setup, Kessa uses a 19″ CRT, and Robin uses a 15″ LCD… and of course my 12″ laptop LCD. [...]

110. Teh Blarg » Dell XPS M1210 Said,

     May 8, 2006 @ 2:57 pm

     [...] Dell XPS M1210 looks to be the perfect combo of portable and powerful. I currently have the Dell Inspiron 700m, and my major beef is that the graphics power is severely lacking. [...]

111. Robbie D1 Said,

     June 5, 2006 @ 7:41 pm

     I’ve had my 700m for about 2 years and 6 months ago the USB ports stopped working so I had to buy a PCMCIA card with 2 USB ports, is this a typical issue, anyone head of a fix ? I just get a measge saying the the USB device is not recognized even once Ive tried it with 10 different usb devices and installed all drivers etc, even a re-format and install didnt change it, so I’m pretty sure its dead.

112. Raybdbomb Said,

     June 6, 2006 @ 12:01 pm

     Sounds like a hardware issue. I don’t suppose it’s still under warranty?

113. Caoimhin Said,

     September 1, 2006 @ 10:41 am

     I have the exact same graphics drivers problem with dell latitude D505, I can’t upgrade to the official intel 82852/82855 drivers (2/8/2006), i’ll check the dell site for a solution. The reason for my driver upgrade is this problem: link

114. Raybdbomb Said,

     September 1, 2006 @ 11:45 am

     Are you currently using the latest Dell driver for your graphics chipset?

115. Teh Blarg » Antec Notebook Cooler revisited Said,

     April 13, 2007 @ 7:02 pm

     [...] Board 2.0 Final (8656)Mysql install on FreeBSD (5880)IPB ‘X Latest Posts’ (5753)No More IPB (4930)Dell Inspiron 700m review (4660)Invision Power Board 2.0 PF3 (4624)Vacuum (3665)Viewsonic V37 (3137)Searched (3017)AIM [...]

116. Teh Blarg » Dell Vostro 1500 laptop purchased Said,

     August 18, 2007 @ 12:21 pm

     [...] on FreeBSD (8442)No More IPB (8191)IPB ‘X Latest Posts’ (7281)Invision Power Board 2.0 PF3 (7085)Dell Inspiron 700m review (6817)Viewsonic V37 (4479)Vacuum (4088)Searched (4027)Artificial Intelligence game (3624)AIM [...]

117. Teh Blarg » Dell Vostro 1500 Review Said,

     October 10, 2007 @ 4:44 pm

     [...] I sold my previous laptop, a Dell Inspiron 700m 12″ notebook, and shortly after I purchased a Dell Vostro 1500 15″ notebook. I’ve [...]

118. Bcry Said,

     January 31, 2008 @ 2:34 pm

     Raybdbomb you are really D bomb!!, you patience ,expertise shine through very clearly. I learnt a LOT from just scrolling this page.

     A quick question have 700m extended battery XP home, plan to install XP pro OEM fresh install “on the get go” hehe mebe partition with linux

     I was wondering, if i have issues with drivers like some others have, it should be resolved with the Drivers CD i had shipped with system or via driver websites? yes or no ?

     Any suggestions/ recommendations
     Thanks.

119. Raybdbomb Said,

     January 31, 2008 @ 3:36 pm

     Hi Bcry-

     Typically when I install fresh, Windows can’t find the ethernet driver.
     Options:
     *) Burn this file to a cd, downloaded from Dell’s website.
     *) Use the Dell Driver CD that came with it.
     *) Put it on a pen drive.

     Once you have the ethernet driver, you can get the rest from the website. The website is better than the driver CD, because they’re more updated.

120. nfs2192 Said,

     July 5, 2008 @ 9:54 am

     i have the dell inspiron 700m and i wanted to know if there are two memory slots be cause i only thought there was 1, and im also having the graphics problem is it because im using winxp home edition?

121. Raybdbomb Said,

     July 5, 2008 @ 10:51 am

     I dunno what graphics problem you’re talking about.

     Yes there are two memory slots.

122. nfs2192 Said,

     July 10, 2008 @ 7:31 am

     where is the secound memory slot?
     and the graphics problem is when i try to upgrade it says:
     This driver cannot be installed on this computer.
     Please contact the computer manufacturer for further
     information.

123. Raybdbomb Said,

     July 10, 2008 @ 8:37 am

     Did you read the manual? Go to Dell and search for the manual to find it.

     The graphics driver needs to be downloaded from Dell as well.

124. Teh Blarg » Choosing an Ultra Portable Notebook part 1 Said,

     July 31, 2008 @ 1:54 pm

     [...] in the day, I had a Dell Inspiron 700m 12″ portable notebook. I really liked that notebook. It was eventually sold it because I [...]

RSS feed for comments on this post · TrackBack URI

Leave a Comment

Name (required)

E-mail (required, never displayed)

URI