Comments on: Dell Latitude E4300: 9 Months Later http://www.digitalrig.com/hardware/dell-latitude-e4300-9-months-later/ Product and services opinions and reviews from the trenches of Silicon Valley. Sun, 01 Jan 2012 19:35:07 -0500 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1 By: Sonia http://www.digitalrig.com/hardware/dell-latitude-e4300-9-months-later/comment-page-1/#comment-151 Sonia Sun, 05 Jun 2011 09:26:09 +0000 http://www.digitalrig.com/?p=124#comment-151 the pointer cruising by itslef ... that too so randomtly makes it difficult to show the problem to someone for fixing. Another most annoying part is the cursor moving suddenly while typing ... i still cannot figure out what triggers it --is very counterproductive when I am typing and realize after a little while that I am tying in the middle of a sentence I had typed earlier --simply because the cursor at one point jumed up. (was happing while I was typing this note too, had to go back and correct) the pointer cruising by itslef … that too so randomtly makes it difficult to show the problem to someone for fixing. Another most annoying part is the cursor moving suddenly while typing … i still cannot figure out what triggers it –is very counterproductive when I am typing and realize after a little while that I am tying in the middle of a sentence I had typed earlier –simply because the cursor at one point jumed up. (was happing while I was typing this note too, had to go back and correct)

]]> By: JL. http://www.digitalrig.com/hardware/dell-latitude-e4300-9-months-later/comment-page-1/#comment-136 JL. Wed, 05 Jan 2011 15:34:04 +0000 http://www.digitalrig.com/?p=124#comment-136 Shortly after my earlier post on the motherboard replacement my hard disk failed while I was travelling in Australia. DELL confirmed the root cause of the failure was due to the motherboard AGAIN!! Had to replace the motherboard and hard disk and it was a big hassle on down time and data lost especially when you are on the road...sigh. Fast forward to yesterday my screen cracked. I was holding the computer with one hand and placed my thumb on the corner of the screen and the screen just gave way right in front of my eyes!! Now, it may sound like a fault of mine but my old hardy DELL D420 has traveled half round the globe with me, work on so many desks in different places/office/cafes/airports and had only a hard disk failure after 2 years with minimal 10 hours of daily usage. The current DELL Latitude is a huge disappointment albeit the warranty covers the replacements and the service repair has always been prompt but the inconvenience caused me lots of lost time, data, and faith in DELL products. A superlative service support will bring you repeat business only if the product meets the user's expectations, performance and reliability. Btw - my OS has is on XP not Win 7 Shortly after my earlier post on the motherboard replacement my hard disk failed while I was travelling in Australia. DELL confirmed the root cause of the failure was due to the motherboard AGAIN!! Had to replace the motherboard and hard disk and it was a big hassle on down time and data lost especially when you are on the road…sigh.

Fast forward to yesterday my screen cracked. I was holding the computer with one hand and placed my thumb on the corner of the screen and the screen just gave way right in front of my eyes!! Now, it may sound like a fault of mine but my old hardy DELL D420 has traveled half round the globe with me, work on so many desks in different places/office/cafes/airports and had only a hard disk failure after 2 years with minimal 10 hours of daily usage.

The current DELL Latitude is a huge disappointment albeit the warranty covers the replacements and the service repair has always been prompt but the inconvenience caused me lots of lost time, data, and faith in DELL products. A superlative service support will bring you repeat business only if the product meets the user's expectations, performance and reliability.

Btw – my OS has is on XP not Win 7

]]> By: Guest http://www.digitalrig.com/hardware/dell-latitude-e4300-9-months-later/comment-page-1/#comment-102 Guest Mon, 09 Aug 2010 10:03:39 +0000 http://www.digitalrig.com/?p=124#comment-102 Wow! It's a Dell issue? I was certain that my locking up issue was related to Win 7 64-bit! It's tremendous to now have a general idea of what's been causing my machine to freeze up this past week. I cut short a family holiday to Japan and came back home to HK yesterday to attend to this computer issue. I'm completely useless without a smoothly working machine and had expected that buying a high-end machine from Dell would spare me hassles. Not! Well the Dell guy came today and replaced the motherboard and it seems to work better for the past 2 hours. It had been crashing every 10 minutes on average. Incidentally, the Win 7 forums had a common theme that Norton conflicts with Win 7 and that Windows Security essential is a better bet. Wow! It's a Dell issue? I was certain that my locking up issue was related to Win 7 64-bit! It's tremendous to now have a general idea of what's been causing my machine to freeze up this past week. I cut short a family holiday to Japan and came back home to HK yesterday to attend to this computer issue. I'm completely useless without a smoothly working machine and had expected that buying a high-end machine from Dell would spare me hassles. Not! Well the Dell guy came today and replaced the motherboard and it seems to work better for the past 2 hours. It had been crashing every 10 minutes on average.
Incidentally, the Win 7 forums had a common theme that Norton conflicts with Win 7 and that Windows Security essential is a better bet.

]]> By: Guest http://www.digitalrig.com/hardware/dell-latitude-e4300-9-months-later/comment-page-1/#comment-101 Guest Thu, 05 Aug 2010 22:04:12 +0000 http://www.digitalrig.com/?p=124#comment-101 About the E4300 is was issued three weeks ago -- it blue screens randomly. Also it hangs when I attempt to power off or restart. I am running Symantec encryption and some other corporate security software packages. I have uptodate drivers. I have the right power supply. Other impressions: The arrow and page up/down keys are in a different position compared to the older Dell I had been working with. I keep hitting page down page up when intending to arrow left or right. Hmph. I'll get used to it. About the E4300 is was issued three weeks ago — it blue screens randomly. Also it hangs when I attempt to power off or restart. I am running Symantec encryption and some other corporate security software packages. I have uptodate drivers. I have the right power supply.
Other impressions:
The arrow and page up/down keys are in a different position compared to the older Dell I had been working with. I keep hitting page down page up when intending to arrow left or right. Hmph. I'll get used to it.

]]> By: Will http://www.digitalrig.com/hardware/dell-latitude-e4300-9-months-later/comment-page-1/#comment-97 Will Sun, 11 Jul 2010 16:40:48 +0000 http://www.digitalrig.com/?p=124#comment-97 same here, i got problem sometimes with the mouse pas buttons, the left click, i have to press 5 or 6 times to work. beside that great laptop same here, i got problem sometimes with the mouse pas buttons, the left click, i have to press 5 or 6 times to work. beside that great laptop

]]> By: Bob MacLeod http://www.digitalrig.com/hardware/dell-latitude-e4300-9-months-later/comment-page-1/#comment-93 Bob MacLeod Mon, 03 May 2010 15:12:40 +0000 http://www.digitalrig.com/?p=124#comment-93 I have had an E4300 for 18 months and am happy with it. I just upgraded to Windows 7 two weeks ago, which has tremendously improved performance. I had some early problems--one being that the SD card reader would not be recognized. The tech on chat (at Dell) said my computer didn't have one. I know this sounds stupid--really stupid--but I had the computer for more than two weeks before I realized it was in the front of the computer. I was looking all over both sides. But once I did find it, I couldn't get it to work, and a lengthy tech call had me walking through a BIOS setup to turn it on. Is this something an average user could do on their own? I think not. I had a motherboard replaced and a new monitor as well. Because my company traffics in Dells, we get next day service on everything. My last two Dells had similar "needs", so I don't consider this any different. It has not failed on my during a trip and I travel frequently. I particularly appreciate the light weight and integrated DVD player. It is these two that put this laptop head and shoulders above my previous laptops. I have had an E4300 for 18 months and am happy with it. I just upgraded to Windows 7 two weeks ago, which has tremendously improved performance. I had some early problems–one being that the SD card reader would not be recognized. The tech on chat (at Dell) said my computer didn't have one. I know this sounds stupid–really stupid–but I had the computer for more than two weeks before I realized it was in the front of the computer. I was looking all over both sides. But once I did find it, I couldn't get it to work, and a lengthy tech call had me walking through a BIOS setup to turn it on. Is this something an average user could do on their own? I think not.

I had a motherboard replaced and a new monitor as well. Because my company traffics in Dells, we get next day service on everything. My last two Dells had similar "needs", so I don't consider this any different. It has not failed on my during a trip and I travel frequently.

I particularly appreciate the light weight and integrated DVD player. It is these two that put this laptop head and shoulders above my previous laptops.

]]> By: allen http://www.digitalrig.com/hardware/dell-latitude-e4300-9-months-later/comment-page-1/#comment-92 allen Fri, 30 Apr 2010 02:17:22 +0000 http://www.digitalrig.com/?p=124#comment-92 guys I feel your pain I have the e5400 & the same lock up & mouse issues- have had nearly everything replaced palmrest/memory/motherboard however problem still persists :( I think some so called engineers/ technicians are slacking in their product testing/design stage..shouldnt these problems occur during rigorous testing before/at prototype stage? Just imagine the amount of money DELL could save by having units that actually work like theyre supposed to...the amount of money wasted on so called DELL tech guys coming out to replace parts..its beyond a joke. guys I feel your pain I have the e5400 & the same lock up & mouse issues- have had nearly everything replaced palmrest/memory/motherboard however problem still persists :( I think some so called engineers/ technicians are slacking in their product testing/design stage..shouldnt these problems occur during rigorous testing before/at prototype stage? Just imagine the amount of money DELL could save by having units that actually work like theyre supposed to…the amount of money wasted on so called DELL tech guys coming out to replace parts..its beyond a joke.

]]> By: JL. http://www.digitalrig.com/hardware/dell-latitude-e4300-9-months-later/comment-page-1/#comment-91 JL. Mon, 05 Apr 2010 05:35:33 +0000 http://www.digitalrig.com/?p=124#comment-91 I got my new E4300 for about a month now. In first two weeks the computer would suddenly wakes up from Hibernation/Sleep mode by itself for no reasons and in less then 3 weeks I had to replace my mother board because the computer fails to power up the next morning. I have tried powering up on the docking station with the original PSU and I tried using the portable original PSU that came with the notebook without any success. Each time I plug in the power cord into the computer the blue light on the power cord would go off. After the motherboard replacement I still experience the same problem of the computer waking up by itself. I got my new E4300 for about a month now. In first two weeks the computer would suddenly wakes up from Hibernation/Sleep mode by itself for no reasons and in less then 3 weeks I had to replace my mother board because the computer fails to power up the next morning. I have tried powering up on the docking station with the original PSU and I tried using the portable original PSU that came with the notebook without any success. Each time I plug in the power cord into the computer the blue light on the power cord would go off.

After the motherboard replacement I still experience the same problem of the computer waking up by itself.

]]> By: guest 4300 user http://www.digitalrig.com/hardware/dell-latitude-e4300-9-months-later/comment-page-1/#comment-89 guest 4300 user Wed, 10 Mar 2010 13:47:48 +0000 http://www.digitalrig.com/?p=124#comment-89 I'm using a 4300 with a docking station, XP Pro, dual display, core 2 duo, 4 GB RAM. I don't have the lockup problems with the touchpad or ambient light sensor or otherwise and have been generally very happy with the machine. I don't like the Dell ControlPoint software for managing wireless connections, but since I frequent the same several places, I've got all the networks stored and it eventually finds one of the "favorites" and gets connected. I appreciate some of the features very much, such as the function key to disable battery charging, to facilitate keeping the battery cool and in a low state of charge to maintain capacity. No hardware problems have manifest and build quality is good. Overall, I'm satisfied. I'm using a 4300 with a docking station, XP Pro, dual display, core 2 duo, 4 GB RAM. I don't have the lockup problems with the touchpad or ambient light sensor or otherwise and have been generally very happy with the machine. I don't like the Dell ControlPoint software for managing wireless connections, but since I frequent the same several places, I've got all the networks stored and it eventually finds one of the "favorites" and gets connected. I appreciate some of the features very much, such as the function key to disable battery charging, to facilitate keeping the battery cool and in a low state of charge to maintain capacity. No hardware problems have manifest and build quality is good. Overall, I'm satisfied.

]]> By: David http://www.digitalrig.com/hardware/dell-latitude-e4300-9-months-later/comment-page-1/#comment-75 David Tue, 26 Jan 2010 11:04:05 +0000 http://www.digitalrig.com/?p=124#comment-75 I have had a fan/cooler replacement after 13 months it was intermittently doing horrible grinding noises (sounded like the bearings were shot). It's the 3rd dell laptop I have, and the one with the most blue screens of death (running XP- Pro), although this happens 'only' a few times a months. Now I have an issue with the trackpad: the cursor moves randomly on the screen, and it messes up everything I type (and no, I am not touching the trackpad), anyone else has this ? I have had a fan/cooler replacement after 13 months it was intermittently doing horrible grinding noises (sounded like the bearings were shot). It's the 3rd dell laptop I have, and the one with the most blue screens of death (running XP- Pro), although this happens 'only' a few times a months. Now I have an issue with the trackpad: the cursor moves randomly on the screen, and it messes up everything I type (and no, I am not touching the trackpad), anyone else has this ?

]]>