Dell Latitude E4200 Info

[litkaj]

One curious thing I found is that after a fresh Win7 install and deleting all previous OS files, I have used slightly over 24GB of HD space. This is with no programs installed by me yet. However, when I added up the individual folders' sizes, the sum is a lot less, maybe about half of the 24GB only. Checked Recycle Bin, and there's nothing there. The only thing I can think of is hibernation files, but that seems kind of big. Do you see the same thing?

Yeah, it's a bummer that the LCD brightness cannot be controlled when ALS is turned off. Otherwise it's a really nice OS.

Hibernation (equal to RAM) + page file (equal to 1-1.5x RAM by default) + files your user account doesn't have access to.

EDIT: I've not used Windows 7 yet, but it might also subtract the system restore and recycle bin space.

[monakh]

24GB is way too big. I tested Win7 last month and my fresh install was at least half of that. This was the first public beta though so it was a different build.

[lixuelai]

I don't think so, the only way you can bring the fan noise down is through a forced temperature drop. The fan drops to 5200 RPM or so at around 41 degrees and to ZERO RPM at around 37 degrees. There is no way you can reach that level with normal ambient temperature at home. The only way I did it was take my E4200 out in a really cold room and stick it on top of my Zalman cooler. I monitored the temps via Everest and I was able to determine the three-step fan state. The findings are earlier in the thread from about early March.

Yeah I noticed yesterday in a well ACed room. The fan spins up at around 40c. I am thinking of disassembling the notebook and apply better thermal paste to see if it helps. Cant get much worse than it is now.

[chunglau]

Hibernation (equal to RAM) + page file (equal to 1-1.5x RAM by default) + files your user account doesn't have access to.

EDIT: I've not used Windows 7 yet, but it might also subtract the system restore and recycle bin space.

Windows sets the page file to be 3GB, same as my RAM size, and that's part of the 24GB that is used on the hard disk. I have not figured out how to turn off hibernation yet (I know it can be done with earlier builds), but that should save another 3 GB. But the numbers still seem large, and don't add up. I do not have anything in the Recycle bin, and at most one restore point. The Windows directory takes up 10.5 GB, and that seems too big.

I had a Dell mini-9 briefly, and out of the 16GB SSD, I only used 11 GB on a Windows 7 x86 installation. That was with hibernation and restore enabled. On the other hand, I just checked my E6400 that has Build 7048x48, and the hard disk usage is similar to what I have here on the E4200.

[chunglau]

This is an interesting article on disk usage. The actual windows installation is smaller than what is computed by explorer:

http://blogs.msdn.com/e7/archive/200...isk-space.aspx

[esskay]

When you have the E4200 docked, how exactly are you supposed to detect HD activity? The LED is not visible with the lid closed and the SSD doesn't make noise...

[balto]

Windows 7 Build 7100x64 LCD backlight problem

I installed Windows 7 Build 7100x64, and now I cannot control the LCD brightness at all. Tried installing and uninstalling DCP and the Ambient Light Sensor software, but no luck. The backlight control works perfectly in Vista 64. Does anyone have a solution? Thanks.

The only way it will work is if you turn off areo and use something like the windows 7 basic theme

[Gofishus]

I think the SSD silence in this laptop is nullified by the constant fan noise. So in terms of noise, it doesnt really matter. Why does the fan have to run ALL the time? the only thing I'm running is Firefox./

[chunglau]

The only way it will work is if you turn off areo and use something like the windows 7 basic theme

Tried that. It still does not work. Do you have Win7 and can you control LCD brightness with and without ALS enabled?

[monakh]

I think the SSD silence in this laptop is nullified by the constant fan noise. So in terms of noise, it doesnt really matter. Why does the fan have to run ALL the time? the only thing I'm running is Firefox./

While I am no engineer, it seems like the inherent design of the E4200 is flawed to begin with. The ventilation and cooling appear to be the Achille's heel. It's also possible that thermal paste usage has not been appropriate on the CPU though I doubt it. It's a very small chassis that carries a hot CPU, it's tough to dissipate the heat. The irony is that Sony and LG have been doing this effectively for years. An excellent case in point is the new TT. It's a smaller chassis with the same CPU sometimes packing TWO RAIDed SSDs, yet you barely hear the fan.

Then again, an average TT is twice as expensive as an E4200 when it is fully loaded--Outlet prices be damned! So we shouldn't complain. I would be screaming though had I paid 3 grand for my E4200!