Update: After over 4 hours on the phone to Dell Support, being passed between 'Hardware' and 'Software' support, starting from scratch with Windows 7 64-bit on their advice and two days lost, the situation is still unresolved.
Best of all, entering the support [sic] system again, I am informed that the standard diagnostic system can offer no further assistance and that I need to start paying £59 for further support.
The cheapest solution seems to be to throw the machine away and replace it with one that works. Buying a Dell Studio 1737 was a very bad idea !!
I tried this with no effect. On the instruction of Dell Support, I reluctantly updated Windows 7 32-bit to 64-bit and downloaded Dell driver (32-bit Windows 7 does not appear in the dropdown of supported Operating Systems). This had no effect either - but has left me with 64-bit which I didn't want (especially since virtualisation is not supported by the 1737 hardware). At this point, Dell told me that they had exhausted their level of support so I would now be asked to pay £59 for further support.
The problem has now been solved by following advice readily available from (non-Dell) forums but at a cost... the problem is mismatched memory from different manufacturers with different characteristics.
If I leave the 2Gb in place and remove the 1Gb, everything works perfectly, if I reintroduce the 1Gb, the screen corrupts again. Forums report that the problem is completely solved by fitting matched 2Gb memory stick. Dell however, flatly refuse to supply replacement until I have tried different tests, swapping memory around to prove that it is not a faulty slot / motherboard. The problem of course, is that the corruption can take many minutes before it first appears so that is a couple of hours phone call (including the usual 30 minute wait).
The simplest solution seems to be to purchase a new 2Gb memory stick outside of Dell (and to think very carefully about using them in the future).
I actually had 2GB RAM in my Studio 1737 when I bought it but wanted to upgrade to 4GB. So I bought 2x 2GB Kingston ram designed especially for Dell laptops just to find out that Vista 32bit won't recognize full 4GB and - what more - computer heats like hell and so the fan is running almost all the time. So I am using 2GB Kingston stick and 1GB original stick now...
Honestly, I think that was really bad decision to buy Dell Studio 1737. I don't recommend to do so to anybody. It is my first Dell computer and I think the last one also. It looks beautifully but I have just problems with it from the beginning (first broken fan, LCD frame not sealed properly,...). Another thing is why they call it "Studio" when it is one of the worst machines to record music due to DPC latency! Just one good thing about it: you can use 2 harddrives.
Alright, I will try the suggested solution and hopefully it will work.
Same problem here. Also tried updating the driver to no avail.
Pulled the 1GB stick as suggested and problem seems to be fixed.
Before going ahead and spending $50 on a 2GB stick, how matched does the memory need to be?
Just the same size (and type, obviously)? Or does it somehow need to be the same manufacturer -- a big pain, since Hynix (what my computer has in it) is a lot less common than other brands.
Also, what type of memory is in this thing? I think it is DDR2 PC6400, but the current version of the Dell Studio 17 has DDR3@1067MHz
Had the same issue with a Studio 1737 that I received from a family member. I removed one of the memory sticks....the Hynix 1GB....and has been working fine ever since. Did not replace the memorey..and the laptop works great with just the 2GB stick...no performance degridation at all. However, I only use it for Internet..email...etc., and not for gaming.
Also, everyone who has the misfortune of getting stuck with a lemon bad mouths all Dell laptops. I suppose this is a natural response. I have the Dell 1737 with 4 GB and a Seagate 500GB HD. It's beautiful and functions ‘extremely’ well, albeit the audio is a little disappointing for a laptop of this caliber.
identic
3 Posts
0
November 3rd, 2009 05:00
Update: After over 4 hours on the phone to Dell Support, being passed between 'Hardware' and 'Software' support, starting from scratch with Windows 7 64-bit on their advice and two days lost, the situation is still unresolved.
Best of all, entering the support [sic] system again, I am informed that the standard diagnostic system can offer no further assistance and that I need to start paying £59 for further support.
The cheapest solution seems to be to throw the machine away and replace it with one that works. Buying a Dell Studio 1737 was a very bad idea !!
willgimmence
2 Posts
0
November 4th, 2009 07:00
I had exactly the same problem.
Fixed by going on the intel website and running the 'Automatically identify and find drivers' tool. http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Default.aspx
This then found the graphics card and downloaded the drivers.
If you are unable to do this for whatever reason, you can download the drivers I found at http://www.megaupload.com/?d=6FYRWLDA
identic
3 Posts
1
November 5th, 2009 07:00
I tried this with no effect. On the instruction of Dell Support, I reluctantly updated Windows 7 32-bit to 64-bit and downloaded Dell driver (32-bit Windows 7 does not appear in the dropdown of supported Operating Systems). This had no effect either - but has left me with 64-bit which I didn't want (especially since virtualisation is not supported by the 1737 hardware). At this point, Dell told me that they had exhausted their level of support so I would now be asked to pay £59 for further support.
The problem has now been solved by following advice readily available from (non-Dell) forums but at a cost... the problem is mismatched memory from different manufacturers with different characteristics.
If I leave the 2Gb in place and remove the 1Gb, everything works perfectly, if I reintroduce the 1Gb, the screen corrupts again. Forums report that the problem is completely solved by fitting matched 2Gb memory stick. Dell however, flatly refuse to supply replacement until I have tried different tests, swapping memory around to prove that it is not a faulty slot / motherboard. The problem of course, is that the corruption can take many minutes before it first appears so that is a couple of hours phone call (including the usual 30 minute wait).
The simplest solution seems to be to purchase a new 2Gb memory stick outside of Dell (and to think very carefully about using them in the future).
lemmon
4 Posts
0
November 10th, 2009 07:00
Thanks for this post! I have to try it out...
I actually had 2GB RAM in my Studio 1737 when I bought it but wanted to upgrade to 4GB. So I bought 2x 2GB Kingston ram designed especially for Dell laptops just to find out that Vista 32bit won't recognize full 4GB and - what more - computer heats like hell and so the fan is running almost all the time. So I am using 2GB Kingston stick and 1GB original stick now...
Honestly, I think that was really bad decision to buy Dell Studio 1737. I don't recommend to do so to anybody. It is my first Dell computer and I think the last one also. It looks beautifully but I have just problems with it from the beginning (first broken fan, LCD frame not sealed properly,...). Another thing is why they call it "Studio" when it is one of the worst machines to record music due to DPC latency! Just one good thing about it: you can use 2 harddrives.
Alright, I will try the suggested solution and hopefully it will work.
Thanks very much for your post!!!
lemmon
4 Posts
0
November 10th, 2009 11:00
Cool! Great! Problem resolved.
When I am using 2 same 2GB Kingston RAM sticks, no glitches appears in Win 7!
Thanks very much for your post again!!!
meatball2009
1 Message
0
November 11th, 2009 07:00
Same problem here. Also tried updating the driver to no avail.
Pulled the 1GB stick as suggested and problem seems to be fixed.
Before going ahead and spending $50 on a 2GB stick, how matched does the memory need to be?
Just the same size (and type, obviously)? Or does it somehow need to be the same manufacturer -- a big pain, since Hynix (what my computer has in it) is a lot less common than other brands.
Also, what type of memory is in this thing? I think it is DDR2 PC6400, but the current version of the Dell Studio 17 has DDR3@1067MHz
stkelly8
1 Message
0
November 11th, 2011 13:00
Had the same issue with a Studio 1737 that I received from a family member. I removed one of the memory sticks....the Hynix 1GB....and has been working fine ever since. Did not replace the memorey..and the laptop works great with just the 2GB stick...no performance degridation at all. However, I only use it for Internet..email...etc., and not for gaming.
ricktek7
5 Posts
1
November 13th, 2011 07:00
Also, everyone who has the misfortune of getting stuck with a lemon bad mouths all Dell laptops. I suppose this is a natural response. I have the Dell 1737 with 4 GB and a Seagate 500GB HD. It's beautiful and functions ‘extremely’ well, albeit the audio is a little disappointing for a laptop of this caliber.
ricktek7
5 Posts
1
November 13th, 2011 07:00
Nothing you can do if this is a hardware issue
You may want to upgrade to A09 BIOS.
Also, download, install and run Driver Genius pro