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34 Posts
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44673
Inspiron 1521 slows down until unplugged
This has been happening since I first got the computer, but has been happening more and more frequently. I went three rounds with Dell tech support, but if I was so lucky as to get someone who spoke english they went off on tangents which I proved to be irrelevant. Hopefully a forum is the way to go ^^
Alright, Scenario time:
I have my Inspiron 1521 (Vista Home Premium) plugged in and with the battery in the bay (charged or charging, doesn't matter). Everything is working great, then without warning both cores go to 100% and the only thing that responds is the mouse. If I have music playing it slows down to near static. To remedy it I have to either unplug it for a while and let it run on battery, or remove the battery for a while and hope the adapter doesn't fall out.
I've dealt with this for quite a while but its getting to the point of where its happening every day.
As soon as I got my computer I got rid of Norton and installed ZoneAlarm, winamp, firefox, and Windows Live Messenger. My computer is as up to date as the automatic updates will take it. Computer heat isn't causing it, it can be pretty cool when it happens. I also have dusted out the computer, not that it needed it, so dust buildup isn't a problem.
Switching power schemes doesn't fix the problem, I've tried the default "Balanced" "Power Saver" and "High Performance" settings.
I tried Dell's idea of unplugging the computer, taking out the battery, and pressing the power button for 15 seconds to drain flea power (like that'd solve it...), and nothing. I have 1.5 GB Ram that I upgraded from 1 GB. The ram was dell certified and I'm a tech myself so I know I seated it correctly and all is working fine. Other than that I'm just using an optical mouse.
Anyone have any ideas? I'm done asking Dell tech support.
TIA!
-SS
Alright, Scenario time:
I have my Inspiron 1521 (Vista Home Premium) plugged in and with the battery in the bay (charged or charging, doesn't matter). Everything is working great, then without warning both cores go to 100% and the only thing that responds is the mouse. If I have music playing it slows down to near static. To remedy it I have to either unplug it for a while and let it run on battery, or remove the battery for a while and hope the adapter doesn't fall out.
I've dealt with this for quite a while but its getting to the point of where its happening every day.
As soon as I got my computer I got rid of Norton and installed ZoneAlarm, winamp, firefox, and Windows Live Messenger. My computer is as up to date as the automatic updates will take it. Computer heat isn't causing it, it can be pretty cool when it happens. I also have dusted out the computer, not that it needed it, so dust buildup isn't a problem.
Switching power schemes doesn't fix the problem, I've tried the default "Balanced" "Power Saver" and "High Performance" settings.
I tried Dell's idea of unplugging the computer, taking out the battery, and pressing the power button for 15 seconds to drain flea power (like that'd solve it...), and nothing. I have 1.5 GB Ram that I upgraded from 1 GB. The ram was dell certified and I'm a tech myself so I know I seated it correctly and all is working fine. Other than that I'm just using an optical mouse.
Anyone have any ideas? I'm done asking Dell tech support.
TIA!
-SS
SimbaSpirit
34 Posts
0
July 22nd, 2008 02:00
Heh I've found that since vista came out the best option is linux.
Sooner or later Dell will start offering linux with their computers *without* trying to coax (coerce? XD) users into using vista.
Sam1953
4 Posts
0
July 23rd, 2008 03:00
I don't have a lot of time to spare, but have managed to mess up the MBR, 2 times, with Fedora. I had a little help, in recovering without loss, but it was scarry. I was without for 4 or 5 days, each time.
I've juiced vista, a little.TweakVI for Windows Vista helped some:
http://www.totalidea.com/content/tweakvi/tweakvi-index.php
I also replaced the task manager with Process Explorer:
http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896653.aspx
I used this to check the priorities, and some were set above normal, so I re-set them. I have a habit of making multiple changes, at the same time, so I don't know what's making the difference.
It is working a little better, now.
ReverandButcher
20 Posts
0
August 25th, 2010 01:00
Hey there , i know this is an old post but i have just started looking at the forums and stumbled onto this... I have an inspiron 1521 myself and had the same problem for a while and im not sure if the problem is the same but for me it turns out the problem was with the power cord. It looked fine but when i played around with it a bit it seemed like it was making a difference. So i cut the wire open and everything in there was pretty much cut or useless. Changed the power cord to a brand new one and everything has been fine since. Hope that helps.