studio 1537 media panel problems

I have had this issue for over 3 months (2 motherboards and 3 hinge covers).  I

was firm with them getting my point across, but never lost my temper.  My case

eventually was transfered from Technical Support to Customer Relations.  I don't

think the two communicate, as it was during this time the firmware fix came out

which I applied.  It seems to fix the ejecting issue, but since the last motherboard

change, the fan periodically will begin to run at high speed and will eventually slow

down.

Anyway, they promised me a brand new replacement 1537.  Since the fingerprint

reader was no longer available, they sent me a 1555 with facial recognition.  Got

it yesterday along with other upgrades.  Had the LED 1280 X 800 display, got the 900p.

Had the 256mb Radeon 3450, got the 512mb Radeon 4570.  Needless to say the

sound quality on the 1555 is 100% improved.

I have to say, the reps I dealt with were professional, and tried their best to accomodate

me.  The last week or so waiting for the replacement PC, they were calling at least two

times a week with updates.  I don't ever wan't to ever go through this again, but in the end,

I'm content with the outcome.

I hope all turns out well for everybody.  I have to go and cleanout the 1537 and

package it for return.

Im having the exact same problem with my 1537 but i've been on dell about fixing it. I would boot up my comp and it wouldnt start so they replaced the battery and power cable. then after they replaced the battery windows wouldnt load so they had to replace my mother board all this time not fixing my media panel button and the DVD/RW drive from ejecting disc's. now there gonna try and replace my DVD/RW drive. and sometimes my touch pad wont work. theyve reinstalled the BIOS but nothing. i purchased my studio 1537 in december and my one year warranty will be up before to long. any suggestions?? please

Im having the exact same problem with my 1537 but i've been on dell about fixing it. I would boot up my comp and it wouldnt start so they replaced the battery and power cable. then after they replaced the battery windows wouldnt load so they had to replace my mother board all this time not fixing my media panel button and the DVD/RW drive from ejecting disc's. now there gonna try and replace my DVD/RW drive. and sometimes my touch pad wont work. theyve reinstalled the BIOS but nothing. i purchased my studio 1537 in december and my one year warranty will be up before to long. any suggestions?? please

Fewer posts above is the answer to media panel problem. Download and install the updated media panel firmware following the instructions. Works 100%.

Warning when I loaded the firmware it just disabled my whole control panel so none of the buttons worked. After I downloaded it that is when Dell decided to reload my BIOS and all those other fix downloads that finally fixed the problem. So, when you copy the firmware on to cd and load it be repared to maybe still have to call Dell. I personally prefer the online chat with Dell so they can do all the downloads remotely.

I can only say what I've said before , and that is to follow acgiannopo's instructions that he has posted several times. This was a complete cure for my troubles . Note that you must do exactly as he says including removing the battery and unplugging the power .

Installed the firmware about a month ago and it works perfectly.

I did the firmware update about 2 months ago, no problems:emotion-1:

Hi acgiannopo,

The Studio 1340 has similar issues with the media panel buttons freezing up and not responding. Do you know if this firmware will address this issue for the Studio 1340?

Thanks.

I have been unable to reproduce any media panel button failures on my 1340. Can you post back a step by step of how you get to the fail point?

Hi acgiannopo, The Studio 1340 has similar issues with the media panel buttons freezing up and not responding. Do you know if this firmware will address this issue for the Studio 1340? Thanks.

Since i am not an expert, i think you should ask Dell Bill for this. I don't think though that this firmware is the solution to your problem...

Hi Bill,

I have a new 1340 (received 2 weeks ago). Here was my step by step to the fail point. I have not tried to replicate yet, but I will tonight.

1. Put into Hibernation the evening previous to the failure.
2. Transported (in hibernation mode) to a coffee shop in the morning.
3. Opened and woke up from hibernation. (Battery power.)
4. Started IE8 and it wouldn't connect to wireless (this was a previously accepted/saved wireless connection).
   • Network Icon in tray indicated that wireless was turned off. I did not manually turn the wireless off.
   • All Media Panel buttons were lit, including the wireless button.
5. Pressed Wireless Media Panel utton and there was no response. (It remained lit and unresponsive.)
   • All Media Panel Buttons were lit and unresponsive.
   • Attemped (and failed) to turn on wireless through Control Panel/Windows Mobility Center. The "Turn Wireless On" option was grayed out.
6. Did a full shut down and restart (battery power). Problem remained.
   • Wireless was disabled.
   • Media Panel Buttons were lit and unresponsive.
   • Could not turn on wireless through Windows Mobility Center.
7. Continued to work on laptop (no restart). After about 15-20 minutes passed, I noticed the wireless button was dark. I touched the wireless button, it lit up, and wireless was enabled.

That's it. Thanks for looking into this. I've looked through a few forums and it seems that this is common problem with the 1340. Among the solutions I've found:

• Shut down; remove battery; wait 60 seconds; replace battery; restart.
• The above, with depressing power key for 30 seconds before restart.
• The above with restarting with AC power.

Also, it seems waking from Sleep or Hibernation may be a key component to replicating the error.

Good luck and let me know. It'd be great if a firmware update would fix this. It seems like a similar problem with the Media Panel.

@SeaPack is yours a Studio XPS?

Great description. I can get this information over to the engineers. The replacement media panel should arrive tomorrow. In the meantime, a workaround to re-enable the radio might be FN+F2. This is the traditional hotkey combination on Dell laptops to turn the radio on and off. Not sure if it works on the 1340 or not, but give it a shot. Mine's at home today.

It is a Studio XPS 13. (Model 1340)