studio 1537 media panel problems

I to have the dreaded media panel problem.  just received the laptop 1537 yesterday.  Initially it was fine, then after reboot the eject light came and tried to eject drive several times.  then I installed some apps and was forced to do a reboot.  the boot failed and went into recovery mode.  this lost the apps i had just put on.  Later on I then got the max volume lockup also.  Been onto dell this morning, they are sending me out a new hinge.  They claim this is a permanent fix, but from reading other replies in here I'm not holding my breath.

They sent me a new hinge cover and it didn't resolve the issue. If it doesn't resolve the issue for you, keep calling Dell, i did and said i wasn't satisfied in the end they sent a technician to my house about 6 weeks ago, and he sorted out the problem and everything is still working fine.

I rceived my 1537 back from the depot this past Tuesday.  They replaced the motherboard and hinge cover (2nd one,

first one I replaced).  I started it up, but it was fine as the battey had been disconected for some time.  I put it in sleep mode

and it would not awake.  Turns out it had bios version A02 (I had A08).  Talked to the senior tech person and asked how

it was possible for the depot to have tested it when I described to them on a form that awakening from sleep was one of

the problems.  I told him I would flash A08 and to call me the next day.  The next day keyboard did not work with cold

startup.  Talking to the senior tech person (I have now one person who supposedly will remain with me till my issues

are resolved) I voiced my displeasure with the service and the amount of time I put into this problem.  He is now sending me

yet another hinge cover (my third).  He said that those manufactuered in 09 don't have the problem.  I basically said this is

your last shot, and the next time we talk, if the issue isn't resolved, we (me and him) are going to talk to a person that will

get me a refund or a new 1555.   I have only had my laptop sinceh March 19.

Well, as I said my buttons are okay now after about 15 minutes. The order of events is that I turn the computer on and immediately the eject button lights up , but is innefective at that stage. After 10-15 mins it goes out and all the buttons work . I am no soft touch , but will be satisfied if things get no worse. However, I do have a 3year warranty , and would not be so complacent if that was not the case . As for changing that panel : From what I have read, that is not very succesful . Please let us all know any more developments.

Hi. Yes all the media buttons are ineffective for 15 mins , but the eject button is lit up, that goes out and everything works. It is version A08.Hope that helps .

tony336,

Are you saying that all media panel buttons are ineffective for 1st 15 min or just the eject button?

What version bios did you install?  If its ver A08 can anyone else in group confirm this delay?

Mine is disconnected so I can't verify this and don't want to reaggrivate  myself by reconnecting.

Received a new hinge from Dell yesterday.  Along with replacing the hinge and updation to BIOS A08 everything seems OK at the moment but I'll wait a few more days before I am fully confident that I have a working machine.

hi. i have 1537 from 2 months. my media panel also not working. today I just removed the battery and....all buttons work fine including the eject button. what we should do now? :emotion-6: working without battery ?!!?!?!?

Update: Engineer came and replaced motherboard and hinge cover (my second replacement). In case anyone wondered the hinge cover is the name for the bit of plastic that houses the media buttons.

So anyway, couldn't get the computer working at first, even via a reinstall from recovery partition. Problem was windows always wanted to 'repair', or if you told it to start normally it then rebooted. In the end I reinstalled OS and drivers from physical CD disks! Anyway I digress.

Had it turned on at my bench for an hour or so at work - all OK.

Took it home and installed Firefox and Kasperspy. Nothing else.

And guess what - twice the sound+ key has lit and laptop is forced to max  volume. Once the eject light came on for a few minutes before trying to eject  imaginary disk several times before returning to normality.

So it is not fixed. The only differences is that I have not had the eject light come on from cold boot yet (i.e. before Vista even boots), only when the laptop is running for a bit. Not sure this is significant, I am sure this is not a software issue.

 To recap:

1 x BIOS update (not required, already on A08) - no effect, 2 x hinge covers - no effect,, 1 x new mobo - no effect, 1x loosen screws under battery - seemed to lesson frequency of issue - not fix it.

So I think I'm going to ask for a refund/non 1537 replacement and see where that gets me. Probably nowhere but as this fault was present in the laptop  from new I think UK consumer law has scope for exploration if things get that far.

Update: Engineer came and replaced motherboard and hinge cover (my second replacement). In case anyone wondered the hinge cover is the name for the bit of plastic that houses the media buttons. So anyway, couldn't get the computer working at first, even via a reinstall from recovery partition. Problem was windows always wanted to 'repair', or if you told it to start normally it then rebooted. In the end I reinstalled OS and drivers from physical CD disks! Anyway I digress. Had it turned on at my bench for an hour or so at work - all OK. Took it home and installed Firefox and Kasperspy. Nothing else. And guess what - twice the sound+ key has lit and laptop is forced to max  volume. Once the eject light came on for a few minutes before trying to eject  imaginary disk several times before returning to normality. So it is not fixed. The only differences is that I have not had the eject light come on from cold boot yet (i.e. before Vista even boots), only when the laptop is running for a bit. Not sure this is significant, I am sure this is not a software issue.  To recap: 1 x BIOS update (not required, already on A08) - no effect, 2 x hinge covers - no effect,, 1 x new mobo - no effect, 1x loosen screws under battery - seemed to lesson frequency of issue - not fix it. So I think I'm going to ask for a refund/non 1537 replacement and see where that gets me. Probably nowhere but as this fault was present in the laptop  from new I think UK consumer law has scope for exploration if things get that far.

As we have mentioned before, it is not a software problem. It is a hardware problem and does not seem to be a motherboard failure. From the moment you install a new motherboard, windows need a new installation in order to recognize the new hardware and start normally.

Ι introduced the media panel problem in a greek laptop forum, but unfortunately, none of the guys replied, had this hardware failure with their Studios... Seems that not every Studio is faulty.

billyto : I would put the battery back in . You may find that you have cured the problem . Mine seems to be working okay after the updated BIOS and battery out and in . Albeit it still takes 15 minutes to work properly.:emotion-6:

hey guys, as you can imagine, i'm having the same problem with my studio 1537, but i'm having the problem only with the eject-button and not with the volume up...i called dell and they took it for repair, it came back yesterday and they changed the hinge cover, the motherboard, the keyboard and also POST-RTS, Discrete (don't know what this is)....and the problem remains. now i found in another thread (http://en.community.dell.com/forums/p/19265191/19452723.aspx) that there is a "new" media panel where the problems don't appear... so i have a question to you now (as a stupid girl with only little knowledge about laptops ;) ). do you think i can/should ask dell to give me one of the new media panels or do you think i should get full refund ( i think and hope the 21 days are only the days i had the laptop?? because it was gone for 11 days for repair...)?? I really like this laptop, and i was looking about 2 weeks until i decided to buy that (i did not look good enough because i did not find this forum before) and now this nerving problems...what else could i buy? i heard "bad things" about fujitsu siemes and sony customer service, and thinkpads who seems to be the best are just ugly...yeah, im a girl, i want a pretty laptop... so, thanks for the information i got here, and i would be happy if someone could give me an advice about refund or no...have a nice day... Tine

bellaboyd: I can't really see why you should have to have thenew media panel . The touch panel is one of the reasons that I bought this computer, and when it works properly it is great . Touch wood mine is okay since the measures I spoke about were taken . All right it takes 15 minutes to complete the process , but that is not long when you think how long it takes to find a disk and set up ready to watch it . By the time you have done that everything is normal . I like the computer and other makes have their problems . As for a refund , if the computer is not doing what it is supposed to do you have every right to get your money back under the trades description act .:emotion-5:

We are aware of this issue and are working on a solution. What I can share with you at this time:

1. this is not a software or O/S issue
2. the slow response after resume and stuck DVD eject light issues are the result of 2 different root causes.
3. the DVD eject issue should be resolved by a replacement hinge cover (media control panel)
4. the slow response will likey be resolved with an upcoming firmware flash, but may end up requiring another hinge cover replacement in the end
5. the problems can sometimes be temporarily resolved (with varying results) by discharging flea power- remove the battery and ac adapter, then hold down the power button for 10 seconds
6. I am getting weekly updates and updates as they become available, and will post back a solution when it becomes available

We are aware of this issue and are working on a solution. What I can share with you at this time: this is not a software or O/S issue the slow response after resume and stuck DVD eject light issues are the result of 2 different root causes. the DVD eject issue should be resolved by a replacement hinge cover (media control panel) the slow response will likey be resolved with an upcoming firmware flash, but may end up requiring another hinge cover replacement in the end the problems can sometimes be temporarily resolved (with varying results) by discharging flea power- remove the battery and ac adapter, then hold down the power button for 10 seconds I am getting weekly updates and updates as they become available, and will post back a solution when it becomes available

Thank you for your post and sharing with us your information. Looking forward for further information about our problems with Studio 1537.