inspiron 9100

Question

Hi, i have an inspiron 9100 and i think something is going wrong with it... sometimes he is very slow and i did some benchmarks to see if i was right. The cpu seems at least two times more slower that he should be! how can i do with dell to make them check that some hardware(s) is (are) going bad? thanks for your help

bacillus · Answer

I think what you are seeing is the speedstep in action whereby the CPU speed only increases to its maximum when more processing power is required.

IzMan · Answer

Welcome to the club, sinsejul!

I'm running an XPS with serious heat and speed issues. Mine will be on its way back for the second time. For some of us, this is an awful loop we've been drawn into. :(

Iz

the_avatar · Answer

hi there!!! i was once a dell technician and i'm a new memeber here. maybe these could help you.

there are different factors that could affect the performance of your cpu speed. it could be a software or hardwares issue but ,most likely software. possible that the speedstep driver need to be updated.you can update it in this website. next is check in the task manager if your cpu usage is increasing to 100%,(do u have a printer?)under the processes checked if there's a spooler.exe running in the background coz most likely its the one causing the issue. if it is still doing the same thing flash BIOS coz it really helps a lot not just with your cpu but for all the other hardware. perform this step first, if it is still doing the same thing you can contact dell and if your still under warranty that won['t be a problem at all.

always make sure that you scan fro spywares and virus coz that is a possibility too.

hope these things help you a lot.

:smileyvery-happy:

IzMan · Answer

I hope you have better luck than me. I just got mine back for the second time for these heat issues.  :(               THIS IS TERRIBLE!!!!!!   I unpack my machine hoping that things were fixed. I spent time to totally document what was going on with my machine and left it attached to the screen. It was a very NICE letter. I put reference to the posts I've made on these forums. I asked them to give MikeM a call in Canada as they have experience with this exact issue.   I even went so far as to create shortcuts on my desktop, and asked them in the note I left to run the tests. Yes, my HDD was shipped back to them so they can ACTUALLY TEST IT. fanGUI and RMClock utility run at startup. It's very easy for them to run the tests. I put a link to a video conversion that uses lots of CPU allowing you to visually watch the temperature rise, and cpu throttle. I also put a link to NFSU2. I put a shortcut to CALCULATOR, so they can fill the display with 9's and press n! I also put a link to the video showing ME doing the tests described so they can actually SEE the problem I'm trying to get fixed.   Did they test this thing??? I don't think so! I unpack it, fill calculator with 9's, and hit n! BAM! THROTTLE! Then I click to start the video conversion (using Nero), and THERE IT IS AGAIN! SAME PROBLEM!!! This is the second time my laptop has been sent back, and I've only owned it a month. I haven't even been able to USE it yet!   Yes, I'm very angry. Either the technicians working on my laptop are totally incompetent, or DELL IS, as many posts here claim, THE WORST EVER.   Again, I ask. What does it take to get my brand new laptop fixed? It should work. Did I not predict this would happen? This is what I was worried about, and sure enough... the friggin loop begins.   The first time back, they replaced the CPU and CMOS clock. woohoo! At least there was a nice note in there from the technician. Cudos to him. This time, they replace the system board and the comments read, 'thanks'   Thanks for what? Did you even fire it up to test it? Did you even MAKE SURE that the problem is resolved? Dell must be losing a LOT of money on these things, going back for the next item on the check list to be replaced. Think of the man hours, the shipping, and the parts being replaced. If I ship it back, I can GUARANTEE the next thing up is the video card. Wanna bet? That's how everyone else's cycle seems to run. Why should there BE a next time? Why don't they fix the thing in the first place? Why replace one part and send it back, when it may not be fixed? TEST THE DARN THING!   I am very frustrated and upset with this whole ordeal. I am not happy at all with the situation, or the way it is being handled. I owned the machine for three days, when finally I got a chance to unpack it and finalize Windows install. I noticed the problem when installing a software package I use for code development. Right away, I sent the laptop in for repair, and I've been unable to use it.   I think this should be posted every place I can find that has a notebook forum, Dell forum, or review section. I think future notebook customers should be aware of this issue before they make their decision to purchase a notebook. When my colleagues asked about my new Dell laptop and whether or not it would be a good choice for them, I told them to wait until I get it back from repair again. Give Dell a chance on their second attempt. Well, I got the laptop back.   Who do I need to speak with to get this thing fixed immediately? I don't want a tech support number. I want a direct number to someone who can actually help. Does ANYONE have a clue?   I apologize for the rant. Very unsatisfied with Dell.   Iz IzManV@yahoo.com DON'T BUY A DELL

Larsp · Answer

Just found this discussion in this forum.

I have the same problem. The execution speed falls to 1/3, approximately.

When my inspiron 9100 was new, I could run games in full speed with no problems. Now they are down to one third of the fram rate, effectively 5-10 fps, which is not acceptable.

I have called DELL support many times, following their instructions. So now the system has been reinstalled several time. Finally, they claim that they don't support problem with games!

When I run the complete test suite, it finds no error. Because of that, DELL consider it a proof that there is nothing wrong.

I am VERY frustrated with this. It is a top of the line mobile computer, and I can't use it for games at all.

I do not think it is a speedstep problem, but a heating problem. When I start the game, I usually have full performance for a very short time. Then it suddenly falls quickly.

IzMan · Answer

Did they have you check the fans for dust? It may just need a good cleaning. You were able to run the same games with no problems previously, right? Try a good cleaning. I hope it helps! Iz

Larsp · Answer

@IzMan wrote:
Did they have you check the fans for dust? It may just need a good cleaning. You were able to run the same games with no problems previously, right? Try a good cleaning. I hope it helps!

Iz

Thanks for the help!

I didn't think about that (embarrasingly). There were some dust in the air inputs on the underside that was easy to remove, but it didn't help much (same symptoms: games starts with high frame rates, that drops to a third after just a few minutes).

I suppose there can be dust inside, but I hesitate to open the unit.

Is there any temperature measurement tool that can be used to confirm that it is really a temperature problem? If I call Dell, I want to have hard facts to present. So I would like to either measure the actual temperature or to detect a slowdown of the processor.

I am using a tool that is supposed to measure the CPU speed and load. This one always reports the same, which leads me to beleive that it is the graphical card that is the problem.

IzMan · Answer

Try blowing compressed air through the cooling fins for fans 2 and 3. They are easy to remove, just a couple of screws on the bottom. Be careful, and take your time. Your owner's manual should give instruction also.

When the fans are removed, clean them, then blow compressed air through the cooling fins from the back side of the laptop. The air should exit the void where your fans were -- airflow is from outside, in.

If that still doesn't work, call for tech support.

I used fanGUI to monitor my temps. Search here or on notebookforums.com

Good luck!

Iz

Larsp · Answer

@IzMan wrote:
Try blowing compressed air through the cooling fins for fans 2 and 3. They are easy to remove, just a couple of screws on the bottom.

Iz

This solved the problem.

There were lots of dust on the inside, found when the the cooling fins were removed.

I wonder why Dell support couldn't come up with this idea first, instead of requesting a full system re-install.

Thanks!

IzMan · Answer

I'm so glad it helped, Larsp!

Sometimes the simplest things get overlooked when searching for a solution to a problem. The tech on the phone simply follows on-screen prompts to help diagnose issues, anyway. Sometimes they get it right.

I'm surprised they didn't have you clean your machine after the re-install didn't help. I would bet you didn't hang on the phone while you were reinstalling all your software, though. ;)

Asking the age of your machine, then about its dust cleaning history could save tech support and the end user some time in the long run. Then again, people download spyware and cpu hogs all the time. Six to one, half dozen to the other, I suppose.

The good news is it works now! Yay!

Take care,

Iz

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inspiron 9100

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