Dell Precision M6600 Question Charger & Task Manager Issue

Question

Greetings! I acquired a Precision M6600 but it came without a power supply. What is the correct wattage needed to properly power this one? a 90w certainly isn't doing the job, even though the person I acquired it from assured me it would be strong enough to power my new laptop.

Secondly, When using the Task Manager, every tab works except for the "Performance" tab, which, upon clicking, causes Task manager to suddenly close. I have tried this with two different power supplies (a 65w and a 90w) as well as trying to access it from battery power only; but no matter the circumstances, the Task Manager still closes out whenever clicking on said "Performance" tab.

I'm also noticing performance issues in the system itself when trying to run Userbenchmark's tool; it tells me Windows is throttling my CPU at 34% and making alterations to the Power Plan to make the CPU run at 100% on both battery Power and when plugged in. I was able to temporarily circumvent this by disabling SpeedStepping in the BIOS, but even after, the processor is underperforming. I've checked for thermal throttling; no issues there.

Both the CPU and GPU fans are working just fine according to Dell's system diagnostics tests and as well as using the Core Temp tool. I've also visually confirmed that the fans are working just fine by removing the battery, removing the bottom panel and checking both while the system is running. Temperatures never go above 70 degrees in my usage. Both fans are clean and are performing perfectly fine.

Also, my battery (I presume it's the original battery) health is at 88%, which considering its age, is better than I expected.

I love the laptop and want to make it my primary rig for work as it's got some beefy specs for my needs. I have 16GB of RAM, a Core i7-2820QM CPU, and a 1TB SSD. I would greatly appreciate it if someone could help me out with these issues.

Thanks in advance for your consideration and efforts!

NXS2KForever · Accepted Answer

James (and whoever else might stumble across this post with the same issue)

What I ultimately ended up doing to eliminate all problems was to download every official Dell driver from my system's page (compatibility mode works for every 64-bit driver, even the XP ones) and downloading those to an ISO file. Then I did a complete format and fresh Windows 10 installation using a flash drive (I placed the Driver ISO on there after preparing the drive with the newest Windows 10 image), set up an offline account, skipped connecting to a network (to prevent Windows from automatically trying to download generic drivers) and then installed every original Dell Driver. The issue with the Task Manager was then resolved. This also fixed the issues I was having with the HDMI port not working (the VGA and HDMI use the CPU's integrated graphics, the DVI slots utilize the Nvidia Quadro GPU).

After that, I figured out the reason my computer was randomly shutting down was because the battery, although it looks to be genuine, has no "Dell" insignias to be found, and apparently Dell's SMART feature was causing the computer to hibernate due to a "low battery" even though the battery is healthy and fully charged. To fix this, I did the workaround of going into my "Device Manager" and under the "Battery" area of the tree, I disabled both of those options. This removes the battery icon from your notification area, but the system stops randomly powering off now.

So, it seems I have finally gotten this machine in good working order. I did notice that the i7-2820qm is not going past its base clock speed of 2.3GHz using UserBenchmark even though TurboBoost and Hyperthreading are enabled in the BIOS, but ultimately, since I am not going to be using it for gaming and it's a quad-core, 8 thread CPU, it's working well enough for my specific purposes even at its base speed.

Thanks for your help, James. Good luck to anyone else facing similar issues!

NXS2KForever · Answer

Thank you so much for the reply! I am going to try and order one ASAP. The 90w I have is a knockoff and in the Dell Diagnostics tests, I watch it teeter from 1w to 90w in 1 second intervals. I sincerely doubt there is anything wrong with the motherboard or video card at all... the system looks to be pristine and honestly looks brand new with no residual dust anywhere on the fans or covered areas.

I just think it's odd that all the other tabs in the Task Manager will show up just fine, but the performance tab crashes Task manager out.

JamesJAB1 · Answer

Ideally you should be using a 240W AC adapter on any 17' Precision Workstation. If the larger AC Adapter doesn't solve your Performance Tab issue, it might be time for a fresh Windows install.

JamesJAB1 · Answer

The dell part number for the slim 240W AC Adapter : 0FWCRCMake sure that if you don't get it directly from dell, that it's an actual dell charger.

NXS2KForever · Answer

I have ordered a genuine Dell 240W charger that should be here by the end of the week.

I also figured out why Task Manager kept crashing when selecting the "Performance" tab, and I'm also hoping that the 240W charger will fix this issue, because, yeah, it's definitely related to power... or a lack thereof.

To make a long story short, Task Manager is fully functional with the "Performance" tab working so long as the integrated graphics are what is selected in the Nvidia Control Panel's "Manage 3D Settings" area is selected. When you change that from the Intel HD 3000 integrated graphics to the "High-performance Nvidia processor", Task manager crashes again when you close it, re-open, and select the "Performance" tab.

Mind you, I ran successful benchmarks (relatively) with both integrated and dedicated graphics, but the screen still flickered whether I was using the integrated graphics or the dedicated card, so that's definitely indicative of a power issue. I just hope it's a charger issue and not any other potentially-failing hardware.

Can you think of any other reasons, power aside, as to why Task Manager would behave so crazily?

JamesJAB1 · Answer

Your current power issue may be combination of the low wattage AC Adapter and the battery being at least 8 years old.

NXS2KForever · Answer

James,

Thanks for your reply. I received the 240W adapter and the power issues have been resolved. I am still having issues, however. I've noticed that my HDMI port isn't working when trying to connect the laptop to my television (Windows isn't detecting any additional monitors, but my TV works just fine) so I am thinking it has something to do with Intel Optane on Windows 10, and issues between using the integrated graphics and the Quadro 3000m.

NXS2KForever · Answer

I should also point out that Task Manager's "Performance" tab was still giving me trouble by crashing with what I presumed to be a performance issue, but oddly enough, when I disabled Optimus in the BIOS, the laptop powered up, Task Manager worked just fine, and UserBenchmark ran a test successfully using the Quadro 3000m. I sincerely think the remaining issues I am having are boiling down to improper Nvidia drivers or the use of Optimus on Windows 10. Especially with my HDMI port not working.

BTW, the battery is still at 88% health, so I'm assuming it's been replaced or rarely, if ever, used without AC power connected.

NXS2KForever · Answer

James, If that is the place we've arrived at, I suppose that's what I will do.  I just know that I like this laptop and would love to get it running the way that it should.

JamesJAB1 · Answer

If graphics switching is enabled, make sure that you have installed the newest video drivers from both Intel and Nvidia.

If graphics switching is disabled, then make sure you install the most recent Nvidia Quadro drivers directly from Nvidia

Do not rely on windows update for graphics drivers.

JamesJAB1 · Answer

Something to consider... Maybe it's just time for a complete fresh install of Windows 10. (From install media and format the HDD)

NXS2KForever · Answer

James,

Okay, I have done a fresh install of Windows 10 and updated the missing devices using the Windows 7 drivers provided for my service tag and the problem still persists. I have also Googled for other solutions and it seems like it's a common issue with no solid solution. I have older Dell laptops that connect to my television and mirror my on screen display just fine, so this is truly just frustrating.

T_Morgan · Answer

I have the same laptop and it works fine using a Dell 130W Power Adapter (made for E-Port Replicator 3.0 dock, part PA-4E) plugged in directly.  No brownouts in over 2 years of use.

Dr.Mxyztplk · Answer

So for anyone finding this thread in the future the [Performance Tab] issue is a common problem with video driver issues. It happens usually because Windows or Nvidia's Auto updater tries to install newer drivers that aren't supported by older cards instead of the correct drivers for the card. It's a problem I've run into with a number of older systems particularly with every laptop from that other company (whose name abbreviates the same as that wizard boy under the stairs) with a dedicated graphics card that's over a couple of years old.

The easiest way to fix it is to install the original graphics drivers & disable it from updating them.

My preference is to use DDU (Display Driver Uninstaller) in Safe Mode & then restart with your network off & run NvCleanstall. After it starts it'll prevent windows from auto installing video drivers while you do the NvCleanstall (Nvidia Clean Install) which does a much better job of getting the correct drivers instead of just the newest.

You can also do some research & find the newest Nvidia driver version that works & download it directly from Nvidia, but you have to make sure you get the newest compatible one or Nvidia might try to update it to an incompatible one again & you have to start over.

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Dell Precision M6600 Question Charger & Task Manager Issue

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