Wednesday, June 2, 2010

Dell Latitude E6510 cursor skips or computer freezes

If you want to see my original chat session log with Dell support, it is at the bottom of this post.

Update 4/7/2011: It's been a few months since my last update and I'm happy to say there have still not been any issues. Since this article seems to be relatively popular, I'm hoping most of you are having success with getting the issue resolved. Hopefully this is my last update to this post.

Update 2/15/2011: A little over two months after receiving the second laptop back with a new motherboard and the issue still has not come back. That seems to be pretty conclusive to me. For anyone else having the issue I'd suggest trying an OS reformat and reinstall first, without installing the Dell ControlPoint software. If that works, great. Otherwise you can likely rule out a software issue and you'll have to push Dell Support to do some hardware repairs, even if their Dell diagnostic scan (Fn+Power) comes back without any errors. Good luck!

Update 12/2/2010: I have received the second laptop back from Dell after its second trip to Depot repair. This time they replaced the motherboard but didn't touch the OS or hard drive. That is going to make it easy to redeploy so hopefully the motherboard was the issue. I'll write an update after a few weeks and hopefully it will be positive.

Update 11/19/2010: Four lockups on the machine received back with only an OS restore. One on the day I went to set it up, and three since the end user got it back. It seems to have been ok for about a week. Swapped with a temp machine again ran the PSA diagnostics, which of course reported no errors. I noticed they wiped out the Dell diagnostic partition from the hard drive though, so I can't run those tests again. Online support chat is setting up another Depot repair as I type...

Update 11/2/2010: Received the second E6510 back today and all they apparently did was an OS restore. I didn't bother with that because of the problems with the first and the amount of comments and traffic this post has been getting. Hopefully it's fixed, but I'll post any updates if there are still problems.

Update 10/21/10: I'm finally sending in the second E6510 that we have been having troubles with. It only took ~15 minutes on the support chat to get the technician to say I need to send it in for repair. Now I'm waiting for the return box so I can send it back to the Depot.

I was finally able to get some diagnostic errors as well from within the Extended Test of the Dell diagnostics. I got an error "350F:1344, DISK - Block: Can't read, replace disk". I've also gotten multiple "350F: 1332: Interrupt Request (IRQ) did not set in time" errors. If you don't know how to get into the diagnostics mode, hold down the Fn key when you power on. That brings you into the quick diagnostics. If you get through those without problems you have the option for the extended memory tests, which I also did and it found no errors. After that it booted into the Dell System partition, where I started running the Extended Test. This is where I finally have proof that this isn't a software issue, which is what they've liked to try to blame. If you're having trouble getting Dell to accept the machine for repair, I highly suggest running this extended system test because you'll likely get the proof you need.


Update 7/30/10: I received the laptop back from Dell Depot repair yesterday. On the ticket it says that they replaced the hard drive and motherboard, then reinstalled the OS. So far so good in the two days I have had it. It hasn't locked up at all and it seems like the touchpad is even functioning more smoothly. I'll post any updates if issues return, but I'd suggest going right to tech support if you're experiencing this same issue. This is especially true if you received your E6510 in early May (or earlier). It'll save you from pulling your hair out trying to find what is happening.


Update 7/19/10: I gave up. I talked to Dell tech support and have sent the E6510 back to the tech depot for repair. I'm hoping to have a definite resolution to share after getting the machine back. The second machine I had mentioned is also still having this freeze issue once or twice a week. I plan on sending that in after the first one is handled. For those of you having the same problem, when did you order your machine? I ordered both of these problematic E6510s on 4/22/10 and received them 5/4/10. I placed two more orders for three more E6510s after that (one on 4/28/10 and two more on 5/14/10). Those three laptops arrived between 5/19/10-5/24/10 and this freezing issue has not happened on any of them. Did Dell have a bad batch go out earlier and then solved it later on? If you also have this problem and received your machine close to or before 5/4/10, please leave a comment. I'd like to see if we can come up with some sort of pattern.


Update 7/7/10: The user reported that the laptop locked up on him twice last night, so it appears the issue is still at large. At this point I'm really leaning towards an I/O or hardware issue. With this being the only E6510 having problems out of five, and all five of the machines having the same configuration (Win7 Pro x64) and software, I don't see what else it would be. I guess I should have taken Dell up on the hardware they initially sent (motherboard and RAM). Hopefully I can get them to send the parts again without requiring me to ship the laptop in for a depot repair. Has anyone reading this had success after having Dell replace any of the hardware? Or is everyone mostly suffering from the skipping cursor and not the random lock-ups?


Update 7/2/10: Dell has new BIOS files posted from 6/1/10 that may help this issue. My user was still having problems so I'm going through another reinstall now. I got Windows 7 installed and on the first run it froze on the "Preparing your desktop". I've now installed the A03 BIOS after first installing the P02 BIOS patch. The system requires the P02 patch to be installed first if you're running the A01 BIOS, and it will not let you install the A03 BIOS until that has been installed. The P02 patch is listed as urgent, so it would be a good idea to update, especially if you're experiencing this issue. It does seem that the cursor is moving much more smoothly now without having to change the touchpad settings at all, but maybe I'm just imagining it. I did see someone linked to this blog in a forum, and then later in the forum someone blamed the ControlPoint software. It's possible that it was causing some issues, but on my latest Windows reinstall the computer froze up before I even had a chance to install ControlPoint. However, if the BIOS update doesn't help then getting rid of ControlPoint would be something worth trying, especially since most people probably aren't even going to use it.

Original post

I've ordered five of the Latitude E6510 laptops and they seem to be pretty decent machines. They're all running Windows 7 Pro 64-bit. However, there's one thing I've noticed. The touchpad is difficult to use and the cursor likes to jump or skip around. I even had one of the machines randomly lock up completely and have to be rebooted on occasion. It seems that it's all linked back to the Dell touchpad settings, which you can find under the mouse settings in the Control Panel. It seems to be DragLock, which can be disabled. You can also adjust the cursor speed after that to make it easier to use. Disabling DragLock even cleared up the random lock-ups on the one machine. It still doesn't fix the sporadic touchpad, but it does seem to help. Here's what I did to fix the cursor problem and also the freezing:

1. Go to Start->Control Panel
2. In the top right, change the "View by:" option to Small icons
3. Find and click on Mouse, which will bring you into the mouse and touchpad settings
4. Under the Dell Touchpad tab, click the touchpad icon to get into the settings
5. Click on Touchpad Settings in the lower left
6. Under the Touchpad tab, uncheck the box next to DragLock
7. Under Touchcheck, move the slider one spot to the left. This should be one step to the right of minimum
8. Change over to the Pointing Stick tab
9. Under Touchcheck, move the slider one spot to the right. This should be one step to the left of maximum
10. Click Ok and close the Mouse settings and Control Panel
11. Reboot

Dell Support Chat Session Log


It took almost an hour to get the support rep to pay attention to what I was telling him, but he finally accepted that the machine needed repair after repeatedly trying to tell me that it was a software issue and not their problem. I did speak with support a few times before and one of those time they even sent me a new motherboard, hard drive, and RAM, but I thought the issue was fixed so I sent it back. This rep didn't bother looking back at that and forced me to waste a bunch of time going through the diagnosis again. Needless to say, after they took the machine back and replaced the motherboard and hard drive, we haven't had the issue since.



07/16/2010 01:32:53PM Session Started with Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647)
07/16/2010 01:32:56PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Hi! Thank you for using Dell Chat for Small and Medium Business. My name is Jim, how may I help you today?"
07/16/2010 01:34:07PM "I'm looking to send in a Latitude E6510 laptop to depot for diagnostic and repair. I've had issues with it randomly freezing since receiving it and have contacted Dell on a few occasions. I thought the issue was solved, but it is not and the machine still"
  randomly freezes
07/16/2010 01:35:04PM "At one point I was sent a new motherboard, hard drive, and RAM to install myself. However, I thought I had solved the issue with a simple software setting and sent those parts back without using them"
07/16/2010 01:36:10PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Thank you for sharing your concern. I'll do my best to assist you with that issue. Please give me 2-3 minutes to pull up and check your account."
07/16/2010 01:36:19PM "Ok, thanks"
07/16/2010 01:39:48PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Thank you for waiting and for the information you provided. Can you confirm the system that you would like to have support with is a LATITUDE E6510 with Service Tag XXXXX ?"
07/16/2010 01:40:10PM "Yes, that is the correct system"
07/16/2010 01:41:38PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Thank you. To give you an update, you still have an active warranty for rapid depot service that will expire on 2013-04-29."
07/16/2010 01:41:44PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Have you already run Dell Diagnostic?"
07/16/2010 01:42:06PM "Yes I did, the last time I contacted support"
07/16/2010 01:42:14PM "It does not find any errors"
07/16/2010 01:42:44PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Then it is a software issue."
07/16/2010 01:43:03PM "I have reformatted the hard drive and reinstalled Windows 7 three times, and the issue has reoccured each time"
07/16/2010 01:43:33PM "The last time I did it the laptop froze before I even was able to login for the first time"
07/16/2010 01:44:57PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "When is the last time you run Dell Diagnostic?"
07/16/2010 01:45:54PM "Whenever the last time I talked to support. It was after the 2nd reinstall, but not since the 3rd."
07/16/2010 01:47:02PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "I suggest to run the Dell Diagnostic again and tell me any error codes you will be getting."
07/16/2010 01:47:48PM "Ok, hang on"
07/16/2010 01:51:30PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Okay."
07/16/2010 01:52:45PM "No errors and it's asking if I want to run the extended memory test"
07/16/2010 01:53:19PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "You can run that if you have not run it before."
07/16/2010 01:55:48PM "I did run it before and it didn't find any issues either."
07/16/2010 01:56:47PM "Would there be a reason that the WCMATS memory test would show two different sizes (MB)? Or is that abnormal?"
07/16/2010 01:57:30PM "I have 4GB of RAM and that's about what it adds up to, but one number shoulds 3314 MB and the other is 704 MB"
07/16/2010 01:58:13PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "No."
07/16/2010 01:59:35PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "How is it going?"
07/16/2010 02:00:14PM "The test found no errors and I didn't bother with the extended test since I had ran it before and it showed no errors. I am waiting on next steps"
07/16/2010 02:01:01PM "If it's a software issue, then that issue is between the hardware and Windows 7 64-bit. After reinstalling the OS the laptop froze before I was even able to login to my desktop for the first time"
07/16/2010 02:01:53PM "I installed the latest BIOS update as well and the issue still exists. I have not been able to recreate it. I has happened while using Outlook, Internet Explorer, and also just browsing the files on the computer without Outlook or IE open."
07/16/2010 02:02:18PM "It also happened during the initial setup before it first logged in, like I mentioned"
07/16/2010 02:02:43PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "It cannot be hardware because after running Dell Diagnostic teh full scan, you are not getting any error code."
07/16/2010 02:03:52PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Did you happen to do clean reinstall?"
07/16/2010 02:04:13PM "I've already mentioned multiple times that I've reformatted and reinstalled Windows 7 three times"
07/16/2010 02:04:38PM "And that the issue occurred right away after the last (third) reinstall before I was able to even login for the first time"
07/16/2010 02:06:14PM "This random freezing has happened since the day I received the computer. I thought I had fixed it with a software setting on the Dell Touchpad software, but that was wrong. The issue still persists"
07/16/2010 02:07:02PM "I noticed there was an urgent BIOS update so I tried that as well, but the issue still exists. I can't reproduce it by doing anything in particular"
07/16/2010 02:08:18PM "I have purchased three E6510 laptops since and have not seen this issue again. However, like I mentioned, this one and the other that came in on this earlier order have had the random freeze issue. The only way to do anything when it happens is to hold do"
  wn the power button and perform a hard reset
07/16/2010 02:08:43PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Have you already tried downloading the older BIOS?"
07/16/2010 02:08:53PM "Why would I/"
07/16/2010 02:08:55PM "?"
07/16/2010 02:09:05PM "It didn't work with the old BIOS and that's why I upgraded it"
07/16/2010 02:09:22PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "There are times that older BIOS allows the system work fine."
07/16/2010 02:09:24PM "Now it's not working with the new BIOS either so I'm assuming that doesn't effect anything"
07/16/2010 02:10:07PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "What other software you are installing after reinstalling Windows?"
07/16/2010 02:10:12PM "If you were following our conversation I said I upgraded the BIOS after the issue started. I've tried A01, P02, A02, and A03"
07/16/2010 02:11:07PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Or have you already tried running in Safe Mode to avoid any software conflicts and see if freezing still happening there?"
07/16/2010 02:13:55PM "Seeing how I've mentioned the issue happened prior to EVEN BEING ABLE TO LOGIN for the first time after the last Windows reinstall, and I have multiple machine including other E6510 laptops running the exact same software on Windows 7 64-bit, I don't see"
  how that is relevant but will provide you with the list anyway: McAfee VirusScan 8.7i patch 3, Microsoft Office 2007 Standard, Adobe Reader 9.3.3, Adobe Flash Player 10.1, iTunes 9.2, Skype 4.2, and Java 6.0.20.
07/16/2010 02:14:25PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Have you already tried running in Safe Mode to avoid any software conflicts and see if freezing still happening there?"
07/16/2010 02:16:07PM "No. Seeing how the freezing issue seems to happen at random, sometimes days apart, I would have to run this machine in safe mode for days. I thought it was solved last time because it hadn't locked up in 5-6 days, and then it just happened to start again"
  and locked up multiple times in a single day
07/16/2010 02:17:13PM "Why is this so difficult? I already was sent parts to install myself, which I returned thinking the issue was solved. Now it turns out that it isn't and we're going through everything all over again. Is there no history of previous cases involving this la"
  ptop?
07/16/2010 02:17:50PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "There is but I cannot see any reason why you are not getting any error codes if the issue is with the hardware."
07/16/2010 02:20:51PM "I agree with that, which is why I want to just send it in to the depot at this point. I've exhausted all of my means of trying to diagnose and solve this issue. I have a feeling there was a bad batch shipped out, which included the two I've had problems w"
  ith. I have had no issues with the E6510s I've ordered since then, but these two were the first I received. I can't point at hardware either, but the issue has happened prior to me installing any software too so I can't say it is software either. If it's
  not software and it's not hardware, then what is it? I don't have a clue, but there's definitely something wrong
07/16/2010 02:22:05PM "Are there any Dell specific logs that I could look at to see if there is some type of crash report?"
07/16/2010 02:22:19PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Since your system has a Return to Depot warranty we will need to send in the system to one of our Depot facility for repairs and the turn around time for the repair process would be 7-10 business days. Please include the hard drive (It is suggested to bac"
  kup and delete your data first) and AC Adapter and remove non-Dell products.
07/16/2010 02:23:03PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "To process the dispatch, could you please tell me the address where we will be sending the empty box and also your alternate contact number and contact person? Thanks."
07/16/2010 02:24:05PM "Thank you. The address is XXX. An alternative number would be XXX , and you could also reach XXX as a secondary contact"
07/16/2010 02:26:02PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Thank you for the information."
07/16/2010 02:26:07PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Okay, I will now process the dispatch and send you the e-mail the Dispatch Number and Service Request Number. Would that be all for now?"
07/16/2010 02:26:29PM "Yes, that will be all"
07/16/2010 02:26:46PM Agent (CLKsmb_Jimmy_188647): "Thank you for choosing Dell. Again, this is Jim. Have a wonderful day. Bye :-)"
07/16/2010 02:26:47PM Session Ended








35 comments:

Unknown said...

Good write up. I recently received the same machine and was irritated by the cursor skipping. Fortunately for me, it only seemed to typically occur just after startup and usually seemed to go away, but occasionally I would notice it.

I too fiddled in the Touchpad settings, disabling some of the functions I was sure I'd never use, and the mouse has been much more reliable ever since.

Good to see others have experienced it, and that there also seems to be a way of getting rid of the problems. Other than that, the machine has been great so far.

rslygh said...

Hi James,

Glad to hear things seem to be better, and thanks for leaving the comment

Unknown said...

Same issue here. One thread on Dell's forum suggested that this was related to 64 bit and memory allocation and that any lingering issues can be addressed if your machine is confiugured with 4gigs of memory and you remove the 2 gig expansion from the door underneath the machine. If you ordered 8+ gigs you are out of luck with this solution. I guess you could always try to install win7 32 bit OS to eliminate(and lose) the memory over 3+ hopefully sidestepping the address issue. I have tried all of the suggestions here and it is better, but I still have some issues and was looking around one last time before I try to step back to 2 gigs of memory.

rslygh said...

Hi Mike,

Thanks for the comment. All five of the E6510s I manage have 4GB of RAM, but only one is having issues. I guess it's worth a try at this point, but I have a feeling the root of the problem is somewhere else. Please post back if you find any other suggestions.

Unknown said...

Hi

did u managed to solve that computer freeze problem ?

rslygh said...

Unfortunately no. I finally gave up and shipped it in to Dell for the Depot repair. It just went out on Monday so I'm expecting it back next week. The Dell tech support keeps telling me it must be a software issue and don't seem to understand that the issue has happened prior to me installing any software on the machine. I'll update the post once I get the machine back and am hoping there will be some sort of definite resolution. The second laptop I mentioned is still affected by this problem as well, but it doesn't happen nearly as often. I think they sent out a bad batch. I received these two machines on 5/4/10. I ordered two more afterward that arrived on 5/27/10 with the same config and have had no issues with those two.

Unknown said...

We have the same issue here with several E6510s. We're running Vista Enterprise 32 bit. We have an open issue with Dell as well.

ThreadAbort said...

Well, this is our first e6510. Of course I was the person who got it as I am the CIO. It was purchased on 5/17/2010. Freezes up randomly. I've tried everything listed here. It doesn't help. I even tried the latest bios.

I'm glad I didn't give this to another employee. The E6500's we have run great.

So, I guess I am stuck sending it back also. I didn't realize I got that Rapid Response Depot warranty. I am used to them all being on-site. Must have checked the wrong box when I ordered it.

This is extremely frustrating as this is my primary machine.

rslygh said...

Yes Christopher, I agree. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one having the problem though. I ran into the same issue with the Depot warranty. Everything I get is normally on-site as well. Your order date is interesting though since I thought I was onto something with the early orders having the problem. Looks like I am wrong, so thanks for posting. Good luck getting it taken care of!

ThreadAbort said...

Got my machine back. It didn't seem like it took too long. I got the box to send it in on Aug 3rd. For some reason they ship it Next Day to you and then give you a ground label to ship it to Houston (I'm in Virginia). They got it on Aug 6th (Friday). I have it back now Aug 10th (Tuesday). So, It looks like it was 7 days.

Ok, so what did they determine was the issue?

They replaced my i7 q720 processor. The rest was left alone (OS was not reinstalled). So, I will report back if I find an issue. So far everything is working.

rslygh said...

Thanks for the update. They didn't have a choice with my OS since they swapped hard drives, but it is interesting to hear that they swapped the processor on yours. I still have a second E6510 to send in, so now I'm very curious to see what they decide to do with that one. I'll post an update once that one goes in and comes back.

Unknown said...

I also have a E6510. Mine was working great until I recently realized the integrated web cam no longer works. On my Dell Webcam Central, I have a message telling me to plug in a supported device. I am hoping someone else has had the same problem and can help me as I am leaving for school in 10 days!

The Loveable Geek said...

I have ten E6510 laptops with this cursor issue. I narrowed it down to the Dell ControlPoint Security Manager Application (not Driver Pack), the latest version as of today (1.4.00004 A18) still has the problem.

If you uninstall this application and reboot then the problem disappears.

I suspect those of who are no longer experiencing the problem have had Dell replace hardware and consequently had the hard drive wiped, this security app wasn't then reinstalled. Can anyone confirm?

Currently waiting on Dell tech support to provide a fix.

thecityman said...

I'm not nearly as advanced as you folks, but I ordered my dell Lat E6510 in early June and just got it 2 weeks ago (yep, took over a month). Anyway, my problem is that when I am typing, my cursor will suddenly just randomly jump off somewhere else in my document! I first thought my thumb was hitting the touchpad, but now longer think so. Is this the problem you all are having? Anything I can do short of calling Dell (a nightmare I'd like to avoid)! Kevin

Unknown said...

Hi. Any update on this? I recently got an E6510 from the Dell Outlet and am experiencing the lockup issues as well. Have tried the possible fixes you mentioned to no avail. I am going to call Dell support but wanted to see if your issues had gone away since you got your system back from them.

rslygh said...

Hi Brian,

The laptop that came back from Dell support has not had the random freezing issue return. The user has said that the cursor jumps around now and then still, but that it's minor compared to before. I still haven't sent in the second machine, but will be doing that as soon as I can find a temporary setup for that user. Thanks for the comment

Unknown said...

How did you get these people to accept that the machine needed fixed? I keep calling Dell and they will only believe it is some sort of software issue since their hardware diagnostic did not return any error codes.

rslygh said...

It took me about an hour of the online chat because the rep kept trying to tell me the same thing, but I finally got him to break down. The main point I tried getting across is that the machine locked up before I had installed any software, so if it is software related it is limited to Windows 7. I'm posting my entire chat session log at the bottom of this post in case it is helpful

Unknown said...

Well...good news, sort of. I installed BlueScreenView on the laptop to try and isolate the issue. All crash logs pointed to a USB issue. I tried running with no USB devices, some, all, etc and the system would always eventually lock up. I did notice though that when I had the machine by itself with no second monitor, it seemed OK...which was odd. So, I tied a different second monitor, but still had lockups. Since that time I've been running with no second monitor and all my USB stuff without crashes.

I called Dell and informed them of my findings and after some similar dialog as you had, they actually agreed to send me a replacement system and then I'll ship mine back. I found this odd since my warranty is for depot service. Perhaps they've had so many fail that they're just replacing them and fixing the returned ones or something...Now I just need to wait for the replacement to ship...

rslygh said...

Glad to hear you're getting a new machine, and thanks for the update. I'm about a week away from working on the second E6510 that has had this problem. Hopefully it'll be easier to get them to admit there's an issue this time around.

Unknown said...

Back for a comical/frustrating update. I received the replacement system and it too does not have the quad core processor. In fact, it looks like Dell does not even offer that any longer, which makes me wonder if that could be part of their issues.
My new system also came with Win32 and not 64. And, the kicker, it came with the basic LCD and not the HD+ one that my old system had...nice...

So, I called in to them. The guy just told me to send back Win32 and keep the 64 bit DVD (problem solved).
Regarding the display, he was going to issue me a new replacement, then said he'd just send a tech out with the proper LCD and they would replace it. Then, because I only have depot warranty, he was not able to dispatch a tech, even though this was their fault. To his credit, he did acknowledge that and tried to get approval but was not able to for some reason. So, I just tell him to send me the LCD and I will replace it. After being on hold, he comes back and says he can't issue the replacement part because the new system does not have any warranty on it yet, until they receive the old system back and all the info transfers to the new system...awesome!

So...I've moved to the new machine, wiped the HDD of the old one (thank you ultimate boot CD for Windows!) and shipped out the old one today. Then, when it gets back to Dell I have to call back in to get them to replace the LCD..good times!

Here is the best part...I came back in to the office today to see the new machine had blue screened overnight! But, it was a network driver error so I updated everything today to the latest ones @ Dell and well see if that helps. At least it is not the mystery USB blue screen issue I had before.

Hopefully I am in the home stretch here...

rslygh said...

Wow! That's all I'm going to say on that one. You're really making me dread having to get this other machine serviced, which I still haven't done and keep putting off. Hopefully you're near the end and after the screen comes it'll be smooth sailing for you.

Unknown said...

I've got the same thing going on at work. 20 out of 70 machines are exhibiting the lock-up. One finally managed to BSOD before it froze (the others were all hard locks). Dump analysis points to the USB controller. We've deployed a script that disables low power mode for USB when on AC, which also corrected a previous issue with the E64x0 and Symantec. Awaiting verification from the afflicted before we move forward.

Rodman said...

Chris,

You said 20 of 70 machines exhibit this problem.

Were those all new laptops? or from Delloutlet?

Anonymous said...

Anyone ever have a real resolution for this? I have an E6510 I7 proc, 8GB RAM, win 7 and this thing sucks so bad I am ready to play frisbee with it.

Dell support has been no help and are trying to blame it on software and devices by such fly by night companies as Western Digital and Microsoft.

I am about ready to drop Dell as a supplier altogether with this. I could have bought 20 laptops with the money lost from the work that should be done.

Anonymous said...

I have the following computer: E6510, 8Gb 1333 mHz RAM, Win 7 64bit, A06 bios version, i7 CPU Q720@1.6GHz, Solid state drive. The computer was delivered to me in the beginning of July.

I have very frequent lock-ups of the computer, several per day. Most often it happens when I have many programs opened and using a browser or checking mail, but sometimes even with no visible programs running.
I have noticed that my computer does not seem to lock up so frequently when running on battery, when it runs in a power-saving mode.

A couple of days ago I changed the following setting in the Power plan:

Advanced power settings
Processor power management
Maximum processor state
On battery: 90%
Plugged in: 90%

I have not had a lock-up now for a day or two (maybe not enough statistics).

If real, this maybe indicates some hardware problem in my case, such as CPU or memory not really keeping up with the pace, or overheating.

Maybe someone of you could test this and post your findings?

Someone on another forum, with a different computer, mentioned that reducing the clockspeed of the RAM memory from 1333 MHz to 1066 solved his/her problem, but with Dell
that is not an option from my experience as the bios setup program does not allow it.

Possibly this is achieved by reducing the CPU power management setting?

/Claes

S A Delphin said...

Slight different procedure bro.. have a look at here

http://delphintipz.blogspot.com/2010/11/dell-latitude-e6510-cursor-jumps-while.html

Anonymous said...

I had the mouse freezing problem Dell Latitude E6510 + 4 GB of Ram + Intel Core I5 + Win 7 32 bits.

I've tried to install the Bios A05 but this didn't worked. Then Dell came and replaced mother board and trackpad but still not solved.

The solution seem to be installing the SATA Update available from the Dell support site as described in this post for the Dell E6400: http://en.community.dell.com/support-forums/laptop/f/3518/p/19246528/19413946.aspx

The SATA update for Win 7 32 bits I've installed for my E6510 is available here: http://support.dell.com/support/downloads/download.aspx?c=us&cs=19&l=en&s=dhs&releaseid=R268416&SystemID=LAT_E6510&servicetag=&os=W732&osl=en&deviceid=21047&devlib=0&typecnt=0&vercnt=4&catid=-1&impid=-1&formatcnt=0&libid=41&typeid=-1&dateid=-1&formatid=-1&source=-1&fileid=394842

Since I've installed it (couple of days now), I've not experienced any mouse freeze so far (I cross fingers).

Hope this helps,
Gaetano.

Anonymous said...

This fixed it for me!

"I narrowed it down to the Dell ControlPoint Security Manager Application (not Driver Pack), the latest version as of today (1.4.00004 A18) still has the problem.

If you uninstall this application and reboot then the problem disappears."

Thank you Martin!

Anonymous said...

Same issue here - for a Latitude E6510 purchased in October 2010. Random freezes - sometimes 5 times a day, sometimes a few days between freezes. I've spent 10+ hours on the phone with Dell Pro Support and the rep seems fixated on reinstalling the OS as the solution. Problem started 3 months after I purchased computer. Does uninstalling Dell ControlPoint Security Manager solve the problem?

rslygh said...

Uninstalling ControlPoint is likely worth a try since it seems to have worked for some people, but in my case I had to ship both laptops back and have the motherboards replaced before the issue went away. They did a factory reinstall of the OS with one of them and that wasn't enough, and I had tried a clean OS install without ControlPoint and that didn't work for me either.

Anonymous said...

We have had freeze ups at our company for a few months now. We are using the Dell 6510 with WIMAX and without installing with Windows 7 Enterprise. It is freezing up and hosing our network ports. The ports have to be reset after this happens because upon reboot it says limited or no connectivity. This has been frustrating. After working with Dell it came down to the WIMAX or so we though. I installed in the order they told me too and it still froze. After trying one more time we have not had a freeze ups since. Dell seems to think it is the chronological order of the driver installs. I am still not confident.

rslygh said...

I've had them try to blame the order of driver installation before too, but how would that explain an issue with a factory install? Unless they're installing things wrong too of course. When I reinstall the OS and drivers, I go

1. Chipset
2. System driver (most newer Dells have one)
3. Everything else

Then throw BIOS update in there before chipset driver if one exists.

I don't know if that truly makes a difference, but it has seemed to work for me

Anonymous said...

I've been having trouble with my E6510 randomly freezing since I bought it 12 months ago and the problem has been getting worse. I too reinstalled the OS several times which made no difference. I was just about to give up on the laptop when I had a message pop up saying there was a hard drive failure. I then ran diagnostics which gave HD error 0146. I believe there may have been a bad batch of drives as we have another E6510 which is also experiencing similar lock ups. I think the drive gets worse slowly over time which causes things to lock up. Dell are sending a new drive but I wonder if this is a problem that is not being reported?

rslygh said...

It's possible that it's the hard drive in your case. Mine was the motherboard on one and software on another. I think the E6510 is more a poorly made machine than any one issue.