Inspiron 9100, Weird problem with computer running applications.

It sounds like you have a heat problem that the heat is causing your processor to throttle down. Try theese tips

1. while booting press fn+z+r at the same time this will bring up the thermal control page check and make sure you don't have any fan failures in your log.If you do contact dell for fan replacement.Also when the fans kick on high touch your ram cover and see if it is hotter then normal.

2.Take caned air and blast the rear vents in a slightly downward angle which will free the heatsinks of dust which can cause heat problems.It is good practice to performe this evry week or so.

3.Make sure you have sufficient air flow in the rear and underside of your laptop make sure it isnt resting on somthng like your bed where the vents can be restricted of air flow.Heat is a factor in all laptops in my opinion it is a good idea to use a cooling pad when posable.

I do a good bit of gaming on my inspiron XPS and customized a targus cooling pad the solid style not the cooling pad powered by fan's because of reviews i have read say they arent made very well and ment to last.Anyway it also puts my  laptop on a slight angle which raises the rear up and i also cut out the areas where the fan vents and the ram cover sit on the cooling pad and also drilled a bunch of tiny holes in my ram cover and it makes a pretty big difference my machine runs a lot cooler.

Good luck hope this helps

Inspiron XPS
3.4 H/T processor
1 gig ram
256 ddr ati 9800
15.4 wide aspect ultra sharp
wuxga(1920x1200) display
Operating system windows xp home
Service pk 2
Logitech MX750 wireless mouse
Nostromo n52 gamepad

Message Edited by jeffcmfrt on 04-11-2005 06:24 PM

Thanks Jeff, I was also having a problem with a very slow 9100. The laptop was on my bed- I've move it to a location with better airflow and I've noticed a big difference.

Hi Fighting Quaker

Yes heat causes performence loss and all laptops need to be blasted with caned air on a regular basis to help keep the heatsinks runing cooler.Some models when the heat sinks get too full of dust they have to be takin apart and cleaned.Make sure you have sufficient air flow and use the caned air on a regular basis and the cooling pad help also. Good luck

Inspiron XPS
3.4 H/T processor
1 gig ram
256 ddr ati 9800
15.4 wide aspect ultra sharp
wuxga(1920x1200) display
Operating system windows xp home
Service pk 2
Logitech MX750 wireless mouse
Nostromo n52 gamepad

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@carterjw wrote:

i am having a very similar problem! i also have a Dell Inspiron 9100, 3.2ghz P4, 512mb ram, ATi 9700 Mobile Radeon. a few days ago my notebook started running VERY slow, it takes between 10-15 minutes to boot!!!!! it has happened occassionally in the past and i've just turned it off, turned it back on and it has been ok.... now it is happening every time, i've rebooted / turned it off and back on at least a dozen times in the past 3 days and its still doing it.

 

how can i tell whether there are fan failures when i press Fn+z+r ? all three fans seem to report their RPM's correctly...

 

the notebook will run really slow, but once something has been loaded into memory it will be fine. i can even play games ok, they just take a loooonng time to load the first time.

 

help! :(

 

(also note i do NOT have SP2 installed, i have checked that my power settings are configured to office/desktop NOT laptop/portable, etc etc... and i have not installed anything recently that would make my notebook behave like this... also i dont think cooling is an issue, my notebook is always on a flat wooden desk...)

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Hi carterjw

When you press Fn+Z+R look for where it says fan failures if it says 0 you are OK But still use the caned air that should be done once a week or so.

Here are a couple things that may help.First i would recomend installing SP2.If you arnt runing spyware and adware here are 3 good free ones Lavasoft Adware se,Spywareblaster and SPybotsearch and destroy you have to run more than one to fight the spyware i use the Adware se and Spywareblaster  but you can run all 3.run anti virus protection.Delete cookies and temp files in internet explorer this is also a good free program that works well  http://www.cleanup.stevengould.org/

 Make sure you have some empty disc space on your hard drive and do a disc cleanup and defrag.Go to start>RUN type in msconfig >OK>startup tab Write down evrything listed in your startup then go here to check which ones are needed and which ones are not eliminate unneeded programs in your start up http://www.liutilities.com/products/wintaskspro/processlibrary/atiptaxx/ type each one in the process library box.It will tell you what each one is and if it is needed or if it is spyware or a threat Note sometimes adware and spyware and other unwanted programs will be installed in the startup and have to be removed .In your bios pages make sure minumal boot is selected.I would try theese things and get it runing right before installing SP2 make sure you are free of spyware and adware before attempt installing SP2.

Hope this helps best wishes and good luck Post back if it doesnt fix .

Inspiron XPS Gen 1
3.4 H/T processor
1 gig ram
256 ddr ati 9800
15.4 wide aspect ultra sharp
wuxga(1920x1200) display
Operating system windows xp home
Service pk 2
Logitech MX750 wireless mouse
Nostromo n52 gamepad

Message Edited by jeffcmfrt on 05-01-2005 09:46 AM

Message Edited by jeffcmfrt on 05-01-2005 09:47 AM

this is going to sound really weird, but i've found the cause of my problem!!!

if i squeeze my notebook on the spot where the hard disk is, it works MUCH faster, and then if i let go, it becomes REALLY slow again when loading programs or just accessing the hard disk on general. i have tried to tighten the screw (it didn't tighten very much, maybe a half turn, or three quarters of a turn at the most) and it seems to be working alright just now! i'm not sure whether it'll happen again when i move my notebook (i carry it to/from work each day)

perhaps i should remove the hard disk and re-insert it? would this void my warranty?

Not weird at all and yes i would remove and reseat the harddrive and use some good ole artic silver not the pads that dell uses.Removing your hard drive will not void your warranty as long as you dont cause any damage to your laptop.If you do have to send it to dell for any reason they will inspect it and if they determin that somthing broke do to your negligence Then yes they will give you a hard time and try to hold you up for any cost of repairs that may be needed due to your negligence. But if you are comfortable with doing the repairs yourself go for it.If you need the information on replaceing the HD just go to the dell page and type in inspiron 9100 followed by documentation it will give you the manual and the works on your system to replace the HD or anything else for that matter. Best wishes and good luck.

 

Inspiron XPS Gen 1
3.4 H/T processor
1 gig ram
256 ddr ati 9800
15.4 wide aspect ultra sharp
wuxga(1920x1200) display
Operating system windows xp home
Service pk 2
Logitech MX750 wireless mouse
Nostromo n52 gamepad

Talk about strange when i had my 9100 i had a problem with installing one game hitman contracts.I would have to push the cd/dvd drive in while installing the game if i diddnt the install would stop then when i would go to my computer the icon would have disapeared when i rebooted it would come back.It drove me nuts getting that game installed but that was the only disc i ever had any trouble with.I basicly done the same thing you done i presed on the drive out of desperation tried evrything else i mean hours. LOL:smileyvery-happy:live and learn.

Inspiron XPS Gen 1
3.4 H/T processor
1 gig ram
256 ddr ati 9800
15.4 wide aspect ultra sharp
wuxga(1920x1200) display
Operating system windows xp home
Service pk 2
Logitech MX750 wireless mouse
Nostromo n52 gamepad

Message Edited by jeffcmfrt on 05-03-2005 10:47 PM

I purchased this machine for its graphical abilities. Gig of ram, nice spicy video card, beefy processor, exactly the qualities i was looking for in a laptop. i purchased one from an online retailer about 2 weeks after i purchased it it started to shut down when i put a load on the processor.
i got smart and started monitoring the temperature and fan speeds (I8kfanGUI) and noticed that the computer shuting down corrisponds to a tempurature of 60-62 degrees, well under the specified limits posted at the INTEL website regarding the 3.2Ghz prescott. This could mean only one thing in my head - the processor's ThermalTrip is going off, cutting off power to the processor before it reaches critical - this is because the dope that had it before me thought he was a dell surgeon and would replace his motherboard himself. to fix the problems he had with it...
did a little more research and found out that the guy who had this PC before me had problems that were a lot like the ones listed on this thread and decided to pawn it off on me, but not before trying to replace the motherboard and processor himself.
im disapointed in the vendor i used. and im very disapointed with the rat who sold it to me.


my question is.......

has anyone ever heard of someone swaping out their prescott for a northwood.

i know, its craaazy, but they work off the same chipset. i think they both even support HyperThreading (not that anyone uses this feature on a laptop, get real dell) but the Northwood runs a lot cooler.

If anyone knows of either a link where someone had tried this OR has heard of someone doing it themselves i would thank them many times. many different ways. I might even give them a copy of my book "things i think about when the power is out"

Thanks


PS
if you are the guy that sold me a sh*tty laptop, die a firey firey death.