Chienworks, thanks for the heart felt - "ARRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!" - Well you know how I feel!

Yes, okay on the "fan" advice and yes, Dellboy will most likey have its own mind on the business. I doooo love my Inspiron. In other deparments it works like a dream machine, so I am really loathe to go through an upgrade just because it blows hot 'n cold on this one issue.

Do I think this is the end of the tunnel..... well its one orafice I don't wish to explore again. I've got plenty of projects to get out to tape etc etc....

Presently I'm playing cat 'n mouse with the 2 fans. I do this by getting the 2 fans to start up - start a procedure - wait for one of them to stop and hit play. Sooooo... as long as only one fan reamins on from beginning to end of a Preview on device, there are no drop-outs. I can "force" drop-out by repeating the session while both fans are on. And yes, when one of the fans stops I get blue screen heaven.

Thanks again Chienworks. Both you and others have stood by me through this nonsense.

Maybe a little email to Mr Michael Dell is called for.

Grazie

Grazie - why not download the fan control utility and use that? For some realy 'creative' solutions have a look at what the overclockers get up to. Do you fancy watercooling? That said, it seems the problems of cooling an overclocked laptop are too great, though some of the software solutions for reducing the heat output may be useful.

Cheers

Ian G.

Thanks Ian,

I've had some feedback from the writer of the FanGui utility - very helpful indeed! I'm just a bit of wimp when it comes to taking control of something so close to the BIOS settings.

So far this is what I got from Dell Support:

"I apologize for the issue you are facing.
Fan operation is done at the BIOS level and there is no direct
way to control it. The BIOS Power Management indirectly controls
the fan.The fan will typically not run as often. The system uses
a thermal algorithm that monitors temperatures at different locations
and the system will initiate the fan automatically if necessary
and the fan will only come on when the system surpasses the temperature
rating listed in the BIOS.In some situations, this means the
fan may not come on at all. "

Got it! Good. This is beyond me!

Presently I watch the fans and when one switches OFF and the other still remains ON, I then hit the Print-To-Tape. As long as the fan stays on the clip successfully goes through the firewire and through the Dazzle Hollywood Bridge. All those weeks of frustration and head banging....

Grazie

Go ahead and vent your frustrations! http://www.disgruntledmasses.com/ Here's an entire website set up just for venting ;)

Now that's what I call a website! Wish I had seen ages ago. How much do people spend on therapy a year!!!

I just loovvvve the "Phone Spamming" thread. In the UK we have a Phone Preference list that telemarketers have to stick to. If they call you and you have had your name and tel number removed from this list they can be prosecuted.

We are off this list and yes.... a finance company did call........

"Hello this is a nice person who does video editing with PTT problems"

"Oh, I represent..."

"Who DID you say you were?"

"Acme Finance."

"And where pray, are you based?"

"Oh, in Brightshire"

"Is that Brightshire part of the Village District of Pretty Place?"

"Oh..... are you on the Preferered Telephone Exclusion list?"

"You betcha!!! And you've just broken the law Yahooooooo...."

Ooooh I really like doing this. Funny don't seem to have any of them call of late... I wonder why not?

Seeyah

Grazie

Grazie ,,, I did not read your initial post ,, so ,,, my comments will be based on your statement "the issue of drop-out when Printing to Tape." ,,,,, I as well had an issue with the steam stopping for a second while printing to tape. This is what I discovered. My computer has the ACPI function. This "driver" allows the computer to turn on and off devices in order to save energy. I attempted to disable this function, it did not make any difference. But, I was convinced that something was interrupting the video stream. After spending useless dollars for Microsoft support, I talked myself through the fix. I have an intenet connection via a cable modem and a home network set up using the Intel Anypoint Wireless adapters. I am running Windows XP Home. The Wireless adapter on the client computer apparently accesses the host computer on a regular bases. This access is what is causing the broken video stream. My solution was to, Disable my Internet Connection, Disable the MAC Bridge and Remove the Wireless adapter from the MAC Bridge. In Windows XP, this is done in the software, so you don't have to physically mess with hardware. Once you have completed your printing to tape, you Enable the devices and move the Wireless adapter back into the network bridge. Again, I did not read your initial post,,,, hope this helps get you one of those ,,,, Ahh Haa moments and you figure out what is accessing your video steam when you are printing to tape. Good Luck,,, Tom Cooper

Hmmmmm....

It's the fan! It's the fan cutting in and out.

I can hear it : I can see it and I can feeeel the draft... a lot of hot air.... it's happening. If you do look through my posts, you will see a further post I copied here from another forum that describes my Dell Inspiron's Hicups to the letter... and and a response from Dell themselves.

That's been my "Ahh Haa" moment [I suppose that's not an Alan Partridge "Ah Haa - Knowing me knowing you - Ah Haaa" it's a bit of Limey humour].

The caring people on this Forum have been putting up with me for the past 5 months (?) trying all sorts of things. However I shall keep your experiences on file.

Ah Haaa

Grazie

Grazie ,,, the symptom is the same ,,, the cause different ,,, Is this an ACPI function? ,,,, Can you change it so your fan runs continuously?

You've lost me.

I understand cause and effect, but the ACPI function - who he? - is beyond my knowledge base. But willing to learn.

ACPI is the Advanced Computer & Power Interface - an open specification for allowing the OS to control configuration options and power management. Dell haven't adopted it. Their motherboard manufacturers may have though.

I thought Dell's response was a rather inelegant bit of BS, but this caught my eye:-"the fan will only come on when the system surpasses the temperature
rating listed in the BIOS". Is it possible you can set the thermostat temperature (I beg their pardon - parametric option of the thermal algorith) in the BIOS? If so, just set it low enough that the fans are on all the time.

It's also interesting that they claim the fans can't be directly controlled - that conflicts with the fan controlling s/w, which seems to control the fans, um, directly!

Cheers

Ian G.

Welllll.... Ian....

Firstly thanks for the 101 on ACPI - now I understand. However, there is an option to set the laptop's power management to conserve battery life. But that probably isn't the level you are wanting me to have control of? You are asking if I can take control of a far deeper level - yes/no?

I've looked at the BIOS settings and haven't seen an option relating to temperature. I'll have another look at it. - But, yes. If there was one, setting the temp. as high [you say,"just set it low enough that the fans are on all the time" - I think you really mean set it high yes/no?] as possible would trick the theristor (see I have learnt something!] to keep the fans on continually.

Your last comment about direct fan control - I read this from Dell as meaning that the USER doesn't have direct control, and only the "hidden" Dell s/w does. Yes?

Well, I've tried FanGui and presently I'm having trouble with it taking over mouse control and it appears to inturrupt the flow of PTT work. Soooo... maybe I need to update my BIOS to a more recent version etc etc.

It aint getting any easier, but at least I /we have tracked down the fundamental issue - well nearly.

I've given all of this an overall view to what maybe happening. It goes something like this:

1. Dell have qualified my 1394 OHCI 4 pin port as for video work - Okay?

2. In my opinion this 1394 port must be taking some volt/amp draw to make it work - Okay?

3. The fan/s also take volt/amp to make them work - Okay?

4. As a result of this "sharing" of the electrical supply to both "device" items there is a tripping-up of the flow of AVI through the 1394 - Okay?

5. IMHO Dell may need to revisit, what I call, this balancing act of keeping the AVI flow through the 1394 and allow the fan/s to switch on at the same time.

I believe this is at the core of the issue - hey, I may very well be wrong! But having tested and re-tested this "effect" this does appear to me to be the sticking point. Just to reiterate: tricking one fan to stay on [ I do a little Preview to Screen to bring on one fan then hit Preview on Device buttons ] I don't get any drop-out. If, however, I get any suggestion of fan switching just prior or during the PTT process, I can lay even money that PTT will drop-out.

What I would really like to have, is a direct communication with Dell's engineers to discuss these matters.

Again, thanks Ian for your interest and concern.

Grazie

Hmmmmmm....

Well Grazie, if it was a desktop computer, I would just say slap in a bigger power supply, and see if it helps.

I don't know if that is an option with laptops, or if would help...

A bigger power supply will give you more watts. Maybe that is what you need??

-----------------------------------------------

I live in Minnesota...Cold. Every time my furnace kicks in, my living room lights dim for a few seconds. How can I fix that? Put the furnace on a different circut???

So maybe when your fan kicks in, your whole motherboard 'dims'??? (looses voltage or something)?

So, do you need more voltage, watts, or amps????

Something to think about, and I'm sorry I don't have the answers. Maybe an electrition can explain something.

Stiffler - put your furnace onto Oil Fired! Now there's a thought for my laptop! Maybe even wind power? Perhaps I could connect the "exhaust" from the fans to power themselves? Perpetual machines - nah! I think Issy Newton would have something to say about that - oh yeah and Entropy comes into play too - n'est pas?

But yes, you have caught the direction I'm coming from.

If anybody has got a way I can email Dell engineers -woah!

Please people, don't give up on me. Apart from anything else this thread has brought some humour to the VF forum. Do I see the inkling/glimmer of a video project here?

"A Day In The Life Of A Dell Inspiron User" OR "How I stopped worrying and blew on my Laptop" - Not particularly snappy headings - Any thoughts?

Grazie - hey, I give good value folks!!

ps See VinceG has popped up on the "Dark-Side Part II"

Grazie

For ACPI 101, read the sum total of my knowledge on the subject! If there is a temperature control, and it's not looking optimistic, the setting should be low - you want the fans to be trying to get down to an unachievable temperature and therefore run all the time. If you set it high you run the risk of them never kicking in and you start cooking!

I'm not convinced that the problem is directly related to a voltage drop - I'd expect more general problems, and the original post said the problem happens when the fans stop as well. Don't hold me to this, but I seem to remember Scenalyzer allows you to change the buffer sizes for PTT. You might get some mileage out of that - set them as high as you can and try to ride out whatever transient effect is hurting you.

Cheers

Ian G.

How long have you had your Dell un-insperion?

oops! Sorry Ian, I understand it better now - thank you.

Grazie