Dell Latitude
Dell Latitude questions and answers
Check out the Used Latitude Notebook resrouce section at GeekBlue Portable Computers
Q: Dell Latitude?
I have a dell latitude i got from a flea market the hard drive died and it's apparently isn't made anymore can i use other hard drive types or even an external hard drive to replace it such as a seagate?
ty warren ill go check asap
I found out that it's a ATA/IDE so what kind of external hard drive will do? I looked through wal mart but they don't show weather or not the hard drives are compatible
A: I own 3 Dell Notebook PCs, one older Latitude D800 that requires the 2.5" IDE hard drive and my 2 newest include a Latitude D620 that uses the 2.5" SATA hard drive.
It's true you have to be careful what you buy and I might add the 2.5" IDE hard drives are in short supply mainly bec manufacturers are primarily building the newer Notebook SATA drives so it is NOT cheap as you might hope or expect.
That being said, you "must exercise GOOD JUDGEMENT" in how much you would be willing to spend in an attempt to get this Dell Notebook back on its feet? I personally would NOT spend more than $200 or $300 bec whatever you end of spending, money is not something to waste so you want to get maximum RETURN on $$ spent to make it a worthy long term investment. I hate to also say if you bought it at a flea market, you also increase you chances that this Dell Latitude Notebook might be obsolete -- so best example for you to understand is say an used automobile... just bec it's a DELL and I personally believe they are the best and easiest to upgrade as well as repair, that used auto say it only has those ridiculuous donut spare tires on all 4 wheels bec that happen to be the thing in its prime when manufactured. Well you know and can never kid yourself if you were able to find someone to happen to have a new engine that even if they could rebuit it that you would never be satisfied.
My advice is twofold: Each Dell PC has a Dell Service Tag affixed to it. Visit the Dell Technical Support and enter the Service Tag which will show you the original installed Dell components. With regard to upgrading any Notebook PC that has any merit, the CPU processor must be at a minimum a Pentium IV or higher. If it's a Pentium II or III, hopefully you didn't pay too much bec it will never run fast enough in terms of response times on the internet, but if you're just doing say word processing and spreadsheets, you might want to keep it and proceed to STEP 2. All Dell PC models have a Resource CD that will tell you what problems or discrepancies the diagnostics indicates might be wrong. Since you know very little, it might be worth asking via Craigslist or yellow pages how much a local PC repair shop might charge to run this diagnostics as STEP2A and then STEP 2B might be how much they charge to install a new hard drive and get it up and running with say a 30 to 90 day warranty. STEP 3 is the Do It Yourself installation and it can be challenging, but requires a lot of patience bec frustration is in your rear view window if you decide to take up the challenge. I personally have passed up opportunities to tinker with other disabled PCs simply bec some problems are well beyond my novice plus skills.
In closing, I advise someone looking for a good deal on a Notebook PC to visit the Dell Outlet website bec they do give warranty and peace of mind!
I apologize for the length and Wish You Well! Best of Luck!
Q: What hard drive does the Dell Latitude X200 use?
I'm planning on upgrading my Dell Latitude's X200 HDD, but I'm not quite sure which type of hard drive to get.
Does anybody know what hard drive it uses? Or can I just buy any laptop hard drive from Newegg or some place without any worries? Thanks!
A: Any size laptop SATA HHD would work.
Just make sure you have a computer Tech put it in for you.
Q: What is the best linux version for a DELL Latitude D600 laptop?
I have a DELL Latitude D600 that was passed down to me by my older sister. The XP on it has some bad malware and is generally corrupted. What would be the best Linux version to either replace it , or do a dual boot?
It is about 5 years old.
A: Almost any distro will install with a dual boot option. Which distro you install depends on how much horsepower you have and what you want to do.
Since there are over 300 distros, and a few CDRWs are pretty cheap, download a few that sound interesting and try them. DSL (Damn Small Linux) or PCLinuxOS minime might be good for a smaller computer, but Ubuntu might run well too.
They're free - take 2. Or 20. Have fun. That's what it's all about. (Until you decide to earn your living doing what you do for fun.)
Q: How do I get my keyboard on my dell latitude c600 to work properly?
I bought a used dell latitude laptop, but it didn't come with any user guides. I noticed a function key and so far it only works with the suspend key. It won't work for volume or display brightness. It worked when I used it the first few times. I must have hit a button that made it stop working. Can any one tell me what I might have done to my keyboard?
Also, the track stick in the middle of the keyboard, I'm suppose to be able to just tap it and it recognize that as a click, it worked the first few times, now the tapping doesn't work.
Another thing, I went into the keyboard set up to try to setup my Dell AccessDirect Key, but when I go into keyboard setup there is no Dell AcccessDirect Key.
What should I do? Could it be that Windows XP is not recognizing the correct keyboard or track stick? Should I try to reinstall a driver for the keyboard, if so , how?
A: Hi, in this page you can find the documentation of your Dell Latitude C600: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latc600/
The track stick is never click-able, it is not a button.
About the keyboard drivers, you should check this page: http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/latc600/en/ug/drivers.htm
Or, if you not have the support disks, enter to http://support.dell.com/ and introduce your laptop data at the "Popular support tools" section to locate the drivers.
Q: How do you work the fingerprint scanner on a Dell Latitude?
I just got my Dell Latitude today and I cannot figure out where to set up or do anything with the fingerprint scanner on the computer. There is no manual with the computer. I have looked everywhere on the control panel under security items and account settings. Any ideas? Is there some kind of software I need to download?
A: Go here and look for your model and you can download the manual.
http://search.dell.com/results.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=bsd&cat=sup&cs=04&k=finger+print+set+up&rpp=12&p=1&subcat=ddc&rf=all&nk=f&ira=False&~srd=False&ipsys=False&advsrch=False
Q: How can i stop my Dell Latitude from freezing up?
I have an old Dell Latitude that constantly drops the signal and freezes up my computer when I use my Dell Truemobile 1300 PC Wireless Card. The card is in my PCMCIA slot; if i take it out and put it back in again it works for a few minutes, and then freezes up again. Is there any way i can fix this? Would changing the BIOS work? If so, how do I do it?
A: Upgrading the BIOS could definetly help. I don't know what model Latitude you have, so I cannot tell you how to do it...some require a 3.5 inch floppy, so you may need an external USB floppy to do it.
Other BIOS upgrades are easy; just run the file in XP and the program automatically restarts the system and upgrades the BIOS on its own. However, older Dells do require a floppy, or running the file on a bootable CD in DOS.
Also try upgrading all of the drivers on your computer, especially the chipset and Truemobile 1300 drivers. There is a significant possibility this will help your situation; Dell might've found a fix for this problem and the new drivers will have the patches in them. Go to support.dell.com to find the latest drivers for your computer.
One last option is to physically look at the PCMCIA connection inside your computer, as well as on the card. Look for any broken or bent pins. You may need a flashlight to look inside the computer.
Dell Truemobile(tm) wireless devices (usually access points, but also WLAN receivers) were a troubleshooting nightmare from day one. Eventually Dell abandoned the brand and went with Linksys or Netgear wireless routers, as well as Intel WLAN receivers in the actual laptops.
Q: What do I need to buy to hook up my Dell Latitude D620 to the tv?
We have a Vizio 37" LCD tv and I want to buy something to hook up my husband's Dell Latitude D620 to the tv. What do I need to buy exactly?
A: Make sure your TV and laptop have an S-Video outlet and then go buy an S-Video cable. They're like $5. Hook it up to your TV and laptop, change your TV's input to the correct one (Video 1 or 2 etc). On your laptop hold down Fn key and then hit F8. At least on my laptop it's F8, it could be different on yours, but it will be one of the F keys. Mine says something like 'CRT' on the F key in blue font.
Good luck.
Q: What graphics cards are compatible with the Dell Latitude D505?
I have a Dell Latitude D505 laptop, and I need a better graphics card then the one it came with, to play my games. What ones would work?
A: There aren't any.
The graphics chip that is built-in to your laptop is soldered in place and cannot be changed.
Q: How to enable fingerprint reader in dell latitude D830?
I just got a Dell Latitude D830 and it seems to have a fingerprint reader in between the two buttons for the mouse pad thing. I am not sure how to activate and setup the fingerprint hardware and software. Does anyone has any idea as to how:
1. Turn the hardware on?
2. What is the software that comes with this hardware?
3. How do I setup the whole thing to start working?
4. If I set this up, do I still have a way of accessing the computer with a password?
Thanks a lot you smart people!
A: Hi there... here you go!
1) To set up your Biometric reader, you will need to read the "Getting started guide" on your system. Click Start, All Programs, Wave Systems Corp, Getting started guide. It needs to be activated in the BIOS.
2) The software that comes with it is the Embasy Trust Suite and probably the TouchStrip Reader.
3) Complicated to write the whole thing out... but read the Getting started Guide.. it's a good walk through.
4) Yes, you can set it to be an "either" situation. So if the biometric reader isn't working, you can still enter a password.
Hope this helps... Good Luck!
Q: How can I get my Verizon LG 8100 cell phone to work with my Dell Latitude D810 laptop's bluetooth?
I have a Dell Latitude D810 laptop and a Verizon LG8100 cell phone. Both have bluetooth and I'd like to get them to work together to transfer items like photos and ring tones.
Thanks!
A: In your laptop , Go to Control Panel & click on the Bluethooth Device Icon. Here , now search for available devices. While doingf so , the Bluetooth of your set must be Switched on & Discoverable. After finding your Phone set from Laptop , connect from same discovery. it will ask for Passkey , fill the any same password from both , ie Phone & Laptop. Fill same password like 123 . Here you are , your phone is connected to your laptop. Now you can exchange files frm each other By sending through Bluetooth.
Q: Any way to open up a Dell Latitude key board?
I have a habit of pressing the keys too hard ont he key board and after about a year's use(Dell latitude D505) the keys are weak and dont function when pressed at most times, is there any way to open the key board and reallign the keys or something?
A: To access the keyboard on any Dell laptop, you have to remove 4 or 5 screws from the bottom of the laptop. Then turn the unit over carefully and lift the keyboard off.
Go to Dell site, put in your laptop model and go to support. There will be great help in showing how to access the keyboard.
The keyboard is attached with a thin microstrip so don't just lift it off. It has to be lifted from the right side upwards.
Check the Dell site first.
Sarge
Q: Where abouts is the battery in a Dell Latitude C600 and how do I remove it to replace it?
I have a Dell C600 latitude laptop. I have added more ram prevously, but the Battery is completly dead. I want to replace it, and in BIOS it says that there are 2 battery slots. Are there? How do I add a new battery/replace my old one? I can get a new battery off ebay, I just need to know who to get at the old one and remove it!
Thanks
A: The main battery is usually in the left front slot. Flip it over and there is a latch that unlocks the battery. The second battery slot is also the drive bay slot. You can take out the CD/DVD and put in another battery for extra long run time.
Q: How do I remove all the drivers I downloaded on my Dell Latitude?
I downloaded some of the drivers from the dell website but i think i picked the wrong ones because they didn't work. Can you tell me the exact drivers i should download. I have a DELL Latitude D610.
i have a linksys router setup and i want to get it working
A: Go to control panel and under "programs and features"
Q: What is a good modem for a Dell Latitude CPX?
I recently received a second-hand laptop that doesn't have a modem. I've never bought a modem apart from a computer, so please help me out here.
It's a Dell Latitude CPX running on XP.
It says it had installed a XJ-CC5560 56K Data Fax Full-Duplex Voice modem.
I'm on dial-up now but hope to switch to DSL soon.
How do I find a modem for it? Please help. Thank you.
There is currently no modem.
A: Hi you would need a PCMCIA MODEM card or for broadband you would need a PCMCIA Network card and a adsl modem usually supplied by your ISP (Internet service provider)
Q: How do I get video to play from my Dell Latitude laptop to my TV through S-Video?
I have a new Dell Latitude laptop and I'm learning all it's bells and whistles. I want to play video on my laptop to my TV for movies and streaming videos. I have the cables for the audio and it's working fine, but I can't the video to out-put through my S-video cable.
I know most laptops have the Function-F5 option for video out, but mine doesn't have that.
Please give me some ideas and options, I greatly appreciate it!
A: You have to boot the computer with the S-video cable installed.