Month: May 2011

Dell D620/D630 PCMIA slot stops working

Post author By Vivi The Mage
Post date May 20, 2011
No Comments on Dell D620/D630 PCMIA slot stops working

Have you ever run into this issue? We have MANY aircards and ran into this a handful of times. The first time around we went through drivers, different PCMIA cards, etc. So we called Dell, that had no idea, and sent us out a new PCMIA card. I decided to install it myself, instead of a tech this time. What I found out was that the ribbon cable (seen in the following picture), is actually coming loose. So if you push down on the left side of the palm rest (with the laptop off, the hard drive is right there as well, we do not want that spinning). That’s right the fix is :

Push down on the left side of the palm rest (with the laptop off), and it should make a connection. If you notice, the adapters naturally want to pull out of the little socket they plug into.

I later found out that this was a huge issue with D620’s, and with D630’s, they actually have a thicker pad between the palm rest and the ribbon…go figure!

[zp src=”d620_adapters.JPG” album=”blog/etc/” width=”600″]

Software

ATI/AMD 6950 crossfire flicker at desktop and in games with 2 monitors

Post author By Vivi The Mage
Post date May 19, 2011
No Comments on ATI/AMD 6950 crossfire flicker at desktop and in games with 2 monitors

I have 2 x XFX 6950 2GB (reference) cards water cooled, great temps, great scores with a little overclock from within the CCC. I noticed a pretty bad flicker on both monitors when playing youtube/flash videos. I also noticed it when I was gaming (bad company 2, starcraft 2, League of Legends, etc). I tried new drivers (11.4, 11.5 + associated hotfixes), and I tried old 10.x drivers as well, with different crossfire profiles. I also tried running with 1 monitor, 1 gpu, etc.

The Fix :

Disable ATi overdrive in the CCC panel with driver 11.5 I am running solid, no more flickering! I then just use MSI Afterburner for my OC. I wrote a quick article on how to open up overclocking on there as well

http://vivithemage.com/2011/03/enabling-unofficial-overclocking-in-msi-afterburner-2-1/

drivers

ACPI SMO8800 driver missing for Dell E6410/E6420/E6510/E6520 – unknown device ACPI SMO8800

Post author By Vivi The Mage
Post date May 16, 2011
65 Comments on ACPI SMO8800 driver missing for Dell E6410/E6420/E6510/E6520 – unknown device ACPI SMO8800

We received a bunch of new Dell E6420’s at work, and needed to get them prepped for drivers and our image deployment. We run a deployment process through Landesk OSD, with HII (Hardware Independent Imaging), which basically means that we have 1 image for multiple model computers.

I installed our basic Windows 7 Pro x32 image on the new machine, and was going through drivers that needed to be installed, and ran into one tricky one. In Device Manager, right-click the device and click Properties. Under the details tab, choose Hardware ID from the drop box. You’ll see something like ACPI\SMO8800 (that’s what the unknown device was on mine). Google that hardware ID and you’ll find that it’s an accelerometer, a device that detects when your laptop may be falling and instantly stops the hard disk so it isn’t damaged on impact.

I went through and extracted the drivers for it in Windows 7 x86/x64, Vista x86/x64, and XP x86/x64. The zip file is 2.79 MB (2,926,227 bytes). You can download the drivers here : LINK IS DEAD

All you have to do is extract it (I use 7zip), and navigate your update drivers to your respective OS version and x86/x64 version. If you want a more detailed write up on how to do it, with pictures, let me know.

Hopefully this helps :).

Computer Hardware

IBM Lenovo X220 break down/tear down for mSata SSD (intel 310, Renice X3 (SF1222), etc)

Post author By Vivi The Mage
Post date May 12, 2011
13 Comments on IBM Lenovo X220 break down/tear down for mSata SSD (intel 310, Renice X3 (SF1222), etc)

After doing some research on the best sandy bridge, ultra portal … I have decided on this awesome new laptop .. the IBM x220.

You can view the x220 datasheet (hardware options) : linked here (PDF).

I know some people will want to get an mSata SSD installed, this is a break down for that, with pictures!

1) RENICE 50mm mSATA.
[zp src=”1.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

2) Flip it and remove screws.
[zp src=”2.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

3) Turn it over, take the keyboard out.
[zp src=”3.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

4) Remove the keyboard connector, be careful here, it looks delicate!
[zp src=”4.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

5) Keyboard removed.
[zp src=”5.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

6) Flip it again, and remove the front screws.
[zp src=”6.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

7) Remove the back ‘shelf’.
[zp src=”7.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

8) Now we have access to the mSata area.
[zp src=”8.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

9) Slip your mSata drive in.
[zp src=”9.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

10) screw in the mSata drive.
[zp src=”10.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

11) Put it back together, start with the palm rest.
[zp src=”11.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

12) Snap the blue connector for the touchpad.
[zp src=”12.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

12.5) Flip it over, and screw in the palm rest, and attach the keyboard, screw that back in as well.

13) Assembly done, let’s boot.
[zp src=”13.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

14) BIOS see’s our mSata drive.
[zp src=”14.jpg” album=”blog/x220″ width=”600″]

.. Enjoy!

Hopefully someone finds this useful! I pulled these images from a thread in Anandtech, to make it more searchable.

Cases

Corsair 600T – Full Acrylic Side Panel

Post author By Vivi The Mage
Post date May 1, 2011
13 Comments on Corsair 600T – Full Acrylic Side Panel

So, after a few cuts of my acrylic piece, Bill, the owner over at MNPCtech.com, came over to my place, and dropped it off! It looks really clean, and it fits perfectly….without further ado :

[zp src=”P1000125.JPG” album=”vivi/600T/acrylic” width=”500″]

[zp src=”P1000121.JPG” album=”vivi/600T/acrylic” width=”500″]

[zp src=”P1000123.JPG” album=”vivi/600T/acrylic” width=”500″]