[SOLVED] Dell Laptop Slow - SSD, Fresh Win 10

[Appletax]

Solution: very picky about power source. Bought the exact power adapter needed and it works fine now.


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Dell Latitude E5540 is very sluggish - has slow response/loading.

Service tag: 9MYWR32

- Core i5 Dual Core
- 8GB RAM
- SSD

1. Tried 2 SSDs
2. Fresh install of Win 10 Pro
3. Built-in diagnostics via UEFI show 0 issues
4. MemTest86 shows 0 issues
5. Does not have battery, but shouldn't matter
6. Used Dell OEM power adapter w/ ample wattage

Bad mobo?

 

[Porthos]

Used Dell OEM power adapter w/ ample wattage

I would try a new Dell OEM adapter of at least 90W.

 

[River Valley Computer]

Dell Latitude E5540 is very sluggish - has slow response/load

Have you checked if the BIOS is up to date? We had the exact same computer in last week and had the same issue. Updated BIOS and bammmmm. Not sure why but we didn't want to kick success in the mouth.

We have been finding BIOS updates have fixed a lot of problems lately.

 

[tek9]

Check if the CPU is throttling down.

 

[JoelM]

Check if the CPU is throttling down.

^This. What is the CPU speed showing in Task Manager? If it doesn't register a "DELL" power adapter with the correct wattage for that computer connected it will throttle down the CPU.

 

[Diggs]

^This. What is the CPU speed showing in Task Manager? If it doesn't register a "DELL" power adapter with the correct wattage for that computer connected it will throttle down the CPU.

This....
Or, does the power receptacle in the laptop have a messed up or missing center sensing pin? See how it runs on battery.

 

[britechguy]

Interesting. I now recall this being mentioned before, but I had forgotten that Dell had a proprietary charger.

That certainly doesn't incline me toward buying a Dell laptop, as chargers do die unexpectedly and being unable to snag a generic replacement, even if just for get-me-through use, would not be a good thing.

 

[Diggs]

That certainly doesn't incline me toward buying a Dell laptop

Yep. Dell keeps shooting themselves in the foot, reload and do it again. (Proprietary power supplies on desktops long ago, RAMBUS memory, etc.) Just when I start to like Dell stuff again they do stupid things to put me off.....

 

[fincoder]

chargers do die unexpectedly and being unable to snag a generic replacement, even if just for get-me-through use, would not be a good thing.

Generic and universal chargers that specifically say they work with Dell, work fine. The proprietary tech used in Dell chargers is replicated, presumably by reverse engineering because it's just a simple voltage signal I believe. Even without special Dell support, a charger with the same 7.4mm plug (e.g. HP ones) will still power the laptop, but not charge the battery.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Drivers? Is the chipset in RAID or ACHI mode in BIOS. Switch to AHCI mode and see if it improves.

 

[nlinecomputers]

Dell M.2 FAQ regarding AHCI vs RAID ON, Storage Drivers, M.2 Lanes, Performance and more | DELL Technologies

Good day Dell Community,Over time I’ve received a lot of questions about M.2 drives so I wanted to share some of what I have learned. I will explain in a kind of question/answer format: Questi...

www.dell.com

 

[Diggs]

Even without special Dell support, a charger with the same 7.4mm plug (e.g. HP ones) will still power the laptop, but not charge the battery.

Yes, they will power the laptop but the processor locks to its slowest speed. I've seen them locked at .89 Ghz on several machines and instantly unlock when I replaced the power port on the laptop (in these cases the charger was fine and it was the port that was messed up).

 

[britechguy]

Yes, they will power the laptop but the processor locks to its slowest speed. I've seen them locked at .89 Ghz on several machines and instantly unlock when I replaced the power port on the laptop (in these cases the charger was fine and it was the port that was messed up).

Another of those, "Why in the H*LL would they do that?!!," kind of things, in my opinion.

 

[fincoder]

Yes, they will power the laptop but the processor locks to its slowest speed.

Oh I haven't noticed that before.

I've also come across original Dell chargers that are no longer recognised as Dell chargers, so they power the laptop but don't charge the battery.

 

[NJW]

Another of those, "Why in the H*LL would they do that?!!," kind of things, in my opinion.

Because they have a wide range of laptops and other machines that use a common power connector. The machine needs to know that it has sufficient power coming in to run and if it can allow the battery to charge at the same time. Putting aside the frustrations of the independent repair technician, it's a reasonable strategy. Third-party chargers, including charger adapter tips to suit a standard 5.5x2.5 mm plug, are readily available with the appropriate circuitry inside.

Dell uses a 1-Wire chip in the charger to send an ident string, including power rating, output voltage and current rating. While HP uses a similar three-wire charger, it just has a resistance to advertise the current capability and the connected machine limits its draw to what the charger reports. In both cases, the 'third wire' in the cable is very fine and often the first core to fail if the cable is damaged.

 

[britechguy]

Because they have a wide range of laptops and other machines that use a common power connector.

That doesn't explain the reasoning behind intentional throttling, which is what I was referring to. It's clearly done when it's not necessary if what's been shared here is correct. And I don't know of another maker who does so.

 

[nlinecomputers]

That doesn't explain the reasoning behind intentional throttling, which is what I was referring to. It's clearly done when it's not necessary if what's been shared here is correct. And I don't know of another maker who does so.

In theory, it is to protect from overvoltage damage. If you are running at slow speeds then your power draw is lower. In reality, it's just a money grab by Dell forcing you to buy only DELL certified PSU bricks and the design of said brick can easily fail to force you to buy a new brick. Planned obsolescence.

 

[britechguy]

@nlinecomputers

One of my favorite quotations, and one for which I have never been able to find reliable attribution:

In theory there is no difference between theory and practice, in practice there is.

When I see single companies, or a very small minority of companies, in any sector doing something with no obvious benefit (since those that aren't doing it don't have product "going down in flames" either literally or figuratively) my first thought is: money grab.

 

[NJW]

It's clearly done when it's not necessary if what's been shared here is correct.

That's because you're not looking from a marketing department perspective. Dell has made many dubious technical design decisions over the years to frustrate third-party repairers. I remember (several years ago) having to make three attempts at getting 'certified compatible' memory sticks from Crucial for a Dell desktop, and the non-standard ATX power is of legend.

 

[britechguy]

you're not looking from a marketing department perspective.

I never look at anything primarily from a "marketing department perspective." That way lies madness.