I got my new Dell E6500 for work with XP Pro, and experienced the same issue, After having the DVD drive replaced by dell,(after a firmware update failed and rendered the DVD drive US), i was still not able to burn DVD’s, However our local smart in house Tech thought that the issue i was having was similar to one they had with other dell laptops (we have thousands of them in the company) He Gave me a dell driver update number R213316 which is for the Intel raid sata controller. After installation and reboot, I am now able to burn Cd’s and DVD without issue. Hope this Helps,8months after your post.

CarterBarns.

Sorry to hear about your experience with the E6500(?). I’d like to help out. If you’re on Twitter, follow BillatDell and DM me your service tag and email addy. If you are not on Twitter, Jim should be able to give you my email address. Thanks for your patience, and I’ll make sure we fix you up proper.

What really helped me out was keeping in mind that I can easily go to Newegg and pick up 4GB of RAM for $35, or a 320GB 7200rpm drive for $70, etc. Just to further make it easier for me to buy something from the Dell Outlet that wasn’t *perfect* but COULD be *perfect* with a few additional nickels and dimes, I came up with the following checklist:

1.) Gotta have the WXGA+ LED screen. They’re super-sharp, lower battery consumption, brighter, better color reproduction, etc. The WUXGA 1920×1200 is absolutely idiotic to pay extra for because it is CCFL (not LED), and it is crazy tiny in font size. The standard WXGA is a bit too coarse, though it is LED, whereas the WXGA+ hits the perfect sweet spot of 1440×900. Bingo.

2.) Gotta get me some of that webcam with the automatic facial recognition login/logoff. I video desktop-conference a lot, and having a built-in webcam and microphone inside the bezel is something I cannot do on my own.

3.) Gotta love me some of that backlit keyboard. I am often in bed with my wife and do some research or writing, coding, whatever and have to have the overhead light on to see what I am doing usually, much to the chagrin of my long-suffering mate. Anyhow, the backlit keyboard can actually be purchased and installed yourself after you get the laptop, but it is quite the hassle and will also invalidate the warranty since it is a fairly invasive upgrade.

4.) As far as the GPU (onboard graphics processing), it mattered not because I win either way. If it comes with the integrated graphics from Intel, that means better battery performance and I am not a gamer anyhow. If it comes with the nVidia discrete/dedicated graphics card with the 256MB option, then I can watch movies and do some more intense graphics without any worries even if it does eat up a bit more battery. One of the only compelling reason in my mind to go with the Lenovo T500 over the Dell E6500 is that it comes with both integrate and discrete graphics which tyou can switch back and forth as per your immediate need. Seems like a great idea from the power savings angle, but then again it is more moving parts to have go wrong.

5.) The worst processor speed they have is the 2.4Ghz, and it goes all the way up to 2.9Ghz. In all practicality, this is the one area that the average consumer can really rack up the savings by using some self-control. You will not see any appreciable performance increase in daily tasks like web surfing, spreadsheets, or even multi-tasking by bumping it up above the lowest speed they offer, at 2.4Ghz. One would pay several hundred dollars more for a processor that will give them perhaps 10% better performance, and that comes at the expense of more heat and faster battery depletion due to the higher speed. It makes no sense. The economic sweet spot is 2.4Ghz. Anything else is throwing money out the window for an imperceptible difference in overall performance, but quite a perceptible difference in resource consumption.

6.) The 9-cell battery is definitely preferable. I will caveat this by saying that there are many e-tailers out there who will sell you OEM or non-OEM 9-cell batteries, or even the extended power slices that provide an additional 10 hours, for about HALF the cost of what you would be paying through Dell. So even if the Dell Outlet system has only a 6-cell battery, no worries. You’re only a hundred bucks away from buying a 9-cell as a second or even primary battery. However, it does seem that at least half of the business laptops on the Dell Outlet site already have the 9-cell battery along with the nicer 90W power supply.

7.) The following are “nice to haves”: Wi-Fi card capable of N or WiMax, DVD burner as opposed to a burner, and an internal Bluetooth card. You can buy a really nice A/B/G/N wireless networking mini-card from eBay for $22, and you can buy a half card for Bluetooth for less than $20. The optical drives are also quite inexpensive, depending on if you need just a reader, burner, or dual-layer DVD burner. A new one you can pop in yourself will set you back about $40 up to $90 for a dual-layer burner.

Well, I am glad I was patient. I got the exact configuration I wanted, and then some:

- Latitude E6500 Laptop: Intel Core 2 Duo P8600 3M L2 Cache, 1066MHz FSB)
- 256MB NVIDIA Quadro NVS 160M
- Back-lit Keyboard
- 24X CD RW/DVD Combo Drive
- 9 Cell Primary Battery + 90W AC Adapter
- 4 GB DDR2 SDRAM 800MHz (2 DIMMs)
- Integrated Webcam with digital microphone
- Intel WiFi Link 5300 802.11a/g/n Draft Mini Card
- 250 GB Free Fall Sensor Hard Drive (7200 RPM)
- 15.4 inch WXGA+ LED Laptop Screen
- Genuine Windows XP Pro
- Vista Business License w/ free Windows 7 upgrade in October

Dell Outlet Price: $849
Coupon Code: Subtract $127
Shipping: FREE
Bottom line: $722, delivered by 6-Aug-09

Just to feel extra smug, I ran the price configurator on their retail small business site, and the exact same configuration came to a whopping $1,685 before discounts, which brought it down to around $1,450. That’s almost exactly TWICE what I just paid this evening. Yay Dell Outlet!! Yay coupon codes!! Yay patience and research!!

Some final thoughts:
- Get an InvisibleShield to protect the gorgeous yet easily scrateched magnesium-alloy casing. Go to http://www.zagg.com/hotgadgets/index.php and fill out the form, and it’s $40 WELL SPENT. I have used their products for years, and it’s as tough as nails. Plus you have a lifetime guarantee that if it does not apply correctly or peels off or gets damaged, they will send you one out to your house FREE right away. I’ve taken them up on this for my LG EnV Touch smart phone a couple of times. My phone looks brand-new even after several months of abuse. Zagg makes a great product, and they custom-cut it to match your device precisely. For an ultra-high-end laptop like the ones we just bought, it’s excellent peace of mind.
- Call up Dell customer service and inquire Windows 7 upgrade, their return policy for refurb stuff, and making sure that the 3-yr warranty that comes with refurb laptops is valid. I also think it is a smart idea to go ahead and tack on the $149 accidental damage insurance that will cover mishaps during that 3-yr period, because as that Progressive Insurance commercial says, life comes at you fast.

Congratulations again on your bargain of a purchase.

I also love how the volume buttons are well located and positioned. Much better than the volume dial on the side that I have before.

Shopping the Dell Outlet and using a 20% off coupon has its advantages. Keep typing.

I did have to shoo my son away as he was inspecting a few hours later.

Bruce Eric, thanks for your guidance. Lot’s of value through Twitter in this experience.

bruceericatdell

Someone told me this is evidence I’m getting old and crotchety (I need to have the same thing as before), but I think it’s just a matter of size, weight and functionality. I learned a few laptops ago that for a business traveler the only thing that really matters is weight. And this machine is small enough that once I wedge myself into a coach seat I can still pop this open and do some work. And the tablet is nice to catch up on my Google Reader feeds late night in bed.

Good luck with the new machine. I’m sure it’s a lot nicer than your kids are letting on.

Jim | @jstorerj