Aaron44126

This one. I don't think anything else is needed. https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-us/drivers/driversdetails?driverid=86m99&oscode=wt64a&productcode=precision-m6700

Yes, to get this function, you need to install the touchpad driver from Dell's support page. It includes a GUI control panel with additional options which includes the function to turn the touchpad off if another mouse is connected. It works exactly like it did on Windows 7; the touchpad in this system is too old for Windows 10 to offer the option in its own native settings page.

You'll be looking for something like this: https://www.ebay.com/itm/387256270062 Note, I don't know the part number for the UHD panel and I don't know if this item is the UHD or FHD version. Someone with the UHD panel can get the part number by visiting dell.com/support, putting in their service tag, and looking at the parts list. (Also I will say that it is likely that a Precision 7770 display would work fine, but I have not seen that confirmed.) I don't know where to get one from, either. I've purchased laptop displays from eBay sellers before but I have ended up disappointed more often than satisfied.

Yeah, I guess it wasn't clear in my post. It was previously unavailable through MSVS (despite being available to OEMs), but it became available through MSVS on October 1 (...I was downloading images from there at the same time that I made my post...), as well as through business volume license systems. I've been using it in an ARM VM on my Mac for a few months with no issues. Haven't upgraded any bare metal systems yet and probably will give it a good six months to shake out any issues. (I just saw this about an undeletable upgrade cache that you might get...)

You can swap the display. In this model, you have to replace the entire top of the laptop — display panel, enclosure, camera, and cabling. Dell offers. This as a single part (i.e. for warranty service). I’ve seen it, I had the panel in my Precision 7770 replaced *three times*. The panel by itself would be difficult to swap — it is held in place by adhesive, not screws. A new display cable will be needed but that should come with the part if you replace the entire top. If your FHD model has WWAN antennas, I think you will lose those too.

I would think that a 7670 display would work on a 7680, but I haven't seen confirmation from anyone who has tried this, so I'd only get it if it is returnable.

Microsoft Store is not "supported" on Windows LTSC, so it is not a surprise to me if it has eventually stopped working on old versions. You have two options to upgrade. You can upgrade to the latest non-LTSC version of Windows 10. https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10 (Note, support ends in about one year.) Or you can upgrade to a later LTSC version of Windows 10 (2019 or 2021) — not freely available as a download from Microsoft. (Support ends later — see the LTSC link in my sig.) Either will require a new license / product key / activation.

I don't think there is any difference in the motherboard depending on which screen you purchased... just the display cable.

Windows 11 version 24H2 is officially released today, and with it, Windows 11 LTSC 2024 which is based on the same. It has been available to OEMs for a few months now, but not to businesses or through other places like Visual Studio subscriptions. Windows 11 LTSC 2024 has a support end date of October 9, 2029 for "plain" Enterprise version, and October 10, 2034 for the IoT version.

There's no reason this would be limited to a certain capacity. It'll probably need an adapter (M.2 keys are different for that slot than for the NVMe slots) and it will not be bootable (at least not without chaining off of a bootloader installed on a different drive).

Huh. Still working on my Precision 7560. I wonder if a driver was pushed down. If you go to Windows Settings and check Windows Update, in the update history under drivers, is there anything from the last day or two? Assuming you rebooted already? (If they did push down an update for the fingerprint reader driver, and it did a USH firmware update, you have to reboot before it works again.)

PTM7950? It comes as a "pad", not a "paste"; you cut it to fit on the chips that you want to cover. I hear it recommended here a lot and I used it in myself in my Precision 7770, the install/application was not hard.

https://www.neowin.net/news/qualcomm-has-reportedly-made-an-offer-to-acquire-intel/ I just saw this reported on like 5 different sites. Reportedly, Qualcomm has extended an acquisition offer to Intel. No indication that it will actually go through … yet. But Intel hasn’t exactly been on a good luck streak recently…

Go to the legacy "Sound control panel" in Windows, pick your speakers from the list, go to Properties -> Advanced and disable "audio enhancements". See if that helps at all. These days there is so much Realtek/Maxx Audio fluff that gets piled onto the sound stack, some of it can cause problems, and I find this to be an easy way to dodge them.

I dunno. I'm not familiar with any of the models listed here. I've also never done a used or refurb purchase. I also tend to buy "the best laptop you can get" and then use it for as long as possible. So, I generally am only looking at the high-end stuff. I've only used Precision M4X00/M6X00 or Precision 7000-series systems in the last 12+ years. Most of the Precision systems that I have used were for work and provided by my workplace, but I did have a personal Precision M6700 that I used as my daily driver for a full ten years. If you want something sort-of current in that vein, you could look at maybe Precision 7540? It's pretty upgradeable so you could beef it up over time, with three full-size M.2 SSD slots that take both NVMe and SATA drives, plus the option for a 2.5" SATA drive (if you go for the smaller battery), I think up to 128 GB of RAM, 4K display option, and graphics go up to Quadro RTX 5000 (Turing generation) with 16GB of vRAM. ...Can't swap out the CPU, though. I did switch to Mac last year so I doubt that I will ever get a newer Precision laptop. Since Apple Silicon systems came out, it's the only option that offers both high-performance when needed (for me, basically gaming) and a good "laptop experience" the rest of the time (all-day battery life / no heat or noise). While there are downsides to this choice, in particular in terms of the system's modularity / upgradeability... I don't accept the direction that Microsoft is going with Windows, and I made an attempt to switch to Linux that ended up with more frustration that I'd prefer, so... I don't really see another option.

Yes, previous builds did have version numbers. The build that I have posted is a development snapshot and has all of the latest changes; it is just what I had available to post. As there will be no further development (by me), I won't be releasing any more versioned builds. I don't even have ready access to the build chain right now, my new personal system is a Mac and the Precision system that I was using to build this software is now running Linux.

Or Linux? Easy enough to set up SMB file sharing and Plex.

You normally have to do an INF mod to get the NVIDIA driver to install in cases like this... I have previously posted some details on the process here. But these days I believe you can use the "NVCleanstall" GUI tool and it will take care of it for you. There is a checkbox during install to add additional hardware support to the INF.

The driver will eventually be available through Dell or other OEMs, just need to look / wait for systems that ship with BE201 preinstalled. That said, I highly doubt that this will work even after the driver is made available. Most likely, there will just be an error in Device Manager and the driver will fail to load. Best case, it "works" but just gives the same Wi-Fi 6 speed. CNVi cards are not a full Wi-Fi implementation; the most important stuff is in the PCH, and the PCH in this system predates Wi-Fi 7.

Err, I am the software author so I generated that build. It is an internal work-in-progress build. The 3.0 version never had a final release.

Yep... Unless 64GB SODIMMs become available and "happen to work".

On Precision 7770, I got the fingerprint reader to work but it would stop working after a while — like, if the system was up for more than 3 or 4 days. Couldn’t figure out a way to “fix” it without a reboot.

I posted a new link that will not expire. This is the final public build; I'm not working on this project anymore, and I do not plan to address any of the remaining issues, since I don't even have ready access to any systems that I can test with anymore. (Dell blocked all known fan control mechanisms as of their 2021 systems.) Anyone is welcome to take the code that I have published on GitHub and work with it. https://1drv.ms/u/s!AsIwJHFk4EFdqNc2I45BxBqHhwaKIA?e=YjUSPn

I have 22 BIOS versions archived, including 1.23 and 1.26, but nothing in between those two 😕

Well, the group he sued — Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) — has disbanded, apparently because of the lawsuit and expected costs fighting it. So in the end, Musk gets what he wants ...? https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/8/24216202/garm-x-twitter-musk-advertising