Dell’s New Studio Hybrid Good or Bad?
by Frank Jovine on 08/16/2008 in Computers
This is Dell’s most stylish, modern design desktop PC yet. It’s designed to fit into any environment while protecting the environment.
- Personalize with 6 interchangeable color sleeves or bamboo
- Ultra-compact design with Intel mobile technology performance
- Features include slot-load DVD, HDMI, and optional Blu-rayTM
- Dell’s greenest, most power-efficient consumer desktop
Though the price sounds right and its unique style is comforting, is it really worth the investment?
It’s all good!
The new Studio Hybrid is a deal that only comes once in a blue moon. Here’s what you get for $499.
Intel® Pentium™ Dual Core T2390 (1.86GHz/533Mhz FSB/1MB cache)
Genuine Windows Vista® Home Basic Service Pack 1
Memory 1GB Shared DDR2 at 667MHz (1 DIMM)
Dell USB Multimedia Keyboard & Optical Mouse
Intel® Integrated Graphics Media Accelerator X3100
160GB SATA Hard Drive (5400RPM)
Dell 8 in 1 Media Card Reader
Integrated 10/100/1000 Ethernet
Slot Load CD / DVD Burner (Dual Layer DVD+/-RW Drive)
Integrated Stereo Audio with 5.1ch digital output (S/P DIF)
1Yr Ltd HW WRTY, InHome Service after Remote Diagnosis, 24×7 Phone Support
Included 3 GB DataSafe Online Backup for 1Yr
That’s a lot of power for a $499 system, but you will still need to purchase a LCD monitor to go along with your new system. The fast Dual Core Pentium with 1 GB Memory and enough storage space will provide more than enough performance for most users.
The only downside is that it comes preloaded with Vista, but that’s not a big deal as we will load XP Pro when it arrives.
Curt
Aug 16th, 2008
That is definitely a cool looking desktop PC design.
Too bad you have to throw in another $150.00 to $200.00 for a monitor.
Frank J
Aug 16th, 2008
Still for $650 – $700 it’s a powerful desktop.
Sunnan
Aug 16th, 2008
Another drawback is the non-existing 3d support.
Charlie
Aug 27th, 2008
Were you able to get XP Pro loaded? I have been unsuccessful so far.
Thanks,
Charlie
Frank J
Aug 27th, 2008
Just received my PC and haven’t loaded XP yet. I hoping to do it this weekend. I will let you know and share tips as well.
Charlie
Aug 27th, 2008
Thanks Frank,
It seems to be a hard drive controller problem. I slipstreamed SP3 and have been slipstreaming various drivers to no avail.
Frank J
Aug 27th, 2008
You found that fast enough! WTG!
John
Sep 2nd, 2008
I’ve just ordered one of these and also plan to nuke Vista and install XP pro when it arrives. Anyone managed to get it working? Driver problems? :/
Frank J
Sep 2nd, 2008
John,
No issues with drivers or any other devices.
John
Sep 2nd, 2008
Phew, nice to hear that. Would be great if you could post up some more detailed info on how you went about installing XP. Did you format and repartition the entire HD first from a bootable CD or USB key? ..or did you just let the XP install disk handle all that? Cheers!
Frank J
Sep 2nd, 2008
John,
I first located and downloaded the Video, USB, Sound, Chip Set, and Nic drivers for XP. I just formatted the drive, deleted and created a new partition, and let XP Pro do the rest.
Installed all patches
Installed 2007 Office
Installed SP2
Installed all the drivers
Installed all other programs
Defragged
Rebooted
Check device manager and all systems go!
John
Sep 2nd, 2008
Thanks for the info.
Charlie
Sep 5th, 2008
Frank,
I am still getting the same error even with the slipstreamed drivers. I tried 3 or 4 times (different disc builds) again last night. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
Charlie
Frank J
Sep 5th, 2008
Charlie,
Try finding a forum or posting on Answers at Yahoo as I didn’t have driver issues and I would not be unable to guide you through it as I have had no issues. Maybe I was lucky who knows, but I wish I could help you.
sam
Sep 8th, 2008
hi, i just purchased a studio hybrid desktop… i hate vista and i badly need xp pro with sp3 on it. gonna do it, but i wonder can someone help me finding the drivers for xp on this studio hybrid 140g model. john, seems like you made it.. would you mind send me the driver link to my email id sharyharan@gmail.com?
i would really appreciate that. thank you so much in advance!
Tommy Hill
Sep 17th, 2008
I keep getting the BSOD when trying to load Xp PRO. Could anyone here email me with the steps that worked for you. Did you have to slipstream any new drivers into you xp load? Please email me at admin@elizabethtownky.gov
Thanks
Tommy Hill
Sep 17th, 2008
I got XP loaded with everything working except the MediaButtons.exe. This little package controls the Intel Proximity Sensor that is actually the eject button on the front of the Hybrid. Anyone have luck with this? It is a pain not being able to eject without having to go into MyComputer…Right-Clicking the DVD and click eject every time. Help!!!!
Thanks in advance.
Jason Morrison
Sep 29th, 2008
Hello!
trying to load XP Home on this and I keep getting the BSOD on the install. I ahve tried to find the XP drivers for the HD to slipstream it in, but I cannot seem to find them. If someone could point me int he right direction I would be appreciative. Thanks!
jwm6485@gmail.com
Vincent Castro
Sep 29th, 2008
I just installed the windows xp on the hybrid. I located most of the drivers from the driverpacks.net, as far as the eject button is concern. I was able to go to dell.com search the drivers for this. It is called the Dell0100 Proximity Sensor Driver (ACPI). Installed the driver all all works well.
Hope this helps some of ya’ll.
Oh before I forget, download all the packs of from driverpacks.net, extract them, burn all on to a dvd, do the auto search with disk inserted, and bam, your up and running.
Michael Munns
Oct 15th, 2008
I was able to get XP completely installed on this with the exception of the eject button. I downloaded the drivers from Dell (Dell0100 Proximity Sensor ACPI) and installed it but the drivers are for Vista and even though Device Manager doesn’t show anything wrong, I still can’t eject my CD/DVDs with the button. Driverspack just has the Intel Matrix SATA Storage drivers unless I missed it.
Frank J
Oct 16th, 2008
Mike I am glad it all worked out. I had no issues, but I guess I was lucky as well.
brian
Oct 22nd, 2008
How did everyone go about getting XP on it? I tried and all I got was a bluescreen. I used the SP3 XP disc. I tried slipstreaming in SATA drivers to no avail as well. Please let me know what methods everyone is using so I am not barking up the wrong tree. THanks!
brian
Oct 22nd, 2008
Could someone please email me the SATA driver they used if possible. tskbrass@hotmail.com. Thanks
Adam
Oct 24th, 2008
You might want to check out the BIOS on the Hybrid for SATA EHCI mode. I had to change that mode to “IDE” even before Vista would reinstall.
I imagine that if some of you are getting BSOD’s, it could be caused by the EHCI mode.
brian
Oct 28th, 2008
i will check into it again. I didn’t see anywhere I could set that. Maybe I will need to upgrade the bios first and then I will have that option. Thanks so much
Ann
Nov 18th, 2008
Anyone having problems ripping disks in iTunes on Studio Hybrid? iTunes 8.0 hangs after ripping a few tracks – have tried earlier versions of iTunes wih different results (error messages instead of hangs) but no success. I’ve found a couple of other people with same problem but no solution yet.
George Henriques
Nov 21st, 2008
I have the same problem with my Hybrid ripping disks in iTunes. It hangs after ripping a few tracks – have you found a fix?
Frazer
Nov 29th, 2008
I also have an Itunes hanging problem. driving me mad, decided to remove vista and install XP, but getting the blue screen of death…why does it have to be so hard!
any advice welcome.
Benny
Nov 30th, 2008
Did anyone successfully install XP on one of these things??
I am having big issues.
Benny
Nov 30th, 2008
Guys and Gals,
To install XP onto one of these Hybrids you need to first upgrade the BIOS to 1.0.6 then in the setup menu there is an option to change the Sata controllers from AHCI to IDE.
Once this is done you should be able to boot up off the Windows XP disc no problems and install, I have done this with the very latest XP version OEM disc available.
No experience with the drivers yet, but I am guessing the hard part is over.
Cheers,
Benny
pet
Dec 4th, 2008
the bad abut this pc it dose not let you downgrade to windos xp afther it install all the blue scrreen win xp intall packege i halts the instalation you get the blue scrren of death sain to protect your system instalation has been aborted
Doggy
Jan 8th, 2009
I downgraded four hybrids perfectly except the proximity sensor
Bluescreen:
you must go to the bios manager and setting the hdd from AHCI to IDE
Drivers can youi find on other websites, like Intel.com or any…
Had someone found a XP driver for the dell proximity sensor?
Frank J
Jan 8th, 2009
Nice update and share Doggy!
Timmy
Jan 8th, 2009
It doesn’t say anything about AHCI next to the hard drive in the BIOS?
Its all greyed out & will not let you make changes. I have version 1.0.6 BIOS.
Anyone know how to get around this?
Doggy
Jan 13th, 2009
Well i found the proximity sensor driver for windows xp^^
I downloaded the normally vista driver and tryed to install, it works!!
Frank J
Jan 13th, 2009
Awesome! I am glad it worked out for you, wtg!
Doggy
Jan 14th, 2009
Bad Message: The Sensor works, but it appearing many fail messages, while lgging in, in the Windows…
I removed the Driver.
finally i can live with the manual type: right click on the drive and eject^^
I DONT RECOMMEND THE DELL STUDIO HYBRID PC, you can buy more better things for that money^^
Jack
Feb 7th, 2009
Question for those who installed XP okay:
Does the HDMI sound still work? (if you hooked up the hybrid to a TV, does the HDMI cable still get sound through?)
Thanks in advance.
RobG
Feb 19th, 2009
Here’s how I got the proximity sensor for the eject button to work in XP:
1. Install the recommended driver for Vista from the Dell site: http://ftp.us.dell.com/utility/R183806.exe
2. Install the MediaButtons v5.0.0.1t4 app for Vista from the Dell site: http://ftp.us.dell.com/utility/R202956.exe
3. BEFORE rebooting, set the DELLODDSvr service to Disabled (default is Automatic). This CAN be done after a reboot, but you will definitely want to End Task on the MediaButtons.exe process(es) in Task Manager first.
4. Reboot
The ONE remaining issue after all this (and it is absolutely TRIVIAL to me) is that the keyboard buttons that control the volume do not work correctly now. The others work as expected.
Frank J
Feb 19th, 2009
Rob,
Thank you for the share!
Darkage
Feb 28th, 2009
Ok so I missed the setting in the BIOS a thousand times. But if you go to the Advanced tab, Intergrated Peripherals, you will see Serial ATA Configuration hit enter on that and the option will come right up. I missed it a dozen times because it doesn’t look like an option to choose from. Hope this helps!!
Michael Nolan
May 12th, 2009
After installing Xp Pro on my Studio Hybrid 140G i get a yellow mark on the Multimedia Controller. I am unable to find the Correct audio driver. Can anyone help me with this issue.
Thanks in advance.
Michael
Curtis
May 18th, 2009
For those now running XP on the hybrid, is there a significant performance increase? Still running Vista and seems real sluggish. Im assuming w/ less overhead, XP should run nicely. Opinions?
Gustavo A Arellano
Jun 8th, 2009
Monday, June 8th 2009 21:37
by Gustavo A Arellano Sandoval (Mexico)
The following proccess describes how to downgrade from Vista to XP in a Studio DELL Hybrid 140g. The total time for this downgrade took me 41m 27s.
With Vista installed:
- In the DELL Hybrid BIOS, change SATA “EHCI” mode to “IDE” mode
- Install Windows XP (partitioning, formating, etc…)
- Download drivers (see at footpage)
- Merge them and unpack them
With XP running:
- Install 1 and reboot
- Install 2 and reboot
- Install 3 and reboot
- Install 4 and reboot
- Install 5 and reboot
- Install 6
- In task manager terminate the DELLODD process
- Rename the file \windows\system32\DELLODD.exe to ___DELLODD.exe
- Reboot
After this process is complete, EVERYTHIG will run ok, including ALL keyboard buttons… EVERYTHIG.
I have included in directory named “more” some additional drivers, just in case you want to install them.
I am NOT responsible for ANY error, damage or crash that you PC may experiment. Follow this instructions at your own risk.
I have no problems with Vista. I did this just for fun…
By the way, the performance now is about 65% better (I have 3Gb RAM and a Core 2 Duo T9500@2.6 GHz)
See ya….
Oh! I almost forget it… you can download the drivers for this in:
Parte 1
Parte 2
Parte 3
I accept congratulations (NOT requests) at: gustavo.arellano@cimar.info
Cheers!!!
Goose
Gustavo A Arellano
Jun 9th, 2009
Just a precision to my last post:
With Vista installed:
1) Download, unpack, merge and burn drivers in a CD o put them in a USB XP capable.
2) Change BIOS
3) Install XP
With XP installed:
1) Use the drivers you have saved.
Christopher
Jun 22nd, 2009
Hi all,
I have upgraded the BIOS on my Dell Studio Hybrid 140G to 1.0.10 from 1.0.4 and changed the BIOS setting from AHCI to IDE for the SATA drive. (I’ve also tried it in AHCI mode)
It boots the Windows XP SP3 CD fine, but doesn’t come up to the initial disk selection screen — it just sits blank after the prompt “Press any key to boot from CD…’ Might anyone have any ideas why it won’t ‘take’? I’ve tried both the HDMI and DVI adapters on the same monitor without a change in result, of which the HDMI works fine in other alternative operating systems.
It had a blank drive before I got it (think eBay), at which point I installed OpenBSD via pxeboot without a problem (though some devices did not work whatsoever). I then installed CentOS 5.3 and it worked fine, though I had to modprobe the Realtek 8168 driver to make the gigabit ethernet adapter work, so I know the drive is fine and the system is functioning well. I just want to test Windows XP on this to see what remains to be seen of its performance in a desktop environment, but am not a Windows expert.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!
Christopher
Jun 22nd, 2009
Just a quick update, I downgraded to BIOS 1.0.6 and still maintain the same result. Perhaps it is my copy of Windows XP and it needs to have SATA drivers slipstreamed within?
Christopher
Jun 23rd, 2009
Another quick update, it appears that the Windows XP CD needs to have a Windows partition to recognize on the SATA drive or it hangs prior to installation setup. I booted from a Windows XP installation USB flash drive I made, then formatted the drive, then rebooted using the CD.
Thus far, it installed correctly so now it’s on to the drivers. I hope this info helps someone else!
Chris
Jul 27th, 2009
I bought one of these less than two weeks ago… I don’t mind Vista since I only want to use it for a Media Center. The proximity sensor on the front panel will not eject CDs from the drive. You have to select it from windows and then eject it from there… what a pain… after dealing with dell for 2 hours on the phone they finally sent a technician out… he replaced the front panel / sensor / and DVD drive… still have the same problem… they want me to reinstall the OS from scratch which is insane since there isn’t any software installed on this thing other than what it came preloaded with… now I get to waste my time going down this path before they will even attempt to replace the motherboard. They told me that they think it’s a software conflict, to which I replied, “Well it’s all your software and nothing else” I’m very disappointed with Dell right now. I like the unit and it works great great with the exception of the eject button. I don’t want to have to escape out of media center every time I want to eject a DVD… guess I’m off to reload the OS and prove to them that it’s not a software conflict… what a bunch of crap!
Frank J
Jul 27th, 2009
Chris,
I am sorry to hear about your experience. I have heard many good things about this Hybrid desktop and I also own one. Good luck with Dell support! Let me know if the reinstall of the OS corrects the issue.
Jennifer
Jul 28th, 2009
Thanks to all downgraded my hybrid to xp pro! or should I say Upgraded:) Yep
great!
Frank J
Jul 28th, 2009
Jennifer,
Good move! You may want to read through the comments on issues with drivers.
Jennifer
Jul 29th, 2009
Thanks Frank… All drivers okay even the media buttons…:) thanks to this thread!
I have the 1.0.9 Bios..
Now this baby is running like a charm and fast too!
I mostly work with CAD programs so Vista was really bad now all is fine.
Frank J
Jul 29th, 2009
Jennifer,
Very cool and glad you got it all working!