Dell Inspiron 11 3185

2021-03-08
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Dell Inspiron 11 3180 - 01 - front

Hardware > Computers > Portable computing >

(on Wikipedia)
https://www.dell.com/support/home/en-ca/product-support/product/inspiron-11-3185-2-in-1-laptop/overview

See also:



Dell Inspiron 11 3180 - 01 - front Dell Inspiron 11 3180 - 02 - screen Dell Inspiron 11 3180 - 03 - lid Dell Inspiron 11 3180 - 04 - side1 Dell Inspiron 11 3180 - 05 - side2 Dell Inspiron 11 3180 - 06 - bottom
  • TODO - Take a picture of the keyboard.

  • Mine has minor cosmetic damage, but was professionally Refurbished by a Microsoft Registered Refurbisher at an R2 Certified Facility.

Table of Contents [hide]

Specifications ∞

  • Height 20.90 mm (0.82 in)
  • Width 291.60 mm (11.48 in)
  • Depth 201.90 mm (7.95 in)
  • Weight 1.55 kg (3.41 lb)

  • Display: 11.6-inch HD touch (1366x768)

    • TODO - anti-glare?, TODO - LED-backlit?
    • Pixel pitch 0.1875 mm x 0.1875 mm
    • (excluding bezel):
      -- Width 256.13 mm (10.08 in)
      -- Height 144 mm (5.67 in)
      -- Diagonal 294.64 mm (11.60 in)
    • Refresh rate 60 Hz
  • 2-in-1 flip (tablet mode)

  • Memory: 8GB

    • DDR4, 2400MHz operating at 1866 MHz
    • one SODIMM slot
  • Storage: 128GB eMMC
  • Two USB 2.0 ports (480 Mbps)
  • One USB 3.1 Gen 1 port (5 Gbps)

  • MicroSD card reader

    • SD/SDHC/SDXC
    • todo - the SDXC class is unknown
    • TODO - is it bootable?

  • One M.2 slot for Wi-Fi and Bluetooth combo card:

    • Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n
    • Bluetooth 4.0

  • AMD A9-9420e @ 1.80GHz

  • Graphics: Radeon R5 (integrated)

  • HDMI port

    • Also provides audio out

  • Camera: 1280 x 720 (HD) at 30 fps

    • .. which is fine for VoIP calls, but poor for recording videos.
    • Still image: 0.92 megapixel
    • Diagonal-viewing angle 74 degrees
  • Basic microphone

  • Windows 10 Professional 64-bit

    • The licensing is built-into the motherboard; just get the ISO from Microsoft and install with Ventoy.

  • Touchpad (3061 x 1637)

  • Noble security lock
  • Headset port (headphone and microphone combo)

  • Mine has an English/French keyboard

Technical Specifications ∞

  • TODO - Troubleshoot the Devuan/Debian/etc corruption of the SD card.

    • Does it happen with this laptop?

  • The SSD (eMMC)

    • TODO - is it under a heat spreader?
    • TODO - HDD Guardian reports the HDD as being SATA x
    • TODO - eMMC speed testing.

  • TODO - Maxx Audio Pro is spectacular

  • TODO - USB speed testing?

Audio ∞

  • Realtek ALC3204 with Waves MaxxAudio Pro
  • Two speakers - 2 W (peak 2.5 W)

  • Digital-array microphones

Keyboard ∞

  • Fn+escape to switch the primary behavior of the function keys (F1-F12) between two modes - multimedia key mode and function key mode.
  • You can define the primary behavior of the function keys (F1-F12) by changing Function Key Behavior in BIOS setup program.
  • TODO - French/English keyboard notes
  • Fn-b for Break
  • Fn-r for SysRq
  • Fn-s for Scroll Lock

  • Fn-Ins for Sleep

Power adapter ∞

  • 45 W
  • Connector diameter: 4.50 mm
  • Input voltage: 100 VAC to 240 VAC
  • Input frequency: 50 Hz to 60 Hz

  • Input current: 1.30 A maximum

Wireless ∞

Qualcomm QCA9377 (DW1810) Up to 433 Mbps Dual band 2.4 GHz / 5 GHz • 64-bit and 128-bit WEP
• AES-CCMP
• TKIP
Qualcomm QCA9565 (DW1707) Up to 150 Mbps Single band 2.4 GHz • 64-bit and 128-bit WEP • AES-CCMP
• TKIP

TODO - date ∞

  • F2 to enter setup, F12 to enter the boot setup.

    • You can't hold these keys down when rebooting; you must continuously tap.
    • Just use F12. You can get to the F2 screen from within it (but not the reverse).
    • From within F2 you cannot use its exit features and tap F12. You need to manually control-alt-delete otherwise it'll just load the operating system.

  • F2

    • It has a menu item for Advance, which is a typo for Advanced.

  • F12 > BIOS diagnostics

    • Swipe or click the > at the bottom-right to get to the report and thermals.
    • There isn't any keyboard diagnostics functionality built-in.

  • The USB 3.1 port has PowerShare (Toshiba calls it USB Sleep-and-Charge), which lets the computer be asleep and the port remains available for charging.

    • This is not available on its USB 2 port.
    • This is true for the 3180, but I'm unsure about the 3185.
  • UNTESTED -- microSD cards are apparently not bootable; mine did not appear in the boot menu.
  • TODO - eMMC speed testing
  • TODO - Is the eMMC soldered, or is it replaceable?

  • TODO - Troubleshoot the Devuan/Debian/etc corruption of the SD card.

Usage and troubleshooting ∞

Windows setup notes ∞

See Windows 10 configuration, redux

Extraordinarily slow ∞

I saw that it was exceptionally slow.

Solved by turning off its "Game Mode" [ 1 ] instructions were not noted

  • Windows Update, Microsoft Edge, and OneDrive setup pegged the CPU.
  • It's unusual that OneDrive was running, because it was skipped on install. I force-killed the task.

  • Windows Update was horrifyingly slow.

At first I thought I solved this by mucking about with power settings.

Booting from USB ∞

These instructions are copied from the 3180 and don't appear to work well.

Booting from either USB 2.0 or 3.1 will work.

F2 configuration:

  • > Security

    • Firmware TPM: Disabled

  • > Boot

    • Fast Boot: Minimal
    • Secure Boot: Disabled
    • Legacy Option ROMs: Enabled
    • Boot List Option: UEFI
    • Attempt Legacy Boot: Enabled

.. now the thing is to set, and order, the items below.

(1) Add additional entries with "File Browser Add Boot Option"

  1. Give it a name, maybe something like Boot from USB
  2. Scroll to that new name and press enter
  3. Scroll to the device and press enter
  4. Navigate to your EFI directory and select your .efi file.

(2) Sort the entries

  1. Scroll to the list under UEFI Boot

  2. Scroll to the entry you made (e.g. Boot from USB)

    • F5 to move it down
    • F6 to move it up

I went through this process to make two boot entries, one for the left USB (3.1) and the right USB (2.0). This will make it such that I can put a USB key in either USB port. Also, setting the boot order will let me decide if I want to prefer the left or right be booted up.

e.g. make the list:

  1. USB 3.1 (l)
  2. USB 2.0 (r)
  3. HDD1-Windows Boot Manager

  4. HDD2-Local

F12 configuration:

  • > Change boot mode setting

UEFI with Legacy OPROM; Secure boot: OFF; fTPM is OFF

If you see something like:

Change BOOT mode to:

Legacy Boot Mode, Secure Boot Off
UEFI Boot Mode, Secure Boot On

.. then you have misconfigured things. Return to the F2 setup and re-check those settings.

Opening it ∞

As I had repairs done, I got to observe the opening process

  1. Turn it over to see its bottom
  2. In the middle there is a small plastic cap covering a screw. Carefully pry it up.
  3. Nine screws should be visible, remove them
  4. Place the laptop bottom-down
  5. Open it as you usually would (screen facing you, touchpad in front of you)
  6. The edge closest to you dips down right in the middle. This is what gives you a small opening with which you opened the laptop a moment ago. Notice the top of the laptop is a plate with the keyboard and touchpad in it.
  7. Pry up the keyboard-plate at the dip in the front. Be sure to use a plastic flexible tool that is wide, otherwise you will damage the plastic.

Footnotes

^ 1 instructions were not noted

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