Latitude E6400 Owner's Lounge

Anyone notice that I8kfanGUI doesnt seem to work after BIOS A14? Running XP here.

 

Yes, all the latest security related updates and A14 are on board, 'winlogon.exe' problem remains.

I should probably add the BIOS and DCP versions to my signature...

 

I don't know the OS, so I presume you have Vista (it's same for Win7)
Press the Win Key, then type "power" and select "Power Options" item.
From there, select a power option mode that you want to change the brightness of the screen.
Once done, click on the side column (the one that is green/blue'ish) item named: "Change when I turn off the display" (yes, you read correctly). This will get you to a new screen, where you can set the default screen brightness when you are on battery and when you are plug-in for the selected power plan.

Well what can I say, you don't know how to use an OS.
I mean it works perfectly for us, we have the same machine with insignificant changes between. You clearly install something you should not be installing on it, making the OS go nuts. And you just did not install it/them in Win7.

Win7 is really Vista. The kernel (Windows core) was not touch. So technically speaking, the problem you faced with Vista should be with Win7.

 

It works fine (ie showing temperatures and fan speed) for me with A14, but I had to redetect the sensors.

In the 21st century the average user should not need to understand the OS, in the same was as the average driver doesn't need to know how to maintain / repair the engine of their car.

John

 

Just out of curiosity, did the fan controls ever work with any of the BIOS? I've only tried with A02, A12, and A14, and sadly, they never worked

 

Basics should. You don't put car fuel in the oil tank, you don't put Diesel in a non-diesel car.

The same as you don't (just for example), install a 32-bit driver under a 64-bit OS. Sadly, the average people don't even understand file size... that is like driving a car and not knowing something as fundamental a Km/h (or miles per hour, if you don't follow the metric system).

Before using a tool, you should know the tool you are using.

A person should know at least (just from top of my head) how an OS basics works (like how a car engine works) at an overview level, what is a driver, software, system hardware basics (What they are and what are their general purpose, such as RAM, hard drive, processor, etc.) Size and units of measure the system commonly use (Bytes and Hertz), how to install/uninstall software, how to use the system control panel, what is a bug, virus, trojans, worm, basic security and the OS itself (execute a software and stuff), and most importantly how to READ and open their eyes and not have a 2cm diameter view point on the screen. And MOST importantly, not to be scared of the system.

Knowing the above set a base level to starting understanding a system, and start using it better and not screwing it. Also, it allows one to use the OS feature at their advantage for increase productivity.

Sadly, the computer (and most electronic devices) in this day of age is the only tool that most average people uses everyday but don't even how it works, but uses it.
Again: we use a car we know how it works, same for soap, water system for taps and showers, speakers, and so one... but not computers.
And this problem is not new... it's actually increasing. Remember before people had computers at their home, the same story was with (and still is) with VCRs (and now DVD players), and TV's. The bad educational system teaches us to not seek for answer, but rather just receive it automatically, making the average population mentally lazy, and doesn't want to read an instructional booklet with big pictures and diagrams that a new born (exaggerating, of course) can understand in 2 sec.
We come in a day in age that even if I give you the answer in front of you (referring to the average population), you won't even look at it. It must be a video... This is very sad, and just gets worse from there.

However, I have high hopes on the next coming generation as this behavior is being addressed in most places in the world in schools. And that within the current generation we have more and more people that separates them self from the average population, and starting to create new average, as the computer is beginning to understand it beyond a "magic box", and start using it properly.

 

Anyone ever read Zen And The Art Of Motorcycle Maintenance? It's about motorcycles but it also applies to computers.

 

File date and size are my two key file management parameters. However, I use Total Commander, which shows this information by default. However, on the average Windows installation, getting this information is a bit like having to tune to a special channel on the car radio to see your speed.

So I am less inclined to blame the user than the way the operating system is set up. This could be changed by, for example, have file icon size in proportion to the file size with new files in vivid colors and old files going grey.

John

 

Oh no, God please noooo!!!

I absolutely hate how Ubuntu makes file icons out of previews of the files. This makes PDF files have larger icons than text files, etc. That's one of the things I really hate about it. Yeah, I can probably change it (it's my work computer though, so I don't have the time to fiddle around with it). But like you said, it shouldn't be the user who has to tweak the OS to make it work properly.

Speaking of which: in XP, when I set a folder to a certain view (like "Thumbnails" or "Details"), it would stay like that forever. In Vista, it seems that the OS occasionally changes the view without my intervention. For example, my "Games" folder was set by me to be a "List", and it is now back to "Large Icons", which is a view I particularly hate and would never set myself. What gives??