Keylock doesn't work on the M15x?

Dear all,
Yesterday something quite serious came to my attention.
The keylock can't be used to lock your computer with a kingston chain.
Given that I have to lock my computer in my workplace as I'm always away from it, that really makes it impossible for me to use it.
Was anyone successful at using a chain lock with their M15x?
I honestly hope that out of all the possible problems that the M15x has/had, this won't be the thing to make me send it back.

Looking forward for comments/help.

 

would be a serious issue for me, too. That might be one of the most supid flaws of the m15x: failing at implementing a standardized slot /°\

 

As far as I know MrDJ reported the same issue, and I read from others they had it also... So maybe the kensignton is faulty, too?

 

I am thrilled how AW will repair this with a new bios...

No seriously, if the kensington lock is faulty they might have to change the case

 

I hope someone from Alienware reads this and come back to us on this issue. This time, a Bios Update will definately not be enough... If this gets confirmed, then Alienware should really stop and think what went wrong when they set out on putting this laptop together. From overheating to not even having a kensington lock working properly, this is just a shameful story for AW.

This is quite frustrating, I have to say. I hope there's a solution for this and we are just missing it.

If anyone managed to use a chain lock, please let us know which one.

 

you can write an email to the adress that has been provided several times by the AW staff during the downclocking discussion. (something like m15x@alienware...)

 

I will when I get back home today. But I'm still hoping this is something trivial and has an obvious explanation.

 

Well, there IS a solution:

 

when i was ordering my m15x and i saw they were selling the targus keylock. since i could get it cheaper somewhere else i decided to not buy the targus keylock from AW. i think this is the same as AW since targus seems to only have 1 keylock. I tried it in my laptop and it doesnt work.

 

So at the moment there are 3 confirmed m15x which have a faulty Kensington port.

 

I have two different kensington locks - one works fine, the other does not. The slot on the m15x is not designed to all you to turn the lock once its inside the slot. The one lock I have just sort of expands once its inside and it works fine. The other, you are supposed to turn once the piece is inside, it does not work.

N

 

yea the lock that i have needs to be turned i guess ill look for a lock that will expand.

 

well it's pretty stupid to sell a lock in the AW shop that doesn't work with the m15x...

@Nyceis
Thank you very much for this piece of information. Can you please post the name and perhaps a picture of the working lock? I just don't want to spend 40€ on a Kensington lock just to realize it doesn't work with the m15x.


saint

 

oh yes,here we go again.
as crizzler mentioned above i have reported this.
i took both my laptops to a gig i was doing. i had a double kensington lock (same as kingston) that i borrowed from my department that we lock up double £4000/$8000 philips screens.
the reason i took both was to compare on speed and quality as the week before was when my 3Dmark scores dropped from 9000 to 3000.
my fujitsu computer locked without any problems. the m15x was a totally different kettle of fish (****ney slang). no matter how hard i tried it would not lock. i tried both locks and they were the same.

i dont know why but this wasnt at the top of my important list as i thought it was a one off. for one of the dearest laptops on the planet it is only a small flaw but with huge consequences. if laptops start getting stolen because you cant lock them up. i think your insurance company would void your waranty if they found out.

when i got the phonecall from AW to say they could not find anything wrong with my computer was when i got slightly annoyed and started laughing. i asked the person on the phone did he have my computer in front of him and he said no (i thought the person fixing your computer was the person you spoke to). i explained about the pictures of my scores that i had saved on the desk top and he said he would pass this on. i said while i was on the phone could they also check the key lock as ive tried it twice with 2 locks and it wouldnt turn. i asked could it be down to the supplier of the chassis that have spayed to much paint into the hole and thats why it wont turn to lock. he sounded quite worried and said he would pass this on to the engineer that was working on my system. quite worried, i wonder if they already knew about this problem. i have not heard anything back since they found out ive got a faulty motherboard.

something similar happened to my brand new bmw 3 years ago (ive got a new one now) and they recalled every model sold between 2002 & 2005 for a slight modification to do with the central locking. so whats the chance guys

 

CHANCE.

How about SLIM TO NONE.

Or how about a nice PFO letter from AW. (Please F&#^ OFF=PFO)

 

thought soo

can anyone confirm if this lock from the AW website is a turnable one or expandable one.

 

as exiled has mentioned already here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=3369215&postcount=9 he has a targus lock and it does NOT work. Therefore my comment that it's quite stupid so sella lock as accessory that's not working with the notebook.

 

i see on the american site they have 2 locks for the m17x
i wonder if this one would work.

 

Well... Maybe we can only use expandable ones then. I think that the one on M15x acessories list is an expandable one (if you enlarge the picture, it certainly looks like it). I do hope this is true... Although I think it's bad we are restricted to expandable locks.

 

the question is how it is possible to identify an expendable lock...

 

This is an expandable one - it is the one I have that DOES work with the m15x. If you look closely, the pegs in the picture are expanded; this is how they lock inside the slot.

N

 

thanks for that info Nyceis

 

Ok... That sorts it out! Although I think they should have a more universal kensington lock. Pffff...... Now I can go back to love my M15x again.


Nyceis, did you buy the lock from AW website?

 

No, I bought it a while ago...

N

 

to be honest I still don't understand how I can distinguish the locks which work (expendable) from the ones which don't work (twistable). Is there a possibility to see that?

/edit
corrected the posting

/edit
I did some research and if I didn't misunderstand 'exiled' this is the lock that works: (Targus Defcon CL)


and this is one that doesn't work: (Targus Defcon KL)


You can clearly see that both have different locking techniques. So it seems like the ones with a little "T" DON'T work, while the ones where nothing twists inside the lock just work. (the lock teeth in the Defcon CL can align or expand)

Then the Kensington MicroSaver DS should also be INcompatible to the m15x as it looks identical to the Targus Defcon KL locking mechanism: http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/13882.jpg (here it is in the "locked position"; the picture is from a review on NBR: http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3042&review=notebook+lock)

/edit²
and if somebody is interested in the specification of the lock: http://us.kensington.com/html/1356.html


saint

 

thanks for the info the s.a.i.n.t. BUT that is the lock ive got with the T http://www.notebookreview.com/assets/13882.jpg and it does NOT work.

back to the drawing board.

 

I have the same lock as the one mentioned... Doesn't work. ANyway, that's a lock that twists. You need one that the "T" will expand to the sizes. THe lock doesn't have space to allow the "T" to turn.

 

Noooo /°\ then I really don't understand why some locks don't work. Looks like the port on the m15x doesn't really fit the specifications of Kensington.

But thanks for the information. Looks like we have to make a list of locks which work with the m15x...

/edit
I reread the postings from people with working/non-working locks and realized that I had misunderstood exiled's posting. He seems to own the Targus Defcon CL which works as it is expandable. (by pushing the release-button named "Entriegelungstaste" in the picture you line up the locking teeth aka "Verriegelungen" and by releasing it, the teeth expand)

So locks with a little "T" which twists inside the notebook port don't work. Now it makes sense to me. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I corrected my anterior posting.


This locks are expandable and should work with the m15x:

Targus
- DEFCON CL
- DEFCON CL Armor
- DEFCON CL ULTRAMAX
- DEFCON CL Eyelet Lock
- DEFCON SCL

Kensington
none


saint

 

If anyone could be bothered to email AW asking them for this... it would be great. Otherwise I'll do it tonight when I get back home.
Saint, cheers for the list of Targus locks. I want a Kensington one though...
How is it possible that the Kensington locks do not work? Why were we not told of this?

 

yes I am also disappointed as I would prefer a Kensington lock. It's funny that those locks don't work as Kensington is the inventor of the whole lock-idea and the specifications. Therefore I think that Alienware made an mistake with the lock port.

/I searched for other locks that would work but I none except for the Targus. So it looks like AW messed up and we're stuck with these specific locks. It's not the worst problem I could imagine but somehow strange when they fail at adding a HOLE in the right dimensions. I'm not sure if they know about the problem but it looks a bit dubious to me that they offer exactly one of the few fitting locks as accessory. (and in contrast to the m17x they don't offer the Targus lock which doesn't work...)


saint

 

i got a email from Alienware roswell saying that they are working on a new 'case'... as well as colors

i assume its to do with this...

bad luck guys.. early adopters always get the short end of the stick.



i swear afue months ago the "security lock slot" said Kensington lock... i may be completely mistaken and thinking of a review...

 

that's quite interesting and more than I would have expected (as long as it's true). Can you quote the parts of the email here?


saint

 

If they do come up with a new case, then I hope they will install it to people that already got the M15x. Otherwise I will just complain that this case is making noises and I can't use the lock and they will have to cover it on the warranty... I hope!

 

I hope so aswell. A case revamp might be something that would give this unit a boost in the quality department. I am hoping my new system will be completed soon. And I would extremely happy if some how they managed to get that new case design out in time to get it.

I will also post a detailed comparison with the first systems produced up until now. Maybe we might see a slight difference in case design and quality. I have alot of detailed pics and video that I was going to use as a review. But that was sligtly over shadowed by the DC'ing issues.

So I will put them to use and make a comparison of old to new.

 

ive just phoned to find out whats happening to my returned m15 and they said its ready to be shipped back to me.
new motherboard installed and a new case. i didnt mention about the squeaking lid but it was quite bad so they must have just replaced it. (for all we know it could of been a dodgy batch).
also mentioned about the lock and he said yes they had looked at it but with no feedback so it looks like if they are in the process of bringing out a new case then it could be mainly to deal with the creeking and also the lock.

 

Good news MrDJ, I hope your system works fine.

 

sounds more like the skullcap version & colours. I would be surprised if it's anything more than that (though these 'new' cases could be made with higher quality parts, that I wouldn't be surprised with).

 

Good point there GRB. That's probably what's going to happen...

 

Let's also remember that we just came up with this lock issue maybe a few days ago... I doubt they started making a new case for that already

 

A men of vision and insight.

 

but possibly they already knew of the problem with the locks - the 1m5x might have been displayed several times (besides the Cebit) etc. and I guess it's possible that they have recognized that flaw by themselves

 

They work on a new case? Hopefully a full revision and not only added skullcap design... If they throw in montevina also, I might give the m15x(v2 then) a second chance

 

Is it just me, or did they change the product specifications on their webpage for kensington lock to security lock? They updated the product specifications on their knowledge database yesterday.
If this is so... then we have another very poor joke on AW's side.

 

can you give us a link to that page milcs.
i think its the same one on the order page that i posted on the 19th

 

Sorry for the late response. I had the same problem so I was looking for a solution. I have found the solution though... You have to turn the kensington lock 180 degrees...

I have the lock from AW's shop. It has 4 digits in a red box and I put it up (so you can see it when you try to unlock... That didn't work. When I turned it 180 degrees so I couldn't see the red box it worked...

 

Hi MIlio...
I'm not quite sure I understand what you are trying to say...
Can you explain again?
Does it means you cannot fully lock it?

 

Wel it fully locks but they have put the kensington lock the other way around in the m15x (if that makes sense).

That means you have to turn the kensington lock 180 degrees... This way you can't see the ciphers on it though which makes it quite hard to unlock again.

 

ah, so in a sense, they've put it in "upside down"

 

Hmmm... I don't get it still.
So... can I use a kensington or not? I've tried turning it, unturning it... everything and nothing works.
From CS they say we need the Targus they sell on their website. I'm assuming this will work with no prob... no?

 

no

















i mean yes (i think).