M15x & M17x Touchpad cursor movement & polling rate problems

yes, but on my side only got the beta around a week or so before it went live - NOTHING about cpu speed was mentioned - purely was for the touchpad
had noticed it running a lot more 'sluggish' when working but figured was something I'd installed/done - tis a new laptop for me and have been tweaking it a lot >< reinstalled windows (doh) but obviously did not help ---by that time a08 was out
Checking cpu multipliers isn't usually on my normal checklist (although lesson learned!)

To be honest was too focused on testing the touchpad out as it was inconceivable they'd do something like this lol

this has to be a mistake . . .I can't see what logical reason they'd have for doing this ?

 

i think joker was talking about the fact that if you uninstall the synaptics driver polling rate drops to 40 and the only fix is to reflash A08.

 

whoops ^ ^cheers
does anyone know why the polling rate on the synaptis drivers is still around 20hz worse than the windows default ones ? (something I am struggling to understand) - tis the only reason I am still using the windows default ones (which is now perfectly useable )

 

maybe you need to adjustment on alientouch in command center..

 

I believe the bios portion of the flash update was for the turbo mode default multipliers. The EC (Embedded Controller) Code flash after that was for the touch pad.

And I too am curious how linux can up the polling rate but windows can't. Does windows just use the default values? And if so I wonder if we could take the linux ps/2 code and make a small program to increase the polling rate in windows.

 

My only guess would be that there are legal issues with changing synaptics drivers. So maybe its easier for them to just put it into a BIOS.

Linux is a different story - Linux drivers for the touchpad are, I believe, open source.

 

To fix this i did this: i uninstall synaptics driver, then reboot computer, then run ccleaner and run the registry clean thing twice. then shutdown. unplug power, wait 1 min, then power up and everything would be fine again. No need to reflash A08

 

I think that uninstalling the synaptics driver, running ccleaner and then rebooting will be enough. Shutting down and all that sounds like an overkill.

 

Just a note for AW M15x users with SSD who are concern on their boot time (power on to desktop)

A08 BIOS POST time is slower than A06 by 3 seconds.

 

Terrible comparison. That basically means the TV doesn't work at all. A more accurate comparison would be saying your remote doesn't work properly. Annoying, but not a difficult fix.

Which is exactly what we've talking about here.

Let us know how your class action suit goes!

 

true, unless he wants to reset the EC right?

 

Sorry, but this is quite a long thread. Is there any fix outthere without flashing the bios? And is there any problems with flashing the bios to a newer version?

 

The only fix in the Bios, and no problems except if you have a extreme processor, reports on performance hits.

 

Thanks. This might be a stupid question, but I want to be on the safe side. Intel Core i5, that's not an extreme cpu right? Is it like the Core Duo EE that was all the hype a few years back?

 

yeah like the EE back in the day.
the extreme processors have "x" in the suffix after the sku #

mine's i7 920xm

afaik the only 2 are 920xm and 940xm

they have unlocked multi's and tdp/tdc values. prior to the a08 bios they were uncapped and unenforced by the bios. now they are forced by the bios to default values. we can force them back to what we want... but we need to keep checking to see that they stay, otherwise the bios puts them back. this wastes cpu cycles

 

This alone didnt work for me. I had to shutdown, remove the battery, press power button for about 20 sec, put battery back and power on. Viola back to 85 Hz.

 

oh, so power drain is necessary, good to know. thanks for the info!

 

Is the embedded controller for the touchpad inside the touchpad housing?

If it is, wouldnt it make sense to flash to the latest bios with the touchpad ribbon connected, then...

Disconnect it and flash back?

Profit?

-Ash

 

the EC chip is on the mobo afaik and it not only controls the touchpad but a bunch of other things.

 

the EC would be on the motherboard. i think it control's low level functions... stuff like fan speeds, temp monitor, touchpad, ACPI (power management), screen brightness... those sorts of things.

not sure what else, but yeah.

 

Ok.. the last week, M15x, and M17xR2 owners got a fix for the hawful polling rate in their touchpads.

But what about M17xR1 users? we have the same hawful touchpad, and we have it since a half year before than R2 users. So it is not fair for us, we are waiting a fix for a long time, and nothing!

So please, i want every R1 user let know to dell employs around here, that we have the issue too. Just leave a comment to let them know.

 

As previously mentioned, there will be an update for the R1, just not yet. I'll provide an ETA here when I have one.

Thx.

 

Hey Brian, any news on the Extreme cpu problem?

 

I still find the touch pad quite poor. Even after the flash. Can't they improve it?

 

yes... the movement using my touch pad is very poor as well, M17x-R1.. pls update it... thanks

 

I asked Brian (Erawneila) on private and still no ETA for new R1 bios unfortunatelly

 

Look's like Erawneila is leaving Alienware unfortunately

http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...e-investigation-discussion-5.html#post6777012

 

My bet is, there will never be a fix for R1....

 

I'm a bit worried for the R1 folks. Brian leaving definitely won't expedite the process, either.

 

Are there any drivers that give you the function to do stuff like pinch zoom? now with the pool rate fixed it feels like it could actually be used even though the texture on the TP isn't the smoothest for it.

Thanks!

 

Just got my M15X - what a bitterly disappointing experience. The moment I used the trackpad I knew it was dreadful. I use it as a laptop for about 3 hours a day, rest of time with a mouse - so it MUST work well as a laptop, or I am stuffed.

Read on, as I also have a suggestion that I would like some thoughts on.

The problems:

The surface is matt, and that is rubbish - I never had to use a surface like this before on a touchpad - what a stupid choice they made, of form over function.

Worse is that its jerky and insensitive, even after changing it to max sensitivity (I have the 60hz poll rate, but this seems like its more a jumping problem than just slow polling).

I know I should count myself lucky, after having ploughed through most of this thread, because I am coming in at a 60hz poll rate, compared to the dreadful 20 you guys had - but its still rubbish.

Worst though is the HUGE dead zone at the top and bottom. I am forever having to look at the stupid touchpad to do things - clearly unfeasible if you are wanting to operate the thing quickly, especially if its something that involves xy positioning - such as image editing, desktop publishing, programming and such like.

In fact, on mine, the actual dead area is about 18% of the top and 22% of the bottom of the pad. That makes it the SMALLEST touchpad I have ever used. Left and right are a bit better (about 10% each side), but that just make it worse, because the trackpad are is not symmetrical.

Joint worst is the dreadful button. I use my right hand for the buttons and pointing, and just click with my thumb, on a NORMAL touchpad. However, the buttons do not work unless you click them at least half way to the edge, and that means I am forever missing clicks. I have given up now, and its become a two handed operation to use the trackpad, which is very annoying.

No self respecting programmer at AW could ever have used this thing as a laptop, because they would have told AW to go back to the drawing board and FIX it.

The only option I can see for Dell is to physically replace the touchpad with a decent one, rather than this cheap nasty horrid thing.

I did have one idea, which I am going to try, before I send this thing back to Dell for a refund, and I wondered if anyone else had tried it.

When mine arrived, the screen had a nice thin sheet of plastic to protect it. It turns out that the trackpad works with this on top - so I am contemplating cutting a piece that is the exact shape of the actual functioning area, and attaching that to the trackpad.

Then I will have a feelable guide to the edge of the area, and also a smooth surface.

Has anyone else tried this sort of thing?

Even if it works though, I think the buttons will mean I will send it back, its just so unpleasant to have to use as a laptop.

Jez

 

Yours may be defective or you have a driver configured incorrectly (scroll regions too large or the such). I have none of the deadzone problems you mention. Mine works all the way top to bottom to *barely* before my finger touches the buttons and light ring on the top/bottom, and my finger can go all the way to touching the light ring left and right.

 

I agree with a lot of things. Touchpad surface is pretty bad, the buttons are very weird to push. But at least it works somehow with the latest BIOS. Even with a fix, it's one of the worst touchpads I ever had misfortune of using.

 

agree, even now that my trackpad is fixed i never liked the surface texture, which is the same as the entire palmrest, there's no physical border to the trackpad so you don't know where you are unless you actually look at it, and the button feedback is odd.

it's weird because i really liked the trackpad and buttons on the xps 13 and 1730. even the studio line's trackpad and buttons, which i didn't really like, were better than this.

 

Its not the driver - and in the control panel I have turned off everything - and also you can see where it goes from to, even in the control panel that shows you the various areas, it stops about 8-9mm from the bottom edge. The main thing is it stops before anything tells your finger you have reached the 'feelable' edge. You can see where the rough surface ends - which already gives a border - but the functional surface is even less. Its such a basic thing to get wrong in a touchpad I am simply staggered.

I haven't tried the plastic over the usable area because even if that worked, there is just no way the buttons will ever be usable for me. I have compared them to my M1530 (lovely trackpad) and the pressure required to press them is ridiculous on the M15X - it would give me a sore thumb very quickly.

I measured the pressure required to press the buttons - if I am at about 40% away from the middle of the two buttons (which is already too far away from the centre for comfortable use) then it needs 600 GRAMS - that is HUGE - its over 1.3 POUNDS of pressure to press the button. I compared it with my M1530 and that was about 75 grams (on any part of the button) - only an eighth of what the M15X requires.

Of course, when you are using the touchpad for real, you don't always get that far away from the centrepoint, so even more pressure is required, or you simply miss the click.

Even at the very edges it needs 200 grams pressure - 7 ounces - that is 3 inches away from the other button...

Its simply an insanely bad touchpad and if you need to use the laptop as a laptop, then you are in for a really rough time.

Its a disaster and shame on Dell / Alienware for releasing it, and even worse for continuing to release it for so long without fixing it.

After several hours trying to find a compact external trackpad that would fit over the AW one, without being too high to use, I have given up and sent off my return request.

So I guess its an Asus of some type for me - though not until I see if their buttons are better.

 

So the M17x R2 got a nice bump in performance and fix for their touch pad woes.

Wheres the fix for the R1?

It looks like the R1 is now obsolete in Dells eyes and won't be getting anymore driver or system updates.

Cheers.

 

my touchpad just completely wont respond.
i have no idea how to fix it

i deleted the synaptic driver and it just hasnt worked since....

 

Just to add - I spoke to AW support about the touchpad problem and they denied there was any issue with the touchpad at all. Unbelieveable head in the sand attitude they had.

Anyway, as I was within the 7 days, I still get to return it (took an hour on the phone to sort out though) - it merely cost me £20. More than it would have cost them to put a decent touchpad in the thing. They are crazy - the pence they have saved on that cheap component will have been lost by the first half dozen people who return the thing because of it.

 

^^ nicely put

 

WOW for real huh chiefs. Dammss buggers.

That just sucks. Too bad Brian has left us for greener pastures. He was really a great help when he was around.
Looks like we're stuck with this shocking touch pad forever now.

Cheers.

 

Is there a fix for the touchpad on the M17x r1?

 

Not yet - ChrisM from Dell said it is still in the works. Not sure where that post is.

 

Thanks for the reply..lot to dig through in this forum.

 

Interesting and good to know... so basic and yet most of us never knew.

+1 Rep for making my world make a bit more sense

 

I'm taking it we are probably never going to see this fix?

 

is the fix out for the M17x R2??
it's getting really annoying trying to use this laptop as a portable thing :O

 

Update to BIOS A10 for the 17xR2.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/ali...ugged-not-charging-fix-discussion-thread.html

I think it was fixed with A09, cant recall. A10 should have it.