M15x & M17x Touchpad cursor movement & polling rate problems

I agree. This is the second most expensive dell product I've purchased. I cannot understand why this isn't right. I think we would all be happy knowing at least something is being done.

 

So has there been a fix in the 2 months this thread has been open? Well they've not been working it that long, but this isn't new is what I'm referring to. Time for me to go back and sit and be patient, but hope things move along to a resolution.


My M6400 touchpad works just fine. Win 7 problem? Dunno, perhaps not Dell's fault but frustrating for machines that are supposed to be cream of the crop.

 

I have emailed him already.

 

I tried yesterday, but when the CD booted into the main installation screen, blue screen appeared and it seems that there are no window xp driver for this computer anyway. I don't think DELL Alienware wants you to put window XP into their machine which is kinda sad cause I used to love window XP and I still have window XP at home.

Just a quick though, as of now I am installing the window 7 professional from the DVD that I got for other computer at home, and guess what? The trackpad runs smooth and much nicer than the window that DELL pre-installed for you. Don't believe me? try it! you might see the different, I don't guarantee though cause maybe it was just luck

 

hey guys - is this just an annoyance or is the touchpad pratically unusable ?

I've been thinking of getting a m17x with all the bells and whistles next month but honestly, (as silly as it sounds) the touchpad is a deal breaker for me as it is rare for me to plug a mouse in (currently using a clevo d910c which is fine touchpad wise )

here's hoping they fix it soon !

 

If all i had to use was the touchpad I would be miserable. Now that is my personal experience/preference. If I was going to solely use the notebook with touchpad then I probably would have returned it as it would be way to annoying. However I use an external mouse 99.99999999% of the time so I get by.

 

So you are saying a standard windows 7 installation resolves the issue? This means that someone needs to figure out which driver the standard version of windows applies, and make that known to others. I'm still waiting on my lappy so can't do it.

 

I always wipe my computers and install fresh when I get them. I am using the RTM version of windows 7 ultimate and there is a slight increase in performance by using the windows 7 driver over the synaps one but not much...

 

thanks for the feedback - a shame , you would of thought with such an expensive piece of kit something like this would be fixed promptly (if a driver issue) is really putting me off buying one

I'm (as you can probably tell) quite new to the alienware scene - do they typically fix/patch issues such as this *eventually* or is it case of wait and see ?

 

If the computer is not functioning as intended or as should be reasonably expected, Dell's responsibility is to fix the issue or accept returns of the product.

 

You could have just uninstalled the Dell/Synaptics driver and gotten the same result. It's "better" by running the default Windows drivers, but not fixed. You also lose all of the touchpad-specific options (pressure, scroll regions etc.)

 

I understand that there's "nothing to report" but what exactly does that mean? It was brought up in a meeting once, engineering said they'd look into it, and it hasn't been mentioned since? It's brought up in a meeting every week, but they don't have time to look into it? They know what the issue is and they are working on a fix but have no ETA? Any of the above would at least be an explanation of the delay.

After two full months, I'm sorry but this "nothing to report" business is bull.

What do we need to do to get some movement on this? Do we need to start calling Alienware tech support daily and opening tickets? Do we need to start demanding returns for a product that is not performing properly? There's always a way to get movement on an issue, apparently posting on this board is not the most effective way to get that movement.

 

Ordered my M15x earlier this week, if this is a big problem maybe I can squeeze a mouse out of them?

joshmcx- I love your pic btw!

 

Well, the touchpad is usable but it really sucks, worst touchpad in the history of laptops... so if we are paying over 2500 dollars we deserve at least an avarage touchpad...

 

Its not the touchpad.. its the drivers.

 

Well yes, the drivers are making the touchpad as he said - by far the worst one ever built. I can't see what else we can do - we found the problem, isolated EXACTLY what's wrong (driver problem - the polling rate). Yet still, nothing. That's Dell. The date of the first post is now 2months ago.

 

I pointed out this and the throttling thing last Dec/Jan and still nothing..

Its really simple.. if not enough people complain.. its not worth fixing.
Its all about business... use this ... the BP thing all as examples.

If this was widespread it would be fixed right away.. but rly people dont care about their 20hz polling rate.

Everyones responses even from here when I complained before was "just deal with it" LOL

I would suggest sharing the info with the federal trade commission.
This mixed with the throttling = Defective product that is still being manufactured. Well maybe not you but anyone dealing with both issues.

https://www.ftccomplaintassistant.gov/FTC_Wizard.aspx?Lang=en

 

Well what's funny is that for those of us in line to purchase, some of us aren't going to spend money until this issue is resolved.

I'll bet that it's Synaptics' problem and that because they are the only real game in town when it comes to touchpads, Dell/AW is held over a barrel. Even if that is the case. Until this thread reads "all solved, everyone satisfied" don't expect some of us to whip out the checkbook on a new system.

If it's enough of a showstopper, some might consider refunds before this issue gets too much older. And with Synaptics pads all over the place, why not this problem on other machines from other makers? Something smells fishy there...

 

Why is this not a sticky anymore?

 

Honestly, can we expect such a big company to fix every issue in a flicker of your CF...erm...I mean eye?
Not a chance, we will most likely get the problem solved, but it can take months, IMHO, if stuttering/latency issues with R1 are of any indication.

 

E-mail sent and here are some stats of the default Windows driver with the touchpad(about 38)
and my Bluetooth mouse(80 or so)

The Windows is definitely better, but still way worse than my little generic BT mouse.

 

But this is probably the easiest fix of all.
This the only thing holding back a almost perfect laptop.
I'm sure some of the "brain's" at DELL could do it.Heck, I'm sure probably some of the members here can do it if they had all the tools.
I think everyone that has one should contact DELL/AW and complain about the lackluster performance.
There are no excuses for this.

 

Guys lets face it, we are just a small portion of the customers universe to Dell, (high end laptops are not popular) believe me if this issue were affecting the Inspiron line, or the studio line, this problem would be fixed in a week or less.. so it sucks.. i mean i can't even believe how they didn't note the awful touchpad performance when they created the laptop.

 

lets give Chris a chance to fix it for us.
he had said more than once that they are aware of the issue and he's taking care of it.
He asked for our emails and service tags so it's obvious he's doing something about it.
I say we have to have patience.

 

looks like there's a progress and we should expect a driver release today that is resolving this issue :
http://forum.notebookreview.com/6379752-post48.html

 

I should say lets not get exited but i am i really am exited WOOP WOOP

 

same here buddy

 

*explodes*

And I here I was thinking that it would never get solved! Woot!!!

 

Actually, dont jump to conclusions - I think Brian is talking about the Virtual Scrolling issue with the latest version of Command Center - not the touchpad polling issue. I could be wrong but that is how I read his post. If it was to correct the touchpad polling rate he would have alerted us in this thread.

 

New driver available.

Drivers and Downloads

 

Does it work?

 

Does it fix the polling problem or does it pertain to just other issues?

 

I installed the new driver and can see no difference.

 

ok i didn't note this drivers were for the R2 version and i screwed my laptop now everytime i start windowds it just freeze .. even if i roll back to the old drivers the problem is still there... so i have to stay with the windowds default drivers, but it is ok to me, but i don't know hot to fix the problem

 

How can Dell fail at this? FFS just give us the source of the drivers, we'll fix it ourselves! These drivers make the refresh a bit better but it's still not close to the default windows drivers. We are begging you, as alienware customers give us the source to the drivers, let us fix it because you apparently are not up for the job.

 

I installed the new driver it corrected the problem with virtual scrolling fault in CC And it seems to improve the touch pad it is not great but it is better.

 

Its still ~21hz. ZZ the new driver made no difference at all. No improvements, just probably a placeboic effect there.

 

No, I can actually see a difference, very large difference from the old synaptics drivers to these ones, it gets all jumpy on the old drivers for me.

Just did the test, averages at ~20hz on the old drivers, these are ~26hz, not a huge difference, it is noticeable but still not fixed. Not acceptable for everyday use, infact not acceptable for any sort of usage.

 

It's nice to see this working. We'll see if it solves most folks' issues, but nice to see a fix has at least been put forward.

 

what about R1? how can dell forget a system who is not much older than 1 year?

 

I think Bat is right. I misread the post and mislead you all. The fix the dude was talking about is the CC virtual scrolling fix. They didn't even pretend to fix this issue here. It's just not right, if they already release a new driver, why the hell not fix the polling rate?!

 

still needs some more work but at least its an improvement.. still unacceptable for daily use I agree

 

This is just fail. I am so disapointed that Dell didnt fix the polling rate..

I mean. How long has the issue wil CC been out and then whoa.. they got a fix for that scrolling issue.. But this issue has been reported for a heck of a long time and nothing...

Come on Chris.. You all can get this addressed much faster!!!!!!

 

I'm trying...

 

Thank you... I assume you have to do something with Synaptics?

Anything you can do would be great.

However now my concern is growing. If it is this difficult to get a simple problem fixed, it then seems clear that the throttling problem with the M15x might never even see the light of day when it comes to getting it fixed.

 

Sorry - I should have been more specific. I was referring to the virtual scrolling issue. The polling rate fix is coming, but not just yet. I'll post an updated ETA when I have it.

Sorry for the confusion.

 

Awwe, and here I was all exited about the touchpad fix:/

 

Thx guys, no need to stress about this. It was going on for more then a year now and suddenly it cant go fast enough. Im sure if you give us an update from time to time people wont shoot you guys.

 

I use the touchpad everyday. I agree with you guys, I've used better touchpads that seem to move smoother, but honestly its not that bad(here comes the flames).

 

Thanks again, Chris.

It takes as long as it takes, folks. Dude is doing what he can.