just got my m15x - thoughts and issues

Okay, so my m15x just arrived and everything looks pretty sharp but the screen. (wobbles and creaking too much imo - but its no big deal, i can live with it)

On the technical stuff, i cant seem to get the touchpad disabled. By pressing Fn + F12, i see a little popup telling Touchpad Off, the light around goes off but i can still move with it .

Stealth mode does not seem to work. When i press the Stealth mode button to turn it on, nothing is happening... well i can hear one of the fan getting louder and then a few seconds later, it slows down to normal. CPU-Z is telling me that my Core speed is around 1595.6 mhz (shouldnt be 2.5?). Finally, everytime i try stealth mode, i restart the lappy and the VGAMode popup keeps telling me something like : High Performance Mode (External) - like i said i don't remember the exact terms.

I remember reading a thread about the fact that if your actually in stealth mode then you should not be able to see the Nvidia Control Panel when right clicking on the desktop; As for me, turning in Stealth mode On or Off does not change a thing...I can see the Nvidia panel command everytime.

I tried downloading the integrated video drivers from Alienware Support site, but when i launch the setup, it extracts the files and then a error popup tells me that my system does not meet the requirements to install... pretty weird.

Anyone have any ideas on some solutions for my issues?
I'm running on Windows XP and i checked the BIOS version which is X34.


Other than that, im pretty satisfied with the M15x.

Thanks for the help!
(sorry for the grammar and such, english is not my main language )

 

I think you got stealth mode mixed up with Binary GFX.

Stealth mode downclocks your CPU and GPU to save battery life. Binary GFX, ( press Fn+F7 ) is the one that switches from your dedicated video card to the integrated one. ( This requires a reboot ) Once you are using integrated graphics, you should not be able to see the Nvidia Control Panel.

 

Wow silly me

Thanks for the reply Cha.

Any idea on the touchpad issue?

 

Hmm.. not really, since I've never had that problem with the touchpad. Sorry

 

I have that problem. It never really bothered me, but I suppose I can ask Roswell for you.

 

Yeah its not a very serious problem but it is just very annoying that i need to disable it manually everytime...

Thanks for your help Oceanus.

 

I shot them a message. Hopefully I'll get a response regarding this issue tomorrow.

 

It may not work , just the lights will turn on and off. You can see this in "My Hive" atleast for Vista drivers

Vista Touchpad Driver 10.1.8.0 WHQL
Known Issues in this driver release:
• FN+F12 key combination does not disable the touchpad and touchpad light.
• Touchpad must be disabled and enabled under the Synaptics Device Settings tab in the Mouse Properties.

 

Hmm, think it'd work on XP?

 

never installed XP on my box so cant say. but vista it never worked for me. it's a synaptic bug not only on AW but DELL and HP too

 

I'll give it a blind shot.

 

Well that was a no-go. Apparently the fix provided two drivers and it was only able to install one. Regardless of which, it wasn't able to fix this issue, though I'm testing it to see whether that somehow miraculously fixed the keyboard lag issue.

The touchpad is still the same. It works but when you try to disable it with the FN + F12, the lights turn off but not the touchpad. Guess we'll have to wait for a real solution tomorrow morning when I get a response.

 

about your cpu problem. the cpu is saying that because of speed step. the cpu always downclocks when idle. your clocks will be normal again when you actually need the cpu

 

I see... thanks for clearing that up.

 

Here we go. Got an email today from Roswell.

I don't think we should reseat the touchpad cable just yet. Try the first two options for you if it works and I'll send her another email tomorrow morning with the results. Personally, I've tried the second option already and it hasn't worked. I'll be trying out the first option later tonight.

Also, if you decide to give her your account info, do not post your account number here. For privacy's sake, PM me with it and I'll forward it to her.

 

Ive already reinstalled the touch pad driver and plugged in an external wireless mouse but it didn't solve the problem.

Thanks for the effort you are putting into this, Oceanus.

 

I'll forward the news back to Roswell. Just doing some preliminary findings to see what does and what doesn't. Hopefully this will isolate the issue.

Oh and I'm glad to help!

 

fn+f12 NEVER worked on my m15x in xp or vista 64. It just turns off the light and the touchpad is still on, and this is with my external mouse plugged in

 

For Vista, try this patch.

I personally downloaded the patch and uploaded it for you. See if that solves the problem on Vista.
http://www.audicracy.com/m15x_Touchpad_Vista_10.1.8.0_WHQL.exe

 

now when i receive my new unit in the following weeks do I need to do all this also?

 

You shouldn't need to. All of the appropriate patches/drivers should already be installed for you.

 

didn't he just receive his m15x?

 

Yes, but he thing is, he has Windows XP. The patch is at the moment only for Windows Vista.

 

Took me quite awhile to find this thread. It was starting to get buried deep in the huge list of threads. A little update to those who have the same issues on XP. Received an email from Roswell concerning this.

Sorry if this is a small response. The email was kind of big so I tried to break down all of the issues that were discussed in it and post them in their respective threads. Here's what was said about the touchpad issue in XP.

At least that issue is making some progress. You'll be able to find bits and pieces of the rest of the email elsewhere on the forums. I decided to omit the majority of the email because the rest of it has had no relevance to this issue.

..and wow, it's already 3 AM. I need to sleep.

 

Very glad to hear that they are actually working on a fix. Once again, thanks a ton for the time you are putting into this, Oceanus. To be honest, i almost forgot about this touchpad problem ... but still, i won't say no to a patch from Alienware

 

I'll be updating you on it as I receive news of their progress on the matter.