m11x: battery check(fn+f2)

(?)
At first, I, like all the other m11x users, found that the fn+f2 did nothing but indicate if the battery was being charged or not. Although now, even that feature has ceased to function. When I press fn + f2 now, nothing happens (The battery disable display no longer displays). Is there a fix or at least another way to check if the battery charging has been disabled (using only the ac adapter for power)?

Thanks guys

EDIT: In case you were wondering, the f2 and fn keys do work, but when put together produce nothing.

 

Hi DLM,
I just bought my M11X yesterday and still trying to find my way in it. I heard you and hit FN+F2, a battery enabled icon appeared and also indicates graphically the battery status, cool!

 

Haha yes, that's good! That's what the m11x I have did before. Although the problem seems to be that it has stopped indicating the status. Any Ideas?

 

ctrl+alt+esc and go to services and see if the alienware on screen display service is running.

That is needed for it to display among your mute/screen brightness indicators.

 

I've posted elsewhere, but just in case. Fn-F2 only displays the battery status on the M11x. It does not toggle charging, but you can do this in the BIOS. There is an error in the manual that will be corrected for future revisions.

Thanks.

 

On other Alienware Laptops, and the Dell Latitude E Series you can disable charging without going intothe bios - please can we just have the advertised functionality, rather than just saying 'its an error in the manual'.... surely it can't be good for the BIOS flash chip to keep saving new settings several times a week... and its a pain in the butt to keep having to reboot to change the charge settings....

J

 

Any particular reasons why you would like to have the charging disabled while keeping the AC Adapter plugged in?

 

I don't understand purpose of this option. Why should i disable charging? And if so, why cant i just unplug my lappy? Usless crap.

 

I had posted in a separate thread on the matter. I can press FN+F2 and see the battery enabled graphic, but for whatever reason my battery is not being recognized. Says "Plugged in and not charging" on the battery icon.

Only way to temporarily fix is to remove the battery and press and hold the power on button till whatever power is left is drained.. then to reconnect everything. the battery is then recognized.. but even when my battery says it has a 100% charge it will still die on me.

 

Check your BIOS and see if it has "Charging Enabled" Toggle that and see if it changes anything.

 

Been there.. tried that.. doesn't change it at all..

Also.. It's a bit difficult to get to the BIOS when the "press F1 to continue" prompt comes up do to the unrecognizable battery message comes up.

 

F2 is unrecognizable by the BIOS for some reason. Press F12 for boot options, then go to setup from the resulting menu.

 

Doesn't matter.. I've gotten in to the BIOS using F2, but the problem remains. My battery is not being recognized.

Edited: Apologize for the abruptness. I am on a train and my internet keeps cutting out from tunnels..

 

Could someone please identify just what the hell this Fn+ F2 function is doing on this device?
After reading through the forums I've discovered that it was initially planned to be used for disabling the charging option which would be incredibly useful to myself.

However all it actually amounts to (or used to amount to for that matter) was to give notification as to whether or not the battery was charging via the mains adapter.

Are Dell or Alienware looking into amending this flaw?
I've heard they are seeking to correct it by literally editing the user manual on all future models - This is simply not good enough...

 

FN-F2 was not intended to toggle battery charging on the M11x (it does do this on the larger M15x and M17x). The manual has an error that slipped through somehow. FN-F2 on the M11x merely shows the battery level icon. You can disable battery charging in the BIOS, but please note that this will revert to enabled if you power the system up without the AC adapter plugged in. This is by design If FN-F2 isn't displaying anything on the screen, you likely need to reinstall the OSD or you might have a keyboard problem.