Anyone using BenQ Joybook S41?

Whew, this laptop, though it's pretty cheap considering the equipment it packed with, it's not trouble free at all. The cd drivers only work with vista, this is solved by browsing internet and finding the right xp driver.

But problem come after I install the wlan driver, my windows xp (service pack 1) doesn't detect the adapter at all, I wonder if someone could give me solution for this? I have installed the correct driver, yet I don't see anything "wireless connection" in network connection.

 

I've got the same laptop, using it in Ubuntu 7.10 and the pre-installed Vista.

There might be some pre-release drivers for XP around that will sort you out a bit better. I haven't given them a go myself but some people over at whirlpool have been given details by a rep: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=774663&p=20#r389

I'm pretty sure there is no support given on these drivers as XP wasn't a supported config, but good luck anyway !!

 

Is there a hardware wireless switch that you need to turn on on order for the wireless to show up?

Otherwise, XP SP1 is somewhat ancient. Had wireless been invented at that time? Can you get hold of SP2 (it's a 280MB download)? SP3 is about to be released.

John

 

Hey guys, thanks for the tips, I've been exploring the links given, and I have installed most of the drivers. And John, as you mentioned, I actually forgot there are switch to turn on/off the lan and bluetooth, it explains why it doesn't work on the first place.

I still have two problems though, there are two problematic devices left, first is the BenQ Qeye camera. For some unapparant reason, everytime the camera is activated, it will make windows unstable and you couldn't terminate it, even from task manager. I have tested it about six times, and yes, as you could guess, I forced to hard reset my laptop, thanks to this problematic driver D:. The solution is, to disable the camera from hardware manager, I dont' use webcam anyway.

The second is, there are one pci device left unidentified. I have used driver guide tool kit, and it clearly mentions it's PCIxx12 SDA Host Controller by Texas Instrument. I have installed the driver without problem, but it's still unidentified, I really don't understand why.

Also, I'm still confused on using bluetooth device (mine is Broadcom 2045), most of the times, it couldn't detect any available bluetooth devices, even though I have activated the bluetooth device in both laptop and my cellphone. I wonder because the signal of the laptop is weak?

I'm pretty much okay with this laptop, despite the three things I forementioned, I would really appreciate if you could give me technical solution or experience when using this laptop.

I will consider to download sp2 later, if it might solve a lot of problem.

 

I would suggest installing SP2 as soon as possible and then try uninstalling the devices drivers and software that is giving you grief and then re-installing the latest drivers:

I noticed on the Australian site they have updated the Windows XP drivers (didn't find so much on the Indonesian site for you). The Australian site is here: http://www.benq.com.au/products/joybook/?product=1073&page=downloads&dtype=D

There's no webcam driver for Windows XP, but it looks like they have a card reader and bluetooth driver, both which could possibly have been updated so might help you solve your issues.

 

it's designed for Linux BE or Unbuntu Linux, go to BenQ Chinese site and read it.

 

Unfortunately, I couldn't read chinese, and BenQ stated that this laptop is optimzed for Vista (duh). I plan to install ubuntu after my cd from shipit.com arrived anyway. =D

 

I've added some tips on using the S41 in Ubuntu here: http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-replies.cfm?t=774663&p=24#r463

 

Ok this is distrubing, I just realized my notebook's battery, either it's defective or need recalibrating, because it's underperforming. BenQ stated that the battery could running on 2:15 hours (4800 mAh), but mine only running at best for 1:30 hours. NHC informed if the full capacity 52614 mWh and running in -32.634W.

Is this sign of defective product, or do I need to recalibrate it?

 

How old is the battery? Does NHC show you a wear level percentage?

 

five days old, the wear level is 1%. And also, my friend informed that might happen because I set the brightness level to max, which drains the battery. Hmm, it's either I set up wrong setting or maybe it's really defect.

 

1% sounds good. I think you should try setting the brightness down to the second or third from the lowest. Are you running XP or the pre-installed Vista? If you aren't getting good life out of the battery in XP, I'd try it in Vista on the "Balanced" or "Power Saver" power plans.

 

ah, it seems the brightness indeed is the source of my problem. After I reduced it to minimum level, the battery duration rises significantly. I guess it's not defective at all huh?

 

I like BenQ S41, the battery can do almost 3 hours for lowest brightness. And the most of thing the case is aluminium . . .

Save Power + Lowest Brightness + GPU Set to Lower + Little Tweak on Vista = 2:45 minutes can survive with WLAN on . . . .