All, The earlier "Freeze" thread was a valuable

Jonathan7007 · 12-19-2006, 04:26 AM

All,
The earlier "Freeze" thread was a valuable collection place for fixes and bug discussion for one symptom (even if there were probably several causes...). My hassle seems broader, and I wonder if I should stick with this machine or (gulp...$$$ ouch!) move on.

I have a M400 built to order by the fantastic PortableOne in California. CoreDuo T2500, 2Gig RAM. Fast Hitachi 100Gig HD. (Warning: plug: www.portableone.com they deserve it for patience and knowledge.)

Day-to-day my M400 loses key system files, (HotKey is a regular one) moves choppy/slooooooow while something is chewed on in the background, won't wake up, is slow to rotate view (I project at times for my teaching), and just seems balky. I wish I kept better documentation on this because it would make it easier to get help, but I can't spend my whole life babying a computer. Keeping up with retail software maintenance is bad enough. BTW those choppy moments never show anything in Task Manager.

Of course I might benefit from a complete wipe and re-installation of EVERYTHING (yuck, and no time with real life getting seriously in the way.)

OK, long lead in, sorry.

How many of you have the same experience? If there's a lot, then I cut and run to, what? an X60t? The HP? Anyway, something after the Vista release, something with a Core2Duo. If I am nearly alone in this I wipe, swap the processor for the faster Core2Duo in 1st qtr 2007, and wait to the next true generation change in the hardware.

What do you M400 owners think?

Jonathan Rawle
5th grade, Hawaii public schools

Welcome Back TabletPcBuzz!

Noger · 12-20-2006, 01:53 AM

Got an M400 as a replacement for my M200 a month ago.

Other than biometric thingy not liking my fingers for some reason, it has been totally stable - not even a hint of a problem.

This may be because after nearly 3 years of tablet ownership I have been a bit more selective about the stuff I have loaded this time.

Jonathan7007 · 12-20-2006, 04:09 AM

Good point-- I have basic stuff on this M400, but I have been running the Office2007 Beta. (No reports from other beta testers of symptoms I experience, although these might not have been what they spent time on those discussion boards to talk about... I kept in close touch with that community.) Other programs used: Photoshop CS2. Kidspiration (solid ed-focused company), Lotus Notes, FireFox, IE6, some of the MS tablet toys. I run pdf Annotator. WM5 device now synching, but that's just in the past two weeks.

Nothing seems like the loose cannon of software-dom to me as I think of my list. I will get rid of the Office Beta soon as I have downloaded the trial of the release for the marketplace.

Thanks for your comment. Jonathan

Jonathan7007 · 12-20-2006, 04:12 AM

Sorry, forgot to note: I am still using the 1.4 BIOS (as shipped) as there has been nothing listed in the various updates that had anything to do with what I use the machine to do. I got the M400 in August.
-Jonathan

bluespapa · 12-20-2006, 02:28 PM

I posted just before the Great Buzz Crash of '06 about the same complaints. My M400 has a 2 gigahertz Core Duo processor, 2 gigs of the 533 memory, the faster 100 gig hdd , all significantly more than my old Acer C112. I gat all the behavior you described, draggy, slow, not sure about the specific missing system file, but right now there are desktop icons hidden behind the taskbar, for example. I also use it in classes with a projector and find time wasted waiting for the cursor to catch up with the stylus, or other squirrelly behavior.

I got a Samsung Q1 with a one gigahertz Pentium M, one gig of memory, and a much slower disk drive. I didn't put quite as much software on it, but they both run most of the same things, but the Samsung is rarely noticeably slower, and doesn't have the quirky behavior of the M400.

Before the Crash I asked if this could be accounted for by the difference in active vs passive (touch screen) digitizing tech. I did, for completely unrelated reasons, reinstall the operating system on the M400, and it is a little less sluggish. But if $1250 is going to be as good as the $3,750 I blew on all the bells and whistles and extra batteries (two extra internal, one slice) of the latest and greatest, I do have to say I'm disappointed. (Though I also bought the Ql extended battery, keyboard/organizer, and an extra power adaptor for my office.)

I also have to be able to control the fan to some degree for meetings, and the Toshiba software made that impossible. The Q1 has an "etiquette" mode that lessens the frequency of the fan blowing off, though it's not perfect. That's something I do miss about my Acer C112--no fan, no noise. There is some software I'd downloaded for the M400 that helps with that but I can't remember if it's freeware or a beta of something. I did not reload it when I reinstalled the operating system as I use the Ql in meetings now.

So you are not the only a to find this thing quirky. But it is less so with the reinstall.

Noger · 12-20-2006, 08:31 PM

I had problems with the Office 2007 beta, think it came down to the Index Service. Made the whole thing very slow.

I am currently on 2.1 BIOS I think. The latest one has a fix for the fan noise, certainly doesn't seem that noisy. Perhaps am just a bit hard of hearing !

Did read about a freeze in Explorer that was due to the MS Finger Print Recognition software, there was a fix out for that.

Know it isn't helpful people saying "I don't have any problems like that" but at least you know that it is possible for the M400 to run OK.

Noger · 12-20-2006, 08:38 PM

http://uk.computers.toshiba-europe.c...=TIU000000377f

For the Explorer hanging fix.

Jonathan7007 · 12-24-2006, 09:18 AM

With a smaller group reading this forum as it ramps back up I believe having a couple of users respond with similar behavior to describe means there *is* something quirky about the M400 implementation. I could accept slower performance if the hardware would always do its job. I would be willing to put the faster Core 2 duo in to replace the Dual Core, because I understand that swap works. But the hanging or software dead-ends get in the way of minute-to-minute teaching, and that really upsets me, like you, bluespapa, having spent so much to create a good tool for fast-paced classroom use.

The time to make sure I have the program files, save them out to DVD-R, run the re-wipe of the HD, re-install everything, ... yuck. My family thinks I live like TRON, inside the blinking computer already. Upgrading to Vista will not be a good risk for a couple of months after release, so perhaps there is a re-wipe in my future, and then a migration to Vista in late 2007. Or a new machine.

It's only money...

My dealer is great (PortableOne) but I am not a happy Toshiba customer. Let's watch how the Lenovo x60tablet launch goes.

Jonathan

bluespapa · 12-24-2006, 04:52 PM

I'll try the patch, make sure I've got the updated BIOS (I've done a couple updates since it got it, but get the freeze with just about any software, though the Word 2007 Beta has been very stable). It would be nice to know I can use it in meetings and presentations where I'm not having to reboot in the middle of everything. Frustrating if I'm the note taker for the meeting, or if I've got a mindmap or PPT I'm marking up.