New Member,Crazy Cursor Question - TabletPCBuzz

AVService · #1 02-08-2010, 05:46 PM

Hi
I am new here and first want to say hello.
I am a long time Tablet user and somehow have not found this site till now?
I have and have had several Tablet machines and I use Toughbooks day to day mainly Touchscreen models,I really prefer not having to use a Stylus.

Anyway I picked up an M1400 last week thinking it would be ideal for a specific project and while getting it going I discovered I had "The Crazy Cursor".

As I understand it there is some shielding that is placed inside to somehow fix this but I can not determine where and exactly what to shield?
I have read it is the Hard Drive but the Craziness happens on the opposite side of the machine from the drive.

I read that the power supply/connection area is the issue. I substituted the tiny factory supply with a Targus universal charger and Tip ad thought at first it was fixed but.....not so fast.

Does anyone have any suggestions based on experience that might help me?

I am a Technician and am not afraid to try almost anything but I would prefer to not let the smoke out.

Thanks
Ed

wiggy1 · #2 02-08-2010, 06:27 PM

Ed,

You can apply this little "Litepad Fix" program and that seems to help: http://www.veridicus.com/tummy/programming/litepadfix/ or you can tear the machine apart as the guy did to his Litepad that wrote the program. It worked for me, but I also tore apart one of my M1400's and placed a layer of aluminum foil and then a layer of anti-static shieding (to make sure the aluminum foil didn't short anything) over the backside of the digitizer. I made appropriate cuts in the foil/shield for 4 wires to easily pass through from front bezel to back side. I thought I took pictures, but can't seem to find them. Anyway, it fixed the issue. I only had the jumping curser on one M1400 though. All the rest were just fine. And I haven't had any issues with my M1300's (yet).

AVService · #3 02-09-2010, 06:16 AM

Thanks
I will give this a try.
Ed

Grindboy · #4 02-10-2010, 09:16 AM

I've also just bought an m1400 which has the jumping cursor.

In the US motion will fix the problem for free (minus shipping) However I live in the UK and it would cost me £140 to fix it through Box Technologies, Motions reseller in the UK.

Has anyone got dissassembly instructions for the m1400 (I'm running Linux so the software fix is a no go for me) and maybe a template for the shield?

Many Thanks

Grindboy

AVService · #5 02-10-2010, 09:31 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Grindboy

I've also just bought an m1400 which has the jumping cursor.

In the US motion will fix the problem for free (minus shipping) However I live in the UK and it would cost me £140 to fix it through Box Technologies, Motions reseller in the UK.

Has anyone got dissassembly instructions for the m1400 (I'm running Linux so the software fix is a no go for me) and maybe a template for the shield?

Many Thanks

Grindboy

That is not what they told me yesterday.
I was told that if I ship it to California they would let me knowif and how much it would be to fix it before doing so but they could not guess whether it would be free or how much it might cost????????

So I am just supposed to ship it and wait with no idea at all what may happen or how fast.

Not too promising.

Ed

wiggy1 · #6 02-10-2010, 10:06 AM

Grindboy, How do you like the Linux tablet? Do you have good ink to text capabilities? I have a friend that is Linux exclusive and hasn't found anything that provides ink to text (such as the tab input panel in XP).

As for the M1400 dissambly, I haven't found any instructions. Essentially, you will remove the battery, and hard drive. Remove all teh screws on the back side of the case, then the case essentially comes apart like a clamb shell. Just be careful of two things: Gently remove the long grey plastic things on the sides of the slate so as to not break the tabs. Also, as you seperate the two halfs, there will be three cables connecting the front digitizer and PCB's to the mother board. Be real careful and remove those one at a time, then the whole unit will be seperated. The key is to be very gentle along the whole process and you will do just fine... also wear an anti-static strap so you don't shock your motherboard.

Grindboy · #7 02-10-2010, 10:54 AM

Hey Wiggy1

Disassembly went fine just about to fit a DIY shield now. So far my experience with Linux has been a mixed bag. I started off with the latest version of Ubuntu (9.10 at the writing of this post) which required the use of a boot argument called "ACPI=off" this meant I didn't get a battery reading, couldn't suspend, hibernate or alter the brightness.

I've now found that an older version of ubuntu (8.10) works "out of the box" with the hardware with the exception of the wacom digitiser although there were only 3 steps involved in getting that working. I now have none of the above issues and it even supported desktop effects from the word go!

For handwriting input I use cellwriter. Sadly the program doesn't support cursive hand writing recognition as the concept is patented. After initial set-up the program learns your particular handwriting style as you go showing a letter in red if it is unsure whether it got the translation correct. I'm also using easystroke for gesture recognition in the OS with "firegestures" and "grab and drag" dealing with pen based browsing with Firefox.

Overall I'll be very happy once I get rid of the jumping cursor as everything else is working very well :-)

[edit] OK installation of the DIY shield went fine and my tablet is still working (I officially now hate ribbon cables and have developed a twitch every time one is mentioned!). I'll use my tablet normally for a week and then get back to you guys whether or not this solved the problem. I'll write up a full how-to in a fresh thread with pretty pictures and stuff in a sec.