Any one come across a problem with Synaptics Touchpad, buttons and
TouchStick not working on XP on an Inspiron 8100? Just got this unit in and
none of the input devices work. Have downloaded the latest drivers from the
Dell site but to no effect: Is there a problem with SP2? Or if there was,
would they have put out a patch for this already?

USB mouse works perfectly but it is annoying having so many input devices
not working all at once. Device Manager shows everything hunky dory although
right clicking on MY COMPUTER takes a full 20 seconds to bring up a menu and
a further 60 to show the 'PROPERTIES' to see Device Manager.

It is also annoyingly slow: every command takes 5-15 seconds to START
executing and sometimes up to a few minutes. I know I am trying to run XP at
1GHz with only 128 Meg Ram (and a 384 mb swapfile) but the slowness doesn't
seem affected by (for example) the number of applications multitasking at
the same time.

Have run NAV, TrendMicro, MicrosoftUpdate, Spybot, Adaware, and SFC /SCANNOW
to no substantial effect (perhaps 40% improvement in speed) and defragged on
both Norton and Microsoft. Interestingly Microsoft saw the drive as being
almost completely full while ScanDisc saw the proper reading that I only
have software files on it and THEY only take up about 25% of the 30 Gig
drive.

You need to open the BIOS and enable the touchpad setting...

--
Carey Frisch
Microsoft MVP
Windows Shell/User

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"news.rcn.com" <news.rnc.com> wrote in message news:gLGdnWwBEZIvvHneRVn-vg@rcn.net...
| Any one come across a problem with Synaptics Touchpad, buttons and
| TouchStick not working on XP on an Inspiron 8100? Just got this unit in and
| none of the input devices work. Have downloaded the latest drivers from the
| Dell site but to no effect: Is there a problem with SP2? Or if there was,
| would they have put out a patch for this already?
|
| USB mouse works perfectly but it is annoying having so many input devices
| not working all at once. Device Manager shows everything hunky dory although
| right clicking on MY COMPUTER takes a full 20 seconds to bring up a menu and
| a further 60 to show the 'PROPERTIES' to see Device Manager.
|
| It is also annoyingly slow: every command takes 5-15 seconds to START
| executing and sometimes up to a few minutes. I know I am trying to run XP at
| 1GHz with only 128 Meg Ram (and a 384 mb swapfile) but the slowness doesn't
| seem affected by (for example) the number of applications multitasking at
| the same time.
|
| Have run NAV, TrendMicro, MicrosoftUpdate, Spybot, Adaware, and SFC /SCANNOW
| to no substantial effect (perhaps 40% improvement in speed) and defragged on
| both Norton and Microsoft. Interestingly Microsoft saw the drive as being
| almost completely full while ScanDisc saw the proper reading that I only
| have software files on it and THEY only take up about 25% of the 30 Gig
| drive.
|
|

In news:uGGFFBUKGHA.3352@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl,
Carey Frisch [MVP] had this to say:

My reply is at the bottom of your sent message:

No Microsoft will not put out a patch for a Dell laptop. Dell updates Dell's
drivers.

Slow? Already?

Seeing as you just got it (and I don't recommend this often) reformat it and
then install security software and ensure the firewall is running (kill
Norton if you'd like - you'd likely be better off for it) and THEN go
online.

Malware Cleaners and Repair:
http://kgiii.info/windows/all/general/malwarefix.html

--
Galen - MS MVP - Windows (Shell/User & IE)
http://dts-l.org/
http://kgiii.info/

"I am glad of all details, whether they seem to you to be relevant or
not." - Sherlock Holmes

"news.rcn.com" <news.rnc.com> wrote in message
news:gLGdnWwBEZIvvHneRVn-vg@rcn.net...

"Carey Frisch [MVP]" <cnfrisch@nospamgmail.com> wrote in message
news:uGGFFBUKGHA.3352@TK2MSFTNGP12.phx.gbl...
Neither enabling it nor disabling it and then re-enabling it did anything

And annoyingly, while i was trying to trouble shoot, the unit stopped
providing real power to its USB port. MY mouse started working
intermittently. If I press the plug in, the optical light on the mouse
would go on, then go to a quarter strength. SO I carried on by plugging it
into the PS2 port

And it cant read a USB 2.0 flash memory disc (though it doesn't have any
problems with a USB 1.0 disc) It DID have Adapted USBControl on it so I
deleted it and all that happened was that I stopped getting the error
messages telling me that I hadn't got any USB 2.0 devices attached to the
system.

Is this just a system which is so new but is starting to fail endemically?

result.

Interestingly enough, at all times, of 128 meg, 110 is always occupied with
between 18 and 21 meg available. Swap file usage remains. And this
situation remains almost the same however many programs I am running

">
reseating the zif connectors that attach the keyboard to the motherboard

try removing the keyboard and
Are there any disassembly instructions anywhere please?

"news.rcn.com" <news.rnc.com> wrote in message
news:jYSdnenidtapJ3veRVn-pg@rcn.net...
http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...ve.htm#1024986

Many thanks: I tried it with Linux yesterday and they keyboard was
recognised but the TouchStick (and mouse and buttons) didn't work either so
there might well be a problem with some of the wires in the cable not being
seated properly

If that works, I will have to figure out the infinitely more difficult
problem of why every command (such as pressing START) takes between 15 and
60 seconds to execute BUT DOESN'T DO THIS IN SAFE MODE! I wonder if this is
the type of problem which DrWatson would debug?

http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/systems/ins8100/en/sm_en/remove.htm#1024986>>

news.rcn.com <news.rnc.com>, disembogued in
<LeKdnRj2Kq5UP3XenZ2dnUVZ_tKdnZ2d@rcn.net>:

Maybe you should try it with linux yesterday, news.rcn.com.

What do you mean by difficult?

If you're not paranoid, you don't know what is going on around here.

Book a padded cell.

Most of the people who get good things don't deserve them.

It's so sad, isn't it?

I am here to mock you, not diagnose your problems or play agony aunt.

Hogwash.

My heart bleeds for you.

<aside>
LMFAO

Well that certainly did the trick in a somewhat dramatic way: I found that
the keyboard and touchstick cables were plugged in correctly but that there
was a flat panel hanging loose by the side which obviously connected the
touchpad to the MoBo. When I plugged it in, immediately:
1 everything started working
2 the sluggishness problem completely disappeared as the keyboard stopped
telling the OS that there was a touchpad and stick there which the OS
installed in device manager but then flailed around desperately trying to
find to use every time I pressed any command on the keyboard.

Obviously the person (I think I know who it was, principally because he
always gets it so completely wrong, and his present identity is now on my
block list again) who advised getting more memory and blaming Dell when the
symptoms were so totally at variance with this did get it completely wrong
as usual.

More baffling is Dell's technical support not identifying this problem
immediately and having me reinstall drivers, reboot, and do various other
'put-more-air-in-the-tyres' solutions. What I was doing was to waste both
my AND THEIR time with that call to India where the person seemed well
trained, helpful, courteous and articulate. He just hadn't been properly
primed on this obvious problem

Thanks again pen and fixer

Fellow pen
http://support.dell.com/support/edoc...ve.htm#1024986