Inspiron 8500 APR mouse and shut down problems

I have already uninstalled/reinstalled all drivers, and on the shutdown screen...it was more than 15 minutes cause I walked away from the computer cause it was pissing me off and came back after getting some lunch and it was still on the same screen. I think that 15 minutes would be more than enough time for a hung program :)

 

 

Anyways, the guy that I called said that my APR was deffective and they are shipping me a new one.

Message Edited by Erasmus354 on 08-27-2003 01:12 PM

Erasmus354,

Go to Start-Run and type in msconfig and hit enter.  The System Configuration Editor allows you to choose what loads as the system boots.  Choose Diagnostics startup and hit ok.  Say yes to reboot.  When the system boots up you will see the boot menu, make sure that Normal mode is highlighted and hit enter.  The system will now boot without loading any of the configuration files shown in the System Configuration Editor.  Please use the system like this and see if the problem happens again.  If it does not, then  you can use the System Configuration Editor to determine which file is causing the problem.

 

yes I did, and it still didn't work, I had the same problems with the brand new APR I just recieved. However, I did find out that if I simply uninstalled all of the mouse drivers and then not load the drivers with the Logitech CD that it seems (saying this cause it has only been 30 min and the mouse could still..........OMG the mouse just cut out on me as I was writing this message. So, I guess the process is still ongoing...oh yeah, and I figured out that the computer only has probelms shutting down if the mouse has stopped working for me.

 

Anyways, I believe I will simply be returning the APR and the monitor stand to Dell and hope that in a year they can fix their problems. Seems like they have branched out into too many areas of computers too quickly and cant produce a decent product that is compatible with some of the most popular devices on the market.

I dont see what the big deal about the touchpad drivers is. The mouse works just fine when I use it without the port replicator. There is still a touchpad on the computer when it isn't docked...so if this is being caused by the touchpad why does it work fine w/o the port replicator?

 

Same as subject...

Many posts are complaining about lost USB Device connections, Keyboards, Mice, etc. on the D series APR's (D/Port).  This includes the Inspiron M series.

I have found that the problems appear to vanish when you remove the APR (nice, eh?).  Kinda defeats the purpose.

Has anyone exchanged their APR for a working unit?  Possibly a later revision?  I have already downloaded patches, etc., and believe I am current on everything else.

Has anyone tried the D/Dock with an Inspiron M series?

John

600m, 1.6, 1mb ram, Logitech Cordless Keyboard/Mouse, Tohiba PDA, Extigy

Well, Dell sent me a brand new APR, and that did not fix anything, even with updated drivers and everything, so their APR is clearly flawed in its basic design of the USB ports...

Erasmus354,

Make sure you have installed the latest bios file here.
Then reset your bios defaults.
How do I restore the Setup Defaults on my Dell™ Inspiron™ portable computer?
Also make sure to load the latest version of the Dell System Software here.
If still having problems, undock your system.
Pull the power cord from the APR and leave it out for 30 minutes.
Then put the power cord back into the APR, and dock the system.
Someone has reported that pulling the APR power cord for 30 minutes resets the APR.
I have not been able to verify that, but it is worth a try.

yes I have done all of that stuff, new bios, new software, updated mouse drivers, updated touchpad drivers, downloaded the USB fix, and all of that before I even used the brand new APR that was sent down, and it still did nothing, so why would reseting the brand new APR do anything?

Karel -

If no one else is going to say it, I will -

The advice you are giving, at least on this subject, is bad.  If you don't know what you are talking about, please find out, or don't bother answering.  People are not as dumb as the Dell folks would like to believe.

 

Newguy,

Firth of all, I did not call anyone dumb, or suggest it in any manner.
Second of all, if you have valid criticism, please post them, in a tasteful manner.
What about my suggestions or troubleshooting steps do you not like?
What information are you looking for exactly? Or what do you need from me?

1.  People repeatedly tell you that they have the latest bios.  You ignore it.

2. Latest Drivers.  Ignored.

3. Brand new APR (replacement),  This thing probably has never been powered up, let alone need to be powered down (for eight hours!??).

4.  This subject exists on at least 2 dozen threads, yet you give no new advice, and have not once (to my knowledge), spoke with any engineers to find out what they are doing about it.

5.  I have the same problems, giving me the right to lend my opinions.  I don't believe you can get the job done, though you could surprise me.  Time will  tell.

6.  Nothing personal - You can only do what you can do...I'm just bored with the generic responses.

Erasmus,

I don't have all the engineering details on how these APRs work exactly, but, if the
APR has some kind of controller chip or settings, maybe trying to reset the
default settings by pulling the power cord solves the problem.
You could always try reinstalling Windows, but do you really want to???

Good answers.-

As long as you say you are working on it, I am satisfied.  None of the suggested steps has solved my problems.  Be assured that I have taken every possible approach - I really depend on my APR.

Unless you start some type of flow chart, you are going to be running in circles.

Personally , I suspect a bad design, possibly a voltage issue.

Newguy,

Ok, appreciate the response.

1. People repeatedly tell you that they have the latest bios. You ignore it.
If I miss something, I apologize.

2. Latest Drivers. Ignored.
Again, I apologize for this, but just making sure that you do indeed have all
the latest software. Some people are not aware of all the drivers/software that
is required to make a laptop system work properly. They are a lot more complicated then
desktop systems.

3. Brand new APR (replacement), This thing probably has never been powered up, let alone need to be powered down (for eight hours!??).
Are you sure it's brand new?
Does it have a refurbished sticker on it?
It doesn't hurt to try this step, you don't hurt anything by trying.

4. This subject exists on at least 2 dozen threads, yet you give no new advice, and have not once (to my knowledge), spoke with any engineers to find out what they are doing about it.
I just got these boards, and just became aware of this problem.
I have escalated it because it seems to be numerous.
But, Dell engineering only provides feed back when they have a solution.
They don't keep up updated every step of the way.
So, I would not know there is a fix until they decide to release one.

5. I have the same problems, giving me the right to lend my opinions. I don't believe you can get the job done, though you could surprise me. Time will tell.
Absolutely, and if you have other troubleshooting steps you think may work, please post them.

6. Nothing personal - You can only do what you can do...I'm just bored with the generic responses.
I understand.
The reason for the generic response is to see if there is a common troubleshooting
step that may resolve the problem.
If everyone uses step 6 and it works, then we are closer to solving the problem.

To All,

Has anyone tried disabling the power management for the USB ports?
I did not see that step listed here.

Dock your system, and bootup to Windows.
Right click My Computer, click Properties.
Click on the Hardware Tab, Device manager button.
Left-click the plus (+) sign next to Universal Serial Bus Controllers.
Right click USB Root Hub or USB 2.0 Root Hub, click properties.
Click the Power Management tab.
Uncheck the box for: "Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power"
Click Apply and OK.
You need to perform this step for each listing of USB Root Hub or USB 2.0 Root Hub.