I suggest that you run the Dell diagnostic program on your computer to ensure that all of the components work properly. Place the System Software CD in your computer. Reset the machine and when the Dell logo appears on the screen, press and release [F2] several times until you are in the BIOS. Press the right arrow key to go to the BOOT menu or hold [Alt] and [P] simultaneously to progress to the second page. Change the boot sequence to CD/DVD drive, Floppy drive, Internal HDD. Now press [Esc] or [F10] to save and exit the BIOS.
The following knowledge base article can help you with this:
Wow, no disrespect intended, but I don't think you read my message fully. The buttons do function, but only if pressed hard. You press to the bottom of their travel, and then have to press further to get them to do anything.
I actually did run the diags just for fun when I got the machine, everything passed of course. But there's no way a diag can tell how hard I'm pressing a button.
Based on experience with my 8600 and with other posts in the Inspiron forum, the track stick buttons do not work as well they should. 95% of the time I'm using a mouse anyway, and even when I use the track stick I tend to use the buttons below the touch pad anyway, so it not a issue for me.
I've been moving back and forth between buttons. The problem will be when I'm stuck in cattle class on a plane and have no room. I have to work hard to reach the bottom buttons. One of the advantages I looked for in the 8600 was not having to move my hands down there, since that's hard to do on a plane.
WHAT? Did you even read his question? The problem is not the touchpad or its buttons, its the fact that the buttons for the trackstick (which are part of the KBD assembly) are just cruddy. You have to push them VERY far to get any response.
I have to question, Bob, whether you have actually looked at or used an 8600 recently, given the answres you gave to SwampNut's questions.
No Kidding! BOB!! You could have solved this persons problem along time ago by telling them that the 8500 and 8600's have lousy mouse buttons for the pointer stick. DIAGNOSTICS?? NEW TOUCHPAD????
Nobody will be surprised I'm sure, but I received almost exactly the same non-answer from Dell support via e-mail. I wrote back and clarified it, no answer days later. Also almost a week out from another support request with NO answer at all.
Your issue is something that is normal on all Inspiron 8500's and 8600's. The touch-pad buttons barley depress at all, and the pointer-stick buttons have to be pressed a long, long way. In the initial reviews by CNET, PCmagazine etc, they all said this was one of the negatives on these machines. It's just the way Dell designed these things. Also the keyboards are flimsy, and the whole construction is a little "plastic-y". It's "normal". PRETTY BAD WHEN DELL TECHS HAVE NO IDEA WHATS GOING ON, EVER. I ALWAYS HAVE TO TELL DELL ABOUT THEIR MACHINES!
loungepop has it exactly right. I read the reviews before I got my 8500 and they all said the pointing stick buttons had to be pressed very hard, while the touch pad buttons responded to the lightest, and many times accidental, touch. Once I got my 8500, I confirmed that this was the truth. However, I found that the pointing stick buttons were basically unusable due to the fact that it's practically *impossible* to drag sometime using these buttons. Because they take an excessive amount of force to use, unless you are mashing them with all your might, they will spontaneously release while you have them depressed. Obviously, you can't be expending this much energy for long periods of time, and it's probably an RSI risk. So after a couple months, I called Dell and described my problem and they recommended replacing the keyboard (the pointing stick buttons are part of the keyboard assembly). I thought, what the heck, maybe they've fixed the problem in a new revision of the keyboard. So a technician came out the next day and replaced the keyboard, and the new one functions exactly like the original one. :-(
It's just a bad design. Which is so disappointing, because the previous Inspiron series design, the black ones, had FANTASTIC pointing stick buttons, which not only responded with the expected normal amount of force, but they were also curved to fit the form of your thumb. That is, if you were using the pointing stick with your right hand. I assume lefties took offense to this, which is why they ditched the asymmetrical design in favor of the current design. But that's no excuse for them being practically of no use, since they are basically broken by design.
After a couple weeks with this machine, it's clear to me that input devices are where they really saved some money. They are junk. The touchpad is imprecise and jumpy. Those stick buttons are terrible--useless really. The keyboard is junky and loose. The stick itself is fantastic and the touchpad buttons are excellent though.
I'm comparing this to my previous HP laptop, and most HP machines, which have fantastic input devices all around.
The hard to press touchpads are also a problem with my 8500. However I found a temporary solution by removing the keys and cleaning the bottom of the small, black 'tophat' shaped contact button with rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip. Also clean the metal contacts. Remove the key by gently lifting the rounded corner with a screwdriver and then the opposite bottom corner. Replace the key by inserting the edge adjacent to the spacebar and snap into place.
The button is a conductive elastomer similar to remote controls but this particular design seems to have a limited life. I requested replacement buttons but never received them.
Come on guys - this situation is unacceptable! In my experience, the trackstick buttons are junk and *NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE*. I'm confident that my two 8600s are not unusual, given identical reports both here and in industry reviews.
Dell needs to provide a concrete fix for this with a redesigned part. I haven't had any joy from the support team so far - they consistently failed to *actually read* my description of the issue and instead repeatedly answered a spurious issue of their own choosing. It was almost funny, except for the unmistakable fact that I've just spent £3500 on two machines which have clearly never been subject to design review, QA or usability testing.
I am currently trawling these forums to collect a set of links refering to customer issues with the trackpoint buttons so I can create a mini-dossier. Email is apparently pointless so I'll have to escalate my efforts to find a resolution by other means.
I'd be very interested to hear more from other users who are affected by this problem.
Simon
PS And I don't want to hear anything about BIOS/diagnostics/software/driver etc!!!
So you can get a full refund plus financial remuneration for the many wasted hours in setting up and moving all your files and set-up to a replacement machine?
DELL-BobT
3.1K Posts
0
February 18th, 2004 20:00
SwampNut,
Thank you for using the Dell Community Forum.
I suggest that you run the Dell diagnostic program on your computer to ensure that all of the components work properly. Place the System Software CD in your computer. Reset the machine and when the Dell logo appears on the screen, press and release [F2] several times until you are in the BIOS. Press the right arrow key to go to the BOOT menu or hold [Alt] and [P] simultaneously to progress to the second page. Change the boot sequence to CD/DVD drive, Floppy drive, Internal HDD. Now press [Esc] or [F10] to save and exit the BIOS.
The following knowledge base article can help you with this:
How to run the Dell diagnostic test knowledge base article.
The program should automatically load. Choose to run the test on the questionable component(s). Please post back with the results.
SwampNut
220 Posts
0
February 18th, 2004 21:00
I actually did run the diags just for fun when I got the machine, everything passed of course. But there's no way a diag can tell how hard I'm pressing a button.
wireless49
35 Posts
0
February 19th, 2004 01:00
Based on experience with my 8600 and with other posts in the Inspiron forum, the track stick buttons do not work as well they should. 95% of the time I'm using a mouse anyway, and even when I use the track stick I tend to use the buttons below the touch pad anyway, so it not a issue for me.
Follow this link to another thread on this issue http://forums.us.dell.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp_input&message.id=21091&view=by_date_ascending&page=1
SwampNut
220 Posts
0
February 19th, 2004 03:00
DELL-BobT
3.1K Posts
0
February 19th, 2004 19:00
SwampNut,
I would suspect that the touch-pad needs to be replaced on the system. You should consider consider contacting Dell Support to have this performed.
mattcowger
2.6K Posts
0
February 19th, 2004 19:00
I have to question, Bob, whether you have actually looked at or used an 8600 recently, given the answres you gave to SwampNut's questions.
loungepop
68 Posts
0
February 23rd, 2004 19:00
No Kidding! BOB!! You could have solved this persons problem along time ago by telling them that the 8500 and 8600's have lousy mouse buttons for the pointer stick. DIAGNOSTICS?? NEW TOUCHPAD????
Amazing.
SwampNut
220 Posts
0
February 23rd, 2004 19:00
loungepop
68 Posts
0
February 23rd, 2004 20:00
Your issue is something that is normal on all Inspiron 8500's and 8600's. The touch-pad buttons barley depress at all, and the pointer-stick buttons have to be pressed a long, long way. In the initial reviews by CNET, PCmagazine etc, they all said this was one of the negatives on these machines. It's just the way Dell designed these things. Also the keyboards are flimsy, and the whole construction is a little "plastic-y". It's "normal". PRETTY BAD WHEN DELL TECHS HAVE NO IDEA WHATS GOING ON, EVER. I ALWAYS HAVE TO TELL DELL ABOUT THEIR MACHINES!
PaleGreen1
13 Posts
0
March 5th, 2004 14:00
loungepop has it exactly right. I read the reviews before I got my 8500 and they all said the pointing stick buttons had to be pressed very hard, while the touch pad buttons responded to the lightest, and many times accidental, touch. Once I got my 8500, I confirmed that this was the truth. However, I found that the pointing stick buttons were basically unusable due to the fact that it's practically *impossible* to drag sometime using these buttons. Because they take an excessive amount of force to use, unless you are mashing them with all your might, they will spontaneously release while you have them depressed. Obviously, you can't be expending this much energy for long periods of time, and it's probably an RSI risk. So after a couple months, I called Dell and described my problem and they recommended replacing the keyboard (the pointing stick buttons are part of the keyboard assembly). I thought, what the heck, maybe they've fixed the problem in a new revision of the keyboard. So a technician came out the next day and replaced the keyboard, and the new one functions exactly like the original one. :-(
It's just a bad design. Which is so disappointing, because the previous Inspiron series design, the black ones, had FANTASTIC pointing stick buttons, which not only responded with the expected normal amount of force, but they were also curved to fit the form of your thumb. That is, if you were using the pointing stick with your right hand. I assume lefties took offense to this, which is why they ditched the asymmetrical design in favor of the current design. But that's no excuse for them being practically of no use, since they are basically broken by design.
SwampNut
220 Posts
0
March 5th, 2004 16:00
I'm comparing this to my previous HP laptop, and most HP machines, which have fantastic input devices all around.
Muf
1 Message
0
March 6th, 2004 18:00
The hard to press touchpads are also a problem with my 8500. However I found a temporary solution by removing the keys and cleaning the bottom of the small, black 'tophat' shaped contact button with rubbing alcohol and a Q-tip. Also clean the metal contacts. Remove the key by gently lifting the rounded corner with a screwdriver and then the opposite bottom corner. Replace the key by inserting the edge adjacent to the spacebar and snap into place.
The button is a conductive elastomer similar to remote controls but this particular design seems to have a limited life. I requested replacement buttons but never received them.
Dave
SwampNut
220 Posts
0
March 23rd, 2004 20:00
tigersim303
10 Posts
0
March 23rd, 2004 20:00
Come on guys - this situation is unacceptable! In my experience, the trackstick buttons are junk and *NOT FIT FOR PURPOSE*. I'm confident that my two 8600s are not unusual, given identical reports both here and in industry reviews.
Dell needs to provide a concrete fix for this with a redesigned part. I haven't had any joy from the support team so far - they consistently failed to *actually read* my description of the issue and instead repeatedly answered a spurious issue of their own choosing. It was almost funny, except for the unmistakable fact that I've just spent £3500 on two machines which have clearly never been subject to design review, QA or usability testing.
I am currently trawling these forums to collect a set of links refering to customer issues with the trackpoint buttons so I can create a mini-dossier. Email is apparently pointless so I'll have to escalate my efforts to find a resolution by other means.
I'd be very interested to hear more from other users who are affected by this problem.
Simon
PS And I don't want to hear anything about BIOS/diagnostics/software/driver etc!!!
tigersim303
10 Posts
0
March 23rd, 2004 21:00
So you can get a full refund plus financial remuneration for the many wasted hours in setting up and moving all your files and set-up to a replacement machine?
Sorry, not acceptable.
Simon