problems...

[Christo]

ok i have a packard bell notebook (shhhhh)


its 2 weeks old

has a dodgey pixel (goes blue sometimes)

and now when i load windows XP and right click on "MY NETWORK PLACES" and
choose "PROPERTIES"

nothing at all happens, normally a list of the connections will come up, but
nothing, then some time later it decides to pop up

windows is really slow at closing down and really slow and unstable in
general

finally the screen is suddently slightly darker

it used to go dark when i used it on battery but that problem seemed to go
away

now it goes dark like it is using battery even when the charger is in mains
and the laptop is fully charged

do you think i should take it back for a refund?

or are these problems mediocre?

the slowness at boot up and shut down is much slower than what it was
earlier today

and as for clicking "properties" to scan for available networks it is
shockingly slow

previously the network icon in system tray has loaded and the network has
connected automatically

earlier to day when i connected to the university network (wireless) it came
up automatically at logon, now nothing happens

i have used packard smells tool to backup the backup contents onto a DVD and
delete the backup stuff from the BACKUP partition, this wouldnt void my
warranty would it?

any advice as to what to do would be geat

Thanks

Chris

 

[kony]

ok i have a packard bell notebook (shhhhh)


its 2 weeks old

has a dodgey pixel (goes blue sometimes)

and now when i load windows XP and right click on "MY NETWORK PLACES" and
choose "PROPERTIES"

nothing at all happens, normally a list of the connections will come up, but
nothing, then some time later it decides to pop up

Usually that's a sign that windows networking is fubar, you
need to delete the entries from device mangler and have them
redetected.

windows is really slow at closing down and really slow and unstable in
general

That too can happen when it's networking is messed up. It
could be some other problem but get the networking taken
care of and see if that fixes it, else you've at least
tackled one of the problems and can proceed to next in turn.

finally the screen is suddently slightly darker

Battery saving mode (i dont' know) ?

it used to go dark when i used it on battery but that problem seemed to go
away

I meant, as batteries get drained maybe?

now it goes dark like it is using battery even when the charger is in mains
and the laptop is fully charged

do you think i should take it back for a refund?

Are you happy with it for the price paid?
Can you get a refund?
If it's really noticable I'd return it.

or are these problems mediocre?

We can't see it, which is pretty important with these being
visual symptoms. The screen is half of the laptop though,
you're stuck with it so it needs be to your liking.

previously the network icon in system tray has loaded and the network has
connected automatically

earlier to day when i connected to the university network (wireless) it came
up automatically at logon, now nothing happens

i have used packard smells tool to backup the backup contents onto a DVD and
delete the backup stuff from the BACKUP partition, this wouldnt void my
warranty would it?

any advice as to what to do would be geat

Well for starters if you think you'd be returning it, you
could copy that stuff back onto the HDD.
3/4 the time it seems OEM XP installations are poor, I'd
rather just format the drive and do a clean default install
myself, but the screen issues are more significant and
permanent, if not worsening over time if there is some fault
causing the dimming of the display rather than a
power-saving feature. Check manual to see if any such
feature exists and when it's invoked.

 

[Christo]

Usually that's a sign that windows networking is fubar, you
need to delete the entries from device mangler and have them
redetected.



That too can happen when it's networking is messed up. It
could be some other problem but get the networking taken
care of and see if that fixes it, else you've at least
tackled one of the problems and can proceed to next in turn.


Battery saving mode (i dont' know) ?




I meant, as batteries get drained maybe?



Are you happy with it for the price paid?
Can you get a refund?
If it's really noticable I'd return it.



We can't see it, which is pretty important with these being
visual symptoms. The screen is half of the laptop though,
you're stuck with it so it needs be to your liking.



Well for starters if you think you'd be returning it, you
could copy that stuff back onto the HDD.
3/4 the time it seems OEM XP installations are poor, I'd
rather just format the drive and do a clean default install
myself, but the screen issues are more significant and
permanent, if not worsening over time if there is some fault
causing the dimming of the display rather than a
power-saving feature. Check manual to see if any such
feature exists and when it's invoked.

cheers kony, as for removing the networking from device manager? you mean
uninstall the network adapter and have windows re detect it?

it will detect the wireless card ok or should i perhaps download the drivers
for the intel wireless 2200BG from intel?

cheers again

chris

 

[Christo]

Usually that's a sign that windows networking is fubar, you
need to delete the entries from device mangler and have them
redetected.



That too can happen when it's networking is messed up. It
could be some other problem but get the networking taken
care of and see if that fixes it, else you've at least
tackled one of the problems and can proceed to next in turn.


Battery saving mode (i dont' know) ?




I meant, as batteries get drained maybe?



Are you happy with it for the price paid?
Can you get a refund?
If it's really noticable I'd return it.



We can't see it, which is pretty important with these being
visual symptoms. The screen is half of the laptop though,
you're stuck with it so it needs be to your liking.



Well for starters if you think you'd be returning it, you
could copy that stuff back onto the HDD.
3/4 the time it seems OEM XP installations are poor, I'd
rather just format the drive and do a clean default install
myself, but the screen issues are more significant and
permanent, if not worsening over time if there is some fault
causing the dimming of the display rather than a
power-saving feature. Check manual to see if any such
feature exists and when it's invoked.

sorted it thanks kony, the screen appears to have gone back to normal too,
maybe as you said, it was a battery saving feature.

only problem is that damned blue pixel, its quite annoying seeing it.

Thanks again though

 

[YanquiDawg]

Usually that's a sign that windows networking is fubar, you

need to delete the entries from device mangler and have them
redetected.

Or,virus activity. Open taskmanager and note down what processes are running.
Anything that doesn't look right or is unfamiliar, check it out with either a
google search ot Norton antivurus webste.

 

[kony]

cheers kony, as for removing the networking from device manager? you mean
uninstall the network adapter and have windows re detect it?

it will detect the wireless card ok or should i perhaps download the drivers
for the intel wireless 2200BG from intel?

yes, deleting the entries from Device Manager, then windows
redetects it. I can't predict whether it will setup the
wireless card ok again. It very well might, should, but if
you dont' have the drivers it would be good to download them
first.

 

[Christo]

Or,virus activity. Open taskmanager and note down what processes are
running.
Anything that doesn't look right or is unfamiliar, check it out with
either a
google search ot Norton antivurus webste.

nope it was all clean, thank you anyhow

its weird this

the blue pixel on the screen comes and goes, the screen backlight now
appears to be working again and after deleting the wireless nic from dev
manager and letting windows re detect it the etworking is all good, no
slowness anymore

lol spose its what i should expect from packard bell

i should have went fro the tiny.com 699 quid laptop, it had an AMD 64 3000+
only had 802.11b wireless though and i really wanted 802.11g onboard, the
heard pcmcia card wireless was a bit dodgey and destroyed battery, and with
this PB i get 3 and a half hours battery

centrino rules, shame i can't etch the packard smell logo off the back of
the screen lol!

cheers for help people.

chris