Even more problems with a Dell Latitude D600

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

I’ve decided that the notebook PC that I use for work must have been built on a Friday afternoon (or a Monday morning). Over the last five months it has had a replacement motherboard (3 weeks, 4 engineer visits, 2 no-shows before the PC was fixed), a replacement hard disk, and last week the battery had to be replaced. Sure enough, Dell replaced all of these parts under warranty, but it doesn’t say much for the build quality of the equipment.

Discovering unknown devices in Windows

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

Whilst developing my unattended Windows XP build, I came across a number of devices that were not automatically detected by Windows.

Sometimes, right-clicking the unknown device in Device Manager and selecting the Update driver… option allowed Windows Update to connect to the Internet and locate updated drivers (which in turn identified the device and allowed me to download and integrate the OEM drivers into the Windows XP installation source).

On other occasions it was not so simple, and I needed to do some research to identify the device using the PCI device instance ID (found on the details page of the device properties).

A couple of years back I was introduced to Craig Hart’s PCI and AGP bus sniffer. I could have just run the utility, but in this case I chose to search its companion file (pcidevs.txt) for the vendor and device PCI IDs. Using this technique, I was able to identify my unknown device as the Broadcom (vendor 14E4) BCM4306 802.11g Wireless NIC (device 4320), which is also known as a Dell Wireless 1350. Once I had that information, all that was required was to download the drivers for integration.

Problems with certain NICs and a RIS-based Windows XP installation

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

After my hard disk failure last month, I decided to resurrect a project that I had shelved some time ago – implementing an unattended setup for my PCs at home. I have a variety of computers from HP (Compaq), IBM and Dell, which makes things slightly more complicated than it might otherwise be (although not impossible), so this was an opportunity to implement some of the business desktop deployment (BDD) technologies that I practise at work to implement a standard operating environment (SOE) and allow me to rebuild PCs at will.

My previous experience with unattended installations has largely been on the server side, basically amending and appending OEM installation scripts (e.g. Compaq/HP SmartStart or the HP ProLiant Essentials Rapid Deployment Pack (RDP)). This time I had a plethora of drivers to consider, and a limited (zero) budget. To allow for a repeatable, customisable, build I decided not to use any imaging technologies but instead to create a standard unattended setup, including all the drivers needed for the various PCs and a common set of applications. One thing I could rely on the presence of was Pre-boot eXecution Environment (PXE)-enabled workstations, so I set up and configured Microsoft Remote Installation Services (RIS) to serve my Windows XP + SP2 installation “image” (not really an image, but that’s the RIS terminology).

Incidentally, the most complete resource for information on creating unattended builds that I am aware of is the Microsoft Software Forum Network’s “Creating the Ultimate Unattended XP CD”. Although CD based, this gives much of the information needed for a successful RIS-based installation.

Everything was looking good until I tried to perform a PXE network service boot and connect to the RIS server. I could see that my DHCP server was issuing IP addresses to clients but they received an error:

PXE-E53: No Boot Filename Received

Basically, the PXE clients couldn’t find the RIS server. DHCP was being served from an ADSL router and I couldn’t find any way to configure the router to redirect PXE clients. Logically, interaction between the PXE client, the DHCP server and the RIS server should not have been affected by the router because PXE uses DHCP broadcast requests and all the computers were all on the same subnet but once DHCP was migrated to the RIS server, the error disappeared and the RIS Client Installation Wizard ran as expected. Since then, I’ve found Microsoft PSS’ Technical Guide to Remote Installation Services, which suggests various troubleshooting actions but for now it works, so maybe I’ll investigate further some other time.

The next issue was that Windows XP setup failed as the network drivers for the Broadcom BC570x NIC in my Dell Latitude D600 were not available from the Windows XP installation source:

The operating system image you selected does not contain the necessary drivers for your network adapter. Try selecting a different operating system image. If the problem persists, contact your administrator. Setup cannot continue. Press any key to exit.

Microsoft state that a hot fix is required to resolve this issue; however the Broadcom driver FAQ gives an alternative resolution which involves editing the B57WIN32.INF setup information file. I didn’t want to do this as it would break the digital signature and I would prefer to construct the build using signed drivers only. Instead, I used the latest drivers (v7.86) from Broadcom rather than the Dell-packaged version and once I had integrated the network drivers with the RIS installation source, deleted any instances of precompiled setup information (.PNF) files and restarted the Boot Information Negotiation Layer service, I was able to commence my unattended Windows setup.

This time, a new error halted text-mode setup:

File b57w2k.sys caused an unexpected error (21) at line 3788 in d:\xpsprtm\base\boot\setup\setup.c. Press any key to continue.

Some posts in the Bink.nu and MSFN forums led me to a solution for this by copying the Windows 2000 version of the drivers (B57W2K.SYS) to the Windows XP installation source \i386 folder alongside the Windows XP driver (B57XP32.SYS) and the setup information file (B57WIN32.INF).

Once the Dell PC was working, I had the same issue with an IBM ThinkPad T40 with an Intel PRO/100 VE card and so it seems logical to assume that this issue may apply to a variety of NICs.

For the BC570x, a Windows User Group (Nordic) article which discusses integration of Intel and Broadcom drivers with RIS images suggests rewriting the B57WIN32.INF file to replace all references to B57W2K.SYS with B57XP32.SYS, but again, I avoided this to prevent issues with unsigned drivers. Intel’s solution to installing PRO/100 or PRO/1000 NICs via RIS requires a further download but I got it working by applying the same resolution as for the Broadcom drivers – i.e. using IBM’s distribution of the Intel drivers (v7.0.28.0) and including the Windows 2000 E100BNT5.SYS driver in the Windows XP installation source \i386 folder for text-mode setup.

I should point out that it was only necessary to add these network drivers to the \i386 folder on the Windows XP installation source in order to use the NIC to copy files during setup and it is still necessary to add OEM device drivers to the Windows XP installation source for all undetected devices in order to allow the drivers to be used during the plug and play (PnP) section of setup.

After a couple of days downloading, integrating and testing drivers, my RIS-based Windows XP installation works for all of my computers and now I can focus on the finer points of the build, tuning the Windows XP installation and adding applications to my SOE.

More problems with a Dell Latitude D600

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

Last weekend, I walked into my home office to see the notebook PC that I use for work (a Dell Latitude D600) rebooting and reporting that it couldn’t find its primary hard disk. Not good news.

I tried freezing the disk (see also 200 ways to revive a hard drive) but to no avail. The drive just would not spin up.

Thankfully, I had a backup (although not as recent as it should have been), and I had supplied my current client with a CD with most of my recent work, with the remaining items still being retrievable from my e-mail (I frequently tell people not to use e-mail as a filing system, but I sure am glad that I still had all of those attachments there…). It seems that all I lost was the correct time/date stamp on some files and my meeting notes from Microsoft Office OneNote.

From talking to colleagues, this is not the first time this has happened – we have had at least three of these PCs suffer the same fate, on top of my nightmare experience getting the Bluetooth card replaced in the same machine earlier this year (which seems to be another common fault). I do understand my IT Manager when he tells me why we buy Dell (good specification at reduced price relative to HP, IBM, Toshiba, etc.), but if we also take into account my lost time, then maybe the overall cost is more expensive that it first appears.

IBM sells its PC business

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

Last night, on my way home, I heard BBC Radio 4 reporting on IBM’s sale of its PC business to Lenovo.

So what! Another merger in the overcrowded PC manufacturing space. Well, absolutely, except that IBM invented the personal computer and were the third largest PC retailer in 2004!

It will be interesting to see how HP (who are still trying to get to grips with their acquisition of Compaq) respond to this latest move in the market. IMHO, Dell should also be watching their backs, as although they have over twice Lenovo’s new market share, there is much talk about the strong growth of the Chinese economy which may well allow Lenovo to reduce the business’ cost base, providing opportunities for further reductions in PC prices, in a market that is already largely commoditised.

Links
BBC News report: Lenovo: The making of a legend?
IBM press release
Lenovo press release

Introducing the ultra personal computer (uPC)

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

Howard van Rooijen‘s reply to my post about installing the “Energy Blue” theme on a computer running Windows XP Professional got me looking at James Clarke’s blog, where I found a post about the OQO Model 01 ultra personal computer.

I haven’t seen a real one yet but this looks like a cool device – no cut down operating system – just full Windows XP Professional (not CE) on a 1GHz pocket-sized PC with 256Mb RAM, a 20Gb hard disk and a slide-out keyboard. It can also connect to peripheral devices including video (1280×1024 pixels), audio, Ethernet, FireWire and USB (only 1.1 at this time) using a docking cable. For more details, see the OQO website.

Back in February I was at a product demonstration for the Antelope Technologies modular computer (similar to the OQO, but the computer “core” is a hard-disk-sized unit which plugs in to a variety of shells for ruggedised, portable computing). More details of the modular computer are available at the Antelope Technologies website but the OQO looks more like a business tool, whereas I can see the modular computer taking off for industrial/commercial use.

The only problem for me right now is the $1999 price tag (plus options)…

Ultra-portable external storage

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

I’ve found the solution to my portable storage needs: an old (20Gb) laptop hard disk from my internal IT support department and a cheap (£2.99 + postage) USB enclosure picked up from eBay.co.uk. One of my clients bought something similar a few months back and it has taken me this long to get hold of a suitable hard disk; but now I have a decent amount of portable storage that I can format with NTFS (or any other file system I choose) and transfer between PCs at home and work.

The enclosure I bought is mostly aluminium, with a single LED to indicate power and/or drive access, and is just big enough for a slimline (9.5mm) laptop disk drive. It has a Y-shaped connector cable, with two USB 2.0 connectors at the forked end and a proprietary connection at the other, which is used to power the unit. I’ve found that I need to use both connectors to draw enough power on a Compaq or Dell laptop (The Compaq and IBM desktop PCs I tried seem to work with just one connection). Supplied with a driver CD (for Windows 98), screws, and a mock-leather wallet, I had no problems getting Windows XP to recognise it (without any additional software), and whilst the disk I was given only spins at 4200 RPM, it seems plenty fast enough for my needs.

Bluetooth Drivers for Dell TrueMobile 300

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

Following my previous post about the trouble I have had getting the Bluetooth hardware in my Dell Latitude D600 repaired, I then had to reinstall the Dell TrueMobile 300 Bluetooth driver. During the three week wait to get the hardware repaired, I had installed Windows XP SP2 and as Stuart Preston reported on his blog, the Dell drivers do not function correctly under SP2, resulting in a requirement to use the native Microsoft drivers (which are less functional).

A hunt around the Dell Community Forum revealed many unhappy users (bizarrely mostly blaming Microsoft for releasing SP2!), but no real solution until a Google search came up with Dell support document FA1090448 (a search of the Dell website had failed to locate this), pointing to an updated driver that seems to fix the problem.

Dell fails on service delivery

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

My work laptop is a Dell Latitude D600 – the specification offers me all I need (well, I would like a Toshiba Portégé M200 tablet PC but that’s another story), including built in 802.11b and Bluetooth support. Except that it doesn’t – some of our D600s have had problems with the Bluetooth cards not being correctly seated or requiring motherboard replacements before they will detect the Bluetooth card – mine is one of those…

The trouble is:

  1. Convincing Dell that there is a problem.
  2. Getting Dell to send a engineer, at the right time and with the correct parts.

Its been three weeks since I first requested support and this is the catalogue of incompetence I’ve endured so far:

  • 16 August 2004 – Logged incident with Dell via their website.
  • 17 August 2004 – Initial reply tells me to check the BIOS settings – I respond immediately and tell them that the BIOS does not recognise my Bluetooth card (showing as not installed).
  • 18 August 2004 – Dell tell me to check the drivers in Windows! I reply and restate that the BIOS does not detect any Bluetooth devices…
  • 21 August 2004 – Dell diagnose that a new motherboard is required and request contact details to send an engineer/parts.
  • 23 August 2004 – Contact details provided.
  • 25 August 2004 – I chase lack of progress by e-mail. Dell respond and tell me there will be an engineer on site on 27 August (the day I am not available). Dell reschedule for 31 August.
  • 26 August 2004 – two e-mails from Dell regarding my service call, and a phone call from the same support technician I have been corresponding with – I repeat that I am not available on the 27th and Dell reconfirm that the engineer will arrive on the 31st.
  • 27 August 2004 – Dell engineer arrives on site, despite assurances that service request is booked for 31st!
  • 31 August 2004 – Engineer arrives with wireless network adapter! Confirms that the problem is the motherboard or Bluetooth card and will return with Bluetooth card on 1 September.
  • 1 September 2004 – Different engineer arrives with Bluetooth card, but wrong part number – will return on 2 September with correct Bluetooth card and a motherboard.
  • 2 September 2004 – No engineer visit – chased by e-mail. Dell respond that part will arrive on 3 September.
  • 3 September 2004 – No engineer visit, and no parts. I chase Dell by e-mail. No response to date.

Dell equipment may be (relatively) inexpensive, and (reasonably) well specified, but it now seems my argument for buying Intel-based servers from Compaq (now HP) and IBM rather than the less expensive Dell equipment is equally valid in the PC world – there is a cost in the overall quality of the product (and associated service) with any low-cost PC (and by that, I mean business-focused OEM equipment – of course you can buy no-name or consumer PCs for even less).

If you are looking for a new PC and you want my advice – don’t buy Dell.

Tablet PCs rock! (with Windows XP SP2)

Posted on By Mark Wilson
This content is 20 years old. I don't routinely update old blog posts as they are only intended to represent a view at a particular point in time. Please be warned that the information here may be out of date.

I’ve always been sceptical about the market for a tablet PC, but after having worked with some of the Microsoft consultants who use them, I’ve been converted to the idea that these are a really good business tool (for certain users).

It should be noted that tablet PC usability is greatly improved once Windows XP service pack 2 is applied as the full version of SP2 contains all the components necessary to update the operating system to the Tablet PC 2005 release (codenamed Lonestar).

The particular model that I’ve seen is the Toshiba Portégé M200. It seems to offer most of the features I would expect in a modern notebook PC (albeit without any legacy ports and with a separately attached optical drive), as well as a screen that rotates to hide the keyboard and convert the device to a tablet. As I write this, I’m trying to get my hands on a tablet PC to get some real life experience, but the following notes were taken as one of the Microsoft consultants demonstrated his M200 to me:

  • The stylus pen is pressure sensitive, allowing it to be used just like a conventional pen for bold or light text. A button allows right-clicking with the stylus, which also includes an eraser on the top end.
  • Ink annotations can be used to review a document and literally write on it in a variety of colours as well as to highlight text (as one would with a highlight marker pen). I was really impressed when I (as a non-tablet PC user) received a document that had been annotated in this way and Microsoft Office Word 2003 was able to read the document complete with all the annotations. One point to note – annotated with Word’s reading layout enabled, the annotations will not be anchored in the in the correct location for printing – annotating a document using the print layout will resolve this issue.
  • Searches may be made on words (even those written in digital ink), and it is possible to highlight digital ink and select a convert handwriting to text option. Pen-enabled applications such as Microsoft Office applications and Notepad will perform handwriting recognition as written, even suggesting alternatives where they are not clear as to the exact word being used (and learn new words as they are selected). As alternatives to continuous handwriting recognition, single character recognition and a soft keyboard are both available; and on non-SP2 tablet PCs, writing takes place anywhere on the page, rather than in a predefined area. A particularly neat feature is that annotations may be grabbed, copied as text and pasted.
  • The M200 has a series of additional buttons situated around the display which can be used for up, down, escape, etc., as well as context-sensitive items such as cut and paste. Additionally, with the use of an application called Symbol Commander, stylus symbols can be used to perform commands (e.g. exit).
  • With a tablet PC, Microsoft Office OneNote 2003 really becomes a killer application. I have started to use it in meetings on my notebook PC (and think it is probably the best thing that Microsoft have done to Office in years), but the tablet PC just makes it that little bit more usable – allowing the addition of diagrams and really using OneNote as a replacement to the Black ‘n Red wirebound A4 ruled notebook that I normally carry everywhere when I’m working!
  • There is still at least one usability issue – the cursor position in relation to the pen depends on the angle at which the tablet PC is being held (i.e. on a desk, or at an angle), and so when calibrating the stylus, it is important to calibrate in the position that the tablet PC will be used in most.
  • The installation of a few PowerToys (unsupported programs that developers work on after a product has been released to manufacturing) might be considered, including the Hold Tool (which allows holding down the pen for controls such as scroll bars, instead of a simple push on/off stylus action) and the Snipping Tool (which allows anything on screen to be cut out and pasted into a document – useful when researching). These are just two of the many PowerToys that are available from Microsoft.
  • One might think that battery life would be a concern, but real users are achieving between 3 and 3½ hours on a single charge (with no effort) and even more with tuned power settings (up to 6½ hours in one case). Screen timeout can be a nuisance, but there is a utility called monsus.exe that can be used as a shortcut to suspend the monitor, allowing approximately a 20% drop in power consumption when used habitually (e.g. when in an impromptu discussion).

I’m told that there were some significant issues with early tablet PCs but it seems that SP2, plus some PowerToys have allowed them to become a vehicle for increased productivity opening up features such as the ability to annotate documents and send electronic copy to clients or colleagues and unleashing OneNote to become a killer application.

More information about Windows XP tablet PCs is available at the Microsoft website.