Gateway CX2620 Pen Trouble

[phantom tails]

Hello,

I purchased a Gateway CX2620 not more than three weeks ago, and have
been having pen recognition problems since I opened the box.
Originally, the pen would jump around on the screen; however, this
problem went away after I installed the patch for the memory leak. For
two weeks after I installed the patch, everything worked fine as long
as I wasn't running memory-intensive apps. However, two days ago the
tablet stopped recognizing the pen altogether. I'm pretty sure it's a
software problem, as I've been able to get full pen support after
ending taptip.exe; however, this temporary fix does not work
consistently.

I emailed Gateway immediately after I bought the tablet, and the
technician recommended using the pen recalibration utility. (Kind of
hard to do that if the pen isn't even working.) I'd like to install the
KB920295 hotfix; however, I'm not even able to send an email or start a
chat before the site asks for a credit card; I'm not going to pay $35
without a guarantee that the tech will send me a link to the hotfix.

1) Does anyone have any other suggestions for resolving the software
problem?

2) Is there any way I can get in touch with Microsoft without paying
$35 up front?

Thanks in advance!

[Josh Einstein]

These units are notorious for pen problems. Have them send you a replacement
pen. It should be free of charge. My digitizer is still acting up so I'm
going to send it back in. In my case, the pen won't "right click" anywhere
near the edges (such as the taskbar/system tray area which is extremely
annoying)

Josh

Post by phantom tails
Hello,
I purchased a Gateway CX2620 not more than three weeks ago, and have
been having pen recognition problems since I opened the box.
Originally, the pen would jump around on the screen; however, this
problem went away after I installed the patch for the memory leak. For
two weeks after I installed the patch, everything worked fine as long
as I wasn't running memory-intensive apps. However, two days ago the
tablet stopped recognizing the pen altogether. I'm pretty sure it's a
software problem, as I've been able to get full pen support after
ending taptip.exe; however, this temporary fix does not work
consistently.
I emailed Gateway immediately after I bought the tablet, and the
technician recommended using the pen recalibration utility. (Kind of
hard to do that if the pen isn't even working.) I'd like to install the
KB920295 hotfix; however, I'm not even able to send an email or start a
chat before the site asks for a credit card; I'm not going to pay $35
without a guarantee that the tech will send me a link to the hotfix.
1) Does anyone have any other suggestions for resolving the software
problem?
2) Is there any way I can get in touch with Microsoft without paying
$35 up front?
Thanks in advance!

[Rainald Taesler]

Post by Josh Einstein
These units are notorious for pen problems. Have them send you a
replacement pen. It should be free of charge. My digitizer is still
acting up so I'm going to send it back in. In my case, the pen won't
"right click" anywhere near the edges (such as the taskbar/system
tray area which is extremely annoying)

On my tc1100 I'm having the same troubles wit "right-clicking",
especially in the TaskBar.
The button on the pen most often does not fire the right-click action
action (all over the screen). And "press and hold" which normally
works, is having troubles near the edges.
As the machine still is under warranty, do you think that I should
have it serviced?

Rainald

[Josh Einstein]

Yes, definitely. You're seeing the same behavior I am then. Press and hold
doesn't work near the edges because it seems the pen is actually rapidly
registering clicks near the edges when I press. So that would effectively
cancel the press and hold.

Josh

Post by Josh Einstein
These units are notorious for pen problems. Have them send you a
replacement pen. It should be free of charge. My digitizer is still
acting up so I'm going to send it back in. In my case, the pen won't
"right click" anywhere near the edges (such as the taskbar/system
tray area which is extremely annoying)

On my tc1100 I'm having the same troubles wit "right-clicking", especially
in the TaskBar.
The button on the pen most often does not fire the right-click action
action (all over the screen). And "press and hold" which normally works,
is having troubles near the edges.
As the machine still is under warranty, do you think that I should have it
serviced?
Rainald

[Rainald Taesler]

Post by Josh Einstein

Post by Rainald Taesler
On my tc1100 I'm having the same troubles wit "right-clicking",
especially in the TaskBar.
The button on the pen most often does not fire the right-click action
action (all over the screen). And "press and hold" which normally
works, is having troubles near the edges.
As the machine still is under warranty, do you think that I should
have it serviced?

Yes, definitely. You're seeing the same behavior I am then. Press
and
hold doesn't work near the edges because it seems the pen is
actually
rapidly registering clicks near the edges when I press. So that
would
effectively cancel the press and hold.

Thanks a lot for strengthening my efforts, Josh!

Seems that I'll have to allow my beloved TabletPC to leave me for a
while [siiiigh].
I'd hope that they might fix the problem.
After my experience with the keyboard I'm rather skeptical ...
(BTW: Did I publish that great story in here already or not?)

Rainald
P.S. Strange enough: Not yet having had to experienced to be without
my tablet since I got it, I'm already thinking in terms of "what might
I do when it's away ..." <g>.
Really amazing how soon one can become an addict ...

[Josh Einstein]

I just reinstalled Vista RC1 on my desktop so I got that all set up. I get
plenty of use out of my desktop so I'll only miss my tablet a little while
it's in for repairs.
--
Josh Einstein / Tablet PC MVP
Einstein Technologies, LLC
-----------------------------------------------------
Tablet Enhancements for Outlook 3.0 Now Available
Unleash the potential of Outlook on your Tablet PC, Origami, or UMPC.
Try it for 15 days - http://www.tabletoutlook.com/Go.ashx?id=ng

Post by Rainald Taesler

Post by Josh Einstein

Post by Rainald Taesler
On my tc1100 I'm having the same troubles wit "right-clicking",
especially in the TaskBar.
The button on the pen most often does not fire the right-click action
action (all over the screen). And "press and hold" which normally
works, is having troubles near the edges.
As the machine still is under warranty, do you think that I should
have it serviced?

Yes, definitely. You're seeing the same behavior I am then. Press
and
hold doesn't work near the edges because it seems the pen is
actually
rapidly registering clicks near the edges when I press. So that
would
effectively cancel the press and hold.

Thanks a lot for strengthening my efforts, Josh!
Seems that I'll have to allow my beloved TabletPC to leave me for a
while [siiiigh].
I'd hope that they might fix the problem.
After my experience with the keyboard I'm rather skeptical ...
(BTW: Did I publish that great story in here already or not?)
Rainald
P.S. Strange enough: Not yet having had to experienced to be without
my tablet since I got it, I'm already thinking in terms of "what might
I do when it's away ..." <g>.
Really amazing how soon one can become an addict ...

[unknown]

There is DEFINITELY A PEN IN THE CX2620 stylii. I just replaced mine
with a AAAA battery. The old one (which is a AAAA size, you can find
these inside 9-volt batteries) had acid buildup on its positive end and
that is why the pen went inactive. There is a lot of debate over this
pen problem and I guarantee 90% of the time it's related to the battery.
I can do a clean replace on anybody's CX2620 pen/stylii with a fresh
battery for $10. If interested email me at kevintemanAThotmailDOTcom or
reply to this message. You pay for shipping, your total about $17 or so.
I have never done this before but I just replaced mine flawlessly so I
can do others. I know there are a lot of dead stylii out there and
people don't know what to do, took me a while to figure it out.

Thanks,
Kevin Teman
kevintemanAThotmailDOTcom

[Chris H.]

In the KB article realm for Hotfixes, there is no charge. Continue through
with the telephone call, explain the situation that your machine exhibits
the behavior mentioned in the article, and you've been told there is NO
CHARGE. They'll ask for your email address, and then send you the link to
receive the download. If there's anything different, such as them trying to
charge, please post back with the time of your call, the name of the person
to whom you've spoken and the exact KB article.
--
Chris H.
Microsoft Windows MVP/Tablet PC
Tablet Creations - http://nicecreations.us/
Associate Expert
Expert Zone - www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/expertzone

Post by phantom tails
Hello,
I purchased a Gateway CX2620 not more than three weeks ago, and have
been having pen recognition problems since I opened the box.
Originally, the pen would jump around on the screen; however, this
problem went away after I installed the patch for the memory leak. For
two weeks after I installed the patch, everything worked fine as long
as I wasn't running memory-intensive apps. However, two days ago the
tablet stopped recognizing the pen altogether. I'm pretty sure it's a
software problem, as I've been able to get full pen support after
ending taptip.exe; however, this temporary fix does not work
consistently.
I emailed Gateway immediately after I bought the tablet, and the
technician recommended using the pen recalibration utility. (Kind of
hard to do that if the pen isn't even working.) I'd like to install the
KB920295 hotfix; however, I'm not even able to send an email or start a
chat before the site asks for a credit card; I'm not going to pay $35
without a guarantee that the tech will send me a link to the hotfix.
1) Does anyone have any other suggestions for resolving the software
problem?
2) Is there any way I can get in touch with Microsoft without paying
$35 up front?
Thanks in advance!

[unknown]

There is DEFINITELY A PEN IN THE CX2620 stylii. I just replaced mine
with a AAAA battery. The old one (which is a AAAA size, you can find
these inside 9-volt batteries) had acid buildup on its positive end and
that is why the pen went inactive. There is a lot of debate over this
pen problem and I guarantee 90% of the time it's related to the battery.
I can do a clean replace on anybody's CX2620 pen/stylii with a fresh
battery for $10. If interested email me at kevintemanAThotmailDOTcom or
reply to this message. You pay for shipping, your total about $17 or so.
I have never done this before but I just replaced mine flawlessly so I
can do others. I know there are a lot of dead stylii out there and
people don't know what to do, took me a while to figure it out.

Thanks,
Kevin Teman
kevintemanAThotmailDOTcom