X61 Tablet Wireless Turns Off/Crashes on Screen Rotation

[PMBurton]

Wow, I'm terribly sorry to hear that. It sounds like much more than just driver issues. Not even sure where to begin with your huge host of problems. Sounds like you possibly have a virus or something running rampant in your system. Else maybe some software that is causing conflict.

If you are using an older version of access connection I know one of them has a memory leak that caused it to continually to allocate memory. And it's possible that windows was noticing this behaviour and is terminating the process. Try making sure you have the latest version of Access Connection installed.

As for wireless, I'm currently using Lenovo's latest Access Connection Manager (Version: 5.02 Build: 7VCV55WW) and Intel's latest driver for for the Wireless WiFi Link 4965AGN. Driver Version 12.1.0.1, Date: 28/08.2008. This wireless driver is currently not available from Lenovo, but I found is the only one that works without any problems. This combination is stable on my system, and works flawlessly. When I dock my computer, Access Connection disables the wireless, and connects via Ethernet to my home network, and when I undock to move about my house, it enables wireless and connects again without any prompts. I can also change my screen orientation with no issues. One caveat, I currently have the Sierra Wireless 1xEVDO device disabled via the Device Manager, because I don't currently use it, and want to avoid any unnecessary pop-ups associated with this device trying to connect when no other connection are available, and also for power savings.

As for losing power during hibernate mode. I don't see this as being an issue. As far as I know, hibernate mode doesn't require any power. This is the mode I use to switch batteries without losing my current desktop. So I have no idea what you are on about. Loosing power under sleep mode WILL however cause you to lose your current desktop, and your computer will start with a warning that it was not properly shut down.

Bad boot and shut down times, are typical of Vista running too many unnecessary processes, and can be fixed with proper OS maintainance and sufficient system memory. Putting your computer back in it's case without verifying that it's shut down was perhaps a bit naive on your part. It's possible that the hard drive protection noticed that your computer was moving and stopped itself. This would stop your operating system from being able to shut down and thus overheating in the confines of your bag. 

At this point in time I see no reason to switch to Mac, they have many problems of their own, and Lenovo produces a world class product in my opinion. I've been using mine for over a month now, and while Vista had issues that I needed to overcome, I'm completely satisfied with my system, and am actually a little astonished at how well everything works. Try browsing the forums a bit more to see if you can resolve your issues, and perhaps calling tech support. IBM is renowned for offering great tech support, and I'm confident that with a little time and patients you can overcome the issues on your system.

Pierre

[berkeley]

After other problems (with Windows update and System Update crashing) I eventually was recommended to reimage the harddrive by Phone Support.   But even after that, my problems with the Wireless continued.  At last I rolled back my Wireless Driver to Driver Version 9.7.255.0.  Since then I have had no problems with wireless.  (Fingers crossed).  Perhaps rolling back your wireless driver can work for you.

(Overall, the computer has worked much better after reimaging the harddrive.)

[mag]

Thanks for the quick response!

Er.... I've had this for a while (abougt two years) thought the problems started appearing within a few months. Yours must be quite a bit newer.

A few clarifications....

By the power loss complaint, I mean this. When I start with a fully-charged battery, then hibernate the computer (trust me, I mean hibernate rather than sleep), wait the 5-10 minutes while it hibernates, then unplug it and put it away... It's usually lost substantial charge by the time I turn it on again--about 20% of battery power per day. I've replaced the battery as that was one of the suggestions in the forums, but it's continued to do this. This has been a problem pretty much from when I first got the computer.

I'm surprised at the number of people reporting wireless or wireless driver problems and that Lenovo doesn't manage to get a fix for it. I update my computer regularly, if not automatically, but the problems don't seem to disappear.

I suppose I must have put the computer away without verifying it was turned off or hibernated. I teach and sometimes I'm working in a classroom that's too heavily scheduled for me to stay there an extra 20 minutes after class to make sure the computer is off. But the computer often falls asleep while I'm in the middle of a lecture showing a slide on it, so I'm kind of surprised it stays so active and overheated when the cover has been closed for hours. Paradoxically, when I opened it up, EVEN THE WIRELESS WAS ON! Again, while I'm actually using the computer, the wireless vanishes all the time.

Again, thank you for your help!

[jmacbv]

This fix worked (finally!) thank you thank you!  As suggested, I rolled back the drivers.    I think my problem stemmed from using "Update my System" from the ThinkVantage Anti-Productivity Center, not the rotation issue.   I had tried all the usual stuff including uninstall & install Access Connections, update everything, reboot a million times, try all the registry and shortcut cleaners etc.   No more updates from Lenovo for me - last time I did this it messed everything up too.    

[petrichgs]

I am not as sophisticated as you are.  It is VERY frustrating that I have not been able to use this function for months.  When I finally get around to getting it fixed, my warranty has expired.  No one at the shops here in Chgo know how to fix it either.

So I tried your suggestion (not in safe mode).

Is there a new patch that fixes this since your posts?

Thanks

[petrichgs]

Is this a monitored site?  Does Lenovo care about this problem?  How can I get an answer short of "rolling back"?  I ran out of warranty without notice from them so cannot use Thinkvantage!   Any solutions???

[petrichgs]

I understand that the TABLET x61 has many problems when we try to use the slate/tablet format.  Mine does not recognize the pen, so NOTHING works in tablet format.  I am able to write on the screen ONLY in normal laptop form.

Does Lenovo monitor these sites?  I have not found a shop in Chicago that has worked on this problem.

Thanks

[JaneL Community SuperMod]

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petrichgs wrote:

Is this a monitored site?  Does Lenovo care about this problem?  How can I get an answer short of "rolling back"?  I ran out of warranty without notice from them so cannot use Thinkvantage!   Any solutions???

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Welcome to the forum!

While there are a few Lenovo employees roaming around in here helping out on a volunteer basis, this is not an official support channel with dedicated Lenovo support personnel assigned to it. Instead, this is designed to be a user-to-user support and discussion forum. You may or may not get an answer directly from one of the Lenovo employees as there are way more of us than them and all of them, even Mark, have full-time jobs doing other things.