Keyboard lag on Vostro 1500

Dee101 · Joined: Dec 09, 2007 Posts: 23

Got a Vostro 1500. Love it ... except ...

In safe mode, it takes longer for the problem to appear, in full boot I get a keyboard lag after about 60 characters that is intermittent. It always catches up, but you can imagine this is annoying when typing passwords (hidden) etc.

I've talked with Dell a number of times over the last month. We've replaced the keyboard, updated BIOS, new keyboard drivers, new chipset drivers, etc. They told me to reload OS Evil or Very Mad

This is acting like the keyboard throttling we used to see back in early DOS days (when you could set to nn words per minute max).

I personally know 5 of these laptops -- all are having the same problem. Reloading the OS is no answer. All are running XP Pro.

Any ideas welcome.

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 808

I know the following statement isn't going to fix your problem but - THIS IS WHY I SAY THE **** AWAY FROM DEHELL!!!!

Sorry to hear you have such a problem - been there myself (with them) - now to try to help - did you check the keyboard settings for the typing speed. (assuming you did since you mentioned it) what kind of, if any, difference did it make?

Have any of the others been resolved or are they still acting up?
What are the serial numbers - are they from the same lot? (I think you may see where I'm going with this)

Dee101 · Joined: Dec 09, 2007 Posts: 23

To BabyTux --

Yes -- checked typing speed and tried tweaking key repeat. Ran Dell included diagnostics for this. Dell actually sent a tech to replace the keyboard (I could have done that -- but I think they didn't believe me) and he confirmed the same problem and talked with them about an hour. Checked through BIOS for changes.

I've historically had good luck with Dell laptops and this one is doing great except the keyboard lag. I only buy through the business divisions though, never consumer-level (kindof a rule for any machine).

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 808

OK, at this point I'd check the serial numbers of the 5 others plus your own & if they are in the same lot. I'd let DELL know that BIG TIME if so. If that doesn't get some results you may want to consider a lawyer. - My bet is that a bad batch got out & they are notorious at passing it off on the buyer.

If they AREN'T of the same lot, still could be a design flaw or some such.
I'd go ahead & do the OS reinstall (might get "lucky") just so they can't say you didn't co-operate & by all means keep on them. (make backup - ghost) - Am I right in assuming this is still a warranty issue? - if so I'd definitely make sure that they fixed it or got another machine!

Just finished a hardware class & it was said that NB's are so proprietary that they can be a B**** to fix (getting the right parts, for one thing) & it best to get the manufacture to fix it, especially under warranty.

After re-reading your post to glean more info, it DOES seem that you may have some software there that isn't playing well together. What happens if you boot it with another OS - like DOS or LINUX, does it act up then? If not then you may want to consider a re-install if it still DOES then I'd look at hardware.

Hope I was of SOME help... Crying or Very sad

Dee101 · Joined: Dec 09, 2007 Posts: 23

Two of the machines are in the same lot, but one is earlier and the other two are later.

I am very open to this being something that occurred after a MS update ... but the OS (including IE7 and dotNet Framework 2) and other "standards" (Acrobat Reader, Shockwave and Flash Players are the only SW consistencies. Mix of MSOffice, OpenOffice, AVG, Symantec, etc. apps.

Funny thing, touchpad has remained fine -- no USB problems, etc. If there is a problem in one connected item, I expect it in more.

I'm going to keep on them.

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 1134 Location: Central FL, USA

Not having a clue as to what that computer actually is, I looked at the DHell website. I was immediately turned off by the CPU. Everyone in the business knows darned well the Celeron is the very bottom of the line for Intel.
It's a dog, with almost NO cache! You'll never get top performance out of that CPU.

DHell also resists the temptation to install enough ram to fully support the installed OS and then they overload the PC with pure Crapola that runs in the background sucking up CPU time like crazy.

Many DHells I've seen come out of the box already loaded with Spyware.

Have you gone into "MSCONFIG" and shut off everything you don't absolutely need running, like your touchpad software. That can also be shut down if you'll just use a USB Optical Mouse.

For XP-Pro, you need at least 1 gig of ram. (minimum)
That OS (same one I use) runs even better on 2 gig's of ram.

Then you probably have an IDE HD.....right? Slow....very slow.
That can be enhanced, once you've got ample ram, by tweaking the registry to make Windows load its Kernal into ram on boot up. That greatly increases system performance.
(I do this stuff for a living, and have for years, so I know from whence I speak)

Now back to the keyboard. Every piece of hardware in that PC, or any PC, is on a priority list that the CPU uses to ration its time. Usually, the keyboard is VERY LOW on the priority list. Reduce the number of things the CPU is doing to give more time to the keyboard.

When tuning up a PC, most especially a laptop, I regularly shut down a dozen or more "Services" that don't need to be running. Then goes all the updaters, reminders, schedulers and any other crapola that may not have to run all the time.

Don't forget to scan your HD for Viruses, Worms, Trojans, Spyware and Adware.
Run window's own "Disk Cleanup" and Then check it for errors with "Chkdsk" and "Defragment" it.

Those three things should become part of a weekly maintenance routine.

I do the same things to tune up every laptop I'm called to work on. It makes no difference whether it's a bottom of the line Dell, or a top of the line "SagerNoteBook", "HP" or "Compag".

By their very nature, Laptops are just overloaded and overworked.

I hope you've gleaned some inspiration out of all this.....
or maybe someone else has.

Y'all have a great day now, Y'hear?

The Doctor Cool

Dee101 · Joined: Dec 09, 2007 Posts: 23

Dr Who --

You looked at a base Vostro unit (1000ish) ... that machine would have driven me nuts! (I'm an MCSE, in the business, by the way) This is my "portable" machine -- a Core2Duo2.2, 2GB Ram, 256 VRAM, etc (I also ALWAYS tweak the offerings up). In the business unit it comes without crapware (one reason I buy from the business unit exclusively).

One of the first things I did was tweak startup (and services) for unneeded stuff. I have used it both with and without optical mouse (when using, disabled touchpad).

I'm fastidious on virus/spyware/rootkits. The "fulltime" antivirus is AVG.

I loaded only MS OS updates, acrobat reader, etc. and ran a while before loading productivity stuff. In notepad while running slim, I still had the issue. This has continued since the productivity stuff (Office2007, not).

Have you heard of any hardware issues with dotNet (necessary) or any of the Java kits? I had high hopes for the chipset updates but no luck.

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 808

I talked to my instructor about this & he agreed that a good place to start is to boot the thing with a boot disk & see if it acts up - as I stated, that will narrow down if it is HW or SW. - After this, depending the outcome of the former, ghost & reinstall. With the image, you can always put it back.

goretsky

Hello,

Does the problem occur with an external keyboard?

Also, if you boot from a live CD (DVD, USB Flash Drive) with a different OS on it, does the problem still occur?

Regards,

Aryeh Goretsky

megaman · Joined: Sep 06, 2008 Posts: 2

Hi,

I'm having this same issue. Keyboard input lags behind on a Dell Vostro 1500 laptop.

Did anyone ever find the culprit?

Any help is appreciated. Thanks.

louis-the-cat · Joined: May 13, 2006 Posts: 264

hard to say:

http://www.hiren.info/funny/pictures/ashtray-or-keyboard.jpg

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 1134 Location: Central FL, USA

Any tech with enough technical ability to sharpen a pencil, would know that keyboard lag is NOT the keyboard. It has no buffer.....it's a keyboard after all!
It's a freakin' bank of switches,,,,,it's impossible for it to lag. Mad

The problem comes from the OS having the 'spare' time to read and clear the keyboard buffer (ram).

In general terms, the keyboard is at the bottom of the priority heap. It gets serviced by the CPU after every other piece of hardware like the HD and of course the 'programs'.

Laptops are just NOT efficient. Originally, they were never meant to be or do what people want them to do today.
Their HD's are slower than the HD's in Desktops, and they never seem to have enough ram,,,,, and the processors....like that worthless Celeron.....well, nuff said.

I drastically limit what runs in the background on a laptop. (any Laptop)
In most cases I can shut down over a dozen Services that normally run in the background, taking up ram and cpu time.
Then I go into MSCONFIG and shut down every program that's not absolutely Required to run the PC. Include the touchpad programs if you use an external mouse.
Then I force the load of the Kernel into ram, rather than leaving it sit on the much slower HD. That increases XP's performance dramatically.
That's done with a simple registry tweak.

I always tell people to max out the RAM when ordering a new PC. (any brand)

I know D'hell is bad news, but there are still a few people that buy them, in spite of the thousands of people who have posted warnings against them on the internet. I just Googled "Dell Problems" and got 12,200,000 hits. NOT a glowing testimonial for Dell's quality and support.

I've had several occasions to call Dell from a customer's site.
The one word those guys in India know very well and can say without any noticeable accent at all is, "Format!".

Cheeeeeech! You just want to fix a problem and those dolts want you to reformat your HD, reload the OS and start all over. The only HD I ever format is a brand-new one....right out of the box.

Well, "Meet the Press" is coming on.....gotta go watch.
If it's Sunday, it's "Meet the Press"!

Cheers Mates!
The Doctor Cool

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 808

Digging up old threads, OK, did the original poster get the problem fixed?

Seems I recall a co-worker having a NB that the keyboard & that little joystick pointer on it gave her all kinds of fits. The company replaces the keyboard but didn't help. I think they ended up replacing the MOBO to fix it.

LOTS OF LUCK - for me, NB are a pain to fix - to hard to get apart at times without breaking something in the process. Never DID like anything that I had to fight to get apart or had to gingerly take apart. (BTW: my hardware class said you are better off to let the company do it as they have all the proprietary junk to do it anyway - especially if a major problem)(but even the company has to have SOMEONE that is supposed knows how, & that COULD be ANY of us techs if we got the job)

Ever have that ONE SCREW (or whatever fastening mechanism) that refuses to come out, no matter what?

megaman · Joined: Sep 06, 2008 Posts: 2

Found the answer on the Dell forums (no thanks to Dell themselves).

PCMservice.exe, a process that runs in the background was causing it. Dell has a patch that's supposed to fix it but I opted just to take the process out of the startup routine.

Check it out
http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp...neral&a
http://www.dellcommunity.com/supportforums/board/message?board.id=insp...neral&a

Aand just to be thorough I originally found all this on this forum
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=164066

louis-the-cat · Joined: May 13, 2006 Posts: 264

[quote="Dee101"

I've talked with Dell a number of times over the last month. We've replaced the keyboard, updated BIOS, new keyboard drivers, new chipset drivers, etc. They told me to reload OS Evil or Very Mad

]

Yet, now we discover that it's been recognised as an issue on support forums... the problem has been identified.....dell have even produced a solution/patch.

Mad

These guys need to get their act together......a bit of joined up thinking eh?

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 808

Now, anyone want to dare say anything GOOD about d'hell?
(at least there tech support?)

drwho07 · Joined: Nov 29, 2007 Posts: 1134 Location: Central FL, USA

Sorry Tux...... you won't catch this tech saying anything good about D'Hell. Evil or Very Mad

What is that service supposed to do? I suppose I could actually Google it?
I guess I could add it to my other twenty or so Services that I regularly shut down on laptops.

I'll even make a special 'shut-down' batch file, called "ShutdownServices4DhellLaptops.bat"
Laughing

Actually, I very seldom ever see a Dell laptop. Most folks around here know better. Rolling Eyes

Cheers mate!
The Doctor Cool

Baby_Tux · Joined: Mar 06, 2007 Posts: 808

DOC, (& all others interested) to answer your question;

http://processlist.com/info/pcmservice.html
http://psybrrr.typepad.com/kingofallremotecontrols/2006/08/pcmserviceexe.html

There is most likely more & better info, but this satisfied MY curiosity, hope it does yours.