From: Aaron R. Teitlebaum (arteitle_at_engin.umich.edu)
Date: Mon Oct 18 1999 - 17:08:32 EDT
Greetings, all. As a newly indoctrinated member to the cult of the 701C
"Butterfly", I naturally have a few questions about using this quirky
little machine under Windows 98 (well, actually, Windows 98 SE Lite, which
is essentially 95's more efficient shell running on 98's more capable
foundation. See http://www.98lite.net for more info). Chances are,
people's experiences with the 701 under 95 and 98 would apply here.
First of all, does the "Restart" function from the Shut Down menu ever
work? For me it quits windows, and hangs at the shutdown screen (or,
since I deleted the screen, at a black screen with a cursor flashing in
the corner). My only option then is to power off and on again with the
power switch. The hold-shift-while-restarting quick-restart works fine,
as does "Shut Down", but plain old "Restart" doesn't work. Any ideas?
Second, what infrared device drivers should I install to enable the 701C's
built-in irda port to work with Win98's built-in IR file transfer
facility? By default it installs a com port, "IBM Infrared Communications
Port" or something like that, but since it's installed as a com port and
not an IR device, this doesn't enable IR transfer services. I tried
installing a "Generic IR dongle or adapter" and telling Win98 it was
connected to this com port, and while this allowed my 701C to
intermittently see other computers, those other computers (a Dell laptop
and a homebuilt desktop) both refused to notice the 701C.
I had the idea to disable this "Infrared Communications Port" in Win98's
device manager, and then install the included "Plug-and-Play Infrared
Port" driver, set to the same I/O address and Interrupt, and see what
happens. I haven't had a chance to try this out yet, however. Also, I've
heard mention of a file from Microsoft called "win95ir.com" or something
close; do the drivers it includes work in 98 as well?
Is there any way to force a battery pack to recalculate its capacity? As
we know all too well, voltage depression tends to make NiCad batteries
runtimes less and less over time, making the 701's remaining time
indicator less and less useful. Can I order the battery to clear its
memory and recalibrate itself?
Finally, is there any source for individual replacement keycaps for the
keyboard? While I was cleaning and lubricating the sticky keys on my
butterfly, someone (other than myself) managed to drop one keycap on the
floor, and I managed to step on it. The post on the back of the key broke
off; gluing it back on left it misaligned enough that the key would stick
down, so right now it's detached, and the key wobbles around (but still
works alright).
Whew.. I think that's about it, for now. :) Thanks in advance.
Aaron Teitlebaum
arteitle_at_engin.umich.edu
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.3 : Thu Jan 23 2003 - 09:55:28 EST