Is the tablet Pen required? and HDD error??!!

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mono666 · #1 Post by **mono666** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:29 am

Hello guys, i just bought a used X41T... but the owner lost the pen... can i still use the tablet function?? or do i need to get a replacement pen. also the owner says the hdd was not orginal... so she replaced for a smaller one (20gb) but every time i reboots the computer it always gives me the error message. i've been reading about this problem last night. but i am not quite sure if my hdd is compatiable for the firmware flash. anyways here is the hdd's model numbers

it's a hitachi travel star

HTC424020F7AT00

I would really like to get rid of the annoying beep everytime i turn the computer on.. espicially in class( i look like a retard for the 2 beeps) Thanks in advance!!

christopher_wolf · #2 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 12:47 am

Welcome to the Thinkpad Forums.

I would really recommend getting the pen as you cannot really use certain features that well without it.

In regards to the HDD, the error you should be seeing is the 2010 Error and is thrown at boot since the BIOS catches that the HDD firmware is not a "Special" IBM flash. The reason behind it is that the X41/Tablet has a SATA-PATA bridge and a PATA HDD. IBM/Lenovo recommend that you use drives with their firmware as that will solve certain issues with it. I, however, have yet to hear of performance loss from a 2010 drive in either a T43, R52, or X41.

HTH

mono666 · #3 Post by **mono666** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:16 am

Hi, Thank you.

So basicaly if i do not get the pen, the touch screen will not work?? or is there any drivers to install? becouse the in tablet mode nothing works. not even the shortcut buttons. i have almost installed all the driver software files from the site...

K0LO · #4 Post by **K0LO** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 8:07 am

That's right; it takes a special pen to work with the tablet screen. You don't necessarily need to buy IBM's pen; any other pen that is designed to work with a Wacom tablet should work. However, only IBM's pen will fit into the slot on the tablet.

You should be able to get the tablet buttons to work. Be sure to install the Tablet Button Drivers and the Tablet Shortcut Menu Driver.

mono666 · #5 Post by **mono666** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:26 pm

k0lo wrote:That's right; it takes a special pen to work with the tablet screen. You don't necessarily need to buy IBM's pen; any other pen that is designed to work with a Wacom tablet should work. However, only IBM's pen will fit into the slot on the tablet.

You should be able to get the tablet buttons to work. Be sure to install the Tablet Button Drivers and the Tablet Shortcut Menu Driver.

hey K0lo thanx for the reply. I do have a wacom tablet, and the pen didn't work at all.... not even the tablet shortcut buttons. not even when i flip the screen to the tablet mode. i have already installed all the drivers and the latest bios, except for the new embedded driver which it just get stuck in the reading firmware screen... is it possible the touch panel is broken or something?

K0LO · #6 Post by **K0LO** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 1:31 pm

It's always possible that the hardware is broken, but more likely it's a software issue.

Since the former owner replaced the hard drive, did they install Windows XP Tablet Edition, or just XP?

mono666 · #7 Post by **mono666** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 7:28 pm

k0lo wrote:It's always possible that the hardware is broken, but more likely it's a software issue.

Since the former owner replaced the hard drive, did they install Windows XP Tablet Edition, or just XP?

I just called the former owner. she said she was using it in tablet mode just before she sold it to me. but she never demo to me in tablet mode. and she had windows xp installed. but wireless was not working well, so i installed xp tablet 2005 edition. but have not yet activated it yet. so she said i need to activate it so the tablet and the shortcut buttons would work... i think it's bs... what do you think?

K0LO · #8 Post by **K0LO** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 9:24 pm

Yep; B.S.

Activation has nothing to do with functionality.

Right-click on My Computer and choose "Properties". The box that pops up will tell you which version of Windows is running. If something went wrong during your installation of Tablet PC Edition you will have ended up with Windows XP Pro edition instead, and if that's the case, it would explain why the tablet features aren't working

mono666 · #9 Post by **mono666** » Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:53 pm

k0lo wrote:Yep; B.S.

Activation has nothing to do with functionality.

Right-click on My Computer and choose "Properties". The box that pops up will tell you which version of Windows is running. If something went wrong during your installation of Tablet PC Edition you will have ended up with Windows XP Pro edition instead, and if that's the case, it would explain why the tablet features aren't working

Okay, i just checked the system properties. it says i have windows xp tablet pc edition 2005, and when ever i logon to windows i can see the on screen keyboard. also shouldn't you trigger tablet mode when you flip the screen? man this sucks... i bought this for 700 used. should i just get my money back?

mono666 · #10 Post by **mono666** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 4:46 am

hmmm i just checked the warrenty status on levono.. it's covered untill 2008 oct. do i need the reciept to claim the warrenty?? and has anyone dealed with the warranty stuff before? please explain thanks!

K0LO · #11 Post by **K0LO** » Wed Sep 20, 2006 10:08 am

mono666:

OK, so you do have WinXP Tablet Edition. However, it wouldn't surprise me at all if you find that it's just a software issue. Check to see that you have no missing or unknown devices identified in Device Manager, and be sure that you have installed the following IBM drivers -- Hotkey Utility, Tablet Shortcut Menu, and Tablet Button Driver.

also shouldn't you trigger tablet mode when you flip the screen?

There is no "triggering" of tablet mode; the tablet responds to the pen no matter whether the screen is flipped or not. If it does not respond to the pen then either a driver is missing or there is a hardware problem. The only thing that flipping the screen does is to autorotate the display into a preferred orientation that you set in one of the preferences.

If you paid $700 (especially 700 CDN) for your tablet then you got a very good deal. IBM/Lenovo service is legendary, so you should be able to get it fixed under warranty if you can't find any software problems and are convinced that it is a hardware problem. I had a hard disk fail on my tablet and they replaced it with no questions asked, and the replacement arrived two days later.

mono666 · #12 Post by **mono666** » Thu Sep 21, 2006 1:42 am

Hey K0lo: I checked the hardware manager, there are no unknown hardware. i installed everything using the IBM software installer. except the embedded driver installation froze when i tried to install it. hopefuly that's not what's causing the problems.
There was 2 tablet laptop for sale on the Japanese fourm that my girlfriend frequent. one was the acer tablet, and the x41 was the other. I figure for the same price why not take the IBM plus it's smaller in size. turns out this one still have 2 year warranty left in it. does sound like a sweet deal. (hope it's not stolen) but it's missing the tablet pen, touch panel not working... and i think the hard drive is going to fail on me soon... well just droped it off at the local service depot this afternoon. i hopefuly the whole thing can be fixed and the warranty was not void in anyway by the former owner (crossing fingers)

Thank you for your help K0lo you have been very patient with me. ^^

Is the tablet Pen required? and HDD error??!!

Is the tablet Pen required? and HDD error??!!

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