**Official eMachines M68xx Thread**

[mg44]

Hi,

After about 2 mins of turning on my 6805, my wireless connection goes down and I have to disable-enable it. After that its all fine. Has anyone else seen this happen?

I have a D-Link 54g router (802.11g) and my connection is set up with WPA-SK/TKIP.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks to all in the forum, i've leart a lot of stuff from you folks!!

 

[jasonja]

Originally posted by: Visigoth
I just recently purchased a M6805 and am really liking it. The one thing I am not too fond of is XP. While it is not that bad I really prefer using Win2K. Can it be installed on this machine without any worries or will I have to jump through a bunch of hoops to get it working?

Thanks.

What don't you like about XP? Other than the look and feel, there's not a lot that's different under the hood. If you don't like the new look and feel then enable the classic mode UI and it looks and feels just like Win2k.

 

[sutter]

Originally posted by: mg44
Hi,

After about 2 mins of turning on my 6805, my wireless connection goes down and I have to disable-enable it. After that its all fine. Has anyone else seen this happen?

I have a D-Link 54g router (802.11g) and my connection is set up with WPA-SK/TKIP.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks to all in the forum, i've leart a lot of stuff from you folks!!

I have the same problem. Except after I enable again, 5-10 minutes later it goes down again, and again, and again......

 

[jm0ris0n]

Originally posted by: MDE
I'm gonna work on an FAQ to put in the first post, any suggestions on what to put in there?

The FAQ needs to mention battery life !

It took me 10 pages before I read what someone's battery life was

 

[CruisinGT]

Originally posted by: mg44
After about 2 mins of turning on my 6805, my wireless connection goes down and I have to disable-enable it. After that its all fine. Has anyone else seen this happen?

I have a D-Link 54g router (802.11g) and my connection is set up with WPA-SK/TKIP.

Any help would be appreciated.

I also have a D-Link 54g router (its actually the DI-624) with WPA-PSK/TKIP enabled currently. I don't seem to have the continuous disconnect/connect problems you're having but I have heard about it.

First thing to keep in mind,
If you have a 2.4 GHz wireless phone, it will interfere with your wireless connection. Try to keep both somewhat seperated. In fact as I write this, my girl was using the phone between my laptop and router, surprisingly, I never lost the connection. But that is usually not the case. 4/5 times I always lose the connection if the phone is active and is within a 10ft radius. Invest in 5Ghz phones! j/k

Second, when you do have a connection, how strong is the signal?? Is it going through so many obstacles that it is weakening the signal? The thing with router placement is......Location, location, location

Third, I'm not sure exactly which router you have, but if you do have the DI-624 and it is the C version, D-Link has released (a few) firmware versions to help combat that problem. You should check their site and see if there's any new firmware for your type of router.

 

[sutter]

I also have a D-Link 54g router (its actually the DI-624) with WPA-PSK/TKIP enabled currently. I don't seem to have the continuous disconnect/connect problems you're having but I have heard about it.

First thing to keep in mind,
If you have a 2.4 GHz wireless phone, it will interfere with your wireless connection. Try to keep both somewhat seperated. In fact as I write this, my girl was using the phone between my laptop and router, surprisingly, I never lost the connection. But that is usually not the case. 4/5 times I always lose the connection if the phone is active and is within a 10ft radius. Invest in 5Ghz phones! j/k

Second, when you do have a connection, how strong is the signal?? Is it going through so many obstacles that it is weakening the signal? The thing with router placement is......Location, location, location

Third, I'm not sure exactly which router you have, but if you do have the DI-624 and it is the C version, D-Link has released (a few) firmware versions to help combat that problem. You should check their site and see if there's any new firmware for your type of router.[/quote]

I have a 2.4 GHZ phone(s) but they are not active when this occurs.
My signal is 36-54MPS, about as good as it gets.
I'll check the firmaware upgrades for the Di-624, but I have no such problems with a D-link wireless card in another machine. All things point to a Broadcom or emachine issue, IMHO.

 

[jm0ris0n]

I have a question about replacing the 4200rpm HD with a 5400rpm drive or 7200rpm drive. How much does the battery suffer with the use of a 7200rpm or 5400rpm drive ? A 7200rpm drive would be nice on the 6809 (What I am thinking of getting), but I am already concerned about battery life as is, and just in my mind's eye I think replacing the 4200 drive for a 7200 rpm would really suck massive battery life.

Anybody care to set me straight ? Also advice on battery levels from the 4200 -> 5400 rpm upgrade.

 

[orion7144]

MDE you can take my FAQ (at notebookreview.com) and work from there. Most of the questions I get over there are all in the FAQ yet people still don't read it.

 

[mg44]

Originally posted by: sutter
I also have a D-Link 54g router (its actually the DI-624) with WPA-PSK/TKIP enabled currently. I don't seem to have the continuous disconnect/connect problems you're having but I have heard about it.

First thing to keep in mind,
If you have a 2.4 GHz wireless phone, it will interfere with your wireless connection. Try to keep both somewhat seperated. In fact as I write this, my girl was using the phone between my laptop and router, surprisingly, I never lost the connection. But that is usually not the case. 4/5 times I always lose the connection if the phone is active and is within a 10ft radius. Invest in 5Ghz phones! j/k

Second, when you do have a connection, how strong is the signal?? Is it going through so many obstacles that it is weakening the signal? The thing with router placement is......Location, location, location

Third, I'm not sure exactly which router you have, but if you do have the DI-624 and it is the C version, D-Link has released (a few) firmware versions to help combat that problem. You should check their site and see if there's any new firmware for your type of router.

I have a 2.4 GHZ phone(s) but they are not active when this occurs.
My signal is 36-54MPS, about as good as it gets.
I'll check the firmaware upgrades for the Di-624, but I have no such problems with a D-link wireless card in another machine. All things point to a Broadcom or emachine issue, IMHO.[/quote]

I have a 900MHz phone and its far away from both the w-router and the laptop. Once i get my signal, its always "Excellent" and there are no problems after that - even after coming back from standby mode. Its only when i reboot that i have the problem of connection drop.
I have a DI-524 and upgraded it with the latest firmware.

So is the wireless connection NOT re-negotiated after wake up from stand-by mode and only on system start-up? I am thinking its an initial setup negotation issue, but even then i dont know how to fix it. Any other ideas?

 

[CruisinGT]

Originally posted by: mg44
I have a 900MHz phone and its far away from both the w-router and the laptop.

Yeah....your 900MHz phone should not interfere with your wireless connection at all. That shouldn't be the problem.

Originally posted by: mg44
Once i get my signal, its always "Excellent" and there are no problems after that - even after coming back from standby mode. Its only when i reboot that i have the problem of connection drop.

So is the wireless connection NOT re-negotiated after wake up from stand-by mode and only on system start-up? I am thinking its an initial setup negotation issue, but even then i dont know how to fix it. Any other ideas?

OK, this is the part that you seem to have lost me on as your issues seem to be conflicting as I read it. Now correct me if I'm wrong, I take it....

1)After you power on your system, your signal is always "Excellent" and you never lose a connection during the whole time you are connected and actively using it?

2)When you put it on Standby (not Hibernate) and you come back from standby, is it usually still connected and is that when you begin to experience disconnect/connect problems?

3)Or do you experience the disconnect/connect problem only after you 'Restart' the computer? But if you power cycle the computer, then you never experience any problems as in 1)?

4)Or is it, once you Restart your laptop after 2), and connect to your wireless LAN, the connect/disconnect problems go away and will never occur until you go to standby again??

If you answered "Yes" to questions 1,2,4 above, it may be related to your "Power Management" setting. Under the Broadcom 54g adapter's properties (can be found on Device Manager), uncheck "Allow this computer to turn off this device to save power." Like I said, this could be the issue IF I interpreted your symptoms correctly. Symptom 3) would be another issue.

 

[sutter]

My Broadcom disconnects randomly, even when hooked up to AC. I checked Properties and the power saving schemes are turned off. I tried to reinstall drivers from Restore DVD and they were the same ones on my machine. No reply yet from Broadcom.

Looking for answers on 3 forums. Others also have the problem

 

[orion7144]

Originally posted by: sutter
My Broadcom disconnects randomly, even when hooked up to AC. I checked Properties and the power saving schemes are turned off. I tried to reinstall drivers from Restore DVD and they were the same ones on my machine. No reply yet from Broadcom.

Looking for answers on 3 forums. Others also have the problem

I have never had my connection drop. I originally had a DLink wireless B router but I am now using a Microsoft G router. This thing gets way better reception that any of the DLink/Linksys PCMCIA cards I have tried on other laptops.

 

[mg44]

OK, this is the part that you seem to have lost me on as your issues seem to be conflicting as I read it. Now correct me if I'm wrong, I take it....

1)After you power on your system, your signal is always "Excellent" and you never lose a connection during the whole time you are connected and actively using it?

2)When you put it on Standby (not Hibernate) and you come back from standby, is it usually still connected and is that when you begin to experience disconnect/connect problems?

3)Or do you experience the disconnect/connect problem only after you 'Restart' the computer? But if you power cycle the computer, then you never experience any problems as in 1)?

4)Or is it, once you Restart your laptop after 2), and connect to your wireless LAN, the connect/disconnect problems go away and will never occur until you go to standby again??

If you answered "Yes" to questions 1,2,4 above, it may be related to your "Power Management" setting. Under the Broadcom 54g adapter's properties (can be found on Device Manager), uncheck "Allow this computer to turn off this device to save power." Like I said, this could be the issue IF I interpreted your symptoms correctly. Symptom 3) would be another issue.

Sorry about the confusion. When i power cycle the system OR when i restart windows i lose my connection in about 2 minutes. Then i have to disable-enable the wireless connection. After that its all fine as long as i keep my laptop turned on. standby does not cause any problem

I turn the laptop off, turn it back on, same problem, in 2 minutes, my wireless connection drops and i repeat the disable/enable.
thanks!

 

[Irish80122]

I know this is a bit off-topic but I was wondering if anyone has heard of a new edition of the m680x series coming up? I am trying to save up my money either for the new edition, or waiting for the m6809 to go down (I really want it).

Also, what are the worst things about your laptop? What would you warn someone like me about, anything? Thanks!

 

[azkiwi]

Welcome to the forums, Irish!

Like all computers, the price will go down. But not until something even more eye-catching is available. Its a pretty smokin' deal at its current price point, so I wouldn't be surprised if the rebate went away soon...

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Irish80122
I know this is a bit off-topic but I was wondering if anyone has heard of a new edition of the m680x series coming up? I am trying to save up my money either for the new edition, or waiting for the m6809 to go down (I really want it).

Also, what are the worst things about your laptop? What would you warn someone like me about, anything? Thanks!

The backlight on my screen flickers at times. Usually it isn't noticeable, but other times I want to fling it across the room. I should back everything up and take it to BB for an exchange (good thing I got the extended warranty).

 

[mg44]

Welcome Irish!
I have the m6805.
This laptop is a GOOD DEAL if you get the $250 mail in rebate.

Only complaint i have is ... i would have been 100% happy with it if it had a 128 MB video card and a 7200 RPM HD.

Apart from that, this laptop kicks ***.


P.S.: Does someone have an answer to my wi-fi problem yet (see above)??

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: Irish80122
I know this is a bit off-topic but I was wondering if anyone has heard of a new edition of the m680x series coming up? I am trying to save up my money either for the new edition, or waiting for the m6809 to go down (I really want it).

Also, what are the worst things about your laptop? What would you warn someone like me about, anything? Thanks!

Bad things:
1) Weight: M680x are desktop replacements
2) Hard drive may be 4200 RPM
3) No PS2 port: I know--I hate legacy stuff too, but my only spare keyboard has a PS2 connector
4) No customized docking station: I may have to buy a generic Kensington or Micro Innovations dock
5) There is only one CTRL key
6) No frills eMachines website

 

[Mermaidman]

Originally posted by: mg44
. . .

P.S.: Does someone have an answer to my wi-fi problem yet (see above)??

I don't, but have you ruled out interference from other devices? Can you take your laptop to a different wireless setup in another location and see if the problem recurs?

 

[Kaido]

Has anyone replaced their mini-PCI wireless card? I've been saving up for a m6809, and as I've read through this thread and other posts, it seems that it doesn't have the best wireless card ever.

I found a nice IBM a/b/g mini-PCI card for $99 at IBM. This looks good because it covers the full spectrum...between college and traveling this seems like a good thing to have. Would this IBM card work in the eMachines laptop? Is there a better card available? I want to have my PCMCIA slot free for other things, so this seems like a good option.

 

[imported_Visigoth]

Originally posted by: MDE
Drivers

1. The OEM provided drivers are on Disc 3 of the restore CDs. This is particularly important if you want to install a different OS.

Just wanted to mention that it seems that they are no longer doing multiple CDs. I purchased a M6805 last week and it only had one DVD recovery disc that has all of the installed drivers as well as Ghost and the images for it.

Now a question. Getting WPA to work with the default Broadcom drivers has been a real PITA even after installing the XP patches. Thinking it was a driver issue I set out to find newer ones. After failing to find any newer drivers I was pointed towards a Dell TruMobile 1300 driver as it is still the Broadcom 54g chipset. This has worked for me so far, but one thing I noticed was my signal strength dropped about 10 db. I figure that the drop could be from using a non-standard driver for the machine, but since I couldn't find anything else I will live with it so that I can WPA encryption. Has anyone found newer eMachine or Broadcom drivers out there?

 

[MDE]

Nice, I wish I would have gotten a DVD.

Also, there are Beta ATI Drivers for Windows XP 64 bit here. I don't know if they will install without being modified, I'll report back tonight or tomorrow evening if nobody else tries first.

 

[imported_Visigoth]

Another question. While looking around in CPU-Z I noticed the the AGP aperture size is set to 256MB. Now I recently upgraded to 768MB, but still that seems like a ton of memory. I will be doing light gaming on this machine so that seems like a lot of memory to be used just for video. I was wondering what size you all have your aperture set at.

 

[MDE]

Originally posted by: Visigoth
Another question. While looking around in CPU-Z I noticed the the AGP aperture size is set to 256MB. Now I recently upgraded to 768MB, but still that seems like a ton of memory. I will be doing light gaming on this machine so that seems like a lot of memory to be used just for video. I was wondering what size you all have your aperture set at.

The AGP Aperture is only used when the video card runs out of RAM, and it will use only up to 256MB, not 256MB all the time.

According to the release notes for the 64 bit ATI drivers, they WILL work on Mobility chips. I'll install and report back.

EDIT: Scored about 8000 in 3DMark 2001 at stock settings in Win64. Running now with CPU at 2GHz. ATI Tool won't work in Win64.

 

[foolish501]

well i just ordered a M6807 from refurbdepot, cost me $1350 with a 3 year extended warranty. After reading all the good things about it, can't wait to get my hands on it.