Ideapad u330 - New owners :-)

I'm new to Vista, so this may be a UTS error (User Too Stupid), but does anyone know why every time I reboot it forgets to connect to my wireless network? It remembers the password and other settings, but every time I reboot I have to go back in and click the "Automatically connect when this network is in range" radio box.

Thanks!

 

The problem is that both vista and the lenovo software want to configure your wireless. I disabled ReadyComm 4.0 and now have no problems automatically connecting

 

That did the trick. Didn't even notice that software was running. Thanks, repped!

 

AHHHHHHHHH my ship date just got updated to 10/30/08......................... I ordered 08/23/08. I changed my billing information on 9/10/08, so I can understand SOME delay... but ahhhhhhhhhh....



I think I should call them and try to get it shipped next week or I have to get another computer.



EDIT: Update
I just talked to customer service, and they say it's got a date of 10/21/08 now. Sigh, I sure hope this computer is worth my while. =/

On the other hand, Sony could ship me a computer by 10/13/08, according to their site. How are Vaios? Can I get anything similar, pricewise/specwise?

 

blue you can ask for a $50 compensation

Also, a question that was asked but not answered:

How can you use Lenovo VeriFace to login to websites with Firefox?

 

First off, sorry if this is a stupid question. Is it required to create the backup image and create recovery disks in order to be able to use the OneKey Recovery? Is it possible to re-install factory settings without having the backup disks?

The reason I ask is because in my excitement of getting the laptop, I neglected to create the backup and burn the recovery disk before downloading and installing a bunch of programs as well as copying over data from my old laptop. Consequently, the backup image is going to be much larger than it would have been in the beginning. I guess I could burn the extra data to disk and uninstall stuff and get it back to the original configuration before creating the recovery disks, but I'm trying to avoid more work than is necessary.

 

Finally got my U330, looks and feels awesome, great keyboard and screen, but mine is uneven too. This seems to be quite a problem and hopefully they can fix it. I really dont want to send it back though as Im in canada now... Havent played with the battery yet but will report how much I get. Very quiet overall and it isint too hot.

 

If you're asking whether websites will integrate veriface then the answer is no.

But if you have your cookies set up with your saved login information then you'll be able to log in automatically. And if you have Veriface set up to restrict access to your computer then the functionality you're asking about is already practically there.

You could potentially also have a program to encrypt your stored cookies and decrypt them on a site by site basis, if veriface is satisfied. But that seems like a ridiculously convoluted method.

 

Hi I live in Canada too (did you get this mail forwarded? I mean how did u get it shipped to Canada?) Also what about the warranty- did you get an extended one (I mean "in-home is pretty much useless, but I guess the ADP is pretty good) And also when did u submit your order? Thanks

 

Oh btw the accidental damage protection plan is $60 off right now for 3 yrs. Do you guys think its worth it?
Iask cos this is gonna be my first laptop and I've always used desktop that I put together myself.
Thanks.

 

I was playing Starcraft on it a while ago and for some reason the graphics came out distorted on the ati card. Why?

 

I've read so many posts about troubles with the U330 that I thought I'd chime in with some positive impressions.

I must be one of the few who is very happy with the U330 so far. I'm upgrading from a 5-year-old, 7-plus-pound Dell Inspiron 8500, though, which may have something to do with it. Battery life is not as great as I expected but I'm still getting 3 to 3.5 hours on power saver mode. I was concerned about the screen but so far it's been great. The brightness is fantastic and I'm able to use it outside without any problems -- I'm typing this message outside with the sun behind me (i.e. glaring on the screen) and the screen is still very readable.

I'm not sure if my Inspiron just had poor wireless to begin with but the U330 has absolutely fantastic wireless compared to the Inspiron. With the Inspiron I had trouble picking up my wireless router (which is in the basement) at all from the far ends of my house; with the U330 signal strength is listed as 'excellent' from all of those locations, and varies between 'good' and 'excellent' from my patio where I was never able to receive a signal before. I paid $1087 includiing tax for the lower-spec model and a three-year warranty and for me it's been well worth it.

Mine doesn't sit quite level, as others have pointed out -- the right front corner is about a millimeter off the ground when the laptop is sitting on a flat surface. So far that has not been a problem for me because I mostly use the laptop on my lap, but I can see how that would be an issue for some, and it is indeed a little bit worrisome as to the quality of construction. Other than that, though, I've found build quality to be excellent. The keyboard is VERY firm and much more responsive than my Inspiron was, and all-in-all it's a much more well-built machine. I'm very happy with it.

 

I would also like to say I am very happy with my U330.

It sits perfectly flat, I get about 3:30 batter life on average. It gets rather warm but not too hot. The discrete graphics is great and I experience no distortions in game. My U330 did come with a defective key which squeeked and then broke and Lenovo promptly sent me a box to ship the laptop to Texas for a new keyboard installation. They paid for overnight shipping for all three mailings.

The only real issue I have beyond the broken key is the power management. The processor is scaled down on battery but the moment I move the mouse the energy usage and cpu scaling jumps up... I doubt I need my processor as full speed to move the mouse cursor. Hopefully this is fixed with a BIOS/software update.

 

I have the same problem coming out of an idle state, i see the process running in the task manager and have no way of trying to end it. The CPU runs somewhere between 40-60% with nothing even open.

 

I don't think it's a good idea to use Veriface to protect sensitive information if anyone has a digital camera and a picture of you on it. I was able to put the LCD display of the digital camera (with a picture of my face) up to the web cam and have veriface login succeed.

 

i got the same question too! the cpu is always run 30% minimum, i guess it is why my battery never last over 2 hours.

 

can anyone measure their ideapad u330's height from ground up i.e including the legs

why are lenovo specs off the true dimensions?

or is it really 0.9 - 1.1 inch thin including the legs

 

For all those people still waiting for their U330 laptops to ship, I have received notice from one of the managers at Lenovo that the reason for the delay at the moment is because they are waiting for a shipment of wireless cards to come in to finish the building of the laptops before they can be shipped. I do not know how much truth there is to that but I figured others would like to know.

 

Hello Everyone,
I recentely joined this forum before buying my U330 , I am here in canada.As U 330 is not yet launched here in Canada so I ordered from USA and it is delivered at my USA address and now I will be receiving it next week.Now I am concerned about its waranty.I have seen here in this forum that some peoples are having issues with their U 330. Just wondering that if someone is in the same scenario like me and asked Lenovo Canada about waranty coverage of notebooks bought from USA and now here in Canada.
Thanks.

 

for surefire, my u330 measures about 1 and 1/4 inch with the feet in the front and 1 and 3/4 on the back. And ive been lurking this thread for a while and noticed a lot of problems with this model. my Fn key just broke off today and the keys on the top left look like theyre gonna pop off at any moment. and mine suffers the bent chassis thing as well. anyones else keyboards been having problems too?

 

Has anyone noticed any problems with Vista on their u330 yet? I'm noticing intermittent problem where the pointer moves extremely laggy across the screen and left clicking doesn't register. Also, control + alt + delete will not bring up the task manager, so all I can do is restart the laptop.

I looked up the problem on some forums and it seems that whenever this happens, it is a symptom of a problem that vista has with some hardware. I wanted to know if anyone else experienced the same thing.

 

Ethernet and wireless are not working for me. I am using dlink wbr 1310 router. When I try to connect to wireless or using cable u330 to the network, it will momentarily gets connected and knocks my other laptop off the network. Then I have to reboot the router to get it back to work with the other laptop. but if i directly connect it to the cable modem then it works fine with no problem. I dont know what is goin on in there. anyone else facing similar issue?

 

I use ctrl+shift+esc for task manager. It brings it straight up and can be pressed w/ one hand.

 

Anyone else have a popping noise when you shut the lid?

It's not something breaking or anything - its definitely the speakers, and it only does it when the laptop is on and I shut the lid.
I just noticed it today, and I've had the laptop for about a week.

I'm wondering if i should contact lenovo, or if it is something normal that other people have?

 

Very nice, thanks for the tip

 

Is there anyone out there that has an Ideapad U330 without any defects? like unevenness, squeaky buttons, clicking noises..... etc ??? and how is the size comparable to a macbook??

 

Mines doin pretty good on the defect factor. batt is about 3.5 hrs... wish it went a little longer. Then again i haven't worked long enough to run it out of juice.

Buddy down the hall has a mac book that il look and compare eventually.


edit:
Quick side by side they look to be about the same.Did not do a footprint test as he was doing chem hw

 

Not sure if this is the same sound everyone is hearing but last night at shutdown, I heard a click. At first I thought it was static from one of the speakers but the click sounded mechanical and I hate to say it but it sounded just like my other HD's when they failed. I will test again tonight.

It might have been from something else in the room but the timing of the sound was right when the laptop completely powered down.

 

Thanks 4 the info.

 

U330 arrived a week ago. So far no defects thanks God.

Battery life is terrible... most I can get is 3 hours and if I use the DVD for a couple of minutes it will drop to 2.15...with the integrated graphics. I didn't even tested with the discrete one to avoid being so upset and return it.... This machine needs a 9 cell battery even making it heavier. Notebooks are meant to be use unplugged and battery life is fundamental. Lenovo is lying saying you can pump 4+ hrs from it. My X31 gives me half an hour more than the U330 in the same conditions...

USB ports location are terrible... right side at the front... terrible to use a wireless mouse in a crump space... bad design, they should be at least more to the back since they can't be in the rear due to the LCD hinge design...

Wireless was losing connectivity every minute...while my X31 was not...so it wasn't interference and I end up deleting the profile of Rightcomm and creating a new one... it has been working since so do not rely on having the wireless configured without Rightcomm as the program will keep trying to connect and dumping your connection. Another strange thing with Rightcomm is that it first shows my network signal with 3 bars only (happen always) and when I refresh the network it appears with five bars...anoying but survivable. The notebook does not connect automatically to the network.. I have to bring the Rightcomm screen and manually click on my SSID... ***?

Ah, the clicks. As long as I could verify the clicks are the hard drive heads parking or leaving the park area. Mine does it too and is working perfectly.

Hate Vista and will go back to XP. Does anyone figured out how to switch graphic cards in XP? Manual says you can't but hei, there are more things between earth and sky than just airplanes...

Other than what is written above everyhting else is fine. The only real problem is the battery life...and the great annoyance the USB ports position.

Hope this helps

Cheers

 

Just as an update:

I ordered a Sony Vaio SR yesterday... got shipping confirmation today. Should arrive later this week.

No switchable graphics... but a p8600 and 1 more gb of RAM to make 4.

My U330... (which I haven't quite canceled yet, though I intend to tomorrow) is still slated to sometime neeeext week, after it's 4th delay, making it 4 weeks after it's first projected date.

 

if they delay your computer do they slash off ur price or give you any kind of coupon or anything? I know hp gave me a 50 dollar gift certificate when they delayed my laptop.

 

Yeah I got it mailed to a friend and he got it to Canada for me. I got a 3 year accidental warranty and i checked the details, it'll still work but Ill probably have to pay for shipping if I need to send it back to the states for repair. i think i ordered around aug 22nd. came early October, only had a chance to get it now.

 

If you complain loudly enough, they do... I can never find it in me to blast the reps on the phone, cause I know it's not their fault.

 

I dont know what to do!.
My est. ship day was on 10/06. By phone and on the web says 10/20. I dont want another delay. I will wait to that day to see what happen. If they will not ship it, so I think I will buy a sony, the SR series.
What do you think guys?

 

Forget it!, I stay with lenovo. Sony is expansive =P.
How good is the wireless in the lenovo??

 

I had some problems at first with connecting to my router with either the Lenovo Ready Comm program or windows. Someone here suggested turning one of because it was causing a conflict so I turned off the Lenovo program and the wireless starts every time. Range is pretty good too.

 

Does anyone know how to, change the touch sensitive shortcut key after you have set it once? Before you have set it up it brings up a window to choose the function.

 

in the start menu, under energy management is "self defined program setting"

 

thanks for the help! repped!

 

Honestly, if the size of the t400 doesnt bother me, would you say that it is more worth it to get that instead of the U330? The only advantage I see of the U330 is the size and portability and the sleek design.. Im having a hard time deciding which computer to get. and it seems like alot of people are complaining about the U330

 

thats it!
ENOUGH!
i am dumping u330 for the new macbook
i have a copy of vista ultimate and office ultimate each $60 via
theultimatesteal. i will be dual booting using bootcamp

 

I agree. Getting a defect-free U330 is like playing Russian roulette. I dont want to wait on something that has so a few defects like unevenness. And with the new Macbook launch I am thinking of getting one of those. The CPU and GPU have been put on one die. So I think that will be a better way to cool the machine. I think I'm gonna cancel my order. I know that the new macbook wont have unevenness since the quality control on Apple's part is pretty good. Plus their customer support is better too so incase mine is defective it wont be a hassle to exchange.

 

alright, i have a weird issue that started a couple days ago. doubtful it's a u330 specific thing, moreso just vista, but thought i'd ask.

whenever i boot up my computer, resume from sleep, etc..the taskbar is completely frozen. i am unable to click the start button, quick launch buttons, or taskbar icons. however, hitting ctrl alt delete, then cancel (to go back to desktop) solves the issue immediately and everything works normally. But i didn't have to do this before, and it is very annoying.

I can't say i remember installing anything notable that would cause this, and i just completed a virus scan and am clean. Anyone know how to fix this?

 

I called customer support today as today (Oct. 14th) was my 2nd delivery date. My orginal date was the 9th. After talking to the CS rep. I found out that I would get my laptop supposedly " ...in the week of Oct. the 23rd" Basically that means there is still a possibility that I get it on the 30th of oct. or it gets delayed for the FOURTH time (I wouldn't be surprised if it did). So I decided to do what was logical. I canceled the order and decided to go and get a laptop myself.............. tomorrow.

That's right I'm waking up early in the morning and standing at my local apple store (BB) and getting a Mac Book. Screw this waiting game. for another $200 I get my laptop tomorrow and I don't have to worry about any chassis defects(MB is precision machined ), it running hot, hard drive clicks, etc. Thanks for those who replied in this thread and good luck. To each their own.

 

It's worth the wait I tell you.... I love mine. Battery life is good 3hrs+ on power saver mode. Dude everything is great, just one issue, it's tilted (but i heard there's a fix coming.

 

it's supposed to get five...

 

I am with you guys.
After the 3rd delay I would have cancelled, too.
The new MacBook has basically the same specs, that is the way to go.

 

I was trying to wait for the Macbook announcement but I'm glad I ended up with the U330.

The deal breaker is no HDMI output on the Macbook.

 

I just got my U330 today,AS I am here in Canada it was shipped to me on Sept 03 at my USA address and my brother shipped it to me here and finally I got it.It is a low spec. one, Now new macbookes are out So I am more incliened to get macbook,As I am not a very hightech andand dont need HDMI or dedicated video card.Wondering that if someone here in Canada is interested in it?, I have not opened it yet.Please let me know or PM me.
Thanks.