Toshiba M70-FE5 Review

[kypez]

I have been busy with school (electrical engineering) but I decided I would finally put up a small review on the m70-fe5 (future shop exclusive) laptop that I purchased in mid December.

Specifications
Intel Centrino M740 1.73 Ghz
1024 MB DDR2 @ 533Mhz
100 GB HDD
ATI Radeon x700 256 MB Card
CD/DVD RW Combo Drive
15.4 inch Tru-Brite Display

Pretty non-detailed specs...

Physical Description
I have to be honest, the m70 is a great looking laptop and I have received nothing but compliments from friends and people at school. Combining performance and an aesthetically pleasing look, I am very happy with the look of the laptop. As you can see from the pictures below, the laptop came with a copper coating on the lid. I wouldn't pick copper as personal preference but it's not that big of a deal to me because I never really look at it. The keyboard is good enough and the keys have a fairly solid feel to them so no complaints there. The speakers as you can see in the pictures are located to the lower right and left. To some that may be a big deal but I do have 2.1 Logitech z2300 speaker system with a 120W subwoofer so the built in speakers have become fairly useless :). The tru-brite screen is really clear and no complaints there. During the day however in rooms with open windows the glare is absolutely brutal. I am not sure what kind of finish the screen has but the glare can be pretty bad depending on what angle you sit at. Besides the glare the screen has been very nice for general computer use, programming and video gaming. The only complaint I have about the actual physical build of this laptop has to be that the audio output for speakers is right infront, between my wrists and right infront of the touchpad. It's not like im making contact with it, it's just that I find it a pain in the ass to route a wire from behind my desk, around the laptop and into the front. Overall, it's a great looking laptop, fairly quiet and it is definately an eye catcher.

Performance
This section will be fairly short :). I ran 3dmark05 and received a score of 2820. I am not sure how that compares to other laptops but I am really not to worried about it. For the x700 card, I installed a NGO Optimized Ultra Driver from www.guru3d.com. If anyone has a better driver for this card please pm me. For general use, the computer runs really smoothly. Adding the extra 512mb of ram helped out for situations when I have several programs running. For gaming, so far I have only played HL2, Counter-Strike Source, Day of Defeat Source and a couple of other games. This laptop CAN handle all those games at full settings. Running Counter-Strike:Source and Day of Defeat: Source at full settings with High Dynamic Range is no issue with this laptop. Games run great! Performance wise, I have to say that I am fairly pleased with my purchase so far.

Other Goodies (Including Pictures)
I am running a dualboot with Windows XP and Ubuntu(linux-dist) because I do alot of programming and linux handles these applications alot more smoothly then Windows does. The m70 came with "Toshiba Power Saver" which helps a little bit in conserving battery life. If I sit around in class talking on msn while playing online poker/surfing the net I get about 2 hours of battery life. Not great, but I wasn't looking for a laptop where I could get a larger amount of battery time.

Watch Out!
I bought the first laptop, brought it home and it had a dead pixel. So I returned it and exchanged it for another one. I then took that one home and realized it had a dead pixel as well. So i FINALLY got one without a dead pixel. If your thinking about buying this laptop, check out the screen first!

Overall Thoughts
It is a really nice laptop to have. I was considering buying the Asus z71v which is relatively in the same performance range. I couldn't resist the physical appearance of this computer. I am fairly happy with the laptop for far and I definately recommend it to anyone considering buying it. If I could change anything about this laptop it would definately be the audio output port. Besides that, it has caused me no problems. Now you can see the pictars!

http://members.shaw.ca/alex_kyper/laptop/laptop.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/alex_kyper/laptop/laptop1.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/alex_kyper/laptop/laptop2.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/alex_kyper/laptop/laptop4.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/alex_kyper/laptop/laptop5.jpg
http://members.shaw.ca/alex_kyper/laptop/laptop6.jpg


Thanks for reading.. Some pictures are kinda not sharp.

[YP5 Toronto]

nice...thanks for taking the time to post a review.

[g00nter]

Thanks. It's about time somebody posts a review. Nice use of the battery in the pics to get an idea of the size of it. Good job!! Do you have any benchmarks that you could put up?

[kypez]

@g00nter, what do you want to see..

3dmark05 -> 2820.

I haven't tried anything else. Give me a application and I shall give you a benchmark :)

[g00nter]

@g00nter, what do you want to see..

3dmark05 -> 2820.

I haven't tried anything else. Give me a application and I shall give you a benchmark :)
Nothing in particular, but someting like that. I'm not really looking for one of these myself. I just thought it would make a good addition to the review so that other readers can have something to compare laptops with.

[kypez]

Tell me what you want.. I haven't ever used another benchmark and I have no idea what is out there. Give me names of anything..

[g00nter]

I didn't really have any in mind and don't want it for myself. It was just thought. I'd think that having the 3dmark05 is already a great help to somebody considering this laptop.

But if you want to, maybe you could run 3dmark03 (seems to be one of the standards that is frequently reported) and 06 since it's the latest. If you do 06, you can also get you name on the NBF benchmark team HERE (http://www.notebookforums.com/showthread.php?t=129731). THe guys in that list would also know better what bechmarks to run.

I've seen people use superpi to 2million digits to test the cpu (IIRC the best score I saw was about 1:30, my old P3 got over 7 minutes!!!).

[MasterQ]

Nice review, ill read it all when i get home. Im picking up a M70 in about 2hrs from now, cant wait! How did you find the build on this? Hows the keyboard? Is it overly spongey like the previous models?

Oh, and I have the same speakers as you, so my pics will look the same haha.

I agree, the looks of this thing is a beauty. Much nicer than the ASUS Z71a (I considered it too)....but its just boring looking.

Im buying from FUture shop, i wonder if they will let me open the box in store to check for dead pixels first b4 i take home. THe last thing i need is to be going back and fourth to the store exchanging.

And whats up with the glares eh? I wonder why you cant get a matte finish LCD laptop anymore from toshiba. im not a fan of the gloss.

[kenner]

i bet that audio-jack thing is really frustrating, in the beginning they used to put all the ports in the back, or at least try to, then they've put them on the sides, as close to the user as possible (see the M2), now this....i really wonder, what's next? i guess they'll make a plastic circle in the middle of the screen where they'll put the USB and audio-jacks. It's like they say: Look our notebook got an audio-jack...what u cant' see it?...we'll put it where u usually keep your mouse so u'll totally have to notice it, since it will bother you with every stroke of your mouse...what?? u still don't feel bothered by it?? well f***, if we put it straight into your face so that the audio cable will hang around everywhere on your laptop until it reaches the speaker u got to be blind and have your hands chopped off to miss it :D

lol, i just felt like saying that...:))

nice review kypez, could u try 3DMark2001 for me pls? i'm kinda curious how much you'll get there

[MasterQ]

i just picked one up tonight, its charging now. What a beautiful laptop.

I pounded on the keyboard on the store demo, seemed pretty solid. Still some flex, but a lot more solid than my M30.

[MasterQ]

After using this for a day, wow the keyboard will take some getting used to, with the keyboard basically being off centred with this design. normally you would just type from the centre but not this one. im so used to the backspace key being in the top right corner, but right now the home key is. :lol:

[Disabled]

Yep, just pick one of these up as well, the M70 anyway.

The whole thing is great, the only thing I miss atm is the right ctrl key... didn't know it was going to be such a big difference

[MasterQ]

Yep, just pick one of these up as well, the M70 anyway.

The whole thing is great, the only thing I miss atm is the right ctrl key... didn't know it was going to be such a big difference

How do you find the build quality on it? Wish the keys were so stiff, but im sure over time it will soften up.

And surprisingly the chasis itself seems very soilid and well made, well see over time how that holds up:w00t:

[kypez]

More Benchmarks
3dMark01 SE - 16321
3dMark03 - 6432
Super-Pi to 2 Million Digits - 1m42s

[MasterQ]

Ive already had to change mine and have to again later tonight.

1st time, just changed it 2hrs ago. I found 3 dead pixels.

Now the 2nd one, the build on it, is absolutely pathetic. The entire palm rest is loose and when you touch the touchpad, it will rattle and sink in. This one was obviously not put together to well. Like wtf?

ARGH....so back to FS again tonight. I dont care if i have to spend 2hrs with it in store to test it, i dont wanna make anymore damn trips.

[kypez]

@MasterQ

I told you about the deadpixels in my review. Definitely a pain in the ass for sure. As for the build of the laptop, mine is build like a rock is pretty much as solid as it gets. You have a different model, and mine isn't pro either. Good luck with your next model.

LESSON LEARNRED: Check out your m70 before you buy it. Tell the manager what you have heard about deadpixels, fire up the laptop and check it out. I haven't had a dead pixel yet with this one and its a realyl great laptop. If I do get a deadpixel within the next 2.5 years I am pretty sure my 400$ warranty will cover that.

[MasterQ]

@MasterQ

I told you about the deadpixels in my review. Definitely a pain in the ass for sure. As for the build of the laptop, mine is build like a rock is pretty much as solid as it gets. You have a different model, and mine isn't pro either. Good luck with your next model.

LESSON LEARNRED: Check out your m70 before you buy it. Tell the manager what you have heard about deadpixels, fire up the laptop and check it out. I haven't had a dead pixel yet with this one and its a realyl great laptop. If I do get a deadpixel within the next 2.5 years I am pretty sure my 400$ warranty will cover that.

Actually, both times I opened it up in store and turned it on. The first time, it seemed fine, but those lights are so damn bright in store that I couldnt notice it until I got home and played with it the next day.

So I changed it this afternoon, again in store, fired it up...seemed fine. Didnt bother checking for the build on it, since my first one was like a rock and I figured this one would be as well. I take it home, set it up, play with the touchpad only to notice the entire thing loose. And the entire right half of the keyboard isnt flat with the left side. How its built like this is beyond me. Nothing like this, should ever be put on the shelf for sale ever.

So Im heading back to FS in about an hours time to change it again. And yes I will open it up and fire it up again. I hope this one wont have a dead pixel or loose parts. If it does, then I wont hesistate to go with an HP tonight! I cant believe I just said that.:lol:

What I dont get is how every unit that comes from the toshiba factory is so inconsistent. One has dead pixels, another has a loose chasis, the next could have a scratched lid for all we know.:uhoh:

[kypez]

@Master

Yeah inconsistency is a big factor in these laptops. The employees at FS I dealt with were totally complete morons and had no idea what was going on. One of the employees tried to push the idea that dead pixels were excepted in the laptop world. I couldn't believe he tried to sell me that crap. Anyways, good luck with the new laptop!

[MasterQ]

:reallymad @Master

Yeah inconsistency is a big factor in these laptops. The employees at FS I dealt with were totally complete morons and had no idea what was going on. One of the employees tried to push the idea that dead pixels were excepted in the laptop world. I couldn't believe he tried to sell me that crap. Anyways, good luck with the new laptop!


Can I ask you something Kyp? Tap on your touchpad, like just use it and tap to launch stuff, do you hear anything rattling sounds from the plastic? And tap with your finger all along the palm rest and front edge where the black strip is. Any noise? I have gotten this on the last two, the last one was god awful! You know what it is, causing it? The stupid way they made the touchpad buttons! If you press down on both touchpad keys so that you can feel it sink in a bit, but not as far as it being pressed...then tap anywhere, the sound will be gone! :rolleyes:

How about your right half of the keyboard, do you notice where the enter, right shift, arrow kegs and so on to the right have noticeable flex in them, and when you press the keys (even lightly), that you can hear the keyboard hitting the chasis? Meaning theres a slight gap under and its not completely sealed off. Also, my A and Q keys do this! :mad: POOR build quality!

Well, I will give my new one that, that the space bar is on tightly. The last two I had, when pressed from either side, the space bar just didnt feel right. It would actually sqeak and feel very stiff. It would throw off my consistency when typing. Finally, this third one its gone and i have a well put together space bar. If it was a key i rarely use, it wouldnt bother me, but the space bar? Cmon now.

Im sick of going through toshiba after toshiba, and finding a rotten surprise with every one. Like wtf toshiba? Seriously, do they rush thee things out of the factory or something? I swear to god, the HP's felt 100x more well built, but again its an HP and i cant see myself settling for such a mediocre company.

Im sick of making all these trips to FS. (I try going to different ones, so they dont think im mental). But I hate to say it, but I might just refund it al together and get an ASUS from memory express tommorow morning. I'll see. Again, I was suckered into buying a toshiba because for the looks and price. i think its time I pay a bit more and get something better built, like an ASUS, and I have to sacrifice the looks, but IMO, build quality>Design.

P.S. - F.S does have the biggest morons there. They are one of the worst, if not the worst serviced retail chains. They never seem to be happy with doing exchanges on high priced items (as they will have one less item to make commision off of), gimme a break. I went in, and the dude was trying to get me to pay the tech $40 to get him to test it. :uhoh: No thanks. Im sure he would do such a great job :rolleyes: what a cash grab. And even worse, they rush you out. Trying to ring through the new laptop before me even opening it to check it out? uhh, thats common sense. And when I wanna check it out, give me a few mins...not 10seconds..."any good?" Uhh how the heck am I finished when i havent even turned it on yet?:rolleyes:

[MasterQ]

And kyp, when you say inconsitency in these laptops, do you mean toshiba specficially or just in general with any company?

God damn, I swear the demo in store felt so solid. I pounded on the keys and it felt like an IBM. Do they have like stabilizing metal platforms underneath the demos to make them feel better than it really is, or what?

And do you find the keys a bit stiff?

[kypez]

It seems that you are not pleased with the laptop and for good reason. It is definately not a cheap purchase. As for the touchpad, I do not hear or feel any rattling. The touchpad and the two buttons below it are very very solid. This laptop that I have is fairly solid.They keyboard is also solid and I have no complaints about it as well. As for FS, they tried to charge me 40$ for a dead pixel check but I told the manager if we could just closely look at the monitor. It seems like Toshiba defintely did rush these out of the factory, but now that I actually have a working laptop with a 256 mb x700 I am pretty happy with my purchase. Maybe because I bought a "future shop" exclusive it was built better, I have no idea. I would never buy a laptop from future shop but this laptop I thought would be really nice. I was considering the z71v from ASUS but it doesn't look close to as nice.

[alkaholikc]

Lucky you finally got one w/o dead pixels... I was fortunate to get my m40 with no dead pixels on the last system onsale. To bad after couple months I spotted 1 dead pixel D;

[MasterQ]

It seems that you are not pleased with the laptop and for good reason. It is definately not a cheap purchase. As for the touchpad, I do not hear or feel any rattling. The touchpad and the two buttons below it are very very solid. This laptop that I have is fairly solid.They keyboard is also solid and I have no complaints about it as well. As for FS, they tried to charge me 40$ for a dead pixel check but I told the manager if we could just closely look at the monitor. It seems like Toshiba defintely did rush these out of the factory, but now that I actually have a working laptop with a 256 mb x700 I am pretty happy with my purchase. Maybe because I bought a "future shop" exclusive it was built better, I have no idea. I would never buy a laptop from future shop but this laptop I thought would be really nice. I was considering the z71v from ASUS but it doesn't look close to as nice.

Ya, well frankly I love the look of it and I want to make this work. But I cant be going back and fourth to the store returning them. To me, it is complete unacceptable to have keyboards, where the entire right half is noticeably looser and doesnt sit right with the left. I want to make this work so bad.

BUt I just realized that the video card on this guy (since its onboard and intel), you cannot adjust digital vibrance levels at all like on Nvidia or ATI cards. I need this cause this is what makes LCDs look sharp and brin g out the colour. with out it, the lcd looks dull. So this is big part why im returning it and getting an ASUS.

Besides i think any company is better than toshiba when ti comes to build quality now.

[astrognome]

Hey kypez,

I bought that lap, and I've install a dual boot system. In my case I used Fedora Core 4.
This OS doesn't detect either my video and audiocard so I don't get the exact resolution and I can't listen music (I'm not that concerned about this last issue cause I only use Linux to work), besides I had to freeze my PCMCIA devices cause Fedora couldn't pass the booting and crashes while turning it on.

I guess my question is, does Unbuntu (your linux OS) has the same problems or any of them?, What did u do to fix them?

My WinXp partition of this lap ROCKS! (I bought the last one of 2005's bundle in compusmart by 1859+tax, but it came with a mail-in-rebate for $200, EXCELENT DEAL!), I also play games, and now I'm running Battle Field 2 with medium specs (this game is designed for really powerfull and expensive videocards) at high FPS online, if I play alone (stupid cause this game is not designed for that) I can use the full video specs with no problems.

Thanks.

[kypez]

@astrognome

After I have installed ubuntu on my laptop I have noticed that my video card does not perform as well as it did before. Is that what your saying as well.

As for display in linux, I am not exactly sure what I did. All I remember doing was editing the xorg.conf file which handles all the graphics for ubuntu. I changed the display driver from "ati" to "vesa" and it worked. I would probly recommend goin to a linux help forum for your issue.

[MasterQ]

I just got back, from FS, Memory Express then staples. I went to refund this POS M70 at the FS first thing when they opened this morning, you wont believe it hahahaha, it was well worth the trip just to go that ways. The lady refunded me the ram too, even though i didnt bring it in. $100 value right there! Hahahaha, FREE is good! Makes all these trips pay off with some rewards.:lol: :lol: :lol: So now I have a free stick of 512 DDR2 ram.

Then I went and took a long hard look at their lineup. But honestly, I just couldnt settle for an HP or Compaq. So I walked out.

Went to Memory express to check out the ASUS Z6000vc and Acer one for $1500 with the ATI X700 card, and the ASUS was really really well built WOW, but I just couldnt get past the somewhat high price and mediocre lackluster looks. I was there for some time just looking. But they couldnt turn it on or anything, which obviously makes my decision much much harder. If they were willing to turn it on and let me try it out, then Im pretty darn sure I would have bought it on the spot. But its pretty darn hard to sell something without even using it. Memory Express has to change this policy.

plus i heard things about ASUS LCDs not being the best so thats what held me off. Plus the speakers were underneath, I dont get that.

The ACER was surprisingly well built. But I just couldnt see myself spending $1500 on an "ACER" I did howveer like the keyboard on that much more, as its thinner keys, much like Apples and less distance when pressed. There was some looseness, flex on the tab and caps keys and the ASUS had a tiny bit on the right side of the enter key and caps key. But man, you could tell the asus one was so solid.

So as hard as it was to decide, I then went on to Staples. I wasnt even going to go, but I figured hell why not. I dont want to ever give my business to Future Crap ever again after this experience, and plus Staples would be much friendlier in wanting my money. Wanna know how bad the service is at Future Shop? I was in there for 30mins, with $1500cdn cash in my wallet...and not one person came up to me. I went in to Staples and guys helped me right away, not one but two. I was only expecting to be looking at Acers as I knew I had to pick one up here.

So I browsed their lineup and I noticed they had a M60 on clearance for $1397, I asked if they had one (cause I was considering this model a while ago), and the guy said they had one left new. So I opened it up, no dead pixels, the keyboard seems fine, the space bar pressed fine and not loose and squeaky...so I said I would take it. you will never find a brand new 17'' for under $1600, let alone $1400, plus all this free stuff haha.

So for $1397 + tax, I got myself a new toshiba M60 (17''), FREE 512 MB DDR2 ram, $30 mail in rebate from the ram, free 50pk blank dvds, and free DVD movie, that I got from the $100 GC hahahahahahaha.

What a steal! No more trips back to Future shop yay!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

So after I get the $30 MIR back, that would mean I would have paid a total of $1367 + tax. pretty sweet.

[kypez]

you have an obsession with keyboards...

[MasterQ]

you have an obsession with keyboards...

I just like a laptop with a usable keyboard, that doesnt sound like a tin can pounding.:thumbdown

[aigle_hawk]

I bought this laptop a week ago and happy with it. Infact it is my first laptop.

just I want to know about toshiba utilities. Lot of them are crowded on start up that is not good. I disabled loading of most of them at start up.I think i will uninstl some of them.

Any suggestions?

:cursing:

[MasterQ]

M60 = kick ass 17'' screen:thumbup:

[H&h]

@aigle hawk you should definitely uninstall most of the utilities if you don't plan to use them. Some are quite useful though, so choose wisely :D

@MasterQ I must say you were most unlucky. Maybe Toshy doesn't really like North Americans ;) Seriously, my M70 is working amazingly well and the build quality is superb. No flex, cracks, dead pixels etc.

@all one great program you should consider is Notebook Hardware Control (previously known as Centrino Hardware C.) It's very useful, provides all sorts of neat utilities in one program: undervolting (my M70 is really undervoltable :D ), current status of battery and remaining time, OC of graphic card, temperatures, CPU speed selection, S.M.A.R.T info...

[MasterQ]

@MasterQ I must say you were most unlucky. Maybe Toshy doesn't really like North Americans ;) Seriously, my M70 is working amazingly well and the build quality is superb. No flex, cracks, dead pixels etc.

actually, be careful when removing some drivers, toshiba always recommends keeping them all up in startup lol, but obviously you dont need every single one of them.

i dont know what it is. i loved the m70 for the 3 days i had it, but the first one had a super squeaky, stiff space bar. just wasnt normal, next dead pixel, next the entire thing was loose and would rattle, and next same thing, plus the right half of the keyboard was lopsided.

finally this m60, im happy with it. just got the dvdr drive replaced yesterday and the original one was dead right out of the box. :reallymad

i just have to get used to the shrunken keys and im all good.

i know someone here mentioned about how their sisters toshiba had a bad soldering problem by the power jack. well ive noticed on my old laptop that it got very loose over time, and even though i never had anything go out i was worried bout it. and my new one, well, its super stiff just to plug this baby in. takes more force than normal, as if it were to go smoothly in. and it wiggles when its in too. hope this isnt a concern.

[H&h]

takes more force than normal, as if it were to go smoothly in. and it wiggles when its in too. hope this isnt a concern.

Yeah, mine also requires some pressure, but the "wiggles" thing doesn't sound good... Are you sure it's normal? After all, it is electricity and no flaws allowed there!

[aigle_hawk]

As far as my laptop built is concerned It is perfectly fine and so nice, no complaints at all but I have another problem. I will tell a bit detail.

It was just after few days that OS was not working well. Main problem was that many times when I shut down after using some applications or internet, it did not respond. System hanged and it takes sometimes 5 to 10 minutes to shutdown after repeated commands for that. Many programmes were shown as NOT RESPONDING and some times even ccApp as not responding. Even I had to shutt off most off time by power ff button. Sometimes firefox and IE crashed unexpectedly. The main problem was on shutdown although system did hang up some times during use.

At that time I had put following software in it.

MS antispyware, Spybot, bazooka, Clipboard Recorder, Free online meter, DU Traffic. MSN and Yahoo messenger, Google Talk, EUALyzer, 7-Zip, WinRAR trial, Opera, Spyware blaster, Google desktop search,Firefox with many extensions( flat style, popup master, popup sound, yes popup, tabbed browsing prefrences, colored tabs, no script, down them all, flashgot, dictionary tool tip, answers, google toolbar, yahoo toolbar, google preview, google safe browsing, netcraft toolbar,site advisor, IE tab, IE view, Tab mix plus, Text size toolbar, Google preview,A Timetracker, page zoom, and some themes) IE had sitehound toolbar, google and yahoo toolbar, site advisor, and clodmark toolbar. Don,t think this lot of stuff was the cause as i put almost same stuff on my friends desktop that ic celeron and it,s fine, no such problem.
Also i downloaded some Icons from internet and used them to change Icons of some folders and desktop shortcut items via Properties Tab.

Following programmes i installed but removed WellGet beta( did not work), IconXP( i did not like it at all).

It has following programmes preinstalled, Norton internet security, Toshiba utilities( most of them i disabled from start up by MS antispyware), Adobe acrobat 7( which had some problem with its update).

What caused all this problem? According to my guess it might be caused by myself. Actually I wanted to remove windows messenger but I did not know how to remove, so i searched on net and found a tip. Acc to that I uninstalled the windows messenger by the following way.
I clicked Start > Run and in the Open: box typed the following command
RunDll32 advpack.dll,LaunchINFSection %windir%\INF\msmsgs.inf,BLC.Remove
press OK, and then again OK whatever the m/message came( i don,t remember what it was , according to the Tip i used it must be Error unregistering theOCX 16422, but mine was different. After that I did not find messenger in my PC. But I suspect I might lost some vital windows components as well during this procedure.

Another problem may be Beta software( CyberHawk, MS antispyware, Google Desktop, PervxR1, SiteAdvisor -- all beta), but removing them did not work.

Infact when i started my system first time it asked for registration with Toshiba and Microsoft and I opted to skip it and to do later. But after my system became buggy, I was not able to run windows registration wizzard. Every time I tried the message came, regitration wizard can,t run because the system information it requires is either unavailable or incorrect.

I did system restore to my first check point and now system became fine, say upto 95%. After this restore I was using internet when Windows prompted me for registration with both Toshiba and Microsoft that i was able to do successsfully.

At the moment the problem is that all other things seemed ok but start up is little slow. Actually when windows XP screen with horizontal animated scrolling bar apperas, this bar stucks in scrolling for few seconds or more multiple times( i have never seen like it before) . Secondly on shutdown 50%of times the message comes: file PadTouch_FingerWnd is not responding and if i click End, system shuts down well otherwise stucks. Rarely ccApp doesnot respond but shutsdown itself after few seconds.

Now I want to restore my system by formatting via recovery CD. Any help or suggestions?

Just one thing I forgot to mention that It had Norton internet security preinstalled and it was activated by me after one day of purchase( 3 months free). After system resotore all is ok but its intrusion detection system part is not working. however I think It is obvious as I did system restore to the point when this software was still not activated.

I need your suggestions. I am concerned mainly about 2 things,first does my warranty covers this problem as my laptop is very new(few weeks old ). 2ndly is this a pure software problem or can be any hardware issue as well( my extreme concern).

[H&h]

Wow, long post :)

Hm... I don't think any of the programs you've listed would cause such problems. I'm a bit sceptical about your uninstallation of windows messenger though... I've never bothered to uninstall it, but I reckon it can be done this way:

Add or remove programs>Add/remove Windows components and then tick everything you want on your PC.

Why didn't you use the restore CD supplied by Toshiba? It's the best way to turn the laptop to a 100% working condition. I haven't had the need to try it yet, luckily :) And why delaying the registration? Do it ASAP, especially if you want to use Windows update service.

Norton Internet Security sucks. I personally have Kaspersky AV + ZoneAlarm Pro but then again- it's your choice

[aigle_hawk]

Wow, long post :)

Hm... I don't think any of .........I personally have Kaspersky AV + ZoneAlarm Pro but then again- it's your choice

Thanks. I intend to use the restore CD now. Is it easy,as I am novice in this matter. I have already registered. How I can check my registration status on microsoft site.

Another thing, when I reinstall windows by recovry CD, do I need to register again?

I wil use Antivir, MS Antispyware, Window,s own firewall and might be Prevx 1R and winpatrol -- all free.

[BrutalerHai]

Hello,

I am looking for a new laptop and found the M70. Seems to be a nice laptop, but I want to know if it is absolutely quiet when running with batterys?

I need an absolutely silent notebook. I hate noisy fans disturbing me when looking DivX-Videos on my TV.

I had a while beforce the Acer Aspire 1692 which was actually absolutely quiet (similar specs) but it was IMO from bad quality.

[H&h]

Oh, you needn't worry about the noise while on battery. M70 is totally silent, you only hear the fan during bootup

[BrutalerHai]

Really? That sounds good.

And while DivX or Mpeg Playback?

[Needalaptop28]

Thats weird my fan is running almost constantly even when im doing nothing but moving from web page to web page is something wrong with my machine or maybe my settings???

Also i can feel the bottom getting quite warm sometimes is this something i should be concerned about??

[aigle_hawk]

Thats weird my fan is running almost constantly even when im doing nothing but moving from web page to web page is something wrong with my machine or maybe my settings???

Also i can feel the bottom getting quite warm sometimes is this something i should be concerned about??

Infact there is exaust at bottom, if laptop is not on totally falt table, this exaust is partially occcluded and makes it warm. I sometimes put a folded paper underleft corner when I use it on my table,I think it give more room for exaust. I saw when i put laptop on my bed mattress, bottm exaust was closed and all panel was warm.

[MasterQ]

hawk is right, its a very good idea to prop your laptop off the table a couple inches. i have two small tin can under the back feet of mine. besides, less neck stran as its easier to see and more ergonomic typing for the hands.

[H&h]

Really? That sounds good.

And while DivX or Mpeg Playback?

Haven't tried yet, but I soon will.


Thats weird my fan is running almost constantly even when im doing nothing but moving from web page to web page is something wrong with my machine or maybe my settings???

Also i can feel the bottom getting quite warm sometimes is this something i should be concerned about??


Are you using Toshiba power saver? It should lower the CPU power to 800Mhz, and therefore reduce heat. Go to: Control Panel > System to check current speed.

I've lowered the CPU voltage too using Notebook Hardware Control. It's working at 0.700 while on 800Mhz. Since I did this almost instantly after buying the laptop, I can't tell you if it's made any difference.

The warmth is indeed normal, as stated on the bottom of the lappy (PC base can become hot blah blah blah)

As hawk mentioned, when using it on a soft surface (eg. bed) the exhaust gets blocked and the underside gets noticeable hotter, particulary the HD. I have no problems when using it on a desk, no tin cans needed ;) Although it would be of great help while typing, so I'll try that.

Cheers

[kypez]

I have been using Notebook Hardware Control over Toshiba Power Saver and I have definately noticed that the exhaust fan on the left side of the laptop doesn't turn on nearly as often. As for during graphic intense gaming the laptop does get hot but it is definitely somethign I would expect from a laptop with this 256mb card.

[Needalaptop28]

sorry i am an idiot but where can i find "Notebook Hardware Control"

[H&h]

Google is not your enemy, ya know :)

http://www.pbus-167.com/chc.htm#anchor_download

[suddste223]

Can you control the Fans on your TOSHIBA laptop with Notebook Hardware Control?

Please tell me it does!

Thanks!

[H&h]

Unfortunately, no, at least not in this version of NHC but the next version should have fan support as stated on their web page ("To do: finish the nvidia support, finish the acpi fan control...")

[suddste223]

Unfortunately, no, at least not in this version of NHC but the next version should have fan support as stated on their web page ("To do: finish the nvidia support, finish the acpi fan control...")


That means that you can control the fans on all of the TOSHIBA laptops?

[H&h]

Well I'm not sure which Toshibas support this feature... We'll have to wait and found out, though I'm not very optimistic

[kypez]

Since I have had the notebook hardware control my fans are basically never on unless I am gaming. If i am just programming or running everyday applications it is as quiet as can be.

[H&h]

Mine too behaves that way, so I'm happy about it...

@suddste223 I'm not familiar with that model of yours, but I reckon it's an older one, isn't it? Are you having problems with the fan since you're wondering how to control it?

[H&h]

Has anyone tried the 1.30 Bios?

[S_NINJA]

Since I have had the notebook hardware control my fans are basically never on unless I am gaming. If i am just programming or running everyday applications it is as quiet as can be.

really? wow. i'm using rmclock to undervolt as well, and even at minimum, my fans still come on once in a while...

[H&h]

Well, the X700 generates less heat than the 6600 so that could be the reason...

[S_NINJA]

Well, the X700 generates less heat than the 6600 so that could be the reason...

oh i see...

but cpu wise we should be generating about the same amount of heat... maybe my 6600 is adding heat to my cpu temps...

of course, i guess the main fan would be tied to overall case temp...

[MasterQ]

Ah, I have had both in the last 2.5 weeks and let me tell you, if you are mainly using it as a desktop replacement, you want the 17'' LCD. Trust me, once you put it on your desk, you will fall in love and wont go back.

I had the M70 for 3 days, 2.5 weeks ago and ended up having to exchange it 3 times. Finally, I got a sweet deal on the M60 for literally the same price, and since I always wanted a bigger screen i went for it. Havent looked back since.

However, it is not perfect. Yes, the keyboard like many users have said, the keys are really stiff...but im sure over time it will break in, like all keyboards will. But when i type on my brothers A70, the difference is like night and day. I dont know why the M60 keyboard is made so snappy? Odd, but not a big deal. Definitely need some epsom salt to loosen up the hand muscles, its like getting a workout, since it IS typewriter keys!

The biggest grip I have with the keyboard is how two of the most commonly used keys - the period and the right shift, are shrunken, and yet the left shift is 4 times the size? That just doesnt make any sense to me. What Toshiba should have done was shrunken the numpad, because though I love mine...how often do you use it really? Not nearly as much as the right shift. Through the 2 weeks, I have yet to get used to this. The period key is fine, but finding the right shift is bit tricky. But then again, I use a standard full size keyboard at work, typing away at it for 8hrs a day anyways.

Surprisingly its made pretty well. Hinge doesnt creak when I open it, the keyboard doesnt really flex, but I think this has a large part to due with the super stiff keys.

[suddste223]

Mine too behaves that way, so I'm happy about it...

@suddste223 I'm not familiar with that model of yours, but I reckon it's an older one, isn't it? Are you having problems with the fan since you're wondering how to control it?


no, im not having problems with the fans it's just I want control over tham.:thumbup:

[aigle_hawk]

I want to ask wht is this DVD-RAM. I have DVD-RAM toolon mine, my model is 129 but I don,t know whether my optical drive supports it or not

[aigle_hawk]

Also just want to ask one more question when windows XP starts and it shows XP logo with a horizontal animated scrolling bar, this scrolling bar stucks in scrolling for just few seconds 2 to 3 times or so. According to the vendor it is normal and I found it so on other new notebooks I saw there. Is it so?

[H&h]

For DVD-RAM look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvd_ram

Hmmm... My scroll bar doesn't get stuck during the boot up but I don't think it would really be of an issue if other things worked as they should... It would bug me a bit, though, as it does indeed get stuck on my 2nd desktop (P3 700) :)

[aigle_hawk]

For DVD-RAM look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvd_ram

Hmmm... My scroll bar doesn't get stuck during the boot up but I don't think it would really be of an issue if other things worked as they should... It would bug me a bit, though, as it does indeed get stuck on my 2nd desktop (P3 700) :)

I feel it stucks more if I use more programmes on start up,so what are your start up programmes? As i told, infact I checked brand new Toshiba Qasmio in the show room and even it was also like this, that made me relax otherwise I was thinking my laptop is defective.

[aigle_hawk]

For DVD-RAM look here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dvd_ram

So how to know which model has the optic drive to support it. Mine is 129.

[H&h]

Well, you can find the optic drive specs on Toshiba's website for each model

[g00nter]

Ah, I have had both in the last 2.5 weeks and let me tell you, if you are mainly using it as a desktop replacement, you want the 17'' LCD. Trust me, once you put it on your desk, you will fall in love and wont go back.

I had the M70 for 3 days, 2.5 weeks ago and ended up having to exchange it 3 times. Finally, I got a sweet deal on the M60 for literally the same price, and since I always wanted a bigger screen i went for it. Havent looked back since.

However, it is not perfect. Yes, the keyboard like many users have said, the keys are really stiff...but im sure over time it will break in, like all keyboards will. But when i type on my brothers A70, the difference is like night and day. I dont know why the M60 keyboard is made so snappy? Odd, but not a big deal. Definitely need some epsom salt to loosen up the hand muscles, its like getting a workout, since it IS typewriter keys!

The biggest grip I have with the keyboard is how two of the most commonly used keys - the period and the right shift, are shrunken, and yet the left shift is 4 times the size? That just doesnt make any sense to me. What Toshiba should have done was shrunken the numpad, because though I love mine...how often do you use it really? Not nearly as much as the right shift. Through the 2 weeks, I have yet to get used to this. The period key is fine, but finding the right shift is bit tricky. But then again, I use a standard full size keyboard at work, typing away at it for 8hrs a day anyways.

Surprisingly its made pretty well. Hinge doesnt creak when I open it, the keyboard doesnt really flex, but I think this has a large part to due with the super stiff keys.
Nevermind.

[darkevil]

just to let you know.. i benched marked the M70-SR6 with 3dmark05 and it scored 2664 with factory drivers.. i also double checked and it states that the SR6 does have 256MB VRAM.. now i am trying to figure out why it scored less than the FE5

[H&h]

Where does it state that it does? If it had 256mb it would score higher than 2664

[YP5 Toronto]

agreed people still believe that 128 vs 256 is a huge difference...I have noted many times before that it really does not provide significant gains in the Notebook GPU department.

[H&h]

True, the GPU of the x700 can't really take much advantage of the extra 128mb of memory. But a few fps are always welcome :)

But what I meant to say is that some programs inform me that I have a 256mb x700 which, unfortunately, isn't the case...

[darkevil]

i checked by using the display options then selecting the advanced menu and selecting adapter tab, it will say 256MB, then select the options tab and click on details, it will also say 256MB and type is DDR1, but when i ran the gameadvisor.futuremark.com test on it.. it shows up as 128MB.. strange... anyhow.. i am returning it since i am getting a crap load of artifacts on the display during usage... i am gonna stick with the A100-JH2 thought i bought..

Phil

[k3n]

the letters on the keys are rubbing off...
must be my intense computer game playing :(

[bighassouna]

please please please I need VGA DRIVER AND AUDIO DRIVER for Laptop toshiba A135-S2386

AND THANKS THANKS VERY MUCH

[g00nter]

Have you tried the support pages of your local Toshiba site? If in the US start HERE (http://www.csd.toshiba.com/cgi-bin/tais/su/su_sc_modSel.jsp) and follow the instructions on screen.

And what does this have to do with a year old thread on the M70?