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New Dell Latitude 10 on screen keyboard for BitLocker pin
Not sure where I have been or if this is new with the A06 BIOS Update (07/10/2013).
Previously (before this update) if you enabled BitLocker you had to have a USB Keyboard connected to input the pin, but now you can use the on screen keyboard to input the pin. Simply AWESOME! I have been waiting for this since the release of Windows 8.
Thank you DELL!!!!
BIOS A06 – Fixes & Enhancements
1. Update Intel the latest code and need to use with version A06 or later Intel chipset driver posted on Support.Dell.com.
2. Fix BIOS flash utility display error when an admin password is set greater than 8 characters in BIOS SETUP.
3. Update the warning message in BIOS flash utility.
4. BIOS flash utility support password option.
5. Enhance Multiple Boot manager entries.
6. To improve system time shift.
Full screen BitLocker screen with touch keyboard
New on screen touch keyboard
Now the other vendors need to step up and get this implemented. Way to go Dell leading the way. Love it…
Windows 8.1 Preview available today
Microsoft will release to the masses later this morning the Windows 8.1 Preview. I will add the link as soon as I see it is available.
You can watch live //build/ 2013 conference this morning starting at 9 a.m. PST.
Windows 8.1 PREVIEW DOWNLOAD
Remove Recovery Partition free up 5gb–Dell Latitude 10
How to remove the Recovery Partition.
Open Control Panel
Select System and Security
Select File History
Select Recovery
Select Create a recovery drive
Step through prompts. You will be asked to put in a usb drive. On the Dell Latitude 10 you will need at least an 8GB USB Stick. This will create a bootable USB Stick that you can use to boot/install Windows 8.
At the end you will be asked if you want to remove the partition.
Create a system image–failure 0x80780119
I just recently got my Dell Latitude 10 Tablet and the first thing that I wanted to do was to create a system image before dinking with it.
Unfortunately, when It tried to run the backup I received the following error:
This is the first time that I have run across this error so initially I didn’t know what to do. I took a search on Google and found quite a number of people reporting it, but not a rock solid way to resolve it.
I initially took a look at the storage manager in the device manager. I see right away that there is one partition of 500 MB is size.
I wasn’t able to determine the amount of free space through the device manager. Well after some searching I did find several people running into a similar issue and they shrunk the partition under the 500 MB limit to get by the error.
I wasn’t able to make any changes to these partitions in the Device Manager, so I had to find another way. After some additional searching I found a tool called MiniTool Partition Wizard Home Edition (here), a free utility that allows you to edit any partitions. A very small download, small footprint, and very easy to use.
I chose to edit the partition and shrinking it from 500 to 492 and after a reboot I was able to run the native Windows System Image Backup. #FTW
Another option would be to use DiskPart to shrink the partition.
Dell Latitude 10 Impressions
I was highly disappointed with Dell’s first try in the Tablet market with the Latitude ST, so when I heard that Dell was releasing an upgrade or a new mode I was a little hesitant. But after reviewing the specs I began to get a little excited. The Latitude ST was way under powered and hearing of the new Dual Atom processor got me a little encouraged. I still wasn’t convinced. I was able to get my hands on one through our Dell Rep at work as a try before you buy. We are looking for something like this for our travelling users.
I have had the Dell Latitude 10 for about two weeks and have had a chance to put it through some tests.
Specs
https://cameronmergel.wordpress.com/2012/11/12/dell-latitude-10-tablet/
POWER [GRADE: 4]
Dual Atom with 2GB of Ram. Seems a bit light, but it is a pretty good machine as a business machine. I don’t have anything installed that pushes it to its limit like a Photoshop program, but its pretty snappy.
Includes a micro-USB charging port. I have not tried, but I have heard that it takes for ever to charge using this method.
Swappable battery – Includes 2-cell with an optional 4-cell battery. I love the swappable battery. They go bad, it’s nice to be able to swap them out if needed. Also the 4-cell. They stick out a bit and make the tablet a little awkward to hold with the weight, but it’s nice to have that available.
STORAGE/DISK [GRADE: 2]
64GB SSD in size but with the OS and Recovery Partition the available space is very small. These devices should be a minimum of 128GB and go up from there. I can’t believe they have a 32GB unit. Seriously?
MISC. [GRADE: 5]
Full Size SD Card. I am a huge fan, but have a couple of units that have the MicroSD and they perform and work just as well, so this is not as big of a deal for me as it use to be.
SCREEN [GRADE: 3]
10.1” Capacitive multi-touch HD display. The screen is so nice and touch is very snappy.
Intel Graphics Media Accelerator is a little weak.
DIGITIZER [GRADE: 3]
This was difficult for me to grade. I love Wacom and was very excited to hear that the Latitude 10 was going to be using Wacom. However, the stylus and digitizer don’t seem to be tracking correctly. Even after calibrating the stylus is not right. The accuracy is off a bit and have to press a little harder than normal to double click on things. Driver issue maybe? I would think that Dell should be able to correct this.
WINDOWS 8 [GRADE: 5]
Windows 8 is very snappy and fluid. It took me awhile to get use to it, but now I can’t go back to Windows 7. I don’t
NOISE [GRADE: 5]
Fanless. Absolutely quiet. Nice feature of the Dual Atoms.
KEYBOARD [GRADE: 0]
No Keyboard. Unforgivable!!! The lack of a keyboard dock like the XPS 10 is unforgivable Dell. This is a being sold as a Business Device. This alone for me would have made it a definite “buy it device”. I have heard of someone purchasing the XPS 10 keyboard and removing the notches that hold the XPS in. Again, why Dell? The extra battery in the keyboard!!!! Why Dell?
OVERALL/FINAL [GRADE 27/40] [C-]
I was overall impressed with the Latitude 10. I think if the Digitizer issue get resolved this will be an outstanding device.
If you can get at a discounted price on eBay, go for it.
My Dream Windows 8 Tablet
I am a huge fan of the Windows Tablets. I have owned HP TC1100, ASUS EP121/B121, HP Slate 500, Dell Latitude ST, Samsung Series 7 Slate, and now Samsung /build/ (Series 7) Tablet and with each one it is missing something. ***Update (missing from photo) Dell Latitude 10 Tablet, Microsoft Surface, and Samsung ATIV Pro 700T.
So I decided since I have such great pull with the hardware vendors, I would put together my must have specs. This way they can start building it.
MY DREAM WINDOWS TABLET
Wacom Pen/Digitizer with silo in Tablet
Detachable Keyboard with touchpad (with additional battery)
Removable Battery
i5 Core CPU (x64) & 4GB Ram (More would be nice)
128GB SSD
10.1 Screen (Not GMA, also wish it wasn’t 1366×768, I like 1024×768)
Gorilla Glass
Full Size SD Card
HDMI (mini ok)
USB 3.0 on Tablet
USB 3.0 on Keyboard
At least 5 hours of battery life
Decent Front & Rear camera
Hardware button: Start/Windows Button and Keyboard Button
Optional Dock with Ethernet, full HDMI, More USB 3.0, maybe some nice speakers built in. (dream big!)
Is there a Windows Tablet that has all this? Close, but not yet.
What are your must haves with the new Windows 8 Tablets? Here’s your chance to speak up and let those vendors what you want.
Dell Latitude 10 Tablet
I am a pretty big fan of Windows Tablets and have been for some time. I am especially excited with all the new stuff that is coming out. One such Windows Tablet that I have been drooling over is the Dell Latitude 10 (here). It is currently retailing for $900, but currently on a special price for $650.
I was recently visited by one of our Dell representatives at work and he had brought the sister tablet Latitude XPS 10, which is the Windows RT version. I was able to play around with it for a bit and loved the touch, the responsiveness, and the fact that it had detachable keyboard with touchpad. It was a very solid fit. Unfortunately, I later found out that the Latitude 10 will not have that same keyboard. Big disappointment if you ask me. The Dell rep said that he would send me one when he got them in stock so I could give it a spin. Well I just got the email and have it coming my way to give it a run.
LATITUDE 10 SPECIFICATIONS
- Intel® Atom™ processor Z2760 1.8GHz with Intel® Burst Technology, 1.5GHz HFM, 600MHz LFM
- Windows 8 Pro, 32-bit
- 10.1" IPS (1366 X 768) Wide View Angle LCD, Corning® Gorilla® Glass, Capacitive 10 Finger Touch
- 2GB DDR2 SDRAM at 800MHz
- 64GB of Solid State Storage, enabled for mobile broadband (HSPA+)
- Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator (533MHz)
- 1.47 lbs
- Full Size SD Slot
- USB 2.0 Slot
- Mini HDMI
- Removable Battery
- 2MP Front Facing Camera
- 8MP Rear Facing Camera
- Wacom Digitizer (optional pen)
- Productivity Docking Station (optional) (2) USB, Ethernet, HDMI and Audio Output
I will have it for about 30 days to test it out and will blog about it more.
Updated Windows 8 N-trig drivers are finally available or are they?
So N-trig finally posted Windows 8 drivers on their site (August 13th, 2012), you can download them here.
http://www.ntrig.com/Content.aspx?Page=Downloads_Drivers
So I have been very critical with my comments toward N-trig and most of it has been warranted.
Time to climb up on my soapbox.
My biggest beef all along has been the lack of input control. The ability to control the how the digitizer handles touch and pen. In the Windows 7 there was the N-trig DuoSense Digitizer Settings that allowed you to control the Input mode (Pen Only, Touch Only, Auto Mode, and Dual Mode), this has been lacking since Windows 8 Consumer Preview (February 2012). Still missing…
Brief history.
Windows 8 Developer Preview (September 13th, 2011)
There was a hack that could be followed that you could install the N-trig drivers, the DuoSense Settings, and Calibration tool and input control.
Windows 8 Consumer Preview (February 29th, 2012)
The hack no longer works and the digitizer and touch had serious issues. Ghost clicking and touch issues.
UPDATE:
N-trig did finally put out a beta v1.0 (March 3, 2012), but they didn’t really help.
Windows 8 Release Preview (June 28th, 2012)
The hack still doesn’t work and the digitizer and touch still have issues.
Windows 8 RTM (August 1st, 2012)
The hack still doesn’t work and the digitizer and touch still have issues.
UPDATE:
N-trig did finally put out beta v2.0 (August 13th, 2012). They included the calibration tool, which does seem to help with the ghost clicking, however it is still missing the DuoSense Digitizer Settings. UGH!!!
NOTE:
Did you all notice the wording in their install instructions. Look at step 1 on page 2. Some interesting wording.
So I read this as you can’t install these on a fresh Windows 8 Install, that it has to be a Windows 7 upgrade to Windows 8. So I emailed support to clarify this and they replied back that it was true that you needed to be on Windows 7 to ensure the latest DuoSense Software was installed and then upgrade to Windows 8. Once on Windows 8 you can follow the instructions in the v2 beta drivers.
Seriously, come on N-trig, you’ve had over 6 months to be working on these drivers to make them compatible with Windows 8. Your latest v2 beta try is flail at best.
I feel for any computer manufacture that is producing a Windows 8 Slate/Tablet with these N-trig drivers. Beware! I sure won’t be purchasing another N-trig device… No way!!!
I suggest that you email their support [esupport@n-trig.com] and voice your displeasure on the lack of functionality with these drivers. In my opinion the HP Slate 500 is unusable in Windows 8. The palm rejection and false touches when writing are horrendous.
Ok, stepping down from my soapbox.
Questions:
What do you think?
Are you happy with these updated drivers?
Did you upgrade to Windows 8 or fresh Install?
Did you use the DuoSense Digital Settings in Windows 7 and Windows 8 Developers Preview?
Do you have issues with false touch when writing?
UPDATE (2015-12-09):
N-trig downloads are not longer available. I have had multiple requests for the download. I have the Windows 8 x86 version of the driver that I got originally for the HP Slate 500. If you need them add a comment with your email address and I will send them to you.
Updated Windows 8 N-trig drivers – SOON!
I just got word from N-trig support that updated Windows 8 N-trig drivers that include the calibration tool/utility will be released this month.
Keep your eye out for them.
N-trig Download Site
http://www.ntrig.com/Content.aspx?Page=Downloads_Drivers
UPDATE (7/1)
I just received email from N-trig support that they hope to have updated W8 beta drivers released in two weeks.
Sigh!!!
UPDATE (8/13)
I just checked this morning and updated drivers are out there dated 8/13. In the process of downloading and testing.
Installing Norton Ghost 15.0 on Windows 8
I have been running into several issues trying to get Norton Ghost version 15.0 installed and running on my HP Slate 500 running Windows 8 Developers Preview
ISSUE 1:
I can’t seem to enter my license key. When trying to install the license key I keep getting an error message:
Cannot activate this product using license key <license key>. The license key is not valid. Please enter the correct license key.
I have confirmed that it is a good key by installing on a test machine running Windows 7.
STATUS:
I have not resolved this. I am currently running the 30 day evaluation.
ISSUE 2:
I wasn’t able to get Ghost to detect any drives. After initially installing and running under evaluation license it wouldn’t detect any local or connected hard drives.
RESOLUTION OF ISSSUE 2:
Install using Windows 7 Compatibility Mode.
1. Create a folder on your computer called C:\GhostCD and copy the Norton Ghost contents into that directory.
2. Open C:\GhostCD\Install and right click on SETUP.EXE and select Properties. Click on the Compatibility tab. Put a check for “Run this program in compatibility mode for:” and select Windows 7. Click Apply and then OK.
3. Double click on SETUP.EXE to install.
ISSUE 3:
Getting error when trying to run a One time backup.
-Error EBAB0013: A test that safeguards the integrity of the program failed unexpectedly. CHECK failed. SnapShotDevice::GetDeviceCharacteristics3: .\SnapShotDevice.cpp(262):mSymSnapVolume->IsSnapped().
(UMI:V-0-2987-19)
RESOUTION OF ISSUE 3:
In my case when I selected to backup the C Drive it was also wanting to backup the SYSTEM drive. I unchecked that selection and just backed up the C Drive and it ran.
UPDATE 11/12/2012:
This is still an issue with the Windows 8 Full Release (RTM) on HP Slate 500 and Samsung Series 7 Slate.
Cameron Mergel 