front panel audio buttons

[rodent]

So, are the front audio control panel buttons supposed to do anything? On my 200A5, they don't, and I took it in to best buy and they stated that they work fine and that the functionality of them has to be enabled. They also state that the unit will not play audio CDs when the power is off.

If I have the system powered on, and an audio cd is in the drive and I can play it manually in windows media player, pressing any of the buttons along the front that control the cd playback do nothing. Stop/eject will neither stop nor eject the cd. In order to eject, I have to go into My Computer, right click on the drive, and choose Eject. Forward or Back buttons do not work, and neither does the play button.

Also, I thought that with the machine powered off, if I insert an audio cd into the drive, and make sure I have flicked the wireless/audio toggle switch, that the machine should start playing the cd. If i insert a cd, and flick the switch, I can hear it spin up, but it does not play, and the front buttons do not work. In order to eject the cd, I must turn the unit on, get into windows, and go through My Computer like I described above.

Also, do the little LEDs next to the audio control buttons have any purpose? Do they light up ever? Mine have never lit. I also listed that as a problem when I took the unit to best buy, but when I got it back, the repair sheet said there were no problems.

The power LED does not light up to indicate battery charging status. I have to boot into windows to check whether or not the battery has finished charging.

The wireless LED never lights, regardless of whether or not I have Wireless LAN Enabled or Disabled by flicking the switch. I am in a building with total WiFi coverage, and the wireless card does not detect any available networks. However, in another part of the building it does, but the signal quality is so poor that it will not function. I am using a Linksys card that I have, and it works just fine.

Also, I stated that the bezel around my screen was loose, but I guess he neglected to put that down on the sheet when I took it in for service, because it has not been fixed.

The machine was in for 2 weeks and I am very dissatisfied. I got it back and they said that no repair work was performed, and nothing was wrong.

I had called VPR the night before I took it into best buy and described the problems to the CSR over the phone, and he indicated to me that it was possibly a bad power module or something inside the unit, and that the LEDs should light, and by fixing this module, the audio control buttons would function.

If it were not for the coming end of semester work load, I would call VPR and ask to ship it to them. However, that must wait for the summer as I need the machine and was hoping to use it as soon as I bought it, if it weren't for the glaring problems that should not even be there since the unit was brand new from a sealed box.

I like the unit for its features and the price was unbeatable for what came with it ($1700), but for crying out loud, why all the problems?? I can do without the wireless working well since I have my own card, but the front buttons are downright annoying since they are useless, and having the front LEDs light would be nice. Note: I am not talking about the LEDs up near the power button, those work fine, but the two down by the audio control buttons, one for wireless/audio, and the other for battery charging.

Does anyone have this audio control button problem, or LED problem?

I have downloaded and reinstalled the VPR matrix keyboard and Dirtek keyboard drivers from www.vprmatrix.com, but they have no effect on remedying the buttons. Best Buy insists that they work fine, but I have no how that is.

Anybody have any ideas?????

[Angus]

It definitely sounds like a pure hardware issue. I've heard on this forum of someone else with a very similar problem, but perhaps it was you and I just can't remember. Definitely time to ***** at them about their sheer stupidity. Also, it really seems that dealing with Best Buy (an actual store location) tech support is akin to rubbing fresh lemon juice all over a papercut. Truly a worthless experience. The people who have had any luck with VPR tech support went direction through their phone system and I would definitely suggest doing this.

Your buttons should work and I think it's pretty clear that your stuff is busted. Everything you describe sounds like something that can be solved by new parts being installed. I agree that these sorts of issues shouldn't be there with a brand new product. It's disturbing.

One final note: make sure you push the stop/eject button twice to eject the disc. But I bet you already did that.

[rodent]

yep, i've pushed the stop/eject button 500 times if i've pushed it twice. has no effect on the spinning disc, neither stopping it nor ejecting it.

I will call them in late april when I can afford to be without the machine.

[rodent]

just to be sure, you guys can play cds in your drive when the machine is off, right? best buy wrote on the repair sheet that the machine is not supposed to be able to do this, but i see it stated on vpr's webpage for the 200a5

[theEND]

yeah that can be done.. all you have to do is slide the wireless toggle button down till the LED lights up and slide the cd in

[rodent]

Yeah, I can stick a disc in, then flip the toggle and it spins up, but the buttons still don't do anything, and the LED doesn't light up, and in order to get the disc out, I need to boot into windws to get it out.

[theEND]

do your buttons ever work? on mine i've noticed that they also function as controllers for Windows Media Player (but not Winamp). maybe you can try that out.

seems like something's wrong with your hardware, probably a bump on the front end did it. ship it off directly to vpr and hope for a replacement.

[rodent]

ahh, a total unit replacement? that'd be nice, my screen bezel is loose too and BB didn't fix it either.

nope, the front buttons never work, not in any app or when it's off. I will send it back in april after school gets out.

[geekrock99]

make sure both of your keyboard drivers are installed. i think it might help.

for that cd ejection/ stop botton, you should press it twice to eject CDs.

geekrock99

[nedlyj]

Is there supposed to be much travel and/or an audible or tactile "click" when you push the front panel buttons? There's not with mine, so it's real hard to tell if/when I've actually pushed them. For example, it might take 3-4 times before I get the stop/eject button to work, but eventually I do. It's just hard to tell.

-n

[nedlyj]

Okay, I think I answered my own question. I thought the entire button was supposed to move when depressed, but on further review it appears that the buttons are actually fixed/hinged at the top and only depress on the bottom. My big fingers couldn't really tell that. But when using my fingernail, I can feel the tactile click and tell that all of them are working the same and perfectly. You just have to press at the very bottom of the button.

-n