10-inch Advent 4211 netbook launches at PC World

Comments

• For those who have not twigged yet, this is totally IDENTICAL in form, function and specs to the MSI Wind which will not ship for a few weeks more and is over £60 extra. Not similar, but actually the same machine. Apparently people buying these have found a 'made by MSI' sticker on the base of the carton. Everything from the key legends to the position of the screw holes is the same as you can verify by checking photos of the Wind. Possibly the battery might be a lower rating, but surely not £60 worth! I very much doubt if the quality of the casing is different as it would not make commercial sense to redesign it just to make a lower quality.
  A word to the wise, remember that you will need to add / borrow an external CD ROM drive to install your software if you buy one of these and have your own discs around. As for a case, I suggest one of those padded envelopes, then you can make the Mac Air brigade sick with envy for 30% of the cost they paid.
  Posted by aj booker, uk
• Just bought one today from PC World, they are in stock in some stores. Overall, a nice piece of kit. Screen nice and bright and good viewing angles. Runs video nicely. For example the HP 2133 mini note struggled with video playback such as Itunes moviews downloads. Plays movies nicely etc. Generally snappy all round.Only one major niggle so far, the speakers are really tinny and quiet, be warned!
  
  It's £50 to £100 cheaper than the current MSI price postings on Play, Morgan Computers and Expansys. Posted by Donderonda,
• Bought one first thing this morning (3rd July) from PC World, Stockton. Only had 4 in stock, just got delivery today. Even the salesman didn't know it was same as MSI Wind, it even has MSI sticker on bottom of casing. So far so good, infact I'm typing this on it. Keys take a little getting used to after full size keyboard, but screen good, easy to read. Everything you want it does really and for the price is excellent value. Yes it only has lower power battery, but for the price you cant have everything. Build quality seems good, far better than eee pc as is the keyboard. Overall I'm very pleased with it. Posted by Biggly, UK
• I bought one these yesterday, I managed to source one in Glasgow PC World. I really like it, it is very light and compact. The screen is crystal clear for surfing the internet and using Works. I was amazed how quick this machine starts up and allows you to surf, it performs better than my pc which should be faster.
  
  The only reservation I have is with the battery life, you roughly get around 2 hours out of a charge which is surprisingly low for a Atom based machine. Overall though I would recomend this machine to anyone wanting to travel light and suf on the move. Posted by Bob Blair, Scotland
• Baught one today from the east kilbride pcworld store, overall im very pleased with it, the only thing i could say against it is the speakers built into it, but it has realtek HD sound so a pair of decent headphones sorts that. I was amazed when i seen that it has a dual core atom in it, the guy at the counter said that there is no way that it would have anything other than a single core at that price, overall the performance is great, the screen is large enough to veiw without a strugle even with my terrible eyesight yet is still portable enough to take near enough anywhere, the cooling in it is one of the best ive seen in a laptop this size, it seems to draw air in from all over the laptop and let it all out the one fan, ive had this running and being used for about 6 hour and the air coming out of it is still cool and not had a single problem with it, even better when you hook it up to a big screen and use extended desktop, since it runs xp rather than vista it runs faster than most new desktops available, the only thing that lets it down there is graphics, it has 64meg of shared which is great for a laptop of this size but not so great for playing games, but it serves its purpose very well, i would recomend it to anyone whos looking for a new computer for general use such as internet messenger and videos and that and its good value, beats the asus eeepc by far in every way Posted by s, scotland
• The sticker on the bottom is only for BT module. Battery is 2200mAh (my eeepc has 5200) but MSI Wind will get the same. Anyway if you can't wait go for it. To be honest I will wait for white MSI Wind with 6 cells battery.
  I just got white accessories coming from my eeepc :) Posted by Martin, London
• just bought one of these today as well,has anyone else got the advent welcome pack in their box ?
  i.e instruction manual for the laptop ?
  i was told by pc world customer services that they do not put them in anymore,all instructions are on laptop itself,even though contents leaflets in box shows advent welcome pack should be part of contents.thanks Posted by rob, SCOTLAND
• Got mine yesterday(3rd) and am very pleased with it so far, everything works as advertised and it is indeed a re-badged Wind. It's already sold itself to a couple of friends of mine and if anyone reading this is thinking about a machine of this type. It certainly gets my thumbs up.
  
  A couple of points I would mention though, There is a different bios version in the Advent and there does not appear to be an overclock button combination. (unless I managed to miss it)
  
  
  Ps.
  Its not a dual core, the Atom has hyper-threading so it appears as two cores in windows. Posted by Severin, uk
• Contary to what is suggested you don't need an external cd rom/dvd, there are applications like magic disc with will mount an ISO file as a drive... so simply make an ISO image of you disc whack it on a usb stick and use magic disc an thats it Posted by phil, UK
• Does the Advent 4211 also include the turbo boost and energy saving modes like the wind? Can you over clock the atom to 1.9 GHz with the F10? and does it automatically underclock to 1.2GHz when it switched to battery?
  
  If anyone who already has one it would be great to know!
  
  Thanks
  
  Posted by Matt, UK
• Got one yesterday from PC world, just to buck the trend I got the Vista ultimate upgrade as well (sorry XP diehards) used original MSI drivers from XP applications folders for Wifi and Bluetooth etc:
  
  Nice little Vista machine! First run Windows experience score with drivers installed 2.6 overall. Generally nippy, processor scores 3!
  
  Plays World of Warcaft at 10 FPS.... Posted by ralphy, UK
• No overclock function - but on the wind forums out there it seems that NONE of the winds are shipping with this.
  
  It underclocks to approx 800mhz when on battery Posted by Paul, UK
• how do you get the bluetooth to work or switch on?? thanks Posted by Altaaf, uk
• Can anybody comment on battery life? Posted by Ted, UK
• What's missing from this Advent 4211 is an ExpressCard/5 4 slot, which is potentially quite a serious omission. Secondly, it's 10″ WSVGA screen (1024 x 600 resolution) is not as large as the HP 2133 mini note's WXGA (1280 x 768). In my opinion, what the HP Mini Note really needs to compete is an Intel Atom processor, but it's interesting to discover that although HP's 2133 Mini Note is currently on sale in the USA, unsuspecting UK customers only get a weedy little VIA 1.2Ghz version, providing yet further proof that Rip-Off Britain is still in business ! The reason I say this is that US buyers annoyingly get a more powerful 1.6Ghz VIA C7®-M ULV Processor in their Mini Notes......C'est la vie !
  Posted by Richard, UK
• In response to the question about bluetooth - Toggle Function F11 and it cycles through wireless / bluetooth / single / both / either.
  I bought my machine yesterday to replace an eee 900. There is no comparison, the advent is far superior in evey way. Performance is much better, storage is great, build quality is better,the keyboard is great, the power saving options (turbo toggle function F10) is clear and easy to use giving me 3+ hours on a standard battery. To me this kills my EEE stone dead, I will doubtless have to sell the EEE to a friend who has been coverting it, I'll have to make sure I don't show them the advent first though.
  Gasman61 - Cardiff Posted by Gasman61, uk
• Noting Richards comment on the HP2133, this is a good alternative to the Avent if you have either 1) asbestos trousers to prevent the heat of the processor burning your legs, or 2) a need to fry eggs where ever you are. I note the HP2133 also comes with a handy little loop you can use to attach your reading glasses, you won't be able to use the screen without them :-) Posted by Gasman61, uk
• I bought 4211 yesterday, got a free carry case too, and first months cover paid for . . Result !
  I seem to be lucky as mine has 1.6 GHz doo dah wassaname.
  I chose it over the asus dinky dot, smart move, I have found it NOT wanting !!
  I would highly recommend one to anyone looking for mobility.
  Posted by Oggydoggy, England
• HI
  
  Is anyone have problems with the wireless on this? MIne keeps connecting and disconnecting and im sitting right next to the router. Posted by Steve, UK
• Can anyone please tell me whether it supports dual screens - meaning a second monitor running a second half of the desktop - rather than just a copy of the Advent's own screen? If so, what res does it support?
  
  BTW: I read elsewhere that someone had flashed their Advent bios to the latest MSI Wind version. Posted by Lee Oades, England
• HI,
  
  Yes Steve my wireless does that too. Posted by Dave, uk
• Loaded the latest MSI wireless driver last night & its been connected solidly ever since! Posted by Dave, UK
• Can it be used to 'remote desktop' into another PC? I nearly bought one but the staff at PCW didn't know if XP home would do it. I could have the use of my muli-core monster in the garden - sweet. Posted by Andy T, UK
• Advent 4211 does dual monitor. Am running it at the moment with a 24" 1920 x 1200 monitor from www.overclockers.co.uk ( value range £220 delivered!) which has the same nonreflective screen type as the advent. Quality on the VGA cable is good and display solid. the 945 Intel graphics chipset seems fine supporting and surprised me by running Google Sketchup at a decent rate with reasonably complicated 3D models in the HD monitor (Though Sketchup displays models at a slightly lower resolution in its window normally). This is NOT a games machine for modern games, and I am certain it will not drive the external monitor with recent games, but mine runs Quake 3 perfectly in 800 x 600 mode and the lighting effects and transparency looks fine. i highly suspect it will also do the original Half life and possibly UT2003 in low quality.
  Have had same problem with wireless as others. i put this down to a weak antennae in the lid and suspect a bios fix or driver update sometime soon will fix it. I don't get wireless drops when i am close to the router though.
  Watch out for the battery life with wireless turned on. it seems to sap about 20% more power then. Also, those huge slots underneath are the reason it has such a quiet fan normally. Put it on your lap or on a soft surface and the fan speeds up, the machine heats up and things are a bit warm if the slots are too obstructed.
  Have got BBC Iplayer on mine running perfectly, and also all my standard XP software. can't see the point of putting Vista on until drivers and mor ememroy cheaply has been available for a while.
  Using Function F10 to declock it works fine and does extend battery life it seems, but not much, but turns screen brightness down as well so maybe thats where most of the saving comes from.
  
  Still, end july, no decent slipcases on market, but suspect accessories will start shipping when MSI Wind finally sees shop shelves.
  The best thing I can say about this is that everyone who sees and uses it , gets it, that is to say, they recognize it is a totally standard XP machine, just in miniature.. For the incredibly low price point, that is the real revolutionary thing about it. Just wish the battery was a 5/6 cell and did 4+ hours like the EeePC 901, being so portable, you are far more likely to use it away from the mains so recharging is a chore, but i think that will be available as an option / upgrade in the autumn.
  
  Finally, PC World really need to sort their customer service out. Staff often do not know much, if anything, about the machines they are selling, they tend to be aggressive when there is a problem, and they automatically seem to suspect customers of breaking / exaggerating / being incredibly stupid when a problem occurs. this is my second advent 4211 as the first heated up , screen blanked and fan whirred at random, i suspect something internally blocking the fan, and I had extremely poor experience getting them to swap it in store, even though I am a regular business customer and had arranged everything over phone after realizing machine was faulty. If this was available at John Lewis for same price, i would fa rrather go there! Posted by AJ Booker, Nottingham UK
• I Purchased an advent 4211 from PC World, two days later the cooling fan started to get very noisy. It sounded like it was touching something inside as it was spinning. I returned it to PC World and after some haggling managed to get a refund.
  
  Posted by Mark, UK
• It comes with 1Gb RAM, can this be upgraded? Posted by Dan, UK
• Ram can be upgraded, you need to remove 9 screws and then plug it in :) Got mine from Play.com (1gb) for £12.99!! Posted by martin, UK
• My Advent 4211 , which I have had for 1 week started ( today ) to have an extemely noisy fan , as documented in other posts here . As I had already upgraded the ram to 2 gb and therefore had the machine open , I decided to have a closer look inside to see what was happening . I removed the fan assembly and noticed that 2 of the 9 screws that hold it together also held the fan in place with just a single screw remaining . When spinning the fan manually no noise or grating was exhibited so I concluded that it was just a bit loose . I reassembled the laptop making sure that the 2 screws that held the fan were in sufficiently tight and replaced the battery and power and booted up again , and voila , I have a quiet 4211 again . Posted by Ash, Uk
• I've bought 2 of these this week (01/08/08), one for myself and one for my son who wanted one instantly when he saw mine. Interestingly mine has been working fine but his displays the wireless problem described above, i.e. it keeps losing the wireless connection and then reconnecting (sometimes). I was about to take it back to the store (reluctantly given PC World's reputation for customer service) but I think I'll try the driver update first. Otherwise much impressed but beware programs that require a bigger screen resolution. I use photoshop and some of its windows are too big for the screen and I can't access the OK and Cancel buttons. Posted by Dave, UK
• Tried the driver update for the wireless and seems to be working ok now.PS I'm not the same Dave as the first Dave with the wireless problems ;-) Posted by Dave, UK
• What type of hard drive is fitted and is it possible to upgrade Posted by keith taylor, United Kingdom
• Seen in PC world, wanna buy but i need to know if it can handle video streaming i.e. WINAMP and other streaming programmes, is the video memory good enough?
  
  This sytem runs very fast, opened up all the programmes on the demo one in the store and it ran very fast! Posted by p, uk
• I got mine 3 weeks ago (mid july) - still cannot believe the level of performance you get nowadays for £279. I experienced a little problem though - the system powers down a few seconds after switching it on. If you switch it on again, it usually starts up fine (no error) - twice it stopped again straight away. It did happen a few times with or without the battery connected.
  Posted by Cedric Lempereur, UK
• I had the same wi-fi issues, would connect for about ten seconds then drop, then connect for a few seconds and drop again. Reinstalling the WLAN driver from the website didn't fix it, but surprisingly unintstalling, switching off and let it find the driver again fixed it! Posted by RF, UK
• Message for 'Dave, UK' the Dave who left this message...
  "Loaded the latest MSI wireless driver last night & its been connected solidly ever since!"
  
  I'm having the same problems - PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE give me a link so I can find and download these drivers as well! Posted by Richard, UK
• Further to above msg. I inadvertantly uninstalled my WiFi whilst trying to mess around with it to see if I could fix it. In disgust, I switched the machine off for the day - I couldn't face havingto re-install it manually - then I switched it on ( about 4 hours ago) and the Advent picked it up as new hardware and re-installed it - automatically! AND AND the damn thing is now working FULLY! I've had it online for 3 hours and 10 minutes so far - not a glitch! Even had a 15 minute video skype conversation with my brother!
  
  I'm going to leave online all night, but I don't think anything is going to happen, now!
  
  I THINK IT'S FIXED!!!
  
  Now all I have to do is see a GP for treatment to my nice little ulcer! Courtesy of Advent!
  
  This machine is great - a bargain for the price! But.... would have been much better working straight out of the box, rather than having to fix it as soon as you start using it.
  
  *****************************************************************************************
  PS It already has the latest driver, I think (that's what the microsoft site said, when I went there to try and update it - there is no point in even looking.
  
  Don't ask for help from PC world.... with few exceptions they're CRAP - once they have your money they're not interested in you anymore! And in any case don't have the knowledge or the training...
  
  If you have this wireless problem, then just uninstall it, switch your computer off, switch it back on - it will re-install the WiFi, connect to your router and.... it works!!!
  
  It's worked for 3 DIFFERENT people, just on this thread (if you've read it all, then you'll know this! I just hope that if you googled the Advent 4211 WiFi problem, you came straight to this thread... lol) Posted by Richard, UK, UK
• Anyone still having issues with wireless dis-connecting, you could try running Windows Update, and look under the hardware tab after scanning, it has updated drivers for both the Wired and Wireless cards. That worked for me. If you're still stuck, try changing the channel your access point runs on. I also updated the Bios from the TechGuys website, but I did have to remove the battery after as the KB stopped working! I've succesfully tested the restore software too, it works great, and back's the whole recovery partition up to a 2GB memory stick that is bootable, or you could use a SD card to do the same job. It's so portable too... who could want more! Posted by Dan, UK
• Wi-fi problem is corrected by changing the channel number. You're getting knocked off your wireless connection because you're within range of your neighbours' connections. Right-click on wireless icon and go into settings, look for channel, and change. Channel 11 worked for me. Otherwise try 1 or 7. Just remember what it was before in case you have to change back.
  Posted by Susan, Bonnyrigg, Scotland
• If you want a case for this, try PCWorld's caselogic DVD case - just remove the DVD slips & it fits perfectly.
  Barcode no. 85854 06428. Oh...and it costs a fiver. It's mainly black, with a dark green spine. Posted by Mama-G, uk
• Got mine from PC World, wireless kept dropping, hard drive ticking, and then a green line appeared on the screen, all within a few days! Took it back and they replaced it immediately, and all seems fine now! (Except that I lose about 10% of battery life per day when it is switched off, is that normal?) Posted by Gus, UK
• Still probs with wifi tried uninstall/reinstall but cannot aquire network addr. Change channel # ?? Posted by shaun, uk
• I think I've found a simple answer to the wifi problem.
  Click START
  RIGHT click 'My Computer'
  Left click Properties
  Left click the Hardware tab
  Left click Device Manager
  Left click 'Network Adapters' in list
  RIGHT click 802.11b/g Mini Wireless card
  Left click Properties
  Left click Power Management tab
  UNCHECK 'Allow the computer to turn off this device to save power'
  HEY PRESTO!
  
  I hope this helps someone as least! Posted by Sue de Nym, UK
• Bought 4211. Had it for weeks and it started poping. I later realised that there were six drivers missing, two of which were related to system bus controls. I took
  it back and now have a new one. Just installed lated intel graphics driver as a result of Free trial and scan from everest system scanning software. It took me straight to the location of latest driver. I'm struggling with the wireless lan driver, i just can't find it. Just to let you know. You can run castle wolfenstien and the first call of duty made for xp. Posted by Billy, England
• Castle Wolfenstien! thats what I wanted to read, but if you go to youtube and look up Advent 4211 or Msi Wind games. You get video of people playing games like Halo, Live for Speed, Spore, Unreal Tournament 2003, Final Fantasy 6 and 9, Doom and many more. Are you punching the air yet? Posted by Simon, England
• I'm getting a refurbished Advent in the hopes that the bugs have been sorted and it's £239. Posted by Simon, England
• Where are you getting the refurbished one from? Posted by Jules, uk
• they have them at pc world, dixons and currys. If you go to refurbished or clearance you'll find it or follow these helpful links.
  
  http://www.pcworld.co.uk/martprd/store/pcw_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1810722726.1224870253@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccefadefhildjdlcflgceggdhhmdgmj.0&chain=PC_World&seo=yes&sku=118681&channel=WEB&page=Product
  
  http://www.dixons.co.uk/martprd/store/dix_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0653851670.1224870358@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccdgadefhiihhfgcflgceggdhhmdgmi.0&page=Product&sku=118681&category_oid=-32665&fm=null&sm=null&tm=null
  
  http://www.currys.co.uk/martprd/store/cur_page.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@1349848561.1224870867@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccfeadefhkfkffkcflgceggdhhmdgmj.0&page=Product&fm=1&sm=0&tm=4&sku=118681&category_oid=-27411
  
  Posted by Simon, England
• Dixon's have the Advent 4211 for £229.99p refurbished. The reasons people took them back can be fixed (hopefully) be the people here that already had the problem and very nicely posted here how to fix it. Punch the air time again. Wolfenstien here I come! Posted by Simon, England
• you have to order them online by the way
  
  Posted by Simon, England
• have you seen the Advent 4212? Has most of the hardware specs of the 4211, but the screen in 8.9". Is it smaller? It cost 250 give or take. I don't see the point Posted by Simon, England
• I got my 4211 today. internet is solid. being a referb it didn't come in original box, but it looked like new. setting it up was a breese. I got mine for 230 at dixons
  
  Halo runs fine if you run it at it's lowest settings. It will run on standered but really bad to play.
  
  watching movies with sky player is really cool. Posted by Simon, England
• so it doesn't happen opfen, but does anyone now why the screen goes blank for no reason and how to fix if. It's happened 3 times so far. I think it only does it in battery mode. Posted by Simon, England
• so it doesn't happen opfen, but does anyone know why the screen goes blank for no reason and how to fix if. It's happened 3 times so far. I think it only does it in battery mode. It's normally on full charge Posted by Simon, England
• sorry about my bad spelling :-/ I can't eveb blame the keyboard. Posted by Simon, UK
• hi all. just biught one of these. i have a problem with it the wireless connection losing the signal then finding it again. this is happening every few seconds. Is there a "fix" / any suggestions please? the unti is only 14" from the router! many thanks Posted by stewart, uk
• I bought a 4211-B from Currys (London, England) a few days ago. Faster than I expected, boots up quickly, no problems with e.g. partitioning the 80 Gb hard drive into 2 x 40 Gb. Installed MS Office 2003 via a USB memory stick in about three minutes (!) One question - the keyboard legends suggest that e.g. [Fn] + [Left arrow] should work as a [Home] key, [Fn] + [Right arrow] as [End] etc. This doesn't happen on my machine - can anyone help / comment / shed light on this please? Posted by Robert Stubbs, United Kingdom
• screen goes blank. strangly enough this only seems to happen in battery mode. not good for a netbook. the only way I've found to get around it is hibernating the computer. this uses no power as it stores a all the open files on the hard drive and not the ram like standby. when i start it up again its all back. if anyone has a way of fixing the screen glitch please let me know Posted by Simon, UK
• Hi
  Bought mine a week ago second hand off eBay for £200, it's in pristine condition and I'm very happy, none of the issues reported here have appeared, but at time when switching on and booting, it sometimes does not go further than the initial (grey, DOS like) screen, and then switches off.
  Once it took 6 attempts to carry on into XP, once it's got to there there is no issue.
  Anyone else seen this? Any hints Posted by David (Another), UK
• I have a sony ericsson W910i. It has a bluetooth remote control that when connected to your Advent 4211 or I think any computer with bluetooth turns the phone into a wireless mouse. I don't know all the phones that have this feature, but it's fun to find out. Posted by Simon, UK
• Not a bad little laptop had a few problems with it though, the headphone socket is just really annoying have to angle any cables that I put in because the headphone socket is loose. I also have had a problem with a very noisy fan/hard drive and a screw loose within the casing. Not had the laptop long and am considering taking it back as the above problems should not occur within a month. I do like this laptop as it is small and light but I am not impressed with the problems I have had, I am a very careful user so laptop has not been dropped or had anything spilled over it so that is not the issue. Posted by Emma, Wales
• I have just purchased a Advent 4211C from PC world and I cannot get it yo see my usb stick - it cant find the FT232R USB drivers ? what ever they are - so I cannot copy data from other systems ! Posted by Mike , UK
• Try looking for drivers here. It might help, it might not.
  
  http://global.msi.com.tw/index.php?func=proddesc&maincat_no=135&cat2_no=582&prod_no=1474 Posted by Simon, UK
• How on earth am i meant to install wireless internet stuff if it doesn't even have a CD Rom!? It's stressing me out so much as i cannot register my youcam or do anything else!!! If anyone knows, email me missteenqueen@hotmail.co.uk Posted by Frankie , UK
• I started having a few wifi problems with my 4211 so uninstalled drivers and everything like suggested before. Everything automatically reinstalled apart from the network controller, which I then installed via the wizard and pointed it towards the drivers folder in C:/Applications. Here, it found the driver and I presumed it would work. But now, it says the network wireless is not connected and its now called connection 6 for some reason. Also, after going to device manager, the driver now reads '802.11b/g mini card wireless adapter #2' instead of just without the #2, whats that all about. I'll try uninstalling the drivers again and everything but I don't think it'll make any difference. Can anyone help!!?? Posted by Katy, UK
• ok here goes. I was only really having one problem with my 4211. The screen would go blank in battery mode. I had a look on yahoo answers (Good sites) and found like minded people that had the same problem as us. I found a direct link to the updated Advent 4211 drivers!
  
  http://support.thetechguys.com/layout.aspx?ID={5369a6ed-3e45-4381-9b3f-89014d901f4d}&CatID={789879f1-f9f1-470a-86b6-3445bf15cc31}
  try this, but be warned. Read all the instuctions. I forgot to take the battery off when I installed the new bios and did a reboot. Any Tech heads rolling they're eyes at me, I know it now.
  
  The site will say that the keyboard will stop working if it you don't follow the instuctions and leave it switched off with no power and no battery for ten seconds.
  
  I was having kittens when I got back and the keyboard wasn't working. So be warned.
  
  I'm now running on battery mode waiting for the screen to go blank, but it's fine so far. Posted by Simon, UK
• for anyone having problems with wifi or bluetooth:
  
  wifi - uninstall drivers turn off then on again and the chances are it'll sort it out. Another thing to try is taking off the battery, turn off put battery back on and re-start .... I've had noproblems since ....
  
  bluetooth - it appears the drivers on mine were loaded while bluetooth was switched off .... turned it on then downloaded drivers again and like wifi no problems since
  
  now these 2 have been put right I absolutely LOVE my little netbook for it's size and functionality Posted by Karen, UK
• Advent 4211 - I plugged a full size keyboard and mouse in via the USB ports as I had a long document to type - everything worked fine except when I next used the Advent via it's own keyboard I found that the keyboard wasn't working properly. It recognises most of the characters, but for M it types 0 for J 1, for K 2 etc. Has anyone else had this problem and been able to fix it? It works fine with a big keyboard plugged in which is useful for doing documents at home, but obviously makes it useless as a portable device. Posted by Paul, UK
• try unplugging it and taking the battery out for ten seconds. That should reset it. My keyboard stopped working and thats what I did. Posted by Simon, UK
• Where do I find a manual for the Advent???? just had one given to me which has been converted from XP o/s to a Mac:, however being 80 yrs of age I really need the manual to better understand the various units and controls / slots / etc;, anyone help Posted by james, Cardiff
• you will find the manual here James.
  
  http://support.thetechguys.com/layout.aspx?ID={fc034f2e-0314-4fc2-beee-87cf0e4c09a5}&CatID={789879f1-f9f1-470a-86b6-3445bf15cc31} Posted by Simon, UK
• this isn't for Mac as there isn't one. Posted by Simon, UK
• The netbook boots up fine then shortly after all programs are running the hard drive seems to freeze and you can hear a clicking sound. At this point the whole thing freezes and you cannot do anyhting except manually reboot? Any ideas?? Posted by Kirk, england
• Sounds like something wrong with the harddrive. I'd take it back Posted by Simon, UK
• erm yh i got this laptop in december but now the mouse pad is playing up it wont click on nothing and also say if it loads up fine the mousepad works i will be surfing the net and it will have a mind of its own and then i will restart it and the mouse pad will not work and it will not let me turn it off and so i take out the battery and it still doesnt work and then ill leave it and go back to it a lil while later and it will work any1 kno what i can do or if this has happend to them b4? Posted by emily, england
• Simon,
  
  Thanks for the really helpful comments about the screen blanking that occrus in battery mode. I haven't tried the Advent Driver site you recommended yet but I hope this will solve the problem. It has happened 3 times so far and the only answer I had to this problem was to reboot. I will try hibernation mode as you suggest too. Posted by Huw Evans, UK
• No problem Huw
  
  Hibernation works fine if you don't want to lose anything you've been working on, but it's only good as a short term fix. But installing the drivers from:
  
  http://support.thetechguys.com/layout.aspx?ID={5369a6ed-3e45-4381-9b3f-89014d901f4d}&CatID={789879f1-f9f1-470a-86b6-3445bf15cc31}
  
  Will fix the screen problem and most other problems.
  
  Not sure about the mouse pad problem as thats a new one on me. Posted by Simon, UK
• I purchased my advent last septemeber at PC world.
  
  Recently my webcam stopped working. It is not detected anymore when I start skype.
  
  Maybe the driver got lost somewhere?
  How can I reinstall it?
  Is there a website where I can download the driver?
  It used to work fine before.
  
  The wireless is a bit flacky, but working most of the time now. So I do not want to change configuration for that part
  
  Many thanks Posted by Ealinggold, UK
• all the drivers are here
  
  http://support.thetechguys.com/layout.aspx?ID={b1fdbd43-ca23-4266-883d-c6762d457a63}&CatID={789879f1-f9f1-470a-86b6-3445bf15cc31}
  
  Although I can't see a webcam driver Posted by Simon, UK
• webcam driver is here
  
  http://www.msi.com/index.php?func=driverfile&dno=9504&i=0 Posted by Simon, UK
• Bought 4211-c from PC World for £220 in July 2009. Very pleased with the bang for my buck but have the same problem as Robert Stubbs mentioned - unable to use page up, page down, home or end functions.
  
  BIOS upgrade resolved this via: http://support.thetechguys.com/layout.aspx?ID={5369a6ed-3e45-4381-9b3f-89014d901f4d}&CatID={8e128f61-ffc4-4a4b-ad81-a7dfb833fd5a}
  Posted by Keith, UK
• i got a big issue with my 4211
  
  i was workin fine for two months until yesterday it made a big sound and i didnt know what happend for half hour
  after that the laptop got really hot and the fan wasnt moving
  
  before that the laptop used to make noises but a restart would fix it but now it doesnt move and after every hour it gets hot and turns off automatically
  
  please tell me what to do ...... I would be glad if you help nasratkhan@gmail.com Posted by Nasrat, Khalid
• sounds like you need a new fan. My 4211 makes a noise when I switch it on, but that only lasts for anout 20 seconds. Just be glad it switches off when it gets too hot. You'd lose your machine that way. if it's still under warranty you should be covered. Posted by Simon, UK
• Can anyone tell me how to switch my webcam on on my Advent 4211 Notebook, my little boy must have pressed something and i can't figure out which button to press. Would be very grateful of any help as we're trying to speak to his Daddy in America!! Posted by Julie, UK
• well you could try Fn and F6 to switch the camera on Posted by Simon, UK
• So far my Advent has met all my requirements and I am very pleased with it. Today though, for the first time I had a problem seeing the full screen of a newly installed programme and couldn't get to the btm of the window to click go/start etc...... what can I go? Posted by Sandra, France
• There used to be a forum to the Advent 4211/Msi Wind u100, but it went down some months ago. You can now get most of the answers you need from like minded people here at http://insanelywind.com/forum/index.php Posted by Simon, UK
• I got my Advent as a Christmas present - had it replaced on Boxing day due to a mark under the screen..... and I love it!! :)
  But... when I turn it on, either from hibernation or being shut off, the bluetooth remote camera always turns iself on, even though I deleted the software. It isn't a major problem, but I would appreciate it if anyone could give me some ideas as to how to stop it...? Thanks guys :) Posted by Catherine, UK
• advent are a good make looks nice the only downside to advent is BATTERY LIFE they never stay on long enogh. werid as well cause my bigger advent laptop is that fast it could easily compete against a gaming pc but i have upgraded ram thogh and i have got win 7 ultimate 64bit but it is very fast and i can play the best games around. i wouldnt mind buying 1 of the above maybe next year :) Posted by brett, uk
• please can you tell me in idiot speak how from scratch to get my web cam to work Posted by Jane , england
• My advent 4211-b is experiencing problems, i got it 1 1/2 years ago and it worked perfectly until the warranty ran out , now all that happens when i turn it on is that it shows the advent start up screen but then goes to a black screen that genarlly says that there is a boot faliure. I cannot reboot as i cannot get to the Tech Guys program. Any help will be appreciated. Posted by Louise, England