Well, after trying any number of things to see if I could discern a pattern to
the problem if 100% CPU every once in a while I gave in. I swapped the unit at
CompUSA. My problem was random, but when it hit, the problem could only be
resolved by rebooting and then it still could come back. Usually, though, a
reboot of the system resolved it for that session - be that an hour or a day. It
mattered not if it was on AC or battery. Wireless LAN adapter on or off made no
difference. I updated the Pen/Digitizer driver by uninstalling it and
reinstalling it, with no change, as the Event Viewer showed 2 entries at every
boot for the pen. The Event Viewer also showed some entries for Machine Check
that led me to believe it was a driver problem. When the Averatec worked, it
worked wonderfully. The battery life is terrible, but the price of this unit is
very good.
Anyway, Averatec support suggested using the restore CD set - 3 CD Ghost image
set - to see if maybe a driver hadn't registered itself properly the first time
around. I held off on that until yesterday. It didn't resolve the problem. So, I
went over to CompUSA and returned the unit and asked for another one. They gave
me no problems on the swap, but wanted to run diagnostics on the new one before
I took it, to make sure that there would be no problems with the new one. I came
back 2 hours later and picked up the unit.
Fortunately, I opened the box at the store, because they had given me the AC
Adapter and other stuff from my box along with the new Tablet and case. They had
not given me the Restore CD set or the printed One Note license. I got that
straightened out - they had not seen the CD sleeve in the box that I brought in.
Since I had not brought the little Windows booklet or the fliers that came with
the PC, they kept those from the new one. They did give me my Restore CD set
and the One Note paper. Well, I'm actually glad that they did this because the
unit I took home was an older unit, probably a customer return! I was amazed to
boot the unit up to see Windows SP1 and Tablet PC 2002 greet me. I had already
noted that the little plastic labels below the keyboard were not fully adhered
to the casing.
The good news is that I was able to simply restore the Ghost image to the "new"
unit and I had the latest software. More good news is that there has been no
problem with a spiking CPU despite multiple reboots and fairly constant use all
day today. It is also interesting to note that the Pen errors at every boot and
the Machine Check entries are in the Event Viewer logs on this unit, too. I
suspect that there is indeed a driver that needs to be updated, but the machine
works perfectly, so I'll live with it. If not, I'm under warranty, so I can
return it again. :-)
-steve

--
Stephen Boots
MVP MSN.COM
sboots@mvps.org