Solved Help please - VPN DNS, USB monitor issues

[dhegler]

First, seems like the almost perfect device to replace my laptop... So, I purchased the SP3 i7 256GB with Win10...

Concerns - any feedback would be appreciated:

1. It gets very hot without doing much on it in the upper right hand corner... Should I worry? That little fan doesn't keep up well with it overall, but I haven't had a shut down yet. I also haven't used it to do what I normally do - spreadsheets, reports, etc...
2. The little pen holder... Seems a bit too small to even get the whole pen through the loop, btu of course, it is already on there semi-permanently...
3. Deal-breaker - I cannot set manual DNS for my VPN connection at work. I need to set our internal DNS server in the connection, otherwise Outlook/Exchange will not resolve properly. I click on the Properties button (which is not grayed out) and nothing happens. Anyone know if that can be set in the registry?
4. Deal-breaker #2 - I purchased an Asus MB169B+ USB monitor thinking I can be ultra-portable with another screen. I find out it requires 2 USB connections, meaning I need the docking station, which is not portable. Anyone here use a thin portable USB screen with it that only needs ONE USB connection for the road. I don't want to use hubs or external power, I want it to be ultra-simple...

Thanks!
Dan

 

[agt499]

I can give you a sort-of solution for 4.
I have the MB168B+ which was last years model, and I got a very slim external battery like this that is credit-card sized and only 4.5mm thick, and attached it to the back of the monitor with double-sided tape. It still fits inside the sleeve.
The cable has one extra adapter (because the battery takes a microusb to stay so thin - I actually use a very very short OTG cable), but it was the best compromise I could come up with.

It's a shame the external monitors don't seem popular enough to prompt ASUS to develop things like a monitor with a battery in....
The other thing I find hard when trying to be ultraportable multiscreen, is the SP3 keyboard being off centre.

Good luck!

 

[GreyFox7]

Pick up an Android Tablet to use as a second screen and use Splashtop, iDisplay or AirDisplay to extend the screen.

Samsung Galaxy Tab Pro 12.2 or Lenovo Yoga Tablet 2 Pro 13.3 (Android Version)

OP, you didn't mention if you are running Windows 10. It's not power optimized yet so it runs hotter than 8.1. Otherwise check Task Manager for high CPU/Disk usage tasks.

Developers hate deadlines, so when MS announced W10 would use the continuous update model it was quite predictable that nothing would be finished when the "soft deadline" rolled around. Give it another 6-9 months they may eventually whip it into shape.​

What are you using for VPN connection? Details...

 

[dhegler]

Thank you all for the suggestions... I would rather use a screen that is at least 15", and hopefully very light and thin, as some don't seem to be overly light and portable...

I am using Windows 10. I was told by Microsoft that the i7 just runs hotter. If I run into issues where it goes into thermal shutdown, I could return it, but they said it just runs hot. I guess I can just wait to see if future updates help. The Microsoft guy said that when the SP3 was released that the processor(s) were somehow overclocked a bit and they had to release a firmware update to reduce it because of the heat issues (don't know if this is actually true).

I use standard MS PPTP VPN client to connect to a Watchguard firewall and have done so for the past 7 years or so. There has to be a registry setting somewhere that would allow for this, but I can't figure it out. I searched the registry on my current laptop for the DNS server address that I set manually in its VPN connection properties, however I did not find any entries that indicated they were the setting. The Microsoft store business rep said he contacted support for me and they said that it was a "known issue" right now with Windows 10.

Possible solution to the screen power issue - order another USB cable about the same length from the power brick to the end of the power cable and then use a y-adapter to the screen. I guess that is the least invasive... The last thing I really want to do is attach a battery to the backend of the case near the heat issues...

Thank you!
Dan

 

[sharpuser]

@dhegler

I use VPN and DNS regularly. Check your Network Adapters.

1) Right-click on Network Icon in status area, lower right of taskbar, Open Network and Sharing Center
2) Change Adapter Settings
3) Right-click on your VPN adapter, Properties
4) Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP IPv4), Properties, select to "Obtain IPv4 address automatically"
5) OK, OK, etc...

Let us know if this fixes your issue.

 

[dhegler]

Yep - tried that. Win 10 (unless they just applied an update in the past 2-3 days) will not allow you to dbl click TCPIP or hit the Properties button. Once you do either, nothing happens.

 

[GreyFox7]

I guess that depends on your definition of ultraportable... i.e battery pack vs tethered to the wall/power brick.
It's kinda humorous that a *PORTABLE* display only solution with no internal battery weighs as much and costs 80% as much as a large tablet with 8+ hours of battery life. (Rip off) I guess you can replace that battery pack with a real long extension cord.

 

[sharpuser]

... Win 10 (unless they just applied an update in the past 2-3 days) will not allow you to dbl click TCPIP or hit the Properties button. Once you do either, nothing happens.

Not true - you are being blocked from doing this due to some security policy.
Are you the Administrator on that PC?

 

[dhegler]

I am actually a domain admin of our network, and also have membership to the administrators group locally on the PC. I also turned off UAC as well. Am I missing something that may be blocking it? I have not found anything else on the machine that I don't have access to that I would have had access to on my Win 8.1 laptop.

 

[sharpuser]

Do you have any anti-virus software running? Notorious for blocking adapter properties.

 

[dhegler]

Oddly enough, SharpColorado posted something that was emailed to em, but it's not showing on the forum, at least yet. Good news - it fixed the VPN issue...

For others looking for the solution... SharpColorado suggested looking at the rasphone.pbk file buried under the user profile appdata hidden directory and to change the IpPrioritizeRemote setting to 0. That did not work for what I was looking for, but this is what worked...

IpDnsAddress=192.168.xxx.xxx (replaced our internal DNS server address instead of the xxx's)

Now I connected via VPN and Exchange connects again and this gets set as my primary DNS for that connection.

THANKS!!!

 

[sharpuser]

Wonderful.

Location is:

C:\Users[YOURUSER]\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Network\Connections\Pbk\rasphone.pbk