The ASUS Info Booth **Read before posting!**

coriolis · 05-12-2007, 02:34 PM

This Info Booth collects frequently asked questions and the most important threads about ASUS notebooks in general, as well as an index of links concerning particular ASUS models, including owners' lounges, reviews, and more — all in an easy-to-find format. New users, please have a look at the links below before posting, there's a good chance that the information you are looking for is already on the list.

Last update: October 10th 2011 by ALLurGroceries

Quick Jump to: Important Threads », Maintenance Guides », Reviews », Owners' Lounges », XP Downgrade Guides », Disassembly Guides », Miscellaneous », Resellers »

ASUS: Frequently Asked Questions

Important Threads

ASUS Notebook Brand Models Explained
A quick rundown of the various ASUS notebook lines.

Poll: Do you like your ASUS?
Are you a prospective customer looking for what owners think about their ASUS notebooks? Or an owner and want to have your say? Then this is the thread for you. Also see the older ASUS Satisfaction Poll.

The ASUS North American 360 Support Page
A guideline for North-American customers who require their notebook to be fixed. Page made by ASUS.

Maintenance Guides

Let us first say one thing: if you are still running ASUS Live Update and Norton Antivirus, do yourself a favor and remove them! ASUS Live Update is known to have memory leaks and not to update anything. Norton AV is a resource hog: there are alternatives doing the same job far more efficiently, both free (Avira, AVG) and commercial (NOD). Now, to the threads:

Cleaning your ASUS notebook
Is your notebook running hot? Is the fan always at full blast? Usually, it's because of dirty fans and heatsink fins. Regularly clean your fan and heatsink to have a long-lasting, healthy notebook! Written by coriolis.

RAM upgrade for your ASUS notebook
Booting up takes a while? Lagging when playing games? More RAM might be the answer (if you cleaned up the bloatware). Here is a step by step guide on upgrading the RAM in your ASUS notebook. If you use a 32-bit OS, remember it can only use around 3GB of RAM, so if you buy 4GB you're wasting money! Written by coriolis.

ASUS RMA and Warranty Guide
This guide helps ASUS notebook users deal with the RMA process for a broken notebook, giving them a better understanding of what steps to take and how the process works. The majority of this information is targeted at US residents, but some important parts also apply to ASUS users in other countries. Written by David

ASUS Utility and Bloatware Guide
If you're unsure about which utilities are useful or safe to uninstall on your ASUS notebook, this list should give you some insight. Written by David

Optimizing Vista on an ASUS notebook
Your new Vista running slower than the XP from your old computer? You aren't the only one! Here is a starter guide on how to optimize Vista to perform as best as it can. Many of the steps should also work in Windows 7. Written by E.B.E.

Tips and Tricks
This thread covers a wide range of issues, including: what to do if your computer doesn't start, testing your HDD, fixing faulty Windows installations, solving bluescreens, undervolting, checking battery wear, and many others. Written by E.B.E.

If you're looking for info on a particular model:

Reviews & Owners' Lounges:
Please see: *** READ BEFORE POSTING *** ASUS Reviews and Owners' Lounges Index

XP Downgrade Guides: [G51Vx] [G50V] [G70S] [C90] [G2Sg] [N81V XP64] [N80Vn] [N50Vn] [M50Vm(XP64)] [M50Sv] [M51Sn] [M70Vm] [X83Vb] [F8Va] [F8S] [F6V] [F3S] [F5R] [F9] [U6V(XP64)] [V1S] [VX2S]
If your computer came with Windows 7/Vista but you want XP, here are guides on how to downgrade for some popular models. If your model is not on this list, read the FAQ item How to install XP on my Windows 7/Vista ASUS notebook? Once you get hold of all the drivers, use this WinXP Guide to streamline your installation.

Disassembly Guides: [Repository of the guides we have so far] [G74] [G73] [G50] [G1S] [C90] [K52/A52] [K42JV/A42JV] [K93SV] [M50] [M70] [N53JF] [N80Vn] [N10] [N61] [N71] [1008HA] [W5] [W7] [W3] [W3/Z63A] [V6] [V1S] [U20A] [UL30vt] [U6] [A8J] [A6U] [A6Jc/Jm] [A7V] [S96J] [S62F] [Z62F] [M2N] [M6A] [M6N] [Z70A] [Z71V] [Z71A] [Z33A] [Z63A] [Z93E] [EEE 701 4G] [EEE 901]

Miscellaneous: [ASUS BIOS update guide] [Customize ASUS hotkeys] [Customize G50V OLED/G1S OLED(MegaScript)] [Overclock UL30VT/50VT/70VT] [G1S Out-Of-Warranty GPU failures] [W90 limit breaker guide] [Upgrade C90S to 9600M GT] [C90S unleashed] [C90 memory success report] [Fix M50Sv keyboard lag] [Fix A8J loose hinges] [F3 crack in palmrest corner] [Clean Windows 7 Install Guide] [ASUS notebook and warranty problems] [ASUS Notebook Videos] [ASUS Wallpapers] [U36 backlit keyboard mod]

Resellers

GenTechPC @ GenTech PC (Member name: GenTechPC)
BTOTech @ www.BTOTech.com (Member name: Geared2Play.com)
XoticPC @ www.xoticpc.com (Member name: Justin@XoticPC)
EXcaliberPC @ www.excaliberpc.com (Member name: EXcaliberPC)
PowerNotebooks @ www.PowerNotebooks.com (Member name: paladin44)

If any other dealer wants a spot here, please PM one of the moderators. You need to be a reputable, helpful member in this forum. Also, if as a forum member you wrote a guide or started a thread that you believe is particularly helpful and worthy of adding to one of the lists above, PM one of the moderators, and we'll look into it. Thanks!

From the NBR ASUS forum moderating team, we would like to thank you for considering ASUS, as well as visiting NBR. We hope you enjoy your stay!

Best regards,

ALLurGroceries, E.B.E., coriolis, and mujtaba

E.B.E. · 11-01-2007, 04:28 AM

ASUS: Frequently Asked Questions

Some of the answers to these questions are based on information from The ASUS Notebook Frequently Asked Questions Thread by coriolis. That information has been updated and streamlined, and I have added several new useful items. David has also contributed information to several questions on the list. Please give coriolis and David the due credit for their contribution.

Last update: June 13th 2010

E.B.E.

1. How to contact ASUS?

The main ASUS support site is: http://support.asus.com

United States of America:

Headquarters Address:
800 Corporate Way, Fremont, CA 94539, U.S.A.

Notebook Technical Support
Available 24 hours a day
Email: http://vip.asus.com/eservice/techserv.aspx
Notebook ONLY Hotline: 510-739-3777 ext. 5110

RMA Support:
Monday - Friday: 9AM - 5:30PM PST
E-mail: rma@asus.com
Tel: 510-739-3777 (select option 3)
Fax: 510-608-4511

Notebook Sales Hotline
Tel: 888-678-3688

Canada:

Address:
802 Cochrane Dr., Unit 2, Marham, Ontario, Canada L3R 8C9
Phone number:
+1-888-678-3688 (07:30~18:00 Mon.~Fri.)

Global:

You can find a list of support centers here: http://support.asus.com/service/serv...Language=en-us

2. What is the warranty on ASUS notebooks?

As of Q4 2006, ASUS Ensemble units bought in North America come with a 2 year International warranty on parts and labour; free shipping is included (overnight shipping when servicing in North America). There is an option to add 1 more year of North American warranty for a fee. In addition to that, starting with September 10th, 2007, ASUS is offering 1-year accidental damage warranty, only in North America. Check out ASUS 360 and the ASUS support site for more info.

The warranty for Ensemble units in most other parts of the world is 2 years International warranty on parts and labour; free shipping is included. Usually there is an option to increase it to 3 years for a fee.

The battery, adapter, and other accessories only come with a 1-year warranty, in North America as well as elsewhere.

Units purchased from BestBuy are not qualified for the Accidental Damage Warranty, they usually carry a 1-year warranty coverage; some may have 2 years depending on the arrangement between ASUS and BestBuy.

3. Can a new ASUS notebook be customized?

Almost all ASUS notebooks nowadays are Ensembles. An ASUS Ensemble comes pre-built from the factory, with a default configuration and in a sealed box, and cannot be customized. There is usually enough variation of Ensemble configurations for a particular model, to satisfy the needs of all customers. Ensemble notebooks are supported by the ASUS warranty.

The alternative to an Ensemble is a so-called barebones notebook. The last barebones model from ASUS was the C90.

Nevertheless, some resellers will take Ensemble notebooks, open them, and customize their configuration. Such notebooks are no longer supported by ASUS, but by the resellers themselves, including warranty service. The accidental warranty is also lost after customization. So, if you want to go this way, make sure you select a highly reputable reseller! For instance, you can use one of those listed in the Info Booth.

4. What does it mean that ASUS is an ODM?

When you think of Apple's MacBook line, or Dell's Inspiron line or IBM/Lenovo's legendary ThinkPad line, you think that those companies actually made the products. Well, that is not necessarily true -- and indeed most of the times it isn't. Many notebooks are actually produced by other companies, the ODMs (Original Design Manufacturers), with which the branding companies have a contract. The company then takes the notebook, puts their own brand name on it, and sells it along with their name and service to consumers like you and I. Some examples of ODM's include Quanta, ASUS, Winstron, Clevo, Arima, Twinhead and Compal.

Unlike most other notebook brands, ASUS are their own ODM; which means that almost all of their notebooks are researched, designed, and built by themselves. That allows them to experiment with unique features such as leather-covered and scented notebooks.

5. How can I find detailed specs for an ASUS notebook?

Go to asus.com, look for the searchbox (labeled "Keyword"), and enter your model number; for instance, U6Sg. Choose the best match from the search results (sometimes results will be duplicated). You will be taken to the model page. Now loot at the URL; it will look something like:
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1...65&modelmenu=1

What you need to do is remove the "1" at the end and replace it with a "2":
http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1...65&modelmenu=2

Press Enter in the address bar after you put the "2". The page that is loading now contains the superset of the specifications for your notebook. For instance, it lists all the supported CPUs, the maximum amount of RAM, supported HDD capacities, battery options available, etc. From this superset, particular submodels of that notebook are obtained by choosing a CPU, HDD, RAM etc.

If the model is older and doesn't list the RAM and HDD capacity that you would like to upgrade to, don't despair. ASUS only lists the components that were available for testing at the time of manufacturing of the notebook. For instance, if only 1GB sticks were available the notebook will be listed as supporting max 2GB of RAM. This does not mean that you cannot upgrade for instance to 3GB; it just means ASUS doesn't support it and doesn't guarantee it'll work. There might be however chipset or BIOS incompatibilities, so please do your research before buying something that is not listed on the model page.

Please note that, sometimes, reputable ASUS resellers have more reliable and up-to-date specifications than the Asus website. For instance, resellers may be quicker to update in situations where the initially announced specifications change in the final configuration in which the notebook is released.

6. Where can I download ASUS drivers?

Go to support.asus.com, and click "Download" in the menu bar on top of the page. Then look for the search box to the top-left, containing "Input Model to Search". Replace that text by your model number; for instance, U6Sg. Choose the best match from the search results (sometimes results will be duplicated). You will be taken to the page with downloads for that model.

There are a number of categories there, which are unfortunately not the clearest and most intuitive possible. The best way to do it is use the "Map" tab, expand every node of the tree (such as "Audio", "VGA", etc.) and choose the latest version of the driver for your OS (Windows 7, Vista, or XP) for download. The download speed won't be stellar, so be patient; a lot of people are downloading stuff from ASUS' servers. Be sure to choose the server for your location, downloads will be faster like that.

7. What is battery calibration?

Over time, the minimum and maximum charge readings of the battery may become inaccurate. The result will be that sometimes the battery reads a less than 100% charge, but is no longer charging; or the computer shuts down too early, while actually there is still some charge left in the battery. One of the main causes of readings becoming inaccurate is the battery getting older and not holding as much charge as when it was new (this is "battery wear").

Most ASUS notebooks have a BIOS option for battery calibration, which can be used to fix this problem. To use this option, reboot the computer and press F2 at the ASUS splashscreen. Look for the "Start battery calibration" option (virtually all ASUS notebooks have it). The BIOS will then charge the battery to full, and then ask you to unplug the computer and leave the battery to discharge to empty; do so. When the battery is discharged, the calibration is complete. Restarting the notebook into the operating system should give you accurate charge readings.

For ASUS notebooks that don't have this option, you can replicate its effects manually by using the following procedure:
a) Charge the battery to full.
b) Unplug the computer and reboot it.
c) Turn off all the battery alarms (Low Battery and Critical Battery). Let the battery drain completely, until the computer shuts down by itself.
d) Start Windows and recharge the battery to full. Reboot one more time.

Your battery meter should be calibrated after this procedure.

Do not abuse this option, as Lithium-Ion batteries don't actually like being fully discharged to empty; this actually adds more wear to the battery than the ordinary usage patterns.

8. What are stock and modded GPU drivers?

The drivers CD that comes with your laptop includes the so-called "stock drivers" for your GPU. These are drivers given to ASUS by the GPU manufacturer (NVIDIA or ATI); ASUS then customizes them to suit that particular laptop. They are stable, and guaranteed to work. Sometimes, updates to the stock drivers are released (but not very often). If your main concern is stability, read no further; keep the stock drivers and only update them when a new version appears on support.asus.com.

Many times however, the stock drivers are based on an older version, and there are newer versions available that offer (sometimes significant) performance improvements. The desktop drivers will not work for laptop GPUs; so they have to be modified ("modded") to work. Be warned that modded drivers are not guaranteed to work, are supported neither by ASUS nor by NVIDIA/ATI, and can sometimes be buggy or create problems.

The main source of modded NVIDIA drivers is laptopvideo2go. Make sure you download the modded inf for your particular GPU, or else the driver won't detect it and won't install! For modded ATI drivers, use the MobilityModder.

9. Where can I buy ASUS parts?

Let me first say this: if your notebook is malfunctioning and you're covered by warranty, use the warranty to repair the notebook. Don't spend your money for something that ASUS or the reseller should pay.

To buy parts, if you're in continental North America, your first stop is the ASUS eStore. Look for your model number but only using the first two characters, for instance "U6" instead of "U6Sg" (since many parts are usually common among models from the same series). An alternative search option is to click the "Notebook parts" tab, and choose a model or two which are most similar to what you have. Some parts that don't show up in a model name search, will show up there; and the other way around; so be sure to use both. Browse through the lists, and see if you find what you need. The part names are not always the most intuitive, so you'll need to use some heuristics... knowing the part number for your original part would help. To contact the ASUS eStore directly, use the phone number 510-739-3777 Option 1. This number is available Monday-Friday 8:00 AM-6:00 PM PST, excluding holidays.

An alternative place to buy are the resellers listed in the main post. They also can also obtain a lot of parts and can probably help you even beyond what the eStore sells.

If you're outside North America, things are a bit more complicated, and you're likely to pay higher prices than on the eStore. There are several options:

a) Contact the ASUS repair center and see if they have the part in storage and are willing to send it to you so that you replace it yourself. This may be your cheapest option.
b) Check asusparts.eu. They have many ASUS notebook parts, although perhaps not as many as the North-American eStore.
c) Do a google search, or an online shopping portal search, to look for the part. Sometimes, online shops sell ASUS parts. That's how I found for instance ZerCom.NL in The Netherlands, who sell quite a wide range of ASUS components (under Laptop Accesories).
d) Contact a local ASUS reseller, sometimes they will be able to order parts for you.

If the parts you need are cheap enough and you are located in the United Kindgom, you may be better off replacing them yourself, even if you are under warranty. This is because the UK ASUS service typically has bad turnaround times and provides poor-quality work. See this survey for details.

10. Can my ASUS notebook be upgraded?

Like most notebooks in the market, the RAM, the hard drive, and the wireless card are easy to upgrade: just open up the panels and possibly also pop up the keyboard, unscrew/unplug the old components, and put something new in. The processor can also also be upgraded as long as it is in the same family and uses the same socket; this is more advanced though and, most importantly, upgrading the CPU voids the warranty. The optical drive can also be upgraded, but is trickier, since it needs a bezel and fascia to merge itself within the OD tray. Normally, ASUS uses standard slim-line optical drives, in which case all that is needed is removing the fascia and bezel from the old ODD and putting it on the new one; do check that your ODD is standard slimline before you upgrade, though. For hot-swappable ODD bays, there will be also a custom connector to the motherboard, which needs to be kept and plugged into the new ODD.

Check the main post for a RAM upgrade thread.

The 'warranty void' issue is important, as there is no written rule for what is tolerated to upgrade before warranty is void. Replacing the upgraded components (HDD/RAM/ODD/WLAN) with the original ones if a repair is needed, before shipping the notebook to ASUS, is the safest way to do it. Note that this does not work for the CPU.

11. Can the video card on my ASUS notebook be upgraded?

The short answer, and the only practically relevant one, is no. Even if the GPU is discrete (not soldered on the motherboard) and removable physically, it does need to be replaced by something else. Since almost all the GPUs are custom-made for their particular type of laptop, this will be a nearly impossible job. Not only must the GPU physically fit and have the same board layout so that the heatsink will fit: it also has to emmit less heat to prevent overheating, and must take in the right amount of power. Also, the BIOS must support it.

One exception to this rule is the C90S "barebones" notebook. Several GPUs have been made available by ASUS for it, since that was one of its main selling points. None of them are last-gen however, so the idea hasn't really worked out. One user did succeed in replacing a newer-gen GPU in his C90, but only after considerable work and time invested (read here for details).

12. How do I get into the BIOS?

Press F2 at the ASUS splash screen.

13. How do I boot from a CD/DVD or a removable device?

Press ESC at the ASUS splash screen. A popup menu will appear with all the plugged in devices that can potentially be used for booting (HDD, ODD, USB devices such as memory sticks and external HDDs, memory cards, eSATA HDD, etc). Select the desired device and press Enter.

Alternatively, enter the BIOS and change the order of the boot devices to have the ODD or removable device at the top (whichever you need). The disadvantage of this method is that once you're done you need to go back and change it back to the way it was.

14. How to restore my ASUS to factory settings, or make a clean Windows install with the recovery disks?

There are two options: using the recovery CDs/DVDs, or the recovery partition. To recover from the optical disks you need to insert the first disk, and boot from it. To recover from the HDD, you need to press F9 at the ASUS splashscreen. The advantage of the HDD recovery is that it is much faster (around half an hour, rather than several hours like from the optical media). The advantage of the recovery optical media is that you can bypass the bloatware installation and get a clean Windows install (see below).

Once the recovery process is started, if you want to wipe the entire HDD, choose Recover to entire HDD in 2 partitions. If you want to keep your data on the second and subsequent partitions (which will usually be the case), select Recover to 1st partition only. Follow the on-screen instructions. If you're using multiple recovery disks, you may need to insert subsequent recovery disks when asked to. Finally, the install process will prompt you to insert the drivers/utilities disk. If you wish to have all the default applications installed, insert this disk and continue with the default options. If you wish a clean install, read on.

It is possible to use the optical recovery media to obtain a clean Windows install. There are two procedures for doing this, depending on the model of your notebook. The first procedure applies to newer Vista models, and is a natural step of the recovery process. When asked to, insert the drivers/utilities disk; it will autostart and bring up a list of applications that it can install. You will then be given an opportunity to choose which applications get installed.

The second procedure applies to Windows XP notebooks, and to some older Vista notebooks. For this procedure, do not insert the drivers CD when the install scripts require it. Instead, force a reboot by pressing the Power button for a few seconds. Then reboot the computer. You will be greeted by a a clean install, equivalent to what you would have obtained if you had been using a normal Windows installation disk.

The first procedure is confirmed to work with the G50 and N10 models (and probably works for many other recent models). If you have XP recovery disks, only the second procedure applies. If you have Vista disks, a good approach is to try the first approach initially, and if it doesn't work (i.e., if the recovery scripts install all the applications without prompting you), then move on to the second approach.

15. How to install XP on my Windows 7/Vista ASUS notebook?

If your computer came with Windows 7 or Vista but you want XP, read on. Before going into details, please note that new laptops come with Serial ATA (SATA) harddrives, and the XP installation disks do not have SATA drivers included. Because of this, the XP installation process will result in a BSOD. There are two alternatives to solve this problem. The first alternative is to place the SATA interface into Parallel-ATA compatibility mode from the BIOS; many ASUS laptops have this option (look for it in your BIOS). The second alternative is to slipstream the SATA drivers on the XP CD, using for instance this guide: How to Slipstream SATA Drivers into XP CD. The first alternative will cause a minor performance penalty, but is much simpler.

Next, you need to obtain XP drivers for all the components of your notebook. First, have a look at our list of XP downgrade guides. If your model is on this list, you're lucky; all the XP drivers have been collected for you, and there may also be a detailed guide on how to install them.

If your computer is not on the list, things are more difficult. Fortunately, there are some general steps that you can follow to get the drivers:

a) Check support.asus.com, they may have XP drivers for your model. Also check closely related models; e.g., most of the XP drivers released for the W7S will work for the W7Sg model. This is because much of the hardware is common between closely related models.
b) Similarly, if our list of XP downgrade guides includes a closely related model, you will probably be able to use many of those drivers.
c) The GPU drivers are usually easy. Install modded drivers, using the instructions under item 8. What are stock and modded GPU drivers?
d) Some Windows 7/Vista drivers that you have on the drivers CD will also work in XP. This usually includes the chipset drivers, as well as ATK drivers and utilities. Other drivers may work, as well -- give them a try.
e) Try to download recent drivers from the manufacturers of the respective components, wherever possible; e.g., download Realtek drivers for Realtek audio cards; Intel drivers for Intel wireless network adapters; Synaptics drivers for Syntaptics touchpads etc.
f) For any devices that are left without drivers after these steps, you will need to hunt around support.asus.com for older ASUS models with the same hardware and XP support (if any), and download the respective drivers.

Of course, it is not guaranteed that you will find all the drivers using these steps, and especially for very new models you may need to get creative -- but it is likely that in the end you will succeed obtaining all the necessary drivers.

It is possible that when you have finally gotten a hold of all the drivers, you will have performed many installations and uninstallations, which may lead to an unreliable Windows system. For this reason, it is best to write down and save all the good drivers that you found, make another clean install, and install only the correct drivers the second time. You should also consider using this WinXP Guide to streamline your installation.

If you did find drivers for a model that is not on our list, please post the list of drivers with download links in the forums! The moderators will add your model to our list of XP guides, and other people with the same model will be saved a lot of work, and will be very grateful to you. Thanks!