ASUS G73JH-A1 Owners Lounge

[fatty400]

First of all, the G73 uses a reverse MXM slot as opposed to the normal ones on the Clevo/AW. This means that the official Cat drivers may not always work with the G73. There are a few fixes to the GSOD bug which it seems you have, so don't RMA just yet.

1. Roll back to the driver on Asus's website
2. Try using the AMD GPU tool to overclock to 705/1105.
3. Try flashing your vBIOS with Ziddy's on NBR.

In that order only doing 3 if 1 & 2 don't work.

[Cray]

First of all, the G73 uses a reverse MXM slot as opposed to the normal ones on the Clevo/AW. This means that the official Cat drivers may not always work with the G73. There are a few fixes to the GSOD bug which it seems you have, so don't RMA just yet.

1. Roll back to the driver on Asus's website
2. Try using the AMD GPU tool to overclock to 705/1105.
3. Try flashing your vBIOS with Ziddy's on NBR.

In that order only doing 3 if 1 & 2 don't work.I believe I already have Ziddy's vbios. I'm still getting GSOD.

Edit: scratch that I still have the default vBIOS.

[thaknownone]

for anyone still getting the GSOD:

1. UPdate BIOS to 209. JUst do it it takes a whole 10 seconds and keyboard lag is gone.
2. update vBIOS use Ziddy/Xeven vbios V3.

I was playing COH tales of valor for 5 minutes GSOD.
Messed around for 45 minutes on how to perform vBIos update. Finally got the thing to update.

Started up COH again and ran a complete 1 hour 15 minute about game NO GSOD completely MAXED out. I had expercienced two GSODs so far until vBIOS update and then played COH no problem still will be testing but so far so good guys the complete tut is here (http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/492562-asus-vbios-v3-everything-but-perfect-powerplay.html)

Good Luck!

any questions about the instructions just ask here of the forum. I will try to answer or someone will answer.

BTW im running CAT 10.6 with my card at 760/1100

those arent my max just settings i put up quick to get more out of the card but definitely stable.

Also wat my personal option is as to why GSOD occurs:

The 5870m needs that extra voltage which is applied in this vBios update.
Heat i think heat definetly has a factor as to the better chances of GSOD but i believe the main reason for GSOD is definelty because voltage issues

[Maverick494]

for anyone still getting the GSOD:

1. UPdate BIOS to 209. JUst do it it takes a whole 10 seconds and keyboard lag is gone.
2. update vBIOS use Ziddy/Xeven vbios V3.

I was playing COH tales of valor for 5 minutes GSOD.
Messed around for 45 minutes on how to perform vBIos update. Finally got the thing to update.

Started up COH again and ran a complete 1 hour 15 minute about game NO GSOD completely MAXED out. I had expercienced two GSODs so far until vBIOS update and then played COH no problem still will be testing but so far so good guys the complete tut is here (http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/492562-asus-vbios-v3-everything-but-perfect-powerplay.html)

Good Luck!

any questions about the instructions just ask here of the forum. I will try to answer or someone will answer.

BTW im running CAT 10.6 with my card at 760/1100

those arent my max just settings i put up quick to get more out of the card but definitely stable.

Also wat my personal option is as to why GSOD occurs:

The 5870m needs that extra voltage which is applied in this vBios update.
Heat i think heat definetly has a factor as to the better chances of GSOD but i believe the main reason for GSOD is definelty because voltage issues

Did you find out if this voids your warranty? Because I am fairly certain that if you end up having some kind of display issue and if they see a non-standard video bios on there that it will void it.

[thaknownone]

i dont believe it does but what doesnt void ur warranty??? lol

OC ur graphics card is voiding ur warranty haha

Listen if u send it back for a RMA the ppl at asus are not going to compare the vBios versions and if they do guess wat. the vbios i flashed over my old one had the same version number and everthing. at first i didnt even think i did anything.

the modified vbios is just a modified version of the asus one. so asus cant tell unless they go deep and look at all the settings but at a quick glance of the verisons the number is exactly the same

[fatty400]

If you have a display issue don't send in your hard drives and yeah - GPU-Z senses no difference between my modified and original bios

[thaknownone]

im still getting hit temps on my gpu guys i hit 98C playin Bioshock 2 on max.

I wonder if my fan isnt working properly?


question which vent on ur guys' g73 is warmer. when u look at ur monitor stick ur hands around the back to the vents and tell which one is warmer.

for me its my right one which doesnt make any sense considering my gpu is on the opposite side running at almost double the temps.

is it possible i hav a different set up where my gpu is on the right side of my keyboard?

I find this unlikely but im getting worried about the temps on my gpu. my cpu idles at lik 55C while my gpu sits at about 70c n it peaked to 98c underload i dont like it one bit

nvm about which side is warmer my orientation is just messed up gpu is on the right side while cpu is on left side

[UntilMoraleImproves]

im still getting hit temps on my gpu guys i hit 98C playin Bioshock 2 on max.

I wonder if my fan isnt working properly?


question which vent on ur guys' g73 is warmer. when u look at ur monitor stick ur hands around the back to the vents and tell which one is warmer.

for me its my right one which doesnt make any sense considering my gpu is on the opposite side running at almost double the temps.

is it possible i hav a different set up where my gpu is on the right side of my keyboard?

I find this unlikely but im getting worried about the temps on my gpu. my cpu idles at lik 55C while my gpu sits at about 70c n it peaked to 98c underload i dont like it one bit


GPU is on the right, CPU is on the left. Heat is coming from the correct place. I'm using a Thermaltake Massive Fan for my cooling pad. Temps on maxed games haven't exceeded 80 but my ambient temps are low since my office is in my basement.

[blueturbo]

Hey Guys,

I was exctied to receive a custom G73JH-A1 with a Intel 160GB SSD and a secondary hybrid segate 500GB w/4GB SDD, 8GB DDR. When I opened it I was pyched the thing is a beast. Display is beatiful.

I did however run into one very annoying thing that I became fixated on. When I started playing with it there was this rattling and twanging sound that occurred when I double tapped on the touchpad or anywhere around it. I called the company that built it and asked if it was normal and the guy told me I was blowing it out of proportion(obviously he was a tech guy not customer service) and to deal with it and that I'll get use to it. Ummm noo. I went to Best Buy and found that it happened there too with the display model, including other notebooks. I'm use to a Lenovo thinkpad and these new gaming notebooks have plastic hitting plastic and its just the way it is. So I was able to reduce the rattling sound by 50%. Underneath the laptop is the large hard drive bay and cover. Its a large plastic cover on top of big cabin and on the top side is the touchpad. It is basically made to transmit sound. I went to homedepot and purchased some padded rubber electical tape. I cut very narrow strips and put them along the sides where the cover sits and one wider strip down the middle. So, now the cover is sitting on rubber rather than plastic on plastic. The sound reduced by 50%. Next to the hard drive bay is a subwoofer which is made to resonate sound, so there's not much you can do there. I want to get to the right side of the case next to the blueray drive, but I dont want to mess with it too much until there is a video on how to get under the G73JH's keyboard. I'll probably end up breaking something without instuctions.

Anyway just wanted to share. Anyone else hear excess twang by tapping around your touchpad? Also the rocker buttons are way to difficult to press. You almost need a mouse for long term use or a strong thumb.

[blueturbo]

Howdy folks

Thanks for all the replies; at least it's some small, cold comfort to know that I'm not the only one with issues on this big clam.

I managed to locate a set of ATI drivers on one of the PPA sites; I'd post it here, but I find that I can't seem to locate which one it was (been to a looooot of sites lately, and nothing jumps out in History.) Sym Pkg Mgr is similarly unhelpful in jogging my memory. I'll continue to look for details and post when I get it straightened out. They work fine in "normal (2-D)" use, and I'm able to utilize some of the Compiz toys; still issues with preference settings not holding across sessions, and still all the other stuff too, but I'll take ANY success, not matter how small.



Hey for a video player try Gom Player. Its free and plays everything under the sun including Blu-Ray I think. Give it a try. http://www.gomlab.com/eng/GMP_Introduction.html

[Slowboto]

Hey Guys,

I was exctied to receive a custom G73JH-A1 with a Intel 160GB SSD and a secondary hybrid segate 500GB w/4GB SDD, 8GB DDR. When I opened it I was pyched the thing is a beast. Display is beatiful.

I did however run into one very annoying thing that I became fixated on. When I started playing with it there was this rattling and twanging sound that occurred when I double tapped on the touchpad or anywhere around it. I called the company that built it and asked if it was normal and the guy told me I was blowing it out of proportion(obviously he was a tech guy not customer service) and to deal with it and that I'll get use to it. Ummm noo. I went to Best Buy and found that it happened there too with the display model, including other notebooks. I'm use to a Lenovo thinkpad and these new gaming notebooks have plastic hitting plastic and its just the way it is. So I was able to reduce the rattling sound by 50%. Underneath the laptop is the large hard drive bay and cover. Its a large plastic cover on top of big cabin and on the top side is the touchpad. It is basically made to transmit sound. I went to homedepot and purchased some padded rubber electical tape. I cut very narrow strips and put them along the sides where the cover sits and one wider strip down the middle. So, now the cover is sitting on rubber rather than plastic on plastic. The sound reduced by 50%. Next to the hard drive bay is a subwoofer which is made to resonate sound, so there's not much you can do there. I want to get to the right side of the case next to the blueray drive, but I dont want to mess with it too much until there is a video on how to get under the G73JH's keyboard. I'll probably end up breaking something without instuctions.

Anyway just wanted to share. Anyone else hear excess twang by tapping around your touchpad? Also the rocker buttons are way to difficult to press. You almost need a mouse for long term use or a strong thumb.

I don't really use the touchpad but I just fiddled around with it now and the only time it makes any kind of strange noise is when I double tap in the bottom left corner. Rest of it sounds solid when tapping.

[UntilMoraleImproves]

Now you got me banging around on the damn thing. Mine is solid all around. No noises whatsoever.

[dat280zx]

Ah geez....

All of a sudden, there is a buzz in the subwoofer. May be physical.

Anyone else have this problem?

Just normal gaming and video, haven't blasted any loud crazy death rap metal or whatever is in these days.

To get to the subwoofer.... I need to take the entire laptop apart, start on the bottom, take off the screen, take off the keyboard (and repair later...), right? :eeek2:

[romerom]

That's it; I've officially HAD IT with shoddy goods. I'm sick and tired of tearassing around the internet and Forums and Manufacturer sites, looking for solutions to problems that should NOT be happening in the fist place !!

Why ??? :

1. This *)^&&(* thing not disable the touchpad when I check box that says: 'Disable touchpad when typing.' ?? It just seems to ignore it. Even the 'hardware key' (FN+F9) works for a little while, then suddenly the cursor is off into the weeds again, and I've just lost a whole paragraph of whatever I was typing. Both Win7 AND Linux.
2. Machine WILL NOT wake/resume from hibernate/suspend. No posted combination of keypresses does a thing. Have to power down and restart, and when it comes back up, whatever was going on when it went down is gone; the 'enable networking' option has un-checked (Linux) and there's no internet connection... have to set it up manually again.
3. Touchpad in general is, how to say it... Crap. Most spastic thing I've ever encountered. My wifes DELL has a better t-pad than this, and it isn't all that great either.
4. Keyboard lag. Constantly missing letters or characters, getting double caps 'cuz the SHIFT doesn't release fast enough, or something. Found a posting where the guy opened it up (WARRANTY !!!!!) and found black, nasty-looking connections on the keyboard ribbon cable contacts. Clean 'em up, and the lag disappears... for awhile. It tends to return, and need recleaning, unless you use a product like DeOxit.
5. NO system discs. Installing Linux appears to have done something to the Win install (first time in my experience, and I've been using some version of Linux for close to ten years). I think it was co-incendental, 'cause I've seen TONS of postings from folks who are having similar boot problems, with only Win installed. It hangs when loading a file (classpnp.sys), and just stops. Won't even boot up in SAFE mode. Obtained a copy of the file, renamed the old on classpnp.old, put the new one it, and .... awww,crap. Looked like it was booting, but it gets to a point and then loops back and re-boots. Managed to find out that NOW it's hanging when it loads (disk.sys). Haven't been able to locate that one, yet. Go ahead & Google the two filenames, you'll see... LOTTA unhappy people out there with identical-to-similar issues.
6. Recovery Partition?? What a joke. No way, no how. It's just that junk you get when you press F8 right at boot (sorta like pressing ESC or F1 to access

HAVE I MENTIONED HOW MUCH I HATE THIS TOUCHPAD?? TYPING IS TORTURE ON THIS THING !!!

the system BIOS, only a little after that. It gives you some "advanced options" to go back to last good boot config, and some other equally futile options. Went so far as to open up a DOS window in there, (X partition) and snoop around; the commands open up... you guessed it... those same options in the F8 menu. No miracle cure here. If those base files are damaged, IT WON'T BOOT... PERIOD. And no discs for a clean install. How's that supposed to work?
7. And yes, the Blu-ray drive WILL read a Blu-ray disc, but you need a software 'interpreter' application before you can actually watch a Blu-ray movie.

I literally spend ALL my time on this POS looking for workarounds for the multiple problems it has, upgraded drivers, Linux drivers, ATI drivers, touchpad drivers; the Manufacturer says 'get 'em from your system vendor,' the system vendor says, 'we don't support Linux, go to them,' ATI DOES have linux drivers, but not for MOBILITY radeons.... It's fri**in' endless.

I broke my own cardinal rule: "NEVER buy bleeding edge hardware," and now I'm paying the price for that oversight. I have NEVER been so let-down by a purchase before. The anticipation and hype were endless (as we all recall), and now, this.

A last observation: I tried to do this in a less public way, but got little in the way of follow-up, so here goes: the quality of the skinning job I had to wait an extra week for is total GARBAGE. It's peeling up all over the place, it looks like it was trimmed to fit with a box-opener, and they broke the damned LCD bezel, right at the camera; cracked/displaced, and shipped that way. I've dealt with the crack; it's almost invisible now, bit the skin... it's coming off, and now I've no ASUS badge on the lid (they probably pulled it to put the skin on.) Once again, my wife's DELL has a custom cover graphic, and it looks superb, almost like it was painted on. Still stuck down tight (six months now).

There's more, but frankly I'm tired of the whole thing.

So, all in all, I rate it as a five, maybe. Haven't been able to play so much as ONE game on it, yet.

By the way, is it possible to boot this thing from a USB stick? I have been unable to either confirm or deny this, and see no appropriate-looking setting in the BIOS.

For that matter, I've been goin' nuts looking for a complete service manual, and trying to find out EXACTLY what components are in this thing, short of opening it up. ASUS pretty much ignores such questions; no reply from Xotic (it's been at least a week), and I'm really beginning to wish I'd bought something else.


honsetly LOL at your entire rant because wow it won't resume from hibernate? that's honestly on YOU my shit hibernates and comes out of it REGULARLY! my mouse is FINE and so is the disable/enable touchpad deal.

[Boglesnurf]

honsetly LOL at your entire rant because wow it won't resume from hibernate? that's honestly on YOU my shit hibernates and comes out of it REGULARLY! my mouse is FINE and so is the disable/enable touchpad deal.
Uhhh did you actually READ the post... or just skim over it? I'm pretty sure I listed a whole lot more than just failure to resume and a twitchy touchpad.

Doesn't it strike you that releasing a LAPTOP that fails to resume from sleep and has a crapola touchpad ain't much of a LAPTOP? It might not be a bad computer (use an external mouse, and turn OFF all power features, and never run it unless plugged into a wall). Sounds more like a desktop, don't it?

And by the way, I'm so VERY glad for you, my joy knows no bounds, that YOUR laptop has no issues whatever. At a rough estimate (more or less confirmed by several online surveys I've seen), these suckers are running about a 20-25% fail rate... that is, 75% of 'em are just fine... and the rest are just PLAGUED by various problems that just aren't easy to diagnose or cure, ESPECIALLY if you're running Linux as your primary OS and using Win as a gaming platform.

My last word on the subject; posts that contain "ha-ha, look at you, mine's just fine, what a crybaby!" contribute absolutely NOTHING meaningful or even remotely useful to the thread, and just contribute to meaningless thread-bloat. Go pester somebody else.

[Slowboto]

While there are definite issues that have plagued quite a few, obviously some of which you are experiencing and I am sorry that is the case, those online surveys you mentioned don't mean a thing. That's just random people voting and those numbers are worthless.

[gstboy]

As far as booting from a usb, you have to hold the ESC key when booting and it will bring up a list of boot devices, just select your usb and it should boot up from there.

I always wondered about the skinning myself and how that worked for this because of the rubberized shell this thing is encased in. My dell was all plastic and a fingerprint magnet so when I put a skin on that it stuck and stayed on there. If fingerprints don't show up on the g73 I would think that skins would have a hard time staying put and after a while would start to peel off. I guess from your experience that seems the case.

If I were you I would RMA that thing. I don't normally use the trackpad so I wouldn't know how well it works but sleep and hibernate is supposed to work without issues and it may be either faulty drivers or hardware that's keeping your machine from doing that properly.

[Boglesnurf]

While those surveys can claim no scientific rigor, the fact that three seperate surveys are closely in line with each other is at least strongly suggestive that there are indeed problems with somewhere around a quarter of the laptops out there. Exact numbers? Probably never happen, and the exact number is not the issue anyway; like, who cares exactly how much oil, to the last gallon, spewed into the Gulf? After a point, the precise numbers just don't matter anymore. How many stars are in the universe? Huge is Huge, even without precision numbers. All I'm saying is that there is a SIGNIFICANT proportion of units with problems, SERIOUS problems for a laptop (who cares if a desktop doesn't resume from hibernate? Who actually uses sleep/hibernate on a desktop anyway ???); and a laptop with a crap touchpad ain't really a laptop anymore, it's a close cousin. ASUS has a problem, and they need to address it, PRONTO.
GSTBOY, thanks for the reply, but I know all about the <esc> while booting; it shows a list, but only of two hard drives and an optical drive. No USB. In the BIOS, there IS an "Add Boot Option" selection (or something like that), but there's absolutely zero information on how to link it up. I did enter "USB FlashDrive" into the table, and now it shows in the menu, but it's just a dead entry, does nothing. ASUS won't provide details on the BIOS; AMI also won't provide details 'cuz they actually SELL the code to ASUS, who then modify the $hit out of it, to the point of unrecognizability to AMI, which is why they don't want to hear from laptop owners looking for BIOS support. Check their site; they say out plain that for laptops, you're pretty much at the mercy of the vendor; they can divulge or not as they choose.

Buy a motherboard from ASUS, you get a thick manual describing the function of every jumper on the board, and every choice of every menu item in the entire BIOS. Buy a MUCH more expensive laptop and whadd'ya get? You've seen it... it's pitiful. As packed with facts as an egg is with meat. "This button does this. That button does that. This light blinks... we don't know why (actually, we DO know why............ but we aren't going to tell YOU....)"

I'd ask ASUS, but I've already got six questions in and have yet to get so much as one answer.

I'm really not liking this 'single-source' information supply; I don't believe I'll be getting another laptop 'til this paradigm changes to one of more openness.

[Slowboto]

Similar numbers still doesn't mean all that much. 20-25% failure rate would see a lot more people on here with issues. As is doing a quick calculation in another thread, in which I actually put in more RMAs than reported on the site, I used the pre-order list and the failure rate was 8%.

At a high failure rate like the polls you saw suggest, Asus would have been forced to respond and do something.

We'll just have to agree to disagree in this case. While I do believe that the issues have been more numerous than we should have had to deal with, I don't believe they were nearly as high as once feared by members. I just can't put any stock whatsoever in random forum polls where people constantly do things to screw up those numbers. I don't want precise numbers because I agree we will never get them, but online forum polls tend to have all sorts of inaccuracies that make them worthless and it is common factors you will find on all sites. Fanboys of other brands vote and say they had a failure even though they didn't even purchase the machine, people upset by an RMA tend to vote while others who have no issues could give a damn about a poll and don't bother voting.

[Boglesnurf]

Similar numbers still doesn't mean all that much. 20-25% failure rate would see a lot more people on here with issues. As is doing a quick calculation in another thread, in which I actually put in more RMAs than reported on the site, I used the pre-order list and the failure rate was 8%.

At a high failure rate like the polls you saw suggest, Asus would have been forced to respond and do something.

We'll just have to agree to disagree in this case. While I do believe that the issues have been more numerous than we should have had to deal with, I don't believe they were nearly as high as once feared by members. I just can't put any stock whatsoever in random forum polls where people constantly do things to screw up those numbers.

Perhaps a little difference in terminology here, as well; I consider a laptop a failure if it has the issue/s, and it doesn't respond to a user-implementable fix. THOSE numbers would be a lot higher than just the RMA numbers.


After hearing some of the horror stories about what comes back from the "repair" process, some folks are understandably reluctant to send it in on an RMA. Most of these problems aren't terminal; you can use the laptop, but it's annoying as all get-out. Unless you bought it as a gaming platform, and all it does is GSOD or PSOD or locks up, and the drivers don't fix it, then RMA'ing is the only route left.


Well, like I said, the exact numbers aren't the issue; my problem is the apparently total lack of response from ASUS, other than to pump out some updated drivers (which just appear in the night, while nobody's looking...) At least an acknowledgement that there are indeed some issues, and that they're working on them, hang in there and we'll make it right.


How many posts up on ASUS's forums have we seen that lament, "Does anyone from ASUS even read these posts?? I've not once seen an answer from ANYONE at ASUS in these threads !!"


Total silence ain't very reassuring.

[gstboy]

GSTBOY, thanks for the reply, but I know all about the <esc> while booting; it shows a list, but only of two hard drives and an optical drive. No USB. In the BIOS, there IS an "Add Boot Option" selection (or something like that), but there's absolutely zero information on how to link it up. I did enter "USB FlashDrive" into the table, and now it shows in the menu, but it's just a dead entry, does nothing.


Not sure if you are trying to get into a DOS environment but just having a usb stick plugged in won't make it bootable. If you follow these instructions to make one then you should have no problems.

http://www.bay-wolf.com/usbmemstick.htm

If you do it this way then when you press esc and select your usb stick it should load into dos from the usb stick.

It's hard to find sympathy from people who are not experiencing the same problems you are. I learned this from having the psod. If nobody else has the same problem then any advice they offer is just pure speculation. You don't really know the answers unless you've been through it yourself. If you can't return it maybe someone at xotic can help you get the ball rolling on an rma to fix some of the issues that you are having. That hibernate and sleep one should not be happening.

[mrmatt]

You have to remember, that a lot of the issues with the G73 were caused by the users themselves not knowing what they were doing. The BIOS updating was just one example. It isn't Asus' fault people are idiots.

[Boglesnurf]

You have to remember, that a lot of the issues with the G73 were caused by the users themselves not knowing what they were doing. The BIOS updating was just one example. It isn't Asus' fault people are idiots.

No hostilities, Matt... but what the heck are YOU doing in here, a SAGER owner??? Slumming? :laugh:

I must have missed something; where are you getting this info? Granted, there's always a smallish percentage of folks who blunder in where Angels fear to tread, but that can't really explain the similarities of symptoms across multiple forums all over the place. Some of those complaining of identical symptoms are obviously highly tech-savvy; they probably didn't shoot themselves in the foot, yet they have the same problems.

And by the way, I'm not really blaming ASUS; first-run stuff ALWAYS has bugs, and in general they eventually get worked out. My problem with ASUS is their silence on the issues. "You can't fix a problem until you acknowledge it," a well-known TV personality frequently says. They may well be working day and night to resolve these issues; how would we know? They ain't saying nothin', so who can tell? Silence is the WORST thing to do; in the absence of any kind of real information, people start assuming the worst. A little informational damage control would go a long way right about now.

I'm sure in the end, this will all blow over. I just hope that ASUS rep as a high-quality provider won't suffer too much in the process. As far as I'm concerned, this is an aberration, not the norm. (ASUS, don't make me wrong!!)

[mrmatt]

I'm not trolling or flaming. Just giving my opinion. Is that wrong? I got my information from some other forum when I was doing extensive research on latops before purchasing.

[powerpack]

OK I am jumping in late but my comments? They are in the middle, I say because I agree with parts of points of everyone.

That said and not related to posting chronology or even real time chronology.

One thing I never thought of until I read some previous posts. The posts made me realize the magnitude of what Asus was trying to do. Sure Sager has been doing for years but for Asus it is new going true uber. But as said lack of communication is troubling.

I think the G73 is a fine product. It does have issues. Asus' failure to address only makes worse. We all must remember this was a big step for Asus and honestly a revolutionary design at a very low cost. I wonder what is worse the lack of supply or the tech hardware issues? I really do not know. I have to give Asus a balls up congrats and thanks for even trying.

Not been perfect but they tried. They should of had greater communication with owners.

They could of built last years computer but they innovated and I give respect. Of course I am not a glad hander and all issues are real. But cut some slack to them for effort. The cost rocked and has even lowered the cost for you Sager Guys. Stop the hate, I have been watching this stuff for many years. The G73 is one of the most exciting offerings.

Sure a couple of hicups but it is no AlienWare. I mean AlienWare in a bad overpriced way.

I love my G73. Sager had issues in the past they fixed. I have no problem giving Asus a shot.

Edit: Sager is better with uber systems. A no brainer, been doing longer. Not really an argument.

[Fingersniffer]

I havent been following a lot of whats been said, but I agree with PP in most respects.

I have been a G73 owner for months now and I havent had any issues outside of the newer Realtek drivers jacking things up (a rollback fixed it). The other slight issues were driver/game related and in no way was Asus responsible for them.

The only thing I dont so much agree with was the Sager/Alienware comments.

Alienware USED to be great products, but since Dell bought them out years back their products are simply overpriced junk. You pay for the Alienware/Dell logo's and the rest is mediocre and the hardware is bottom dollar (I know several Dell techs they say the same thing)

As for Sager, well I've kept a tab on benchmarks of their newest stuff (Clevo) and I have to say the 10% increase I see across the board isn't impressive enough for me to doubt my purchase nor to justify the massive increase in cost it would have taken to build one how I wanted. I'm not saying they are bad systems, I just cant justify double the money for minimal performance increases.

And before the Sager fanboys jump all over me here is just one of the more recent examples I've found to back up my claims.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/3803/avadirect-clevo-w880cu-fermi-gtx-480m

[Fingersniffer]

A little update, i went back through and reinstalled the Realtek drivers and they work fine, I just didn't have the time when I first tried them to troubleshoot the fact that the sound only played through the sub. A few simple configuration changes to sound settings corrected the issue.

Unless I have been out of the loop for too long these are the updates I've made:

Realtek Drivers
10.6 ATI Mobility
BIOS 209

I did however notice that the keyboard back lights would not come back on after adjusting them through the top left button. But they do come on briefly during a reboot. Anyone know a way to correct this? Or is this one of the lingering side effects from the BIOS upgrade?

Nevermind, I remembered the FN + F4 turns the lighting back on.

[powerpack]

I am mostly talking DeLL/AlienWare, before DeLL they were just expensive.

On Sager the Asus G73 mostly stock is dollar for dollar the clear winner and for me the absolute best notebook purchase I have ever made. I did buy bleeding edge once and will never do again. You just lose too much too fast. That said the Sager's make some sense if you want more than the G73. Like faster CPU. I did get the G73 1333MHz upgrade for free and that rocks!

Asus has one uber Sager has what five? I think Asus will get better and offer more models. I encourage them, I think good for all including Sager buyers. Competition is always good.

I am on top of hardware if Sager had backlit keyboard I might of bought a Sager with 920XM or even the desktop CPU. Sure I would not of bought my brother one like I did with the G73. Funny how little things can mean so much to some. Go figure.

Anyone who reads these boards knows Mav has an anti G73 slant. Finger and I are very happy G73 owners. The truth is likely somewhere in the middle, more toward the G73 if you ask me.:p:D

And too you perspective buyers so much of what you read posted is arguing about inches not miles.;):)

[Fingersniffer]

I would like to add that I too am a very happy G73 owner.

There simply is not anything I cannot do with my G73, I game, I render 3D images, I dabble in audio/video editing and encoding and I have not found a single task that I cannot do. Sure there might be some laptops that can get what I do done a little faster, but a little faster means minutes not hours!

As PP said... inches not miles.

I also believe Asus has entered the "ultra" laptop tier very, very well and they did it in a manner of pricing that has some people feeling jaded because they spent more for equal or less. Sure Asus has had some issues with the G73, but name me a single company that hasn't had its share of problems with new innovative tech and designs and did it right the very first try, you wont find one.

I love my G73 and haven't doubted it one bit, even through others having somewhat difficult starts with theirs. Fortunately I wasn't one of those people, but even if I had been I think Asus warranty support and rather quick turn around times for support have been well above the industry average and leave me with the secure feeling that I made the right choice in my purchase.

[Slowboto]

I don't think Mav is completely against the G73. He has admitted a few times that it is a great machine, I just think he is very focused on some of its main problems and is quicker to discount it as an option. The good news is I think it helps bring more options to the table in discussions with prospective laptop buyers.

Agree with what you all have said about the G73. I've said it as well that I am in love with mine. While I haven't gone crazy with it yet because I'm still getting into PC gaming, so far what I have thrown on it has been able to handle at the highest settings. I'm very happy with my choice and look forward to see what Asus does next.

[Boglesnurf]

OK I am jumping in late but my comments? They are in the middle, I say because I agree with parts of points of everyone.

That said and not related to posting chronology or even real time chronology.

One thing I never thought of until I read some previous posts. The posts made me realize the magnitude of what Asus was trying to do. Sure Sager has been doing for years but for Asus it is new going true uber. But as said lack of communication is troubling.

I think the G73 is a fine product. It does have issues. Asus' failure to address only makes worse. We all must remember this was a big step for Asus and honestly a revolutionary design at a very low cost. I wonder what is worse the lack of supply or the tech hardware issues? I really do not know. I have to give Asus a balls up congrats and thanks for even trying.

Not been perfect but they tried. They should of had greater communication with owners.

They could of built last years computer but they innovated and I give respect. Of course I am not a glad hander and all issues are real. But cut some slack to them for effort. The cost rocked and has even lowered the cost for you Sager Guys. Stop the hate, I have been watching this stuff for many years. The G73 is one of the most exciting offerings.

Sure a couple of hicups but it is no AlienWare. I mean AlienWare in a bad overpriced way.

I love my G73. Sager had issues in the past they fixed. I have no problem giving Asus a shot.

Edit: Sager is better with uber systems. A no brainer, been doing longer. Not really an argument.


Hey, PowerPack

As ever, you are either a rabble-rouser (:smile2:) or the voice of reason, steering the middle course. You're right, of course; it IS a revolutionary notebook at any price, the price/feature point is unheard-of, and the performance is like nothing I've ever seen, even on a desktop. The issues are real, and it's all too easy to get caught up in the few things that aren't right, and overlook all the rest that IS right. Guilty as charged. When it's YOUR laptop that's messed up, it feels like you're "the majority," even though the numbers would indicate very much otherwise. I particularly like your comment that ASUS could have taken the safe, 'tried-and-true' approach and built last years' notebook (or the barely improved this years' notebook), but instead took the risk of building a truly forward-looking machine. It IS a risk for them, and for one, I'm glad they took it, despite all my ranting to the contrary.

I've bit the bullet, restored my Win7-64 original install (by the way, those discs the laptop prompts you to burn? In order to restore from them, you have to first install disc #TWO... (NOT the first disc, NOT the last disc, as the onboard "recovery" app would have you believe), and then boot from the Op drive.), updated the BIOS, touchpad, and keyboard-filter drivers, and the performance is MUCH more in line with what other folks are describing. I DO have the <FN>+<ESC> lockup bug (but really, why would you press that particular combo, anyway?), but the rest is a lot better. Still hate the touchpad, but I'll view it as a hobby, and just peck away at it until I or someone else finds a cure.

Guess I'll have to lay a lot of my complaints at the feet of the Linux/Ubuntu crowd, as well as the folks who don't feel that developing linux drivers is worth their time, and who also won't 'open-source' their driver info so others could write said drivers (I'd do it myself, except I never learned so much as BASIC... just don't have the head for programming, or much of anything else for that matter :biggrin:)

Guess Windows, for better or for worse, is here to stay for awhile, on MY system at least....

[TxiTxi]

Does the Asus G73jh A-1 play DVD movies and Blu-Ray, or only Blu-Ray?

[Slowboto]

Does the Asus G73jh A-1 play DVD movies and Blu-Ray, or only Blu-Ray?

Plays both.

[TxiTxi]

Thank you.

[Slowboto]

Thank you.

You're welcome :D

[Raker13]

Hello everyone, I just joined the club. I got my order confirmation for my stealth fighter A1. Upgraded to the intel 6200, w Win 7 professional. I am hoping it will ship with the 1333 ram, (I read somewhere that in a few cases it has from ASUS), but the 1066 should do just fine otherwise. I really don't want to hassle with catalyst driver update, bios update, or powerpack DVD update if I don't have too either. I will if necessary, but I am looking to power it up, pop in SCraft2 and go for it. I haven't gamed for awhile, looking to jump right back in with both feet.

Any advise and direction is always appreciated and I look forward to being a member of the forum.

[powerpack]

Welcome! Many of us have received the 1333MHz RAM boost. But it does not really matter for performance if you do not get. Fun for benches though.

I have not updated the Catalyst or BIOS. I have not played a DVD yet so I am no help there.

Tips? Do not use the Turbo boost on the machine, I don't mean CPU. Your C:/E: partitions are your fastest so use D:/F: for storage.

AMD GPU Clock Tool can OC your GPU. Fun to play with.

G73 looks almost as cool closed and turned off as open and on, can't say that about Sagers?

If you move your notebook around a lot you will lose some rubber pads on the bottom, do not stress about.

Free software to get. Smart Defrag, MSE, HWMonitor, Core Temp runs great in the Task Bar, Side gadgets I like are CPU usage, and the one for core speed.

[Raker13]

Welcome! Many of us have received the 1333MHz RAM boost. But it does not really matter for performance if you do not get. Fun for benches though.

I have not updated the Catalyst or BIOS. I have not played a DVD yet so I am no help there.

Tips? Do not use the Turbo boost on the machine, I don't mean CPU. Your C:/E: partitions are your fastest so use D:/F: for storage.

AMD GPU Clock Tool can OC your GPU. Fun to play with.

G73 looks almost as cool closed and turned off as open and on, can't say that about Sagers?

If you move your notebook around a lot you will lose some rubber pads on the bottom, do not stress about.

Free software to get. Smart Defrag, MSE, HWMonitor, Core Temp runs great in the Task Bar, Side gadgets I like are CPU usage, and the one for core speed.


Thanks for your reply. I will keep everything you mentioned in mind when I set mine up.

Right now I'm waffling between B B C 2 and SC2- Got to order soon, hmmm FPS or RTS right off the bat... what's a person to do? I'm going to order both, but which one gets to break the cher....er...newness.

[mrmatt]

Thanks for your reply. I will keep everything you mentioned in mind when I set mine up.

Right now I'm waffling between B B C 2 and SC2- Got to order soon, hmmm FPS or RTS right off the bat... what's a person to do? I'm going to order both, but which one gets to break the cher....er...newness.
Hit me up if you wanna play BC2. I play regularly. I also play Blacklight Tango Down, TF2, CSS, and various Gmod stuff.

[Zeat]

Hello guys, I just got my new Asus G73JH-A1 today! :D

I'd just like to ask you, that already have this awesome laptop, to give me some initial advices, suggestions or something that I should do (considering that this laptop is new), or that could help, like tests, install/uninstall something, check hardware, some useful software suggestions, maybe something to update of it, or to fix, etc. For example: I read somewhere that I needed to install some extra software that wasn't included on this laptop but that was really necessary to make it work properly. Any advice will be greatly appreciated and helpful for me! ;)

By the way, in case this info helps: I only customized of it the Wireless Card to the Intel® Advanced-N 6200.


Also, should I do a fresh reinstall? I got the Xotic PC's Recovery Disc. But I am not really sure about doing it because I have some questions like: Would I loose important firmware or software?, Would I have to install the Wireless Card's Drivers apart (since it's customized)?
That said, I am assuming the XoticPC Recovery Disc is not a backup disc right? I mean, is it like the Windows 7 Disc that didn't come with the laptop by default?

Another thing: How can I check the version of RAM I got? Like the 1066 or 1333Mhz Version?

Last question: Is this computer supposed to turn on Sleep/Hibernate Mode when I close it? If so, how can I configure this?


Thank you for answering my nooby questions. :P I will seriously appreciate your help! :-/

Kind regards, Zeat.

[Raker13]

This program should supply most pertinent information...

http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/cpu-z.html

[Bling]

ok how do i get steam games to install to the other drives (the ones not with the OS on it) running low on the first drive and the other 3 partiioned drives empty

what do i do.. just install then drag and copy the entire game folder into the other drive?

[mrmatt]

ok how do i get steam games to install to the other drives (the ones not with the OS on it) running low on the first drive and the other 3 partiioned drives empty

what do i do.. just install then drag and copy the entire game folder into the other drive?
I don't believe you can. Steam games are installed into the directory that Steam is. Now, copying the files then creating a shortcut with the exact same name may work. It's similar to a problem I fixed at my school with iMovie conflicting with Active Directory.

[Bear Crotch]

Anyone else have a problem with StarCraft 2?

I installed it fine. When I got to the main menu my mouse pointer was invisible. I struggled to get to the options menu and when I did I changed my screen settings from fullscreen to window (fullscreen) and the mouse pointer magically appears. The problem is that the game is then only presented in 720p and that's not exactly what I bought this machine for. (I also didn't buy it for the numerous wi-fi headaches I received but thankfully those are all past me)

Anyone have any suggestions? I ran a driver scan on the ATI 5870 through device manager and it says I don't need anymore driver updates.

[Slowboto]

Anyone else have a problem with StarCraft 2?

I installed it fine. When I got to the main menu my mouse pointer was invisible. I struggled to get to the options menu and when I did I changed my screen settings from fullscreen to window (fullscreen) and the mouse pointer magically appears. The problem is that the game is then only presented in 720p and that's not exactly what I bought this machine for. (I also didn't buy it for the numerous wi-fi headaches I received but thankfully those are all past me)

Anyone have any suggestions? I ran a driver scan on the ATI 5870 through device manager and it says I don't need anymore driver updates.

No, I haven't had any problems with SCII. Running with BIOS 206 and the drivers that came already loaded. Haven't updated any of that stuff.

[rastamandom]

Anyone else have a problem with StarCraft 2?

I installed it fine. When I got to the main menu my mouse pointer was invisible. I struggled to get to the options menu and when I did I changed my screen settings from fullscreen to window (fullscreen) and the mouse pointer magically appears. The problem is that the game is then only presented in 720p and that's not exactly what I bought this machine for. (I also didn't buy it for the numerous wi-fi headaches I received but thankfully those are all past me)

Anyone have any suggestions? I ran a driver scan on the ATI 5870 through device manager and it says I don't need anymore driver updates.

wen you are in game klik on alt+enter should swich to full screen, work for me in FarCry

[Smootsy]

Tips? Do not use the Turbo boost on the machine, I don't mean CPU. Your C:/E: partitions are your fastest so use D:/F: for storage.

im interested in the g73jh but why not use the turbo boost and how come that the c and e partitions are faster than the d and f? c is on the same hd than d so they should be even fast.. and e is on the same as f why is e faster?

[mrmatt]

im interested in the g73jh but why not use the turbo boost and how come that the c and e partitions are faster than the d and f? c is on the same hd than d so they should be even fast.. and e is on the same as f why is e faster?
They are at the front of the disk, or the end..I cant remember which, I never bothered learning about hard drives.

Edit: That explanation sucked. The bottom line is not all parts of the hard drive are as fast. Someone else could explain it better.

[Raker13]

I too am confused about your recommendation to not use the turbo boost.

Can you take this further for me?

Thanx.

[Bling]

ok trying to get nulldc to work on my asus g73.. mydreamcast died so need to emulate.. it says im mising d3d9x files? how do i get any dreamcast emulator to work on the asus 73 with win 7?

thanks

[Maverick494]

ok trying to get nulldc to work on my asus g73.. mydreamcast died so need to emulate.. it says im mising d3d9x files? how do i get any dreamcast emulator to work on the asus 73 with win 7?

thanks

did you try installing direct3d 9.0C? http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyID=3904b19a-02b9-447b-ab58-c12e2456e9ba&displaylang=en

[powerpack]

Alright Mav or anyone else I have a question. I have installed apps mostly games. I get a pop up say the latest version of DX is not installed. I let install. But games from 10+ years ago say this. New games say also. Do I ignore these, If I don't could I lose DX10 or DX11?

I have looked on SiSoft and does say my GPU is DX9?

Did I do something if so how do I get back.

[mrmatt]

I believe you do let it install. I did with 2142 and BC2 still works. I would wait for mav though.

[Maverick494]

Alright Mav or anyone else I have a question. I have installed apps mostly games. I get a pop up say the latest version of DX is not installed. I let install. But games from 10+ years ago say this. New games say also. Do I ignore these, If I don't could I lose DX10 or DX11?

I have looked on SiSoft and does say my GPU is DX9?

Did I do something if so how do I get back.

It's ironic that you get that message and you run a DXDiag and it tells you directX is all good right?

The games are always wanting to run the install directX routine, even if it is already installed.... why? because lazy programmers don't program the game to check to see if DirectX is installed OR the game is old enough (yes even some within the last year or two) that they don't recognize the DirectX 10+ files as the ones that work backward compatibly. So you end up running the DirectX installer and 9.9 times out of 10 nothing actually gets installed it just says everything is already good to go, but the game is fat dumb and happy now.

[powerpack]

Mav I think you made me feel better but? Am I good? I used to be able to see my DX with 98SE do you know the short cut in W7?

PS Mav I have let this DX run? And it was an old game.

[Bling]

cant get these dumb dreamcast emulators to work.. cant figure it out maybe it just doesnt work in windows 7????

[Bling]

i just cant get the 10.7 drivers to install correctly into my asus g73 any help? had 10.5 before ran fine.. i did the install thing and it still does not show the graphics card drivers just generic display drivers

[Maverick494]

Mav I think you made me feel better but? Am I good? I used to be able to see my DX with 98SE do you know the short cut in W7?

PS Mav I have let this DX run? And it was an old game.

you should be good.

in windows 7 it is still DXDiag.exe and you can just type that into the search bar at the bottom of the start button and then hit enter just like you used to do in the run box on previous versions of windows.

[Bling]

got 10.7 working. angry that i cant get any dreamcast emulators to work though im lost

[mrpete]

Every time I try to type with the G73 , boxes pop up and sends me to other pages. What in the world is wrong with this keyboard. Help,?!!~ how can I stop this anoing behavior? Who can I contact with this problem? How can I fix it? Mrpete

[mrmatt]

Every time I try to type with the G73 , boxes pop up and sends me to other pages. What in the world is wrong with this keyboard. Help,?!!~ how can I stop this anoing behavior? Who can I contact with this problem? How can I fix it? Mrpete
You got a trojan or virus. Google malwarebytes

[Maverick494]

Every time I try to type with the G73 , boxes pop up and sends me to other pages. What in the world is wrong with this keyboard. Help,?!!~ how can I stop this anoing behavior? Who can I contact with this problem? How can I fix it? Mrpete

if I had to guess, you are accidentally hitting the trackpad and that is making it click things.

[mrpete]

if I had to guess, you are accidentally hitting the trackpad and that is making it click things.
Can I turn off the trackpad? and How to do it? I use a wirless mouse, and do not use finger pad.

[Slowboto]

Can I turn off the trackpad? and How to do it? I use a wirless mouse, and do not use finger pad.

http://www.xoticpcforums.com/showthread.php?t=6505

There you go, thread mentions the multiple ways to do that.

[Bling]

im reading so much negative press about the laptop.. kinda regret getting it . worried.. esp now that i got the mafia 2 demo and want to get my 2nd pc game since crysis which i got the day i got the laptop.. but the fps is like in the teens and single digits on this system and im not even maxing everything in the game options.

running 10.7 catalyst drivers

are these drivers broken with the g73 and the version 5870M it uses?

should i go back to the 10.5 drivers? or go all the way back to the ones that came on system off the driver disc?

[mrmatt]

im reading so much negative press about the laptop.. kinda regret getting it . worried.. esp now that i got the mafia 2 demo and want to get my 2nd pc game since crysis which i got the day i got the laptop.. but the fps is like in the teens and single digits on this system and im not even maxing everything in the game options.

running 10.7 catalyst drivers

are these drivers broken with the g73 and the version 5870M it uses?

should i go back to the 10.5 drivers? or go all the way back to the ones that came on system off the driver disc?
I dont know why your FPS is so low. Vertical sync or something? It makes no sense. Make sure all background processes are gone or that you dont have too much going on

[gstboy]

im reading so much negative press about the laptop.. kinda regret getting it . worried.. esp now that i got the mafia 2 demo and want to get my 2nd pc game since crysis which i got the day i got the laptop.. but the fps is like in the teens and single digits on this system and im not even maxing everything in the game options.

running 10.7 catalyst drivers

are these drivers broken with the g73 and the version 5870M it uses?

should i go back to the 10.5 drivers? or go all the way back to the ones that came on system off the driver disc?


It's not the computer it's the game, something about physx dropping framerates because apex renders every single piece of clothing for every single npc on the screen. See the fix for it here.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-gaming-notebook-forum/508275-mafia-2-g73-performance-2.html#post6583409

[Slowboto]

I downloaded the demo just to see what the problem was, I didn't even do the fix and I had no issues. Now time to uninstall, while there are some cool features, overall I was not impressed.

[mrmatt]

Yeah, I wasn't a fan of it really, I think he just had some bug because I turned everything on and was still better than he mentioned.

[Smootsy]

guys i got a question:

is 82 degrees centigrade good when playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 everything on the highest settings? i think the surrounding air is like 17C

i got my asus g73jh for an week now and its very good :D

[mrmatt]

guys i got a question:

is 82 degrees centigrade good when playing Battlefield Bad Company 2 everything on the highest settings? i think the surrounding air is like 17C

i got my asus g73jh for an week now and its very good :D

Everything all the way up that's about right. I personally don't use AA or AF to boost my framerates. Make sure you set your FOV right. 59 is about perfect for 1920x1080.

[aman-]

Im getting my g73jh (hopefully) on monday.. Is there a list on what I should do and dont do from the start?
- Remove the crappy programs that comes with it.
- Update the drivers? Or would that cause problems?

[njbergen]

Im getting my g73jh (hopefully) on monday.. Is there a list on what I should do and dont do from the start?
- Remove the crappy programs that comes with it.
- Update the drivers? Or would that cause problems?
remove creative software. I didn't touch the driver, cause i don't want any problem, and so far, i haven't have any problems yet.

[t_P50]

Hey guys,

I just recently got my G73JH-A1 and I've run into a "major" issue earlier today. It's no the best buy model.

The computer was running at a low temperature been idling for a few hours prior... Listening to music and when I started extracting a file everything locked up, I got a BSOD and it rebooted, telling me to "reboot and select a proper boot device". Rebooted, went into the BIOS fearing HDD failure, but everything seemed fine. I didn't change any settings and it booted afterwards.

I heard that Windows Updates can do this, would that be it?

[ZGearloose]

Got mine on 30 augustus! Left for 3 weeks holiday and back on 1th of october...:(
But i'm back and still smilling.
Everything stock:)

[kiwi_pig]

has anyone encounter any problems with its ODD ? My ODD model is MATSHITA BD-CMB UJ141AS and i get skips and pauses during reading a cd/dvd.

me too what the hell should i do:mad:

[dklhs90]

http://valid.canardpc.com/cache/banner/1440806.png (http://valid.canardpc.com/show_oc.php?id=1440806)

Just upgraded my RAM

[timcsaw]

I love my new G73JH but.... What the heck are those three buttons on the left, above the escape key for???? One looks like a computer screen with an "S" in it, the next looks like a speedometer, and the last looks like a.... well... I don't know what it looks like (No bugs allowed????)!

Can't find anything in the ASUS literature about these three buttons, so I'm hoping one of you folks can edjumacate me. :~D

[Brett@XoticPC]

The three keys (from left to right) are the following functions:

System lights on/off
Twin Turbo mode on/off (high performance)
Splendid Preset Toggle (cycles through some screen presets for contrast, brightness, etc.)

Hope that helps!

[timcsaw]

The three keys (from left to right) are the following functions:

System lights on/off
Twin Turbo mode on/off (high performance)
Splendid Preset Toggle (cycles through some screen presets for contrast, brightness, etc.)

Hope that helps!

Much thanks Brett!!

[Halaster]

Ran into an issue with the webcam recently and not sure how to deal with it or fix it.

I attempted to manually update the drivers to a newer version and the camera said the drivers were invalid, and then it completely vanished from the device manager.

I now have no way at all to install new drivers or update the drivers for the webcam in the laptop.

I have tried to install the drivers with the installer for all of the following:
Chicony 7129 Windows 7 64-bit
Chicony 7246 Windows 7 64-bit
Chicony 9236 CR Windows 7 64-Bit
Camera Suyin Windows 7 64-bit
CMOS Chicony CF7129 Windows 7 64-Bit

Running the actual install program included with any of these drivers completely fails with the error message: "USB2.0 UVC VGA/1.3M/2.0M WebCam"
All drivers give the exact same error message.

Attempting to add legacy hardware and choosing the drivers manually does not list any device at all.

There is an "Unklnown Device" listed under "Universal Serial Bus Controllers" but none of the drivers will work at all if manually selected. Every set of drivers lists, "The folder you specified doesn't contain a compatible software driver for you device. If the folder contains a driver, make sure it is designed to work with Windows for x64-based systems.

I have checked for the camera in both safe mode as well as standard mode, and have Display hidden devices checked in the device manager as well.

I have tried to completely remove and reinstall the root USB hubs as well to see if it will be redetected. I cant find it though. Anyone have any idea how to get the web cam back on the camera ? I use it fairly often so need it.

[SmogHog]

Do you have Lifeframe and Virtual Camera installed?

Reinstall the Intel Chipset software.

This may fix the USB error?

Version 9.2.0.1016 is newest WHQL.Don't install Alfa
http://www.station-drivers.com/page/intel%20chipset.htm

The notebook I'm using now,has the camera/webcam listed under Imaging Devices.I don't have your model.Windows 7 has a generic driver built in.

Also it's a good idea to install the newest Intel RST sftware.
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchResult.aspx?lang=eng&keyword=%22RST%22#

Also read this.It may help?
http://www.xoticpcforums.com/showthread.php?t=7848

[Halaster]

Unfortunately none of that stuff worked.

I had actually installed the newest drivers right before the problem started occurring, but went ahead and tried installing them again.

Camera is still not present. It used to be under imaging devices, now its just not present at all.

[powerpack]

If it was there but now not you did something?

[Halaster]

If it was there but now not you did something?

The exact steps that caused it to vanish:

I was updating my bios to the latest version for this laptop: G73JhASb
The bios update went through without a hitch and everything worked fine.

On the same page with the bios update was new drivers for most of the things in the laptop. So I updated my audio drivers, HDMI audio drivers, and Intel Chipset drivers. Rebooting after each batch of drivers. After each reboot my webcam was still working, as I use it with SmartLogon to log onto my laptop with.

When I reached updating the drivers on the webcam I selected them manually.

It then said it was unable to start this device properly and that the drivers were not correct. The camera then vanished completely from the device manager right after that message. Leaving me where I am now.

I have never seen something like this. The base hardware should still be detected no matter what drivers I select, but its just not there anymore.

From that point I went through all the steps I listed above to try to troubleshoot the problem.

[SmogHog]

How about going back to a restore point where everything worked before driver updating?

Then update the non trouble hardware as before and leave the camera alone?

[Halaster]

How about going back to a restore point where everything worked before driver updating?

Then update the non trouble hardware as before and leave the camera alone?

Wanted to do that but unfortunately my system only lists 6 restore points even with the "Show more restore points" box checked, and all the restore points are after the webcam change. Windows Update, each driver, steam updating directX, and uninstalling a program all created restore points that pushed the camera one away.

[SmogHog]

Do you have anything related to the cam in Control Panel>Programs and Features that can be uninstalled?

Then a reboot and a installation of old drivers and software that worked.

You appear to have more patience than I have.

I would have wiped my drive already and done a fresh clean installation of Windows 7 and drivers from the original Asus CD that was shipped with the notebook and proceed from there.

I've wasted many long hours trying to find the cause of problems when a clean installation proved to be quicker.

BTW Right after Windows finishes installing the first thing I install next is the FREE Revo Uninstaller.

It goes beyond a programs built-in uninstaller and gets out the registry entries left behind along with many file fragments that many times prevents proper reinstallations.

[Halaster]

Do you have anything related to the cam in Control Panel>Programs and Features that can be uninstalled?

Then a reboot and a installation of old drivers and software that worked.

You appear to have more patience than I have.

I would have wiped my drive already and done a fresh clean installation of Windows 7 and drivers from the original Asus CD that was shipped with the notebook and proceed from there.

I've wasted many long hours trying to find the cause of problems when a clean installation proved to be quicker.

BTW Right after Windows finishes installing the first thing I install next is the FREE Revo Uninstaller.

It goes beyond a programs built-in uninstaller and gets out the registry entries left behind along with many file fragments that many times prevents proper reinstallations.

I would have done the same, but I use the laptop for work on a regular basis and have multiple different pieces of proprietary software and vmware boxes and all sorts of things set up that would take a significantly amount of time to get going again if I reinstall.

Also, I am wary of doing a full reinstall to install drivers for the cam, when the cam does not appear at all now, there is no guarantee it will appear after a reinstall either. If the camera was there and it was just not taking drivers for some reason.
:(
Since day one when I received the laptop I have never been able to install the webcam drivers as a normal installation program. So there is no original file I can just install. I have always had to go to the device manager and manually point them to the camera.

[SmogHog]

I see you are in Fresno.

Went there a few times in the past for skeet shooting competitions.

The address below is an Asus Service Center and might be able to help with your issue?

I don't know of one closer to you.

Bizcom Electronics Inc.
1171 Montague Expressway
Milpitas, CA 95035

[sonofspain]

I tried the same thing w/my g73jh and after install w/out asus crap, just windows the cam shows up in Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\System as "USB2.0 1.3M UVC WebCam". I tried by bringing up skype and it works. Don't know if you'll see this in time. :-)

[Halaster]

An update on mine.

It started having more and more problems as it neared the one year mark in age.
First it started having graphical problems, then it got to the point where any time I would game it completely shut down, and would not turn back on for anywhere from 2 to 10 minutes.

The laptop did not physically feel hot and the fan appeared to be working fine, but that is generally a sign of a heat issue, and the graphical problems indicated the video card.

While watching a show one day as well a red line of pixels suddenly appeared and ran down the top left to bottom right side of the monitor on the left side of the screen around an inch in. This appeared to be a physical hardware problem as the line was present in the bios as well, and was not present on an external display.

The webcam randomly re-appeared one day after rebooting as well. After being gone for around 3 weeks it just came back.

The trackpad started having serious problems as well, and to get it to read properly I almost had to flex the laptop.

I filed for an RMA two weeks ago and shipped it out a few days ago, as of right now it is being repaired at the facility closest to me. I am worried though that after another year passes and it no longer has as good of a warranty things are going to start dieing again. Hopefully not. :)

[SkillCosby]

For about the last couple weeks now I've been having problems with the wireless on my g73jh, no more than a year old. Its most noticable while playing CS 1.6 and when the problem occurs you can tell the difference in reg within the game and im forced to troubleshoot my wireless. It always says the same thing "reseting wireles network adaptor" then it goes on to say "problem with wireless adaptor or access point - Fixed." From here I can keep playing CS regging instant head shots no porblem. Until anywhere from 5-30 mins later I get the same decline in reg and can feel little lag spikes within game causing me to repaet troubleshooting. This can sometimes happen 5-10 times in a hour and im constantly having to repeat troubleshooting but I still havent figured out the problem. I have a new modem due to comcast pos refurb modems and a brand new D-link router.
Just looking to see if anyone else has had this problem our knows what would be causing it.

[singleshot71]

Sounds like your having modem problems. I'm using the Cradlepoint CTR 500 and having no problems at all. The reason I'm using it is because I use a wireless card from Verizon and is the only way I know of how to create a wifi signal.
You might want to try and update your wireless card from ASUS website. If problem persists, then it will most likely be your modem. If you find it's your modem, try and update the firmware on it and see if it fixes the problem.
BTW, that was the first thing I did to my modem, and has worked perfectly for my laptop, PS3 and my phone.

[Slowboto]

Ugh, just sent an email to the service address. Hoping Xotic still helps with RMAs when it comes to Asus. Trying to clean up my room and I put some things on a shelf and the shelf decided it wasn't having it and fell down. Unfortunately that shelf hangs slightly over my G73 which was open at the time. Scuffed the screen, although I was able to rub it clean. However, it crashed down onto the keyboard and jammed in the F key and completely popped out the D key. Tried seeing if I could fix it but the key itself looks to have had the tabs that keep it attached busted. Thankfully I have that accidental insurance which I'm hoping covers this type of damage.

How does the process work anyways? Will Asus just try to fix the keyboard or will they give me a refurb? In the case of a refurb will they transfer over my hard-drives and upgraded network card? Just hoping I'm not going to have to reinstall a bunch of programs and files. Already mad I'm going to be without my computer for a few weeks, having to put all of that stuff back on would not make me happy.

[Maverick494]

www.LAPTOPKEY.com

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHHcOxTRXng

probably better than shipping it to Asus for a month

[Slowboto]

www.LAPTOPKEY.com (http://www.LAPTOPKEY.com)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHHcOxTRXng

probably better than shipping it to Asus for a month

Hmmmmm, that looks like it is worth trying out. I'll go ahead and order the key and hold off on the RMA for the moment. Like you said, much better option than waiting on Asus to do it.

Thanks Mav. :notworthy

[Slowboto]

Actually even better is I was able to watch the video and figure out how it all works. The tab was busted a little but I was able to reinsert again and get it to work. I ordered a replacement key still since part of the lock to keep the tab in place is what is missing but working fine right now. Thanks again Mav.

[Maverick494]

Actually even better is I was able to watch the video and figure out how it all works. The tab was busted a little but I was able to reinsert again and get it to work. I ordered a replacement key still since part of the lock to keep the tab in place is what is missing but working fine right now. Thanks again Mav.

Not a problem =D

[Brubru]

I opted for the blue LED backlights and thermal paste upgrades back in November when I ordered my G73. I was impressed that Xotic provides so many options and takes the time to perform a burn in before shipping. I'm a customer for life.

I had WiFi issues that were the result of one of the antennas not being connected. I was glad to see it was that simple to fix after removing the access cover. And a few weeks ago one of the motherboard screws fell out and was rolling around inside. It happened to be accessible through the rear access cover as well.

I figured I would post this in case someone else has WiFi issues later. And also to let Xotic know.

[Ghostwolf]

I've been experiencing exhaust fan noise problem for the past few days, the right side exhaust fan is making a bit louder noise than the one on the left side. So how do you clean the exhaust fan? I am thinking of opening up the access panel but I don't think that would leads to the exhaust fan module.

Other than that no other technical or mechanical problems are found, still run games pretty well and I am still impressed with the G73JH-A2 I ordered. I am however thinking of getting the one with the latest nVidia graphics card, hmm temptation temptation.

[Cray]

Where can I find the Blu-Ray software that came with the G73JH-A1 ?

[Bling]

hoping i can run deus ex on it at at least 1600 by 900 with 30 fps the ati hd 5870 is below recommended

[MrScience2008]

I know I can use a bluetooth mouse with my G73JH. I'm wondering if the bluetooth also broadcasts music. Can I connect a bluetooth receiver to my stereo, pair the receiver to my G73JH, and listen to the music on my laptop? If I can, will the sound quality be as good as connecting the laptop and stereo with a cable (headphones out to aux input)? Thanks for any information.

[Maverick494]

I know I can use a bluetooth mouse with my G73JH. I'm wondering if the bluetooth also broadcasts music.

Yes

Can I connect a bluetooth receiver to my stereo, pair the receiver to my G73JH, and listen to the music on my laptop?

Maybe, depending on the stereo. Or http://www.amazon.com/Xantech-BDXTT-Table-Bluetooth-Receiver/dp/B0041GTNM0

If I can, will the sound quality be as good as connecting the laptop and stereo with a cable (headphones out to aux input)? Thanks for any information.

sound quality should be plenty fine, as long as the receiver you use for the stereo is good.

[MrScience2008]

Thanks Maverick.

[H1twho6]

my screen did this today. there are no cracks on the screen. so im not sure what happened. http://www.facebook.com/Hitwho6#!/photo.php?fbid=10150278379856376&set=a.82864326375.83428.537466375&type=1&theater (http://www.facebook.com/Hitwho6#%21/photo.php?fbid=10150278379856376&set=a.82864326375.83428.537466375&type=1&theater)

[SmogHog]

my screen did this today. there are no cracks on the screen. so im not sure what happened. http://www.facebook.com/Hitwho6#!/photo.php?fbid=10150278379856376&set=a.82864326375.83428.537466375&type=1&theater

Why on Facebook.Upload photos/screenshots to your XOTICPC User CP Album and then you have an easy way to put it in your post.

PSOD is often caused by a recent driver or hardware update.

Examining the screen dump can actually point you in the right direction to resolving this.

The memory dump can help you zero in on the bad memory module, failing CPU, or even the occasional network card.

[Ghostwolf]

Just after one year of being an owner of my G73JH-A2 and I am starting to think it's dying on me already. First there's a constant rattling sound problem (but usually sorted itself out by complete cool down), and then the battery short circuited itself out, replacement battery costs about 130 dollars. This morning the keyboard stopped working for unknown reason, can't even log in. Do all Asus laptops came with an "automatic expiry date self-destruct sequence"? I spent a lot on the purchase of this and It's gonna cost me another bundle to ship it back for repair, or maybe I should contemplate buying a new one like the G74SX?

EDIT: I'm gonna try to mend the keyboard problem by connecting it with an external keyboard, if it works that is. Really lack on budget to get a new gaming laptop at the moment, maybe in the next year I'll have enough money to get a G74SX-DH series.

[oCCor]

Bought my G73 over a year ago, right off the shelf. I am having shutdown problems while playing CoD4. No warning just shuts off but I can fire it right back up. I updated BIO's to 209, still same issue.
I say its "heat". Needs to have all the fans blown out. It has not been done yet. Unit sits on a pair of 4 inch cooling fan, forcing air through the unit.
"Tech" says BIO's... Updated to 209, same issue, shut down. current bios 209

I have not had the covers off it. Just put in a 80G SSD when I bought it. I build gaming rigs, havent had a laptop apart, yet...

[Maverick494]

Bought my G73 over a year ago, right off the shelf. I am having shutdown problems while playing CoD4. No warning just shuts off but I can fire it right back up. I updated BIO's to 209, still same issue.
I say its "heat". Needs to have all the fans blown out. It has not been done yet. Unit sits on a pair of 4 inch cooling fan, forcing air through the unit.
"Tech" says BIO's... Updated to 209, same issue, shut down. current bios 209

I have not had the covers off it. Just put in a 80G SSD when I bought it. I build gaming rigs, havent had a laptop apart, yet...

these laptops don't intake air from the bottom so having fans blowing in the bottom is almost worthless. Sounds like you need to get canned air and brave the disassembly process to clean it out.

[oCCor]

...and brave the disassembly process to clean it out.

Thanks for the laugh. Now I have to go looking for the teardown and rebuild plans for this thing :err: I have all the books from the original box...

Thermo paste
Canned Air
2X peepers
Philips screw driver
a few extra hours tonight...

[Maverick494]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tp90M_N6dzs

[oCCor]

Dust was the cause of the over heating. It took another laptop to watch the video and take mine apart, And put it back together.

So far, no problems with heat...

CoD4 runs with no problems, wide open...

Thank You

:notworthy

Rocc_Head

[mertesn]

I'd just like to say that tomorrow I will no longer own an ASUS G73JH. That miserable piece of crap is on its way back to ASUS for the SIXTH time in under two years. This time it's being replaced by a G74SX...I wanted a refund but ASUS won't do that. I fully regret ever purchasing that laptop and will never touch another ASUS product again.

In those two years, the display died, the laptop started overheating, one hard drive died, the touchpad quit working, the keyboard quit working, and numerous repair jobs were botched by the supposed "certified" repair centers.

I don't hold any of this against XoticPC, who were completely awesome during the purchasing process.

[Fingersniffer]

Well, to counter the previous comment I will say I've been an owner of this laptop for over two years and haven't had a single problem with it. Everything still runs are good as the day I bought it, my only complain would be battery life, but I knew going into it that it would be horrible.

I have many Asus products (Video cards, LED and LCD monitors), 5+ motherboards, soundcard, and a tablet. Not one has let me down or made me regret my purchases, they always have good build quality and have operated without issue. I've been a loyal Asus buyer for about 8 years now and the only complaint I've ever had was when I did contact the company (IE tech support, customer service) the service was horrible. I did RMA 1 video card about 5 years ago and it was a super fast turnaround time, RMA process was fairly easy.

I have several friends and co-workers that use one-5 Asus products daily and they've always said nothing but good things about their Asus products as well.

[Bling]

same here ive had this laptop about 2 yrs never a hardware issue i did have issues with the bios and conflicts with latest video card drivers from amd but a bios flash fixed that. besides that no issues

plan to get a sager late this yr or early next to replace this one

[Eckhornsol]

Hate to be a downer, but my brother also owns this laptop and had it sent in 3 times, it still has multiple BSOD/shutdown issues. Would LOVE to return it, but out of warranty. Everything else about the laptop is great, no heat issues or anything else. Luckily I know a very skilled individual who helped us narrow down the problem(RAM or mobo), and we'll be able to find and replace the problem shortly.

From all the reading i've done it appears that there were quite a bit of lemons. Pretty disappointed with Asus, and their repair center quality...

[Maverick494]

Hate to be a downer, but my brother also owns this laptop and had it sent in 3 times, it still has multiple BSOD/shutdown issues. Would LOVE to return it, but out of warranty. Everything else about the laptop is great, no heat issues or anything else. Luckily I know a very skilled individual who helped us narrow down the problem(RAM or mobo), and we'll be able to find and replace the problem shortly.

From all the reading i've done it appears that there were quite a bit of lemons. Pretty disappointed with Asus, and their repair center quality...

I literally got reamed, flamed, cussed out, and called all kinds of vile names when these things were just shipping (after a lot of failures being reported) for even suggesting that they were not a great product to invest in based on the failures that the machine had.

I then went ahead and traded the sager I had for one of them just to make sure I was right, lo and behold the RAM was bad. It kept BSODing on me, so I took it apart and had to fix the atrocious job they did on the thermal paste and a loose heat sink. Then it would still BSOD every once in a while, so I replaced the hard drive. That finally fixed it enough that I could sell it and never look back.

I owned one for all of 4 months, I will never own another ASUS branded laptop, netbook, tablet, or PC again. I will probably still own an ASUS branded individual component because for some reason they do that better than anything else they do.

My laptop history is as follows:

Asus G50 - stolen May 2009 (thank god because those had a bad track record with heat)
Gateway P7805U - not a bad laptop all things considered (still in use today by who I sold it to), owned 10 months sold for
Sager 8690 - Great laptop, owned 7 months trade for
G73JH - as outlined.....owned 4 months
8130 - owned for 10 months (still in use), sold for
MSI GT783 - I might sell this if I find out that I can get buy with just a tablet and put the money into savings for when I can build a desktop again.

[JKA0124]

Just adding my two cents: Steve and I are still in a happy relationship. :cool: We've had some ups and downs, and I may have cursed him out once, but he still works just fine.

...and now I'm worried I've jinxed myself. *knocks on wood*