Asus G73JH-A2 B/G question

[spyther]

Hey guys,

I just received my ASUS G73JH-A2 last night and I love it so far. I haven't done too much with it yet, but I plan on making this thing my personal mobile gaming machine. I have a few questions though!

1) Whenever I change my Windows 7 background theme, when I restart it goes right back to the annoying ASUS theme. I even deleted the Asus theme and it still comes back as the selected default, labeled: "Unsaved theme." How can I get the machine to stop doing this after every install? It's pretty damn annoying.

2) In the bios there is an "Easy Over-clock" option. Should this be turned on whenever gaming? Is this not the same feature as the "Turbo mode" button on the top left of the laptop? Does it make any real difference in gaming?

3) If I decide to do a fresh reinstall of Windows on my laptop, will the drivers disc have everything I need for functionality of the laptop? Does this include all the necessary stuff for all the little mini features that are easy to forget about? The i7's turbo mode does not require any driver I believe, right?

Okay that's everything! Please let me know what you guys think if you can help me out!

-Spyther

[Fr0st]

Hey guys,

I just received my ASUS G73JH-A2 last night and I love it so far. I haven't done too much with it yet, but I plan on making this thing my personal mobile gaming machine. I have a few questions though!

1) Whenever I change my Windows 7 background theme, when I restart it goes right back to the annoying ASUS theme. I even deleted the Asus theme and it still comes back as the selected default, labeled: "Unsaved theme." How can I get the machine to stop doing this after every install? It's pretty damn annoying.

2) In the bios there is an "Easy Over-clock" option. Should this be turned on whenever gaming? Is this not the same feature as the "Turbo mode" button on the top left of the laptop? Does it make any real difference in gaming?

3) If I decide to do a fresh reinstall of Windows on my laptop, will the drivers disc have everything I need for functionality of the laptop? Does this include all the necessary stuff for all the little mini features that are easy to forget about? The i7's turbo mode does not require any driver I believe, right?

Okay that's everything! Please let me know what you guys think if you can help me out!

-Spyther

Hi spyther, I'll try and answer your questions. :)

1) Click on the windows start button, and in the search box type "msconfig", and click the "msconfig.exe" icon. Go to the "startup" tab, and uncheck the startup item named "Setwallpaper". Click apply and ok. Now it should stop changing when you restart. :)

2) I do not recommend any overclocking if you are inexperienced with it. Just stick to the turbo button on the laptop. The turbo button typically provides 3-10% performance increase from what I have heard, so it is very minimal and probably will not be noticed outside of benchmark programs. Feel free to experiment and see of course :)

3) Yes, the driver disc should include all the utilities, or you can download them directly from ASUS website for the G73. Note that the laptop does not come with a Windows disc, so if you reinstall windows you will need to have your own Windows 7 disc (either a retail disc or downloded as an ISO and burned from the MS website).

If you have any more questions feel free to post here or PM me :)

[spyther]

Thank you Fr0st for your indepth and quick answer!

The problem is, I deselected SetWallpaper as one of the first things when I got my laptop. (I always make sure to trim processes to enable a quicker reboot.) But it still keeps changing the wallpaper on me after every reboot. Quite irritating!

[Fr0st]

Thank you Fr0st for your indepth and quick answer!

The problem is, I deselected SetWallpaper as one of the first things when I got my laptop. (I always make sure to trim processes to enable a quicker reboot.) But it still keeps changing the wallpaper on me after every reboot. Quite irritating!

My pleasure, glad I can help :)

That is strange that it is still changing - have you checked to see if there is an option to prevent this in any of the pre-loaded software provided by ASUS? I recall someone posting a method of preventing this wallpaper change by replacing the specific image in question with one they want (just swap it out with a different image, keep the same name) but that is more of a loophole than a fix..

Wish I could be of more assistance, but I don't actually own my G73 yet so I can't be any more specific. Sorry! :(

[spyther]

Well I am thinking about just reinstalling my windows with a fresh, clean install. (I own a windows 7 DVD). But my only fear is will the drivers disc just put the same bloatware right back on? Or does it just contain the critical drivers?

[Fr0st]

Well I am thinking about just reinstalling my windows with a fresh, clean install. (I own a windows 7 DVD). But my only fear is will the drivers disc just put the same bloatware right back on? Or does it just contain the critical drivers?

The driver disc contains all the software and drivers preloaded on the G73, so both critical drivers and bloatware. If you just want the bare-necessities (like sound drivers, audio drivers, chipset drivers, etc) I recommend just downloading those specific ones from the ASUS website and installing them manually after your fresh Windows install.

Infact I don't really like to ever recommend using driver discs, since by the time they reach you they are almost always outdated, with newer drivers being released online for download.

[spyther]

Shot you a PM frost :)

[powerpack]

I am not trying to be funny or a jerk but? Frost you are rocking! I am reading your posts across the board and hanging on every word! You keep it up. Nice to have you here! OP sorry to take the side path but Frost has it covered more than I can help. Both of you have a great night.;)

[jbermi]

I checked my driver and util disk that came with my ASUS N71 and you have the option to what you want to install, and for the most part, allmy drivers are up to date with what is offered on the asus website.

so doing a clean install and then using the drivers disc will work without adding any bloat, unless you want it.

[powerpack]

Yea it sounds correct. If you have the Windows Disc?

An entire new subject what do you think is "bloatware" and why do you need a reinstall? I know a hot issue but I do have thoughts.

[jbermi]

Yea it sounds correct. If you have the Windows Disc?

An entire new subject what do you think is "bloatware" and why do you need a reinstall? I know a hot issue but I do have thoughts.


I thought I would need a clean install, but found just uninstalling stuff I didnt want/need/use was much easier and was less labor intensive. took like 20 minutes once I knew what I wanted to keep and not keep.

[powerpack]

I think I agree with you? The camera stuff and a few other Asus products like power management are nice if you ask me? A clean install will not give.

OK I know you did not ask but............. What is bloatware? In the old days stuff that ran in the background and stole CPU clocks. In short it was active. That is closer to the real meaning. But all the kids now who loose 1MB of space act like God almighty took something from them? I mean if you need the space cool but most of what some think is not.

And yes I think uninstalling is the better way to go. But of course only opinion.

[Fingersniffer]

OK I know you did not ask but............. What is bloatware?

Bloatware is commonly referred to programs that are of little use to the user (items that are installed with other software or some of the stuff pre-installed in the G73) or that use an obscene amount of system resources well beyond the normal amount.

It has been a little more loose in the usage recently, but its still roughly the same idea.

[powerpack]

Bloatware is commonly referred to programs that are of little use to the user (items that are installed with other software or some of the stuff pre-installed in the G73) or that use an obscene amount of system resources well beyond the normal amount.

It has been a little more loose in the usage recently, but its still roughly the same idea.Good answer but just for fun? What is a bottleneck? That is going too rip a new one. I mean the kids think one thing but it is not. I am just having fun so do not worry about posting.;):D

[drremi]

Good answer but just for fun? What is a bottleneck? That is going too rip a new one. I mean the kids think one thing but it is not. I am just having fun so do not worry about posting.;):D
Ok PP, for shits and grins...bottleneck refers to the slimmer part of a bottle!:D
Hows that!:cool:

[singleshot71]

The only thing I uninstalled was the Smart Boot(I think).....were it takes your picture and uses it to log you in? The dam thing got annoying as hell!!! With the HDD it takes mine exactly 54 seconds to boot up from DOA.....I will be installing my SSD soon. But, 54 seconds? Doesn't seem to need a SSD to for quick boot? Another thing...I f@cking HATE the mouse pad!!!!! It sucks major assssssssss. I played around with all the settings, and it still sucks. It acts like it doesn't know what you want it to do? Also, the keyboard, no bad if you are SLOW typing, but something as simple as DAMN, I have to go back and add the missing letters!!! WTF Other than that, I love the stock mouse and the computer as a whole. Guess, ASUS will eventually put out a patch or something to fix all the MINOR bugs in this thing. Later all

[drremi]

The only thing I uninstalled was the Smart Boot(I think).....were it takes your picture and uses it to log you in? The dam thing got annoying as hell!!! With the HDD it takes mine exactly 54 seconds to boot up from DOA.....I will be installing my SSD soon. But, 54 seconds? Doesn't seem to need a SSD to for quick boot? Another thing...I f@cking HATE the mouse pad!!!!! It sucks major assssssssss. I played around with all the settings, and it still sucks. It acts like it doesn't know what you want it to do? Also, the keyboard, no bad if you are SLOW typing, but something as simple as DAMN, I have to go back and add the missing letters!!! WTF Other than that, I love the stock mouse and the computer as a whole. Guess, ASUS will eventually put out a patch or something to fix all the MINOR bugs in this thing. Later all
Such emotion when your describing some of you likes and dislikes! :laugh::laugh::laugh: emphasis on assssssssss! :laugh:

[Fingersniffer]

The only thing I uninstalled was the Smart Boot(I think).....were it takes your picture and uses it to log you in? The dam thing got annoying as hell!!! With the HDD it takes mine exactly 54 seconds to boot up from DOA.....I will be installing my SSD soon. But, 54 seconds? Doesn't seem to need a SSD to for quick boot? Another thing...I f@cking HATE the mouse pad!!!!! It sucks major assssssssss. I played around with all the settings, and it still sucks. It acts like it doesn't know what you want it to do? Also, the keyboard, no bad if you are SLOW typing, but something as simple as DAMN, I have to go back and add the missing letters!!! WTF Other than that, I love the stock mouse and the computer as a whole. Guess, ASUS will eventually put out a patch or something to fix all the MINOR bugs in this thing. Later all

52 seconds vs 18 on an SSD, The Smart Logon is a joke, it worked 1 time then wouldn't work again.

The mouse pad? I assume you mean the mouse, and its a gaming grade mouse with adjustable DPI, try adjusting the software DPI so when you hit the button it will go at a speed that is comfortable to you, it works fine for me! As for the keyboard, I have had zero problems with it registering keystrokes for me and I can type pretty fast as well, my only issues it getting used to the layout a bit more, I find myself hitting caps lock a lot.

As for a patch, well I think most of the problems are more based on your perception of them than are actual bugs.

[Slowboto]

52 seconds vs 18 on an SSD, The Smart Logon is a joke, it worked 1 time then wouldn't work again.

The mouse pad? I assume you mean the mouse, and its a gaming grade mouse with adjustable DPI, try adjusting the software DPI so when you hit the button it will go at a speed that is comfortable to you, it works fine for me! As for the keyboard, I have had zero problems with it registering keystrokes for me and I can type pretty fast as well, my only issues it getting used to the layout a bit more, I find myself hitting caps lock a lot.

As for a patch, well I think most of the problems are more based on your perception of them than are actual bugs.

He might be talking about the touchpad on the laptop itself and not the mouse. I was wondering about that myself as to what he was referring to.

[Fingersniffer]

He might be talking about the touchpad on the laptop itself and not the mouse. I was wondering about that myself as to what he was referring to.
True, but the touchpad is just as responsive as any laptop pads I've used, if anything the only part about the touchpad area that sucks is the buttons, massively stiff and makes for hard navigation while using them.

But I have no complaints about the touchpad itself, in fact I think if anything I have to use less pressure on it than I have any other laptop, maybe he is trying to lumberjack press on it?

[singleshot71]

Touchpad,mousepad....It works sometimes, and then it will just sit there and look at you like your stupid. It is crazy...I keep it disabled and just use the MOUSE that came with it. I like the mouse, hate the "TOUCHPAD" BTW, the button doesn't bother me, it's the action of the pad itself

[TenetSW]

It is a dual input mouse pads with scroll zones. If any other part of you is even slightly registering on the touchpad the mouse will stop and wait for you to enter a dual-finger command like "spread" that will increase the zoom on your web page or the size of desktop icons. I really like mine.

[Redleader]

I just received my laptop and have a quick question. Im replacing one of the hdd with an ssd. I took both the screws out of the back and pulled flat to try and release the door but it sticks about a few mm out. Is there another release besides these two screws?

[UntilMoraleImproves]

I just received my laptop and have a quick question. Im replacing one of the hdd with an ssd. I took both the screws out of the back and pulled flat to try and release the door but it sticks about a few mm out. Is there another release besides these two screws?

Nope, just the two screws. Push/pull the tab on top of the HDD to the right and it should pop right out. Do the oposite to reseat it once you have the SSD in the sled. Should glide right out and back in.

[choyj]

I just received my laptop and have a quick question. Im replacing one of the hdd with an ssd. I took both the screws out of the back and pulled flat to try and release the door but it sticks about a few mm out. Is there another release besides these two screws?

I had the same problem and wasn't sure if I'd break the thing.:eek:
You take the 2 screws out, and then from that little cut-out section between the 2 screws, lift. You'll hear some snapping :eek: as the 3 hook-like tabs from each side of the panel give way. When you put the panel back in, it might bow a little bit, so push against those hook-like tabs to snap the panel in place. Then replace the screws.

[choyj]

The only thing I uninstalled was the Smart Boot(I think).....were it takes your picture and uses it to log you in? The dam thing got annoying as hell!!! With the HDD it takes mine exactly 54 seconds to boot up from DOA.....I will be installing my SSD soon. But, 54 seconds? Doesn't seem to need a SSD to for quick boot? Another thing...I f@cking HATE the mouse pad!!!!! It sucks major assssssssss. I played around with all the settings, and it still sucks. It acts like it doesn't know what you want it to do? Also, the keyboard, no bad if you are SLOW typing, but something as simple as DAMN, I have to go back and add the missing letters!!! WTF Other than that, I love the stock mouse and the computer as a whole. Guess, ASUS will eventually put out a patch or something to fix all the MINOR bugs in this thing. Later all

I reformatted my laptop and manually installed only the things I wanted. I didn't want to deal with all the bloatware that was on there that could cause other problems. So no fast boot, smart logon, other miscellaneous Asus crudware.

I am not able to reproduce the missing keys or delayed caps problems that I've been reading about. But, perhaps this is because I've not spent enough time with this laptop yet? I ran a typing test on this site (http://www.typeonline.co.uk/typingspeed.php) and got about 49wpm with no mistakes. Can anyone beat me? :D

I'm also using a different Synaptics touchpad driver than the one that comes with the G73. So far, I like the touchpad. I absolute :mad:hate:mad: the touchpad buttons. Too stiff and somewhat unresponsive. So instead of using the left mouse button, I just tap the touchpad. The secondary right-mouse button can be configured as a bottom-right tap zone. In other words, tapping the right-bottom corner of the touchpad is the same as the right-mouse button.

One thing you could try is to uninstall the Synaptic driver and just let it use the regular touchpad driver that comes with Windows to see if the keyboard problem still occurs.

[Fr0st]

I am not trying to be funny or a jerk but? Frost you are rocking! I am reading your posts across the board and hanging on every word! You keep it up. Nice to have you here! OP sorry to take the side path but Frost has it covered more than I can help. Both of you have a great night.;)

Aww shucks PP, I don't even know what to say. Thank you :)

[Just]

Gotta Question about the G73JH Models too. I hear that STEAM crashes on the laptop? Is that true? If it is... is there a fix for it?

[Fr0st]

I haven't heard of any steam issues.. I can't imagine how there could be a hardware issue between Steam and the G73. Steam runs perfectly fine on Windows 7 at least for me.

[Just]

yeah... not sure why, but I've read some reviews on new egg and amazon that users had troubles running steam. I actually emailed the guy on amazon, and he said that he wanted to play Call of Duty Modern Warfare, but that steam crashed on him.

On the other hand, I searched out the forums and did find some users have the same problem, and others have no problem at all... Kindaaaaaa confused...

[UntilMoraleImproves]

yeah... not sure why, but I've read some reviews on new egg and amazon that users had troubles running steam. I actually emailed the guy on amazon, and he said that he wanted to play Call of Duty Modern Warfare, but that steam crashed on him.

On the other hand, I searched out the forums and did find some users have the same problem, and others have no problem at all... Kindaaaaaa confused...

I've read on a few forums that Steam + certain audio drivers (either realtek or creative) seems to lead to trouble.

[Fingersniffer]

http://www.xoticpcforums.com/showthread.php?t=5813

[Swampdonk3y]

Hey Spyther,
I have just recently bought a G73JH, I am quiet happy with it. I was however having the same problems as you. After disabling absolutely everything to do with ASUS my wallpaper was still switching back to the Republic of Gamers ASUS wallpaper. I even went so far as to contact ASUS, who were no help by the way. I was inspired though by something they asked me to do, so maybe they were in an indirect way helpful....lol. Anyways...this is how I fixed it.

C:\Windows\ASUS\Wallpapers - that is where the ASUS default theme is stored. I simply renamed the ASUS folder to ASUS.bak. Problem solved, changed my theme and it has not reverted since. I realize that it is still a work around but it is better than doing a fresh OEM install and then downloading all games and patches.

Hope this helps.

[Swampdonk3y]

As for Steam...I play multiple games through the Steam provider, I have not experience any problems that everyone hasn't had using Steam. I have not encountered any issues that seem to indicate that the G73 is the problem.

[Fr0st]

As for Steam...I play multiple games through the Steam provider, I have not experience any problems that everyone hasn't had using Steam. I have not encountered any issues that seem to indicate that the G73 is the problem.

What do you have for sound drivers installed? Realtek or creative?

[Swampdonk3y]

I am using the Realtek HD Audio and ATI HDMI Audio. I have no problems with either.