G51jx-a1 hanging up during boot

I've had this beast for a little over a year now and as of last week it seems to take 3-4 times as long to boot or not boot at all, I have done the typical check for driver updates, virus scans etc. I am no expert but I keep my computer extremely clean, I use this has a casual gaming computer (2 games + A/V) are the only installed programs. It seems it has slowed down quite a bit since I bought it and this new boot-up issue isnt helping. I have tried the pull battery/pull power solutions and they have not helped, I attempted a system restore and it seems to of resolved the no-boot at all problem so far.... but the computer is still extremely slow.

Here are the following scenarios I have encouters:
Power-On -> Asus-Logo -> hang up on black screen (reboots in 10mins)
Power-On -> Asus-Logo -> Black screen -> hangs up at "starting windows" before the window logo appears *power button to restart -> asks for recovery console to fix issues?*
Power-On -> Asus-Logo -> Balck screen -> "starting windows" + logo for 20-30 seconds -> Login (login successful)

I find after the desktop appears the harddrive activity light is on for a good 5minutes after (solid) even though the computer is idle... is is doing? task manger shows nothing.... (99% system idle)

Along with opening programs/windows I get "not-responding" fairly frequenty from going from 1 program to another...

The asus help desk dudebro was less than useless, he told me to just RMA it. way to troubleshoot bro!

Any advice would be great, I would like to be told its NOT a hardware issue, would certainly put my mind at ease hehe...

Also, i tend to leave it on for 8-9 hours leaving it at my desk instead of turning it off when im not using it, not sure if thats a bad idea?

 

Do you have any USB devices attached? If so, remove them until after you boot.

If you don't have any USB stuff attached, test your hard disk with a free SMART utility to see if it is failing.

 

USB mouse. Boot seems quicker, however once it hits the desktop its still taking forever to load/do whatever its doing (solid/erratic HD led) for a fair amount of time, although it shows 1%load/1.4gb ram usage, programs still running on the slow side/ not responding from time to time. Example clicking a link in the firefox broswer often causes a 5-10second "not responding" issue, or when exiting programs after clicking the "X" they graphically still appear there for a short amount of time.

My research shows these harddrive utility tools require some sort of bootable media? is there one that can be ran within windows

 

Try this:

1) Free up 30% of your drive's capacity for just free space. Use your Browser(s) to delete Temporary Internet files. Uninstall any programs or utilities you no longer use regularly.

2) Defragment your drives.

3) Use CCleaner to clean up your registry.

4) Launch MSCONFIG.EXE, select the "Startup" tab and UNcheck any items that aren't necessary to load at startup. Some AntiMalware (like SUPERAntiSpyWare) will check for a new definition file on every startup by default. Configure these utilities to do this less frequently. Also, the Malicious Software Microsoft Updates automatically downloaded each month (unless you've configured otherwise and choose not to install them) will scan your drives for malware after installation, slowing the bootup process while working your HDD.

If this fails to resolve your issue, consider:

a) performing an ASUS Factory Restore by pressing F9 at the ASUS splash screen and choosing Option 1 to install Windows to the 1st partition. Backup any files you need from this partition because it will be completely overwritten. This will install Windows 7 with all the ASUS Bloatware and stock drivers.

b) performing a clean Windows 7 installation and installing updated drivers along with the ASUS ATK Package (for Fn key functions) and no other ASUS Bloatware.

Your Windows registry usually becomes bloated after a year or more of use, slowing system performance. A fresh install of Windows by either option a) or b) will speed things up. It may also eliminate driver conflicts currently slowing your system (or remove the rootkit malware that has turned your system into a robotic spamming zombie).

 

the way this thing is set-up is 118gb OS/ and the rest for data I asume,
does that count as 1 drive with 2 partitions, or 2 drives?

I defrag monthly

I have already dealt w/ msconfig ty though <3

I'd been told the factory restore is just as terrible as gettin it from the factory due to bloatware/conflicts

I do have a win7 64-bit professional student license (24mo) and I have been looking into the required software/drivers for a fresh install..

Intel drivers, ATK drivers/software, p4g, keyboard drivers, lan, wlan

would I need to update/flash the bios agian? or is that saved to the BIOS itself(version 207 I believe)

Regards to checking the HDD:
I have downloaded seagate tools for windows
SMART - pass
Short/Long Generic - pass
Random Read - pass
Short Drive Test - pass

does that suffice?

 

Here's a free SMART utility: Active@ Hard Disk Monitor Freeware. SMART & HDD usage control.

You can also test your RAM with memtest86+ but it requires bootable media like a CD-R or USB: Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool

 

Does the seagate tool used above suffice?

I will try to find my flash drive to run memtest86, i presume i will need to change the boot order inthe bios

 

You can just hit esc at boot and select the USB drive from the boot menu.

I didn't see the seagate stuff you posted, that's fine, but doesn't totally rule out a failing drive.

You should test your RAM to rule that out, although you'd probably get all kinds of program errors and BSODs, so it is not the most likely cause.

Check your system log for any kind of errors or warnings, there could be a clue there if it's a software problem.

You can also do an sfc /scannow to check critical system file integrity.

 

Becuz of the tool? or because no tool can gurantee it

 

Yeah, SMART info and manufacturer diagnostic tools don't always catch every error, but they are a good indicator.

I would be more interested in your event log at this point, to see how many red icons there are and if there is a pattern.

sfc /scannow only takes 30 minutes or so, and you can also do a regular disk check to verify your filesystem integrity.

Check your hard disk for errors

 

You can download a .ISO file of the Windows version that is currently installed on your laptop, burn it to an installation DVD, and use the ABR (Activation Backup and Restore) utility to backup your activation info to a flash drive and restore it to your new Windows installation.

It is not necessary to do anything with your BIOS.

Did clean install of Windows 7, lost as to what drivers to get. gives you an idea of the driver types you should download. Check Device Manager to determine what devices are installed on your laptop and the current driver versions they use. This will help you determine what updated drivers to download.

The ASUS Factory Restore does install all the Bloatware and stock (read out-of-date) drivers. But it is very easy and will perform noticeably faster than your current system. While taking more time for setup, the clean Windows installation with updated drivers will be another order of magnitude in performance above the ASUS Factory Restore.

Antivirus, AntiMalware, Firewall, and Remote Access software have kernel mode drivers that can conflict with other drivers on your system, causing performance and lockup issues. Uninstalling programs of these types can help troubleshoot your performance issue.

 

Regarding windows clean installs, here's where to get the ISO:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html

You can use this with the key on the bottom of your laptop if it is still legible and you don't mind calling an automated 800 number to reactivate. Otherwise use ABR (it's pretty simple) to back up your license before you start.

All of the drivers can be found here:
ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download G51Jx

Beyond the basic drivers and ATK drivers, you can see a comprehensive list of the rest of the ASUS software here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/380681-asus-utility-bloatware-guide.html

You don't need to flash your BIOS when you reinstall your OS. Actually I remember something about the latest G51Jx BIOS having some kind of issue, but it's been a while and I forgot what it was.

Jumping straight into a windows reinstallation may not be the best course of action, though. You can do some troubleshooting and rule things out until you get to that point.

 

I ran active HD mon
health: OK 53%


What would you like from the view event log? I can give you as much detail as you want

 

Are there any SMART attributes that are looking bad from that test?

For event viewer, look for system events and program events that are errors, you are going to have to see if there is a pattern.

I would do the disk check and system file check (sfc /scannow) before you get into really digging into the logs, unless you find something right away that seems like a pattern.

The event log will tell you if you are having boot problems sometimes, I can't really explain it in detail here.

Use Windows 7 Event Viewer to track down issues that cause slower boot times | TechRepublic

What?s Taking So Long? How to Fight Slow Startup Times in Windows 7 IT Expert Voice

 

I dont know what is considered bad, I hope the image above can help you

doing sfc /scannow

NOW!

 

Some of that data doesn't really make sense. Try another utility: HDDScan – free HDD test utility with USB flash and RAID support

 

everything was good except:
Ran 3 different tools all gave different raw values for Reallocation Sector Count 16 22 and 20
threshold is 36, worst 99
IDK if this is bad can they be removed/fixed?

sfc /scannow found no violations

I havn't set up any custom events yet but, looking through the logs... I see a number of things:
-1 or more "errors" or "critical" every other day
-customer improvement "error" alot
-boot times range from about 50 seconds to almost 2.5 minutes

memtest86 passed, also found out this laptop came with 1333 ram not 1066 that a few did

Can we rule out hardware at this point? HDD worrying me..

 

Today I cannot get it to boot, it hangs up at "starting windows" with the logo and willnot go past that screen.. attempted 5 unsucessful boots

 

Hit F8 repeatedly to get to the startup menu and select safe mode.

Also make sure you don't have any USB devices plugged in.

 

I can get into safemode, what am I doing from there?

everytime it boots unsucessfully to the login screen, it starts its own recovery.. it always says it cant fix/find the issue but the boot after that for the rest of the day seems to work (happened twice now) it seems as it the day goes on... things start to work?

-I get the feeling its either this hard drive thats the issue, OR i should just format

 

Did you do a disk check?

 

yes, nothing came up as an issue
i did dskchk /f /r

The event logger is showing alot of things that I think are driver related, they show up almost daily:
"critical" PCI-express
"warning" LMS Intel MEI not found
"warning" WLAN AutoCOnfig not found
"warning" registry used by other software
"error" customer improvement program <-windows not driver
"critical" Background optimizations (prefetching) took longer to complete
Then 3-4 "critical" under boot time custom view mode everyday for the past few days... i asume thats failed boots

The critical errors go all the way back to november 28th... prior to that only warnings and 1-2 occasional errors

I will post a detailed listing on my event log on the past week if you would like to see it.
Admin View (Applications/System)
Boot Time
Boot Degredation

 

The "Windows detected your registry file is still in use by other applications or services." could be an issue, although probably wouldn't be the reason you can't boot sometimes.

Not sure about the critical PCI express warnings, everything else you listed shouldn't matter except for the boot time stuff. I linked some articles earlier that will help you track down software that is taking too long to load at startup.

Are you running antivirus software or any kind of antimalware/antispyware etc?

 

ah ok, u mean warnings? yeah I got LOTS of software taking too long to load
here is a list from the boots today:

eventlog
fssm32.exe (my anti-virus i believe)
mmcss (mutlimedia clas schedular service)
windows theme shell
group policy client
profsvc
windows audioservice
taskhost
PreShellInit

F-secure (AV) and windows defender

 

If you got no clues from the techniques in the articles I linked, I would try a full system scan with f-secure (as long as it's up to date), and then try removing f-secure from your machine to see if it makes a difference. If not, you can reinstall it.

 

I wll give it a shot!

 

I removed F-secure and replaced it with MSE, boot times are quicker and I recieved only 2 new events in the logger on boot:

LMS intel MEI not found (I installed this driver, why wont it work?)
and an IP conflict, I no isnt an issue (My router has reserved IP's)

I'm still getting the "not responding" programs when initially opening/closing them quite often

 

I have been reading up on this intel Management driver issue, apparently it hits performance pretty hard.

Is there a fix?

 

still get 5-6 warnings/errors in my event viewer, based on research they are all dependant on the Intel chipset driver working... I have updated, uninstalled, re-installed... and its still an issue