G73HJ-X1 Crashing

Hello,

I'm new here, please forgive me if this has been address elsewhere, I've tried looking for it.

My two day old Asus G73HJ-X1 is experiencing problems where it will freeze up and the only way to get pass this is to hold down the power button for 5 seconds and force a shutdown. Upon reboot the computer works for awhile and it again freezes.

The first time it happened I was playing a music file in WinAMP and had the Visualization running and somehow brought up the Accessibility, which I suppose is called "Ease of Access Center" in Windows 7 64-bit. I played with the magnifier a short while and it froze. At this time I didn't know about holding the power button down and used the reset from underneath. When the computer came back up all appeared fine and I used it from about an hour more without issue.

Today I decided to remove some of the Asus bloatware. The programs I removed were and in this order:

Asus Web Storage
Boingo
Asus AP Bank
Asus Live Update
Win Flash
Trend Micro Internet Security
Game Park Console

About halfway through the above list it started to freeze again. By this time I knew about the power button and must have had to use it at least 5 times. During one of those times in the error console, I had Windows 7 check the memory and all 8 GB passed.

A few minutes ago I right-clicked on the Desktop and selected Personalize and at the bottom there is a "Ease of Access Center" link and as soon as I clicked that link it froze again.

While it was rebooting I thought about last night's crash with WinAMP and the magnifier and was rather sure, at least in part, the problem had something to do with the "Ease of Access Center". However, with the computer rebooted back to the Desktop and while I was typing this, it locked up again just sitting there doing nothing.

The keyboard was warm, but not hot. The vents in the back were warm, but also not hot. I checked the BIOS, which is v2.05 (latest). I read here to check the Normal/Turbo mode, but it's set to "Normal".

With it off for at least 5 minutes, I rebooted. It made it to the Desktop, but it didn't even finish loading all the notification icons before it locked.

I don't know what else it could be, I'm left thinking that I uninstalled the bloatware in a not so perfect order and I don't know what to do. Please advise.

 

Do you have any problems when running in safe mode?

 

Have patiences young one. There is not a "dedicated" group of techies here. Were regular users just like you. No need to keep reposting your post... your only going to tick the mods of doing that rather than getting help.

 

After each forced shutdown I went into Safe Mode to run the hard drive Error-Checking tool found in Properties. Each time I was in Safe Mode I wasn't there more than the time to complete a scan of both partitions. While no hard drive problems were found, the G73 didn't freeze during that time.

To rule out heat, I've had the G73 powered off for over an hour, so it's cold. I powered it up and as soon as the desktop appeared I right-clicked and selected "Personalize". At the bottom left I clicked "Ease of Access Center" [EoAC]. It immediately locked up. After restarting, I did the exact same thing and again it locked up as soon as I clicked the EoAC link. I don't know what it is with EoAC that causes it to crash predictably like that.

In any case, I then booted into Safe Mode. Since "Personalize" isn't part of the right-click menu in Safe Mode, I picked EoAC from the Start menu All Programs and it loaded just fine, then closed it. Next I started EoAC from Control Panel, again no problems. Restarted the G73 back into Normal mode.

Now back in Normal mode, I started EoAC from All Programs and the computer immediately froze again.

I was concerned that the problem might be heat related, but after this latest test, I think it rules out heat as the cause.

What I'll do now is leave the G73 in Safe Mode for an extended amount of time and see what happens.

Thank you for the reply.

 

Sorry about that. As I explained in the other thread, I don't know how the second post got posted. I was attempting to edit the post to correct the spelling in the subject line. When I canceled the edit, somehow a second post was made.

Now that I think of it, I bet it re-posted the original when I used the back button in the browser. Some web software is picky like that.

 

Didn't someone who had similar problems in the regular owner's thread solve this by pressing the reset button on the bottom of the laptop with a straightened paperclip for a couple of seconds?

 

clean install, ftw!

 

The first time the laptop locked up I used a paperclip in the reset hole underneath. I can't say I held the reset for 5 seconds. I believe I just pushed the button and the laptop turned off.

However, since I can crash the laptop at will by going to the Ease of Access Center, I crashed it and this time I held the reset button down for 30 seconds.

After rebooting, it crashed again when I went back to the Ease of Access Center.

Thanks.

 

Would the clean install come from the included recovery disc or would you recommend purchasing a full standalone copy of Windows 7 64-bit?

And, if it's the latter, which level of Windows 7 64-bit?

And, would you purchase the OEM version or the retail version?

Thanks.

 

Download memtest86. Make sure you download 3.5, as 3.4 has issues with anything lager then 4G. Sounds like you could have some bad rams. download it, burn it via iso, reboot, choose the dvd rom as first boot option and reboot. The test will take over.

http://www.memtest86.com/

Now there's another one call memtest86+, their latest version is 4.0.

http://www.memtest.org/

I have not test these on my G73 yet, I have tested memtest86+ on my main pc and my brother's pc. I have 6G, and he has 4G so it'll work for 4G+.

 

Should I run both or is there one you prefer over the other?

Thanks.

 

I'm moving our part from the other thread...

So your problems started with WinAmp and VLC, you could uninstall these with something good like revouninstaller and see if it helps.

My thoughts are a software bugger up and that's why I suggested a fresh W7 install to get back to basics.

The "recovery partition" has it just the way Asus sent it to you, you could go that way and see if it was the apps that you installed after it that caused the freezes, but you will still have to decide what bloatware to uninstall.

The Asus "recovery disc" holds a fresh, clean copy of W7 and then you load the drivers from the driver disc and select what apps (bloatware) you want to install (instead of having to remove what you don't want).

I see sleey0 agrees with me, a fresh install (especially since you just got it and haven't invested a lot of time into your installation) is the best way to troubleshoot whether it's a software/installation issue or hardware. If it is hardware and you bought from Newegg, I would RMA with them.

Q

 

Thanks for doing that, this is much easier.

I downloaded the Pro version of Revo Uninstaller. I used Revo Uninstaller to remove WinAMP and VLC. I also removed 6 demo games that were included. There removal didn't improve the situation.

What I'm left with is a total of 49 installed programs. Of these 49, 14 are considered "New Programs", and only 3 of the 14 are not directly related to Microsoft in some way. The 3 are Comodo, Revo Uninstaller and Spybot. The remaining 35 "Other Programs" are dated prior to ownership of the G73.

I also tried the included Revo Uninstaller tools to see if they would make a difference, they didn't.

I too think that's correct. For example, I can click on the "Ease of Access Center" link directly from the Start menu or from within Control Panel/Personalization and always lock the computer up. The same doesn't happen in Safe Mode. Same hardware, different configuration.

I don't know if this crashing problem started because of the way Asus configured the install master or that Windows 7 is unusually fragile. Installing a couple of common programs and making some GUI cosmetic changes shouldn't result in having to reinstall Windows 7 this soon.

Which would likely put me right back in the same situation that I find myself currently. I didn't install all that many programs and the ones I did install aren't uncommon.

That sounds like the best solution.

I'm also considering purchasing a full Windows 7 disc, but I'm uncertain as to which version of Windows 7 to get. I've read that the Recovery disc isn't the same thing as a purchased copy of Windows 7.

Why Asus didn't include, for lack of a better word, a real OS disc. I mean, the included Recovery disc also had to be stamped and printed. Material wise, it's the same thing.

I'd still like to do the memory test, but there are two different Memtests and looking at their individual sites don't offer much of a clue as to which one to pick.

Regardless, it looks like a reinstall is in my near future.

Thanks.

 

^^this

I had similar issues and a clean install worked wonders

 

You can go that route and the included W7 is not the same thing as a Retail or quite an OEM W7 Disc, but it IS a real W7, just OEM like and locked to your G73s mobo and therefore cannot be transfered to another pc (it's also missing the Backup and Restore of a real W7).

Why? Cost. It's not just materials, it's licensing.

Q

 

Today was most interesting. Early this morning I went to reboot the G73JH and while it was doing that my attention turned toward the other computer. What caught my attention was not hearing the start-up chime in a reasonable amount of time. So, I looked over and there was this screen I have never seen before. It was a green backdrop and said, "Preparing To Configure Windows. Please Do Not Turn Off Your Computer" There was a percent gauge and it was at 35 percent.

Since my attention was away from it I don't know if this happened on the way to shutting down or after it started to reboot. I left it alone and when it reached 100 percent it rebooted (again). As it continued to reboot the same thing happened. When it reached 100 percent the screen changed to the normal "Welcome" screen and the desktop appeared.

I then restarted the G73 and before the normal "Welcome" screen appeared the green backdrop flashed on the screen for about one second. Then, it was back to the desktop.

I checked Google and others have been seeing this screen for the past couple of months. Perhaps something to do with Windows update. In my case when I did the critical updates a couple of days ago several reboots have since taken place. Some people have reported that when the ""Preparing To Configure Windows" screen appears that it has taken them 6 or 7 hours and in some cases people have had to leave it running overnight. I guess I was lucky that it only took 20 or so minutes.

After the dust had settled, I checked out my favorite crash mechanism. Right-clicked on the desktop, selected "Personalize" and clicked the "Ease of Access Center" link and the computer didn't lockup. WOW, that's the first time in a long time that clicking that link didn't cause the computer to crash. I re-installed WinAMP and VLC. I spent the better part of the morning using the G73 without any problems at all. I even hooked it up to my Home Theater System via the HDMI cable and was enjoying full 1080P (minus the 5.1 audio, I think that is a limitation of the software), but never the less finally enjoying the G73.

Several hours passed and I had other things I needed to be doing. So I shutdown the G73, unplugged the HDMI cable. Moved the now off G73 to the desk and went about the day.

This evening I power up the G73 and everything boots normally. Happy that things were finally looking up, for kicks I went to "Personalize" and clicked the "Ease of Access Center" link. Crash!

I don't know how the G73 can go from one minute working fine, to off, and then several hours later back to the same problem as before. I mean, the "stars" were in my favor right? It worked, it shutdown, it started back up, the temp was cold, and then bam, crash. The only thing I can think of is that somewhere inside there is a cold soldered joint or the connectors aren't seated properly, or there is oxidation on a pin. This morning I gently moved the G73 back to the desk, maybe it needs a good shake in order to work correct?

At this point I am really looking forward to daddyd302 or anyone's answer to post number 11 in regards to post 10 so I can begin testing the memory.

Sorry I couldn't remember more of what happened. Wow, what a day.

Thanks.

 

Never mind. I went with v4.0 of Memtest86+ since v3.5 of Memtest86 has a bug which causes the program to crash on systems with 4GB+ memory.

Memtest86+ has it's own superficial bug with how the pass is calculated, causing the pass gauge to show complete before the last test actually finishes. As far as I know this doesn't affect the test.

After 3 hours and 30 minutes, 3 test passes have been completed without errors. The plan is to let it run until 10 passes have finished.

Thanks.

 

At that point I would certainly reinstall. This is te biggest issue to rule out. If it's not that it is hardware related. Install a fresh copy of windows 7 x64 and see if your problems are gone. I would also suggest to install the drivers gradually checking that program that causes your comp to freeze so maybe you can identify a driver that is causing it.

Good luck.

 

Some recent news. After 13 hours and 10 completed passes, Memtest86+ v4.0 reported no errors. The G73 was warm, especially around the Y and U keys. Rebooted and checked Microsoft updates. For some reason the Office 2007 updates that I didn't install a couple of days have now all disappeared, but in their place there were two critical and two not-so-critical updates that I installed. After the updates, the G73 was rebooted twice. All of this did not fix the "Ease of Access Center" crash.

Still, the G73 worked beautifully the other day and for hours. A shutdown and several hours later it was back to EoAC crashing. Very inconsistent.

So, I have decided to take y'all's advice to take the plunge and re-install the OS from the Recovery disc. Is there anything I need to know before I start the process? Such as product keys, certain software updates that are not included on the drivers and utilities disc that I should get beforehand?

Thanks.

 

re-installing the OS is super-easy... I did it, and I'm probably the most computer illiterate ppl on this forum lol. It fixed my crashing issues as well.... Good Luck!

 

Thanks.

I take it then there are no updates and the only thing I need is the Recovery and Drivers disc?

 

To get full functionality from some of the ASUS-specific features (like the special Fx + function key combos which control keyboard backlighting, etc) and Power4Gear Hybrid you'll have to load those off the ASUS Driver & Utility disk.

What will happen as you run Recovery is it will install Windows fresh, then personalize it for your hardware, and then ask you to switch to the ASUS Driver and Utility CD - do NOT do that, or it will install everything automatically. When you reach this point in the install simply shut your machine down and then restart - the Windows install will finish and you'll reboot into your new copy of Windows. At this point you can load the software that has been giving you issues and test it, if all is well then pop the ASUS Driver & Utility disk in and choose - it's a very easy menu system - just those programs and drivers you want.

It's really easy, no worries... the only trick is to NOT feed the install the ASUS Driver disk when requested (use the Power button to shut down). I'd probably let Windows Update do its thing before testing the new install, but that's up to you. Even if you don't plan on keeping it I'd download and install Windows Security Essentials to get some protection while running your tests. I hope this helps...

 

I became impatient last night and ran through the entire Asus Recovery and Drivers disc process. I wish I had known that it's best to hold down the power button at the disc swap as it loaded everything. There was one glitch during this complete re-install.

During the driver disc install I did received a "This program might not have installed correct" warning about the 'Intel Chipset device software installer'. I believe it was asking me to pick whether it had or hadn't installed correctly, like I would know. By the time I read the message and wrote down what it said, the computer rebooted on it's own to move onto the next install. Don't know what the default is in these situations.

Once the computer finished installing from the discs, it shutdown on it's own and I restarted it. Windows came up normally asking me for my details and after entering them the G73 booted into Windows. I clicked my favorite crash mechanism, "Ease of Access Center" and it worked fine.

I haven't had time to dive into changing the Windows 7 settings to my liking or installing other software. Nor am I sure I want to keep this particular install.

I have already torture tested the memory with Memtest86+ for 13 hours and 10 passes (see above). Now what I think I'll do run Prime95 (64-bit) for 12 hours and see if the CPU can take it. Then I'll look around for something to torture test the GPU. Does 3dmark06 and 3Dmark Vantage do this?

If everything seems alright at that point, I may re-install the OS using your instructions above. Then update windows and start installing applications one by one to see how that goes.

Does that sound about right?

Thanks.

 

I have that exact same problem ! Everytime i try to use EoAC it crashes/freezes. Oh, well, clean install

 

Well, that may or may not help.

As I mentioned above, I had re-installed Windows 7 from the Recovery disc and had let the driver disc do it's thing. When I started the machine I went to the EoAC and it didn't crash the computer. Then I ran Prime95 for 12 hours starting at 11:30 am (Feb 24th) and finishing at 11:30 pm (Feb 24th).

During this time I checked EoAC a couple of times and it continued to work without incident.

Other things I did during this time was un-install the Asus Live Update and WinFlash programs. Set up the network and installed Microsoft's Silverlight to check on the Olympics. Made some changes to the Windows layout, such as:

1. Turned off the Action Center
2. Changed automatic update to never
3. Changed User icon
4. Added realistic device icons
5. Cleaned up icons in the notification area
6. Increased keyboard rate
7. Changed the background

There were other minor changes made, but again, these are mostly cosmetic changes. After 12 hours of Prime95, I check EoAC and the computer locked up. WTH?

I would think having Memtest86+ and Prime95 each run for 12 hours, if there was a problem, either one would have detected it sooner. Do you agree that I have at least ruled out memory and CPU as being the problem?

And, if that wasn't enough, after holding down the power button and shutting down the computer, I pressed the power button to reboot. The reboot went as far as the black screen with the Microsoft logo animation and then "Applying Update Operation # of 93,963" appeared on the screen. It showed in parentheses what it was updating.

Only, I had Windows updates turned off. I found this very puzzling as to just what the heck it was updating.

Last time there was this unfamiliar green screen which said "Preparing To Configure Windows. Please Do Not Turn Off Your Computer" and now there is this equally unfamiliar "Applying Update Operation # of #".

When the desktop was available I check Programs and Features to see just what updates had been installed. The only thing listed was Silverlight. Which I un-installed to see if it's removal would make EoAC work again, it didn't.

I'm at a complete loss as to what the heck just happened or what to do next. Please help.

Thanks.

 

Take my advice and skip everything everyone has told you in this thread. My G73 locked up straight out of the box while preparing to boot windows 7 with GPU crashes and it would lock up there-after randomly, without rhyme or reason. I did everything mentioned in this thread and then some (look in the official owners thread for a full list, I spent 2 whole days troubleshooting) and NOTHING would fix it short of being in safe mode or uninstalling the GPU driver. This is also after trying 4 OS reinstalls (including Windows XP) and I replaced the ram and hard drive to verify it wasn't hardware related.

I would RMA the laptop wherever you bought it from, the GPU in it is more then likely crashing. Try letting the ASUS screensaver loop overnight and see if it crashes, that would almost always lock mine up.

Not the answer you probably wanted to hear..

 

Rancid is the voice of experience, and as long as you do have the exact same problem he did he's probably right and the best thing to do is just exchange your machine for a new one.

One thing I noted in above are the icon changes you made; everything else seemed to be a deletion. I can't imagine why such changes wouldn't coexist with the program that locks up, but just for grins you might do one more clean install and leave changing the graphics of the user interface out... see if that helps. Uninstalling Winflash is probably okay, but it just sits there if you don't use it so maybe next time leave it alone as well.

As for the MS updating I believe they will push certain updates, especially regarding security or functionality of MS programs, no matter what your Update setting. Again if I were you next install I'd let all the MS updates be installed as they are far more likely to aid stability than degrade it, in my opinion, in an OS as new as Win7.

As for the Intel chipset driver if you go to Device Manager and do not see any little yellow ? or red X then the driver has installed okay. Win7 gives a lot of these false failure warnings.

I think your testing has eliminated bad RAM or CPU from the mix, running the screen saver overnight will tell the tale on the GPU.

 

Well, maybe not what I wanted to hear, but perhaps what I needed to hear. I don't think anyone would accuse me of not trying to fix it before sending it back for a refund or RMA, but there is only so much I can do. I'm not completely computer illiterate, but this thing is kicked my butt.

You mentioned Windows XP x64, that was something I was considering trying down the road, but now I think I'll pass.

Before going to sleep this morning I decided to again re-install the OS as I had another idea. I also decided to use the drivers disc since I could go to sleep and have it ready to go by the time I awoke. So, this morning I go to the G73 and power it up only to find that some of the drivers didn't install from the disc. Great.

I have just spent the last 20 minutes going through the Recovery disc again. This time I didn't use the Drivers disc and it is rebooting and taking forever to finish. I don't like having to pick and choose drivers from the disc, mostly because I'm uncertain which to pick, but be that as it may I going to try that route before trying the idea I had before.

I don't know if we were just unlucky or if there is some sort of inherent problem with the G73s that others haven't encountered yet, that could be blamed on early adoption. You didn't mention whether you replaced or received a refund for yours, but if I do have to send it back, at this point I don't think I'll be going for a replacement.

Thanks.

 

I have a couple things left in my bag of tricks, but I don't think they will have much impact and that returning the G73 is most likely in my near future.

Yeah, I wouldn't think any of those changes would have an impact on EoAC. Perhaps it has something to do with the sound drivers, since, when it works, the first thing it does is narrate. I read someplace that the Creative software is only used as a emulator as there is no Creative hardware. That, uninstalling the Creative software was one option since it's not needed. Also, people have reported that the Bass Boost causes problems. Although, I have never switched that on.

That's unfortunate that Microsoft would push updates and disregard the users settings. Particularly when past updates have caused system instability and they have had to be pulled before causing further damage. The funny thing about this one is, one install I had already gone over to Windows Updates and downloaded all the critical updates that were available. Yet it still downloaded updates? Hidden critical updates? Plus, the inconvenience of timing.

That's probably what happened then.

I would add that I have also eliminated cold and hot conditions as well, having left the computer off for hours making it cold and running Prime95 making it hot, and have had crashes with both.

Shoot, I just hate to have to go through the process of RMA, but it really looks like I have no choice.

Thanks.

 

I'm done trying to fix it. It's defective and going back. When I know more I'll post back with an update. I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone who helped me during this ordeal.

Thank you.

 

Yep, I checked availability before I set up the RMA. If the product is deemed defective, and I see no reason that won't be the case and they're out of stock, I'll get a refund. Which is fine by me.

So far they have been very good about it, the call was very pleasant. They have sent me a free return shipping label and should a replacement become available they will ship it back to me free of charge.

All I need to do now is clean all the fingerprints off of the G73, write a description of the problem, put the G73 back in it's original box with the included extras, slap the label on the outside and it's good to go.

I know I have a bit of a wait ahead of me, we'll see how it goes.

 

Well, after some troubleshooting around this freeze issue i've found something quite, i guess, interesting.

Suddenly all my freezes have disappeared and with no plausible reason for that. I've found that may G73JH still freezes when i call the windows 7 Narrator in EoAC. How about that? Disabeling in device manager the sound card this issue no longer happens, logically, but enabling it and calling windows 7 narrator makes my machine to freeze again.

By doing so i'm very convicted that's a driver/software problem, what you people think?

PS: Sorry about my not so good english, i'm a litlle bit rusty

 

That is interesting. My G73 was ready to be returned today (Monday), but after reading your reply yesterday I decided to give it another try. I also figured I would more thoroughly document the OS configuration changes I would normally make after a clean re-installed from the Recovery and Drivers disc.

This time around I didn't configure the Wireless network until several other things had been configured and installed. Basically cutting off the G73 from the Internet until later. EoAC was still working and there were no crashes.

I also found out what was causing the mysterious updates I mentioned previously. As it turned out, WinAMP needs an updated DirectX DLL. When you install WinAMP without an Internet connection during the install the installer said:

Your computer is missing a Microsoft DirectX component required by Winamp.
Latest version of Microsoft DirectX available at:
[Long URL removed]

The URL was very long and you could not click on it. Brilliant.

So, the "Applying Update Operation # of 93,963" was most likely the results of all 104 MBs of DirectX, because at that time I did have the wireless network already configured and it likely downloaded DirectX in the background.

Now that I had my list of OS configuration changes, and after doing another clean re-install of the OS, I installed the latest version of DirectX before installing WinAMP. This time the WinAMP installer didn't display a warning about 'missing components' and rebooting didn't trigger a "Applying Update Operation...".

Between installing the latest DirectX, WinAMP, VLC and critical updates from Microsoft, I checked EoAC. Unlike before where the computer would lockup like a brick, the EoAC screen loaded. However, all narration was completely gone. Everything else about the screen worked, in fact you can see the narrator's highlight box move around the screen as it narrates, but there is no sound.

Now, if I run WinAMP and play a song, then go to EoAC, WinAMP will stop playing the song and a error dialog box that reads:

Nullsoft DirectSound Output
Error creating DirectSound buffer
Error code 88780096

After that happens WinAMP will no longer work correctly, hitting play again just brings up the same error dialog box. Restarting WinAMP doesn't help, either. After restarting WinAMP and hitting play brings up a new error dialog box that reads:

Nullsoft DirectSound Output
Bad DirectSound driver. Please install proper drivers or select another device in configuration.
Error code: 88890010

Changing the output to "Nullsoft WaveOut Output" and hitting play brings up another error dialog box that reads:

Nullsoft WaveOut Output
Unknown Error.
Error code: 6
Windows error message:
"There is no driver installed on your system."

For giggles I tried playing a song in VLC and while there were no error dialog boxes, there was also no sound. Going into Sound properties and clicking the "Test" that is available brings up and error box that reads, "Failed to play test tone".

About the only thing left to do is reboot the computer, which ironically plays the Windows shutdown chime. After the reboot, WinAMP again works fine.

So, while starting EoAC doesn't lockup the computer at this time, there does appear to be a sound conflict.

I think you are correct and I think it has something to do with the Sound card. Whether it's a hardware or software problem I'm not sure. But, the first thing EoAC does when it's opened is access the sound card.

There are no updates for the Realtek Audio Driver, or as Asus prefers to call it, "Diver", perhaps fitting, over at the Asus website drivers and utilities page.

Over at the Realtek website, the "Realtek High Definition Audio" drivers are using a different version numbers scheme. Asus has version 6.0.0.5978 and Realtek's latest, dated 2010-02-25, is version R2.43.

I have no idea if it's a good idea to use non-Asus certified drivers.

 

Kalim,

Try this, remove errr... bad memory of mine... something like "
Creative HD.." from programs, uninstall it completely, restart your machine and all your problems are gone! I hope

It worked for me!

 

Congratulations, that's some great news.

Under Programs and Features I see two Creative Technology entries:

1. Sound Blaster Audigy HD
2. Creative MediaSource 5

Neither one looks like they are of any importance. Besides, the G73 doesn't have any Creative hardware. I checked the G73 page over at Asus and didn't see any mention of Creative or the original v1.0 package.

I don't think un-installing both of these would be any great loss. Well, you would lose an echo chamber, fancy EQ, mixer with only one workable control, and a low quality audio/video player and library with a mismatched interface.

So, unless I'm missing the point, even if this doesn't fix the lockups, the Creative software is still useless bloatware that can be easily replaced with better individual software.

If I have time tonight what I will likely do is another install from the Recovery discs and then immediately remove all traces of Creative. Nothing like starting on a good clean foundation. We'll see how that works out and report back.

Thanks.

 

Yes please. I am very curious how this turns out.

 

I don't have the time tonight to do a complete re-install, but what I did instead was un-install Sound Blaster Audigy HD using Windows own un-installer. Before I get to that I would like to take a moment to review two problems with this current Windows 7 install.

Like with all previous installs, at first EoAC works. The difference this time was as I made cosmetic changes to the OS and tailored other configurable options to my liking, EoAC stopped announcing. But, unlike all previous installs, this time EoAC didn't outright lockup or make the computer unstable. Basically, the EoAC screen would appear, but there was no sound.

Also, there was a conflict between WinAMP and EoAC. If I play a song with WinAMP and then start EoAC, it would kill DirectSound - to the point that the only way to get sound again was to reboot.

I can report that both of these problems are now gone by only removing the Sound Blaster Audigy HD and without re-installing the OS. The EoAC screen is appearing instantly, where before it would take around 5 seconds. And, of course the narrator now works again.

Playing a song with WinAMP and going to EoAC no longer kills DirectSound. The song continues to play normally and the narrator speaks at the same time. I won't say I'm 100 percent sure just yet, but this is very, very promising.

I have no plans to keep Creative MediaSource 5, either. I just wanted to un-install them one at a time. Per HaTrED's recommendation, I removed the Sound Blaster Audigy HD first and that appears to be enough.

Many thanks HaTrED. This sure beats having to RMA the G73. Likely they would have re-installed the OS and found nothing wrong with the clean install. Which was a big concern I had knowing that they wouldn't have given it the same investment of time to discover or allow the problem to eventually manifest itself.

I'm still going to re-install Windows 7, but you can be sure that both Creative packages are going to be immediately removed.

Big thanks.

 

Don't thank to me but to all this comunity, without them and their feedback i wouldn't have a clue how to solve my/our problem.

By the way, this fu{€{€7wefnking piece of software, or crap, you name it, also freezes the G73 when you install STEAM. Removing it the G73 is the Beast it should be.

I'm glad that your RMA is gone

 

I don't have any problems whatsoever with Steam on mine. I've not done any changes whatsoever to any of the factory installed garbage on this machine, so its pretty much the same state it was in when I first got it last Friday.

Sorry thats not much help to you folks having issues, but just wanted to let someone reading this thread that there are ones out there working just fine.

 

I gotta say this has been a fascinating read. An excellent example on how to troubleshoot a problem. My hats off to all you guys.

I purchased a soundblaster card for my G73 I will be curoius to see if that causes me to have problems.

 

Thanks Jasgent. It was also the motivation for writing the clean install guide (see sig). I wanted to give something back to the community for the help I received at a time of desperation and need. Hopefully in some small way I have achieved that.

 

Hi!

Thanks Kalim for the great guide.
what is the alternative to a good HD sound for the laptop if I unistall the Realtek HD driver?
Once installed, the sound is very standard (this is the case with headphones too).
Thanks,
Daniel-

 

All I can say is wow! And, why oh why didn't I see this thread sooner? I had the exact same issue PLUS one twist: I like the EoAC's Toggle Keys, where the caps lock and num lock keys "beep" when pressed. These caused the same hard lockup.

I uninstalled the Creative Labs stuff and the problem is fixed!

Thank you!

 

You want to keep the Realtek drivers. There's a new one out on their site that has some nice tools and sounds pretty good to me.