G73JW Freezes when not in use

Nuke, I've been having the same problems as you (freezes, bluescreens, disappearing usb) and also bee trying for many solutions during the whole year. Seems the times my freezes disappear is when I'm working with heavy programs, so they don't let my computer idle and

Here's the Throttlestop configuration I did:

1.- I downloaded Throttlestop 4.0 from here, at the end of the first post describing it:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/har...arket-upgrades/531329-throttlestop-guide.html

2.- I unchecked EIST, C1E, which slowed down the freezes, but I still got another. Then I clicked the Cstate button (it Said C6 in my case) and changed the Package C State Limit to C1. I haven't had a freeze/bluescreen/usb problem since.

3.- Also I set up Throttlestop for auto-startup by adding it to the Task Scheduler in windows, and Running it with Privileges (Adding it to the startup folder doesn't work due to UAC)

As I don't want this to be another placebo effect, I'm inviting others to try this to see if this helps them.

Throttlestop is a handy program that even Chastity Recommended for fixing some throttling problems with Throttling problems on these models, so it's safe (and been safe for me).

 

@ Celarent,

I am using Throttlestop 3.00. Seems like I have the same options you have.

I have also unchecked C1E (although I left EIST checked), and I changed the C1/C3/C6/C7 button to C1.

I will say I've left the laptop on all day using Throttlestop with no crashes, freezes, reboots, usb ports not working, or usbbugcode BSODs.

I am not holding out any hope yet, but we'll see.............

My temps are good, maybe 46 C for the cpu, 41 for the gpu.

nuke

 

@ Celarent,

What are your results so far with TS? So far so good??

I am 36 hours, no issues.

 

After limiting it to C1 states, I've had 0 of the usual issues (freezes,bluescreen,usb problems) and that was over 2, almost 3 weeks ago.

I did have a freeze and a usb lockup when only disabling EIST and C1E.

From our experience it seems the C1 option is the one fixing the problem?
I also suspected it had something to do with the Cstates, as my freezes never happened during a game or heavy processor using.

 

okay, had a few freezes again last week.

Now I'm trying the C1 state. Let's see how it goes.

 

Your issue may have been disabling EIST. I am pretty sure I read that EIST needs to be enabled for Throttlestop to work properly, so I have left EIST enabled.

I have limited the C states to C1, and have disabled the C1E state.

I am about 2 days with no issues.

Please, oh please..................

nuke

 

Not really, I kept the EIST and C1E disabled, and then moved to C1 states over them.

Now I'll be trying enabling EIST, while keeping C1E disabled and the C1 state just to pinpoint the necessary tweaks (if this happens to be the answer)

UPDATE: I got a bluescreen just ago, AND THEN noticed I had changed to another Throttlestop settings scheme by accident (one that still had the C6 state). I probably changed back to it yesterday when activating EIST. I still think this adds to show the C states are the culprit, after this being my first problem in 3 weeks.

 

@Celarent,

I also am 99.44% positive the issue is the alternate C-states and/or the C1E state.

Here is a link to a guide I found which suggests the EIST be enabled, as you have done.

It's very interesting how you accidentally reenabled the higher C-states, and bam, BSOD. That's just more compelling evidence that these C-states are garbage, and/or are being poorly implemented.

Throttlestop Guide

Regards,

nuke

 

As mentioned on the Asus thread about this issue, the C1/C3/C6/C7 button in the ThrottleStop 4.00 C State window simply limits the CPU package from entering these deeper sleep states. It still allows individual threads to enter the deeper sleep states when needed so changes in idle power consumption should be minimal.

Open up the C State window, click on the Package C State Limit button and set this to C1, click OK and then go back to the main screen and uncheck the C1E button. Stability is much more important than the tiny power savings that these features provide.

ThrottleStop 4.00 includes a window so you can see exactly what percentage of idle time your CPU is spending in various C States and makes adjustment very easy to do.

Asus seems to be the only company having issues so that leads me to believe this could be fixed with a bios update. The field testing you guys are doing might help them come up with a solution.

 

Unclewebb,

If you are the author of Throttlestop, a big THANK YOU!!!

Regardless what TS is doing to the C-states, it is working, I am now at least a week with none of the issues I was experiencing before.

I would upgrade to 4.0, but as 3.0 is doing what I need it to do, don't fix what isn't broken (at least, not anymore!!)

It seems there are alot of Asus' with this issue, but I am sure I googled other sites with different manufacturer laptops experiencing similar issues.

A "permanent" fix from intel or asus for this problem would be nice, but for now, I'm content to let TS do its thing!!

Thanks again!

nuke

 

@Celarent,

So far so good for you? I am over a week now, no issues.

Thinking of marking this thread "Solved with Fix".

Ideally, I would like to see Asus or Intel provide a permanent solution for this.

nuke

 

Ripper, has TS worked for you? Would be good to know.

nuke

 

so far, so good. no freezes whatsoever

TS got my hopes up again. Maybe it really *is* a solution \o/

you could edit your starting post and link to Celarent's solution.
and change the the thread title to:

and then add this thread to the list of useful links (mods, pretty please)

 

I did get a freeze when I enabled EIST the other day, but it happened during heavy load so it could had been any other cause. Besides that, my laptop has been really stable with no other freezes/usb problems, surviving overnight and whole days.

Also thanks to Unclewebb!

 

I usually recommend leaving EIST checked.

Looks like Asus and Intel need to get together and argue over whose fault this problem is. As processors age, they sometimes need a slight increase in core voltage to remain 100% stable. Sounds like one of them is cutting things too close in their pursuit of saving a tiny amount of power.

 

Good to know, guys, thanks for posting.

Yes, would be good if mods could edit the title, TS really does seem to be a solution for this issue.

 

Hi,
can you please tell me what you mean with "limiting it to C1 states"? I have the same issues with my G73JW but i dont know what settings i have to change with throttlestop

 

@fs86,

Here are my settings:

1. Near the top, there are 4 radio buttons, labelled 1, 2, 3 and 4. I have selected 1, which should be the Performance mode.

2. There is a row of "buttons" near the lower right of the screen, on TS version 3.0, these buttons will be labelled: TRL, TPL, BCLK, C"x"(where x will be a number, either 1, 3, 6 or 7), DTS, CLR. These buttons (except CLR) can be toggled to different settings, so if the buttons are labelled differently than I have described, I suggest you toggle until they read what mine read.

THE EXCEPTION is the C"x" button: This needs to read C1. THIS IS VERY important. When this button reads C1, this means the other C-states are disabled.

3. There are a bunch of checkboxes on the left hand side. I have all of these boxes UNCHECKED except the EIST box, which IS checked.

The clock modulation and chipset clock mod boxes are unchecked as well.

The Set Multiplier box I have checked, and in the drop box to the right, I have selected Turbo.

4. Click Save when done.

5. The other thing you'll have to do is set a task to autoexecute TS everytime your computer starts. You need to set the task to run "with highest priveleges". If you need help with this, email me back, I will have to figure out how to do that again. The other option is to manually start TS each time. Note, I do not believe you can place TS in the Start folder to get it to autostart each time. You could try, but I was told this will not work. I did not try the Start folder option. I set a task.

If you need instructions on setting a task, let me know. If you need further clarification, let me know. You can PM me as well.

Regards,

nuke

 

@ Ripper and Celarent,

Still going good guys?

nuke

 

Hello! Its mostly good here. I did get a couple of freeze the day I tried to enable EIST again (while browsing). Maybe that's a problem only for me? I should note that these freeze where different from the once I had before, in which the computer would shut off if I disconnected the power cord. I these ones the laptop would stay on even if I did that.

But outside of the times I've enabled EIST I still need to get a freeze. I know this makes no much sense but I'm still reporting it. :S

Still, I'm happy with the much higher stability and able to let it on when I go afk.

 

still going, still good

 

Good to hear guys. I am going on 3 weeks now, no issues.

I even enabled a screensaver today, and no crashes.

I am so convinced this is an Asus issue with Intel's technology.

IMHO, just get rid of energy saving features. Seriously, no one buys a laptop like a G73 if they are worried about power consumption.

nuke

 

I do not exactly consider this to be a good thing, especially since there are many, like myself, who do not need to disable anything to have stability.

If anyone is interested in having their notebook come here to check this out, please PM me and I'll set up the RMA.

 

@nuke235:
Thank you for your explanation. I use the same settings as you and by now i don't have any issues. I use version 4.00 but i haven't created a autostart task yet. Does this mean version 4.00 is able to store the chances so that a program start isn't necessary any more in order to load the settings?

 

Chastity,

Thanks for the RMA offer, but I have RMAed my G73JW-XT1 (TigerDirect.ca model) twice. Asus service was awesome, they were fast, courteous, and replaced the cpu, motherboard, usb, and audio. However, that didn't solve the problem.

Given my experience with my previous "cpu idle disable tweak", plus my experience with unclewebb's TS program, I am utterly convinced the issue is with the C-state power saving technology, or at least, how Asus has implemented it.

I suppose it is possible I have received two motherboards with this problem. If you think another motherboard replacement would solve this issue, I would take you up on the offer. Keep in mind, though, I am in Canada, I assume you are in the US.

I have removed the 3rd party software, updated most of the drivers (atheros, nvidia, inf, installed sp1). I am using MSE for Anti-V protection. And I have few other programs installed.

I haven't tried a full windows install, but given that Asus RMA reinstalled the OS twice, I am not convinced another OS install will help.

Any other thoughts would surely be appreciated.

Regards,

Brad

 

fs86,

Glad to hear TS solved your problems.

I am not sure what you are asking with your last question.

If you are asking about creating a task, I did that, as I believe unclewebb indicated to me that placing TS in the Start folder will not start TS when the computer starts.

When creating a task for TS, make sure to check the box which says "Run with highest privileges.

 

nuke235,
I did not have any issues for a couple of days now. But i have not created that task yet. Does the adjustments i made with throttlestop only take effect if it is started? Or can i remove throttlestop after the settings have been saved?

If not, i will create that task ... but is there a way to start throttlestop minimized (only visible in tray bar) from the task?

 

TS needs to stay running with the settings I described.

See Celarent's post earlier, that as I understand, it is TS keeping the system stable by disabling the C-states.

If you create a task, TS starts automatically in the background.

You could try the startup folder, but I don't think it will work.

 

When ThrottleStop is setup as described in this thread, it blocks the CPU package from entering the deeper sleep states like C3/C6. Every time you boot up you would need to run ThrottleStop.

I don't fully understand this problem but it is possible that you could run ThrottleStop once and don't need to leave it running in the system tray. If you want to do some more testing nuke235, you could try exiting ThrottleStop and see if you get any freezes after that.

The second post in the ThrottleStop Guide thread explains how to set up a task in the Task Manager so you can auto start ThrottleStop with Windows if you need to.

 

unclewebb,

I set a task so TS starts each time the computer starts. With this method, TS does not appear in the systray, but it must be running, since I have no issues.

If I want the icon in the systray, I just click my shortcut, and it pops in the systray.

I have not tried placing TS in the startup folder, but I believe you indicated this would not work.

 

If you create the task using the Task Manager method as explained in the second post of the ThrottleStop Guide, it should start up and it should show a system tray icon. You need to follow that method exactly.

If you are using UAC then you have to use the Task Manager to auto start ThrottleStop. If you don't use UAC then dragging a link into your start up folder will probably work.

I am thinking that you might be able to run ThrottleStop, have it disable the C3/C6 CPU package states and then immediately exit ThrottleStop and everything will be OK after that. That would be an interesting test. If that does work then there is a ThrottleStop INI option called ExitTime. If you set this to say 5, ThrottleStop will automatically exit 5 seconds after it starts so maybe you can forget about this issue after that.

 

I created the task per your guide, but the systray icon does not appear.

I can see it is running in the task manager.

It works either way, just if I want the icon, I have to click on my shortcut.

A small price for stability!!

And I actually like TS running, I check the temps every now and then. Very convenient.

 

Windows 7 sometimes like to hide icons. I think the problem is when ThrottleStop starts up before the system tray exists. It has nowhere to put an icon so it gives up trying after a short while.

As long as you are happy then it's good.

 

I cant get the task working ...
Every time i log on, the throttlestop security warning appears and it does not load my settings after confirm. Instead it loads the default settings. I have to stop it and start it manually again.

 

When setting the task, make sure to check the "Run with highest privileges" box.

 

fs86: Did you follow the second post in the guide exactly? Post a pic of the security warning so I can try and figure out what's going on.

 

Boy, reading this thread has been like reading a mystery novel! I've just purchased a used Asus G73-JW which will arrive this week, thus my intense interest in this topic.

Very glad to see that you guys may have found a solution should I have these issues (fingers crossed). (Also a bit worried about the power pin breaking issue I've seen mentioned a lot. No easy fix for that one.)

Thanks to all you guys for sharing your experiences and good info here!

 

Thanks for your reply.
I found the issue. I created a shortcut of Throttlestop.exe and changed its property "Run" from "Normal window" to "Minimized". But if I tell the task to execute throttlestop.exe instead of the shortcut, everything works fine.

I want throttlestop to start minimized at login (only visible in tray area) without showing up the gui.

Is there any way to do this? I dont have a solution yet.

 

I have neither GUI nor try icon

But that could come from me using separate accounts for user and admin.

 

fs86: Use the ThrottleStop start minimized feature. It's in the Options window.

 

Thanks. I will try this today after work.

 

This does not work for me. I've tried all settings and my PC still hard locks while gaming. It's been RMA'd twice to ASUS. NOT HAPPY WITH G73JW.

 

If your computer is hardlocking while gaming, I suggest your issue is not the same as mine. My issue occurred when the computer was sitting idle.

If you installed TS, what temps are you getting for cpu/gpu when using the computer?

 

It freezes during gaming or idle. Temps are around 50-60C

 

Just reporting again, have had no more freezes nor usb problems since my last post.
One thing I changed was enabling BD prochot in trottlestop, I'm not sure if that fixed the freezes during gaming (should also note I re-dusted the fans)


A screenshot like this would had been unthinkable when I was having the overnight freezes

 

Cool, man, thanks for all the info and good luck!

 

I'm so happy I found this thread! After changing to a 920xm my g73jw has really started to freeze / USB BSOD and the throttlestop C1 fix did the trick for me!

 

Just wanted to let you know: Haven't had a single Idle freeze since last time.

It works

If you have problems with freezing in idle on your G73, please look at Post #101

 

i know its out of topic but may i ask what gadget is that?
btw +1 for the fix just solved mine and couple of days without usb craziness

 

Just wanted to let all know that TS did the trick. It's been what almost a year give or take, and no issues.

It seems crazy that I HAD to search out and find a third party program to solve a problem on a $1400 computer!!! Asus should have got it right after 2 RMAs.

Nonetheless, it works, and I'm happy.

Hope all had a Merry Christmas.

nuke