G73jh Bios 209 (At Your Risk)

i don't want to return it, afraid i get other problems.
since i used this machine i got no GSOD, got 103C furmark with 10.3...now 98C with 10.5
played cod:mw2 reach 93C max...but still good (no glitch) i'll wait for new BIOS version maybe or other solution... hope ASUS release it soon...give back my cool keyboard LED..

thanks,

 

Get on the phone with Asus techs!

They must have had plenty of returned units with this problem by now.

It's hard for me to imagine something fries in the hardware during the BIOS flash, so I am still optimistic that a software/firmware fix is possible...Asus needs to publish a procedure!

 

Ah yes, youthful optimism... For the sake of all those owners out there living in the dark, I truly hope you are right.
Cheers,

 

Youthful? You're too kind hehe.

Unfortunately I didn't get any paperwork indicating what was repaired and/or replaced when they fixed my lights.

I know it's not the keyboard - I got the same keyboard back and also have a spare keyboard I purchased to try before sending the machine in.

It's really a bummer that it's a gamble to update the BIOS. I've done so many firware updates over the years and this is the first hardware that I have had any problems with. WTH?

*edit* BTW, I've followed this subject closely since these machines were first delivered, and I agree that those who have claimed success didn't have the problem to begin with. I have seen no documented successful fix.

 

i think there will be new bios version, because they didn't change your keyboard...hopefully fix comes out soon...
want to see my keyboard lights up again...

edit:
do unplug and plug in the keyboard led cable can fix this?
or by doing clean installation can fix this??

 

Neither worked for me.

Before sending it in, I tried every documented and suggested item to try and none worked. The only one I didn't get to try is reverting to previous BIOS version, because EasyFlash easy-bricked my machine, so I sent it in bricked

 

none work....
i did revert my bios to 204 <- not working
upgrade 204 to 205 <- not working
upgrade 205 to 209 <- not working
also did reinstall ATK package <- not working
T_T
someone said, using fresh new backup windows also not working... but someone did tried put the keyboard to g72 and the led still working.
do BIOS hard to program? LOL (just curious)

 

My laptop came with the 206 bios when I ordered from Newegg. Of course, the keyboard lights did not work and this really annoyed me. My problem was corrected after doing the following:

1. Downloaded the 209 bios from the ASUS website. (Recommend to flash from bios)
2. Put the bios on a flash drive.
3. Reboot the machine and enter the bios (F2).
4. Go to Advanced -->Start Easy Flash -->Navigate to direcorty with BIOS.
5. After the flash, the laptop turns off and then you power it back on.
6. Keyboard may not function because of the ATKPackage. (Personally, I didn't have it installed since I reinstalled Win7 to use my SSD)
7. Get the Asus drivers disk.
8. Navigate to [ Drive:]\Software\ASUS\ATKPackage\XP32_Vista32_Vista64_Win7_32_Win7_64_1.0.0001\setup.exe.
9. Installed then rebooted.
10. Once you are logged in, press Fn+F4.

This should work and the problem is usually due to the ATKPackage that either needs to be installed or removed then reinstalled.

 

All of us have reinstalled ATK like 10 times and not working. The problem is not from ATK. The problem is from BIOS and the F.... Winflash

 

That is true but it did work for me and should not deter people because other people are not getting it to work.

I wouldn't use Winflash. I have owned many ASUS motherboards and had bad luck using the Winflash.

 

you just installed driver package that takes care of keyboard lights, this is not a fix so saying that this is what worked for you is bit silly because you didn't have a problem to begin with.

this is like saying that you had problem with your video card and you fixed it by installing driver for it, well duh !!

 

Did you not read my post? When I got the laptop, shipped with 206 bios, the keyboard lights did not function. Upgrading to bios 209 finally got them to work.

After I put my SSD drive in I installed those drivers and it still didn't work. I reinstalled Win7 again but didn't bother with the ATK package and that is why I mentioned that in my instructions for the install "of not having them installed".

 

I read your post. While I appreciate the tips, the problem you had (which was just OS software) was not the same one we're referring to here.

 

Actually it wasn't. Since it wasn't working with or without those ATK driver package installed. The only change was the bios but just trying to help, move on.

 

hmm, to those who bricked their laptops, have you read this: American Megatrends

 

Sweet, a .pdf from 2003!

 

LOL It may still apply, BUT...a bricked machine doesn't turn on so it makes all the recovery procedures requiring the computer to be turned on kind of, well, useless

 

Oh well it was worth a try XD

 

Heh It's a good document...I'm just still bitter about my bricked machine that I really would have rather fixed myself than having to send it in...

 

I think you mentioned earlier that you flashed your BIOS with Easy Flash and a thumb drive? Was your thumb drive formatted with NTFS?

 

Sadly, it was Easy Flash with a HDD (spinner, not the SSD) - NTFS formatted.

And I was attempting to revert to 205 from 206...

 

well it looks like 209 messed up my keyboard lights ...

I didn't have a problem going from 205 to 206, so I figured that upgrading to 209 wouldn't be a problem (wanting to fix the battery and cpu speed issue). What I ended up with was a keyboard with no lights ! Note to others, I would not upgrade to 209. Wait for a properly working one. Asus better release a new bios that will fix this ...

EDIT: By the way I tried flashing back down, reflashing back up, resetting the motherboard, changing it to default settings in bios, uninstalling ATK driver, reinstalling ATK, repairing option with ATK, and a lot of different combination of everything listed. No luck though...

 

I'm terribly sorry to hear that your update wasn't 100 percent successful. I wish I knew why some updates succeeded, while others don't. I thought it had something to do with a NTFS formatted thumb drive, but I've since learned that a flash can succeed using a NTFS hard drive, something I thought based on earlier replies to be the worse combination.

Unless it has something to do with the extracted file or copying the extracted file. I used a nothing special Patriot Xporter 4GB FAT32 thumb drive that I've had for a awhile. What I wrote in the quick guide is exactly what I did here going from 205 to 209. Other than contacting ASUS and letting them know what happened, I'm at a complete loss.

 

I think you may be on to something here, Kalim. I notice you've been trying to narrow down thumbdrive format specifics when people who use USB drives to update their BIOS end up bricking their machines. It couldn't hurt to start tracking this aspect of the process on this forum as long as people continue to run into issues during the BIOS flash.

 

We'll maybe not. Looks like we were thinking the same things at the same time.

 

Yeah, it started out like a good possibility, not so much now. Thinking out loud, if for example, both a successful and failed BIOS update both start by pushing the power button prior going into the BIOS, and we presume that the G73JH hardware is all the same, what other external influence could there be? Hard drives, thumb drives, format, AC power, no WinFlash, none of these things matter. The problem is that the consistency between success and fail just isn't there to make that termination easily.

 

Heres my guess on it...

The Asus G73JH has been known to be built in a couple or more different location. What if there is a slight variation from one to the other which is causing some G73JH to function with the Bios upgrade, where as the others are bricking or lossing functions?

For me, while others were experiencing problems with the 206, mine was perfectly fine except with the throttling problem and the freeze with fn+esc. But after flashing with 209 the same way I flashed with 206, my keyboard light disappeared. It definately is not a driver issue as the lights don't show up before the windows booting... so something with the slightly different motherboards or possibly the method might be the cause. My guess is the motherboards...

 

I am hoping someone can put a meter (I'm not a board level repair person but someone has to know how to do this stuff) on the keyboard light connector and see if power is being applied at all on the failed machines. If we could compare what is being passed on a working machine you could at least determine what exactly was broken. A few people have tested the keyboards on other machines and it's definitely not the keyboard.

Now that I think about it, even if we determined power was no longer being passed to the keyboard light connector what could we do about it? I don't see us rerouting power from another part of the board. This is so aggravating. Even though I don't have the problem I like things to make sense. I've never seen a bios update cause stuff like this.

Cheers,

 

What about the possibility of a bad or loose usb port for those who bricked it?

 

That's quite possible. There could be slight etching mistakes, the production line ramped up causing tolerances to slip, and/or even the facilities having different levels of cleanliness. Early models verses later models. Don't think the G73JH is old enough to already have a MB revision. Mine was purchased in February, but has a 2010-01 date underneath.

It could very well be the motherboard, but I think it can be fixed with a proper BIOS update. At least that's my firm belief. This is why it's important that people get on the horn and tell ASUS they have a problem. It's the only way to keep them on their toes and get them to fix it.

That's quite possible, too. I used the front-left port when I did the update.

 

I always use a thumbdrive with FAT32, use the right-side ports, and I always make sure I am on AC power. 1 successful BIOS, and 3 successful vBIOS flashes.

 

Agreed! I just got off the phone with Asus customer service (really nice by the way ). They don't have any solutions for it other than to RMA it (not a good idea if it's just keyboard light like mine). But by calling they do keep a record of the problem. And at the end of the week any problem that is voiced enough without a solution is escalated and discused by the service team, which is passed on to those that could solve it. So people with a problem CALL THEM ! Thats the only way that we will get a fix or some kind of an answer on why this is happening to some of us.

The number for the Asus Customer Service Center in the USA, which is 24/7 is (located on the bottom of your notebook incase other country):

1-888-678-3688

Lets jump on this people!

NOTE: I have specifically started a new thread for those who have lost their keyboard lights after a BIOS flash. Voice your problems here! http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...ard-light-failure-after-bios-flash-209-a.html

 

Laptop shipped with 206 bios and working LED keyboard lights, flash updated to 209 and lost my keyboard lights (they do not flash at post). Nice that the keyboard lag has been fixed, but i'd kinda like my lights back

 

What did you use to flash?

 

I updated my BIOSfrom 206 to 209, keyboard lights work.
However after updating the BIOS, at Windows7 loading logo my screen flashes+in DirectX it sas "BIOS Date 10/30/09 15:13:23 Ver: 08.00.10

Are these 2 things normal?

 

I don't see a flash at the Windows 7 screen. As to DxDiag, I see the same thing in the BIOS field. Perhaps that's the ROM chip date or it's simply reading it wrong? It was recently mentioned by nikolai090 that DxDiag cosmetically reads the wrong Display Driver Interface (DDI) version. What's one more wrongly displayed field in DxDiag.

 

So far I've tried every bios update there has been on the site. Think it was only 2, but updating hasn't failed me yet. I park the extracted file on my boot ssd and update from inside the bios upon start-up. With winflash I'd be very afraid of any stability issues. All processes running in the back, probably a lot of stuff that could disrupt the update process even if it should have been tested to work okay.

USB drives, well like someone mentioned imagine u just discover one of ur ports seems to have a bad connection, or the drive is connected to the powergrid and out of the blue the power goes down. Or u touch the connector by accident causing a failure. That would be bad.

I'll always update the same way, I feel it's safest. No software running (aside from firmware) and a 100% ensured stable connection to the bios file all the way.

 

There is no guarantee that using Easy Flash and having the ROM file on a NTFS hard drive partition will always work. YOU have had success doing it that way, but as shown in other threads that hasn't worked for others updating to BIOS 209.

I agree. Attached USB hard drive, no. USB thumb drive, better.

I'll agree only that if someone has had success updating their BIOS a certain way, that it's probably best to stick with that method for future updates. But, as I mentioned before, there is no 100 percent guaranteed way.

 

Dang, just updated to 209 using winflash and lost my lights too...no one has heard of a fix beyond sending it back?

 

I don't remember if anyone tried installing a new keyboard. If that doesn't work then probably requires a mobo replacement. (which is ghey IMO)

 

I think MarkS already tried that.

 

What do you suppose this repair note from AUS means re: dead kb lights?

http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...ure-after-bios-flash-209-a-8.html#post6393497

How do you suppose they reset it?

Cheers,

 

Reset the kb driver? K, this is curious....

OK, maybe we need a new poll for what KB driver is installed when flashed and lost? Someone email that tech now!!

 

No fix yet!

I also tried replacement keyboard - no bueno.

Just to make sure - the lights no longer flash during BIOS POST?


I just recently read a rumor that Asus has a possible fix involving the BIOS but I've seen no confirmation of that yet.

 

My keyboard lights no longer flash during bios post.

I just called Asus and the tech support guy said they have no confirmed keyboard light error!

He mentioned to downgrade to 206 and reinstal the ATK drivers.

Did that with each bios version using the flash drive approach this time...however no change.

I guess if more people call in they may take notice...but as of my last call a few minutes ago they had no record of this issue I was told.

Is there a thread already started with Asus somewhere on this issue as well?

 

I don't know if there's a thread with Asus involvement anywhere! Certainly not on their own forums.

There's an Asus rep here that is taking info from people who lost their lights because of BIOS flashing...make sure you send him your info. Can't hurt.

 

Really really hard to believe there's driver involvement here when not even the BIOS can flash the lights - before any drivers are loaded.

I'd be more interested in what was repaired for those who sent theirs in to be fixed. I wasn't provided that info unfortunately

 

What's the post count needed to PM him?

 

I have the Best Buy version and it was sent to their service center for repair. They fiddled around with it for two weeks and then issued a store credit. I picked up a factory fresh unit today. It has the 206 bios and it's going to stay that way until there is a fix for the lost keyboard lights.

 

Look at this post here.