* Asus N61JQ Owners Lounge *

the reason people bricked their system is because when using EASYflash the system would not restart after the flashing, hence the bricking. BIOS 210 fixes that, so i suggest people use winflash to update bios, unless you have 210.

this was mentioned by other users.
and with WINflash, you can always re-flash a failed flash, just make sure that you don't restart after a failed bios flash.

 

I read the brick was because they used AFlash. And from what i read WinFlash is a poorly coded program and can crash with windows. Now you mentioned EasyFlash caused it @_@ i'm confused.

Good thing 210 came out so i don't have to suffer

 

The BIOS notes say aflash2. In reality, it was EasyFlash that bricked everyone.

 

Who knows what the problem really was. We had a Troll in this lounge who posted a link to Bios 209 that would automatically start flashing your bios. A couple of people reported here that they bricked after clicking that link. Many other people reported having no problem flashing to bios 209. So now the common opinion is that "Everyone" was bricking when flashing bios 209. The reality is we had 2 reports of it here.
I bricked mine while flashing from 204 to 210. But it was my mistake from not fully understanding the easyflash options. I don't know which flashing program is better but I found winflash more user friendly. And it also check and verified the bios before I flashed it. That step would have saved me from bricking if it was available in easyflash. I also like the feature in winflash that lets you reflash if the bios was bad before restarting.

 

Thanks for your help. I installed my SSD in a Newmode caddy last night - the caddy is very well built, although I'd say transferring the faceplate from the stock DVD drive is a requirement. Otherwise you end up with a really cheap and awkward looking hole in the side of your laptop. If I had read the instructions more thoroughly, I could have finished the install in about 10 minutes but as it was it took 25. It looks completely factory stock now..

Then I installed Windows 7 on the SSD following the quoted directions, by running the installer from my existing Windows 7 install on the stock hard drive. This was extremely fast - took all of 15 minutes - but there are a few problems
- you can select between two identically named Windows installs at boot. There could be a use for that, but I recommend you set them up with different user names so you can tell which one you actually end up running.
- your new system drive can't have the letter C. By default it ended up as E: which is not cool in my opinion. You can't re-assign it to C either.
- your new SSD doesn't become a full-fledged boot drive. It appears that BOOTMGR is hidden on the recovery partition, because once I unallocated that to turn the 500gb HDD into a data drive the computer was no longer able to boot... at all
- the Key Cert Branding tool is a very easy and comprehensive way to get Windows activated again

So I am going to do a totally clean re-install, this time using a bootable thumb drive, to get my disks all reformatted properly so I end up with the 111gb SSD system drive as C: and the 500gb data drive as D:

Review
For testing I used Windows 7, the Experience Index and Mass Effect 2.

As a first note, the Mushkin Callisto allocates less spare space than most Sandforce SF-1200 drives (according to the review I read) so that the 120gb drive has 111gb usable space instead of 100. They also cost roughly the same as an Agility 2, but they outperform the Vertex 2 in all areas except random writes. The reason for this being that the Callisto has to use the software-limited mass production Sandforce firmware, and doesn't get to use the special drivers OCZ got for their Vertex 2 drives.

So anyway, Windows 7 - boot up times were cut approximately in half. This is counting from power off to "usable" desktop time. I'm sure people know when you fire up your OS on a HDD system, even though the desktop appears and responds to input you really can't do anything for another 15-120 seconds. With the SSD, once the Win7 desktop has appeared you only need to give it 1-2 seconds before it has completely finished loading EVERYTHING and is sitting an idle state. The actual system load time has been reduced by approx. 50% as well.

My Windows 7 Experience Index is still 5.9 overall because memory has held it back, but hard drive speed went from 5.9 to 7.7.

Mass Effect 2 load times were all reduced to approx. 1/3rd their previous times. It now easily outpaces my desktop system (Caviar Black 500gb w/Diskeeper auto defragging, WinXP, 3gb RAM, Phenom X2 550 BE) in loading at all times.

Coupled with the already fantastic gaming & productivity performance of the Core i7/ATI 5730 combo, this has made for an incredibly!!! fast laptop. Absolute joy to use in stock configuration.. even better now. I just wish the LCD was better.

 

Very big yikes... I was flashing from 208 with default options. When i plugged the USB in and selected EasyFlash, it showed the USB dir. I then select the 210 file and boom! started progress bar, waited 10 secs and auto rebooted. Guess i was lucky or maybe by using 208. But maybe your right, i should use WinFlash in the future.

On second thought, were you using that Asus tool that change the BIOS boot screen display?

EDIT: Guys my freaking RAM scored 5.5 on Windows Experience Index after the second run!! Why! *Cries*

 

restart the system and make sure there is nothing running in the background, and see if you can cut down on unnecessary processes, then restart the test.

if you still get 5.5 you might have a problem , the new bios must be under-clocking the ram or something.

EDIT: see if reverting back to the previous bios fixes the problem, but remember there is always the risk of bricking the system with continuous flashing.

EDIT2: ask around if people are experiencing the same problem with 210.

 

I'll take your 3rd advise Sono. Because the OS is fresh boot and nothing running before boot WEI. Flashing backward is not a worth it option just to try out the RAM. And i don't usually flash BIOS unless it has something to fix/tweak the hardware.

So, anyone with 210 BIOS version experienced 5.5 RAM score on Windows Experience Index?

 

Sorry side track, Holland taking on Uruguay later.

 

this is the answer I have from Abo right now. Before that he sent me a "c" modded version with good end at 140MHz but cpu-z show same stock FSB 133MHz... Can you check your laptop if cpu-z confirm you are really overclocked ?... :

Hmm..., I do not know the clock generator name. And I do not have the datasheet. It is very difficult.
Unfortunately, I cannot support it now.
abo

 

Its just the stupid WEI score. Its a dumb little microsoft sales gimmick. It has its flaws and is not a good tool to check your performance. Forget about it!!

 

I'm not telling anyone to use winflash. I don't know which one is better.I was just sharing my experience as a beginner at bios flashing. What I experienced was that winflash was easier to understand and use. But thats just me.

 

This is mine:
Processor: 7.0
Memory: 5.9
Graphics: 6.7
Gaming Graphics: 6.7
Primary Hard Disk: 5.9

 

Does Flashing Bios fix Bluescreens? I've noticed an outbreak of them lately (2 yesterday after 3-4 days when 1 occurred). They aren't regular but it definitely has me worried.

Also, 3 other questions:

1) AC Adapters - anyone know where to get them? I've found a few Ebayers who sell generic ones it seems but not sure if they're legit or not...

2) Vertical stands - anyone pickup one for use with this lappy? I use big external monitors and want some quick and easy dock style system that won't waste desk space. However, I saw a post about keyboard air intake vents being blocked when closed so I'm worried it may be a bad idea...

3) USB 3.0 - Is it worth upgrading enclosures with this NEC controller?

Bagwise I've found a rugged and waterproof Dakine messenger and a sleek and businessy Porter brief that both fit it well and were designed for 15.6" laptops.

 

Depends which bios you are on and what is causing the blue screen. I saw on the bios post that for one rev. it was suppose to take care of ATI blue screens for a specific issue.

I'd personally recommend upgrading your drivers first.

 

Yeah my CPU-z does confirm that I am as well as 3dmark vantage cpu scores (re-tested 3x with default and oc). Try updating to bios 210 via the windows method safely. That might fix it.

 

Everything match except RAM.. Hnnnnnnnnnngg! *Heart attack*

Hold on a second outlanderboi, are you using 64bits OS? If yes that would be the reason why. 64bits have greater CPU to RAM access speed.

 

If you are using a 32Bit version of Windows, that will account for the score. You are correct.

 

Is anyone else getting random freeze-ups from youtube? I think it might be due to the new version of flash (10.1)

 

Are you using 32 Bits windows version ?

 

Sorry, forgot to mention that I am using a 64-bit version of Win 7.

 

I accidentally turned off the Turbo Boost meter. How do I get it back?
Thanks

 

Any other 210 BIOS people have this memory loss performance index ?

I have 7,5 memory performance index with 208 BIOS and all Asus stock. And You ? Is 210 BIOS an other scrap from manufacturer?

 

Yes guys i downgraded to 32bits and only 2.93GB usable.

And the ventilation system ain't working out so well, i suggested to remove the bottom cover and that cooled GPU and CPU magnificently (by 20C).. However the mousepad area gotten hotter.. the intake vents under the mousepad suggested that the HM55 chipset is cooled if only the system fan is running high. So I have to close the bottom cover to get the airflow from vent into the system core just to cool the chipset. Higher CPU GPU temp and lower Chipset temp, balance *facepalm* why is it the chipset doesn't have a heatpipe on?

And btw is it possible to use N61JA's CPU on this JQ. Is just i5-540M. Both CPU sockets are the same i guess? There's no info on ARK | Your source for information on Intel products about it.

EDIT: Oh to mention my system comes with OEM Kingston RAM what about you guys?

 

If you want to contourn the 32 Bits memory limitation you can do this way : Force Windows 32 bit Support More Than 3.2 GB RAM [Include Windows 7, Vista, 2003, XP etc.) - Computer Video Tutorials - vTechTip
I have 32 Bits with this patch since 4 months and run like charrrrrrrmmmmmm very stable my stock memory at 7.5 performance index

 

Omg 4GB in use and 7.5 RAM score. Yet i'm not quite believing the score and quite suspecting, i'll need to find out how that's possible and whether the score is real or faked. But thanks mike2010 that save the day for now

It modified the boot.ini there used to be a way to open up the boot.ini file but i've forgotten how. I'm sure is possible to DIY without that program in future if just edit the boot.ini

Second i'll need to run the memtest to see the ms speed and latency changes between normal and patched.

 

Just got myself a new camera! A Panasonic Lumix ZX3, real nice. My question though is does the card reader on this laptop work with SDHC cards?

 

I run it since 4 months and there is no any fake. memory run and use 4GB to 7.5 score and memtest will proove it. There is no way to do that by tweaking your boot.ini only because you need the patched kernel from this patch. the program modify boot.ini just to give you the chance to boot on stock kernel or patched kernel. if you want to remove the patch you just have to erase it from boot.ini.

 

I'm pretty sure it should.

@mike2010 it patched both boots! And both getting me the same RAM amount and performance. Now i can't test the stock OS performance until a reinstall.

 

Yes you can as long as you know what you're doing. You will void your warranty if you do it yourself.

 

1) 3rd party AC adapters make good cheap replacements but some do have issues. In short, you can save money but know there are risks though everything in my experience has been minor issues. A friend was sent a 3rd party replacement by the website he got his laptop from. It made an unnerving buzzing sound while in use. He called in to complain and though they assured him that it was perfectly safe to use. He did manage to get them to replace it free of charge on account of how incredibly annoying the sound was. I also bought a 3rd party adapter from EBAY on the cheap that doesn't quite fit the plug on the laptop. I have used it without issue for some time now with no complaints. The adapter was made to conform to a number of laptop brands and models so it makes sense that it won't fit snugly with all of them. There is the chance that you could buy an adapter that is too small and falls out constantly, arcs or doesn't fit at all.

3) Depends on what sort of external drive you want to use. If it's a laptop drive a USB3 enclosure is a good investment. If you have a desktop drive, you will get faster transfer speeds from eSATA which is essentially a SATA data cable with a slightly different shaped connector. There are a number of solid drive enclosures with both eSATA and USB 2 connections that provide both compatibility and performance. You could also wait and see if the modular cable design of the Seagate GoFlex drives catches on.

Did it ever occur that the solutions for your over-magnified problems might in fact be causing even more issues than they fix? Your downgrade to 32bit windows seems prompted by little more than incidental superstition. Removing the bottom cover on your notebook might increase the long-term longevity of the components doe to heat stress but only at the risk of it's short-term safety. Imagine explaining to the RMA dept. how that stray paperclip manage to short circuit your motherboard without penetrating the laptop case.

 

For anyone using the WEI as a performance benchmark, it is not designed for that. It is designed to give you a ballpark on how your system will perform. If you want to find out the performance of your RAM, CPU, ... use a real benchmark suite. WEI is not accurate enough to give you anything more than a ballpark and sometimes produces numbers that does not match performance at all.

 

Yup. They work great.

 

This is impossible... you did something wrong. What do you see in MSCONFIG in "start" boot ? if you prefer use bcdedit.exe

 

WEI is useful for guiding luddites on common sense computer upgrades when it shows a large discrepancy between component scores.

Have a HDD score of 3 while the rest of your scores are between 5 and 7? Time to buy a SSD.

Can't figure out why you only get 2fps in Crysis on your Dell single core Celeron after you blew your savings on a ATI 5950? WEI to the rescue again.

WEI handles this reasonably well and in my opinion was a good move by Microsoft. It was never designed with the intent of gratifying your ego in some clock speed pissing contests.

 

Seriously, that never been a concerning issue to me, i can only say there's no way you get a short circuit like that. I've been using my laptops for over 3 years doing the exact same thing to prolong the life of its own. I use my laptops mainly as a desktop replacement. Run it over 24 hours for a week sometimes. And please, don't ask me why not get desktop instead, have my own pain.

And hey i'm not a rich guy but yet i need technology to keep me entertained. You'll get it, i complained because of the design can reduce the lifespan and yet seems like no other way to prevent, either chipset dies sooner or the GPU fries sooner. Either way i need to replace whole mobo. Hell with that.

Because both boots got me 4GB and same performance result. So i assumed. Anyway is no biggie. That program is a break-through!

 

You said what I was trying to say, but much better. However I would not make buying decisions only based only on my WEI score.

 

WEI give a series of stress tests on hardware and i do think the outcome is quite fair except HDD maybe. I will still use the score to compare with others. But running Celeron with 5950? I doubt anyone will come across that lol

 

hello,

i came back with another question, i was using the express gate a couple of times for sending a quick email... but it was a pain to write the email... sometimes it supress some keys random, or write it later...

is there a way to fix this???

 

So I looked at CPU-Z and showed that my DRAM Frequency was at 667MHz, shouldnt this be at 1333MHz? Or does cpu-z report half the frequency since its running in ddr mode?

 

Does anyone here play Starcraft 2? And if so, does it allow you to pick 1366 by 768 as your resolution? For some reason, it only allows me to pick 1360 by 768...

 

I have a way to fix it. Uninstall it since express gate is about as usefull as the WEI score!

 

My Processor rating is 6.9, everything else is the same as you. What would be the reason my processor rating is lower? I know it's not much I am just curious.

 

I wish I could understand the relentless all consuming fear of heat by the thermal dorks. I can understand it while you are researching buying a laptop model. But what is the point after you bought it.Why worry about if your laptop will fry in 2 or 3 years. Its like buying a new car and worrying about the daily wear on your engine. What can you do about it, change your oil everyday? Drive your new car, crank up you N61, life is good its going to be ok!

 

Yes. You have 1333 RAM.

 

This is mine with 208 BIOS:

Processor: 7.0
Memory: 7.5
Graphics: 6.7
Gaming Graphics: 6.7
Primary Hard Disk: 5.9

 

Swap out the radiator, upgrade the water pump, or, if you're like NEX_SASIN, drive with the hood off!

 

Didn't mikele advocate this tool? Are you and he... the SAME?!

 

I also get 6.9. If you're not using the High Performance power plan, you might get a very slight drop in performance caused by speed step/turbo boost transitioning. I noticed a slightly higher benchmark (Fritz Chess Benchmark) when locking the multiplier at maximum (e.g. in the High Performance power plan). In any case, the difference is negligible and doesn't, IMO, warrant maxing the multiplier at idle.

 

Ok guys, I'm a recent owner of this laptop with a problem I can't quite put my finger on...

My laptop has weird tendency to just freeze up and not be able to anything, over things that shouldn't be that extraneous.

Sure if it freezes when I have a heavy duty game in the background and I decided to do something else, I understand that. But when all I'm doing is surfing the web with maybe 2 other applications in the background (Usually messenger and maybe music) I start to get suspicious.

I've started scanning the entire comp for viruses, malware, and spyware, but it's less than a month old and I've been fairly careful about my web surfing. I do however, think I know what might be causing this, and I was hoping you guys could verify whether I'm right.

I opened task manger, and saw that I had about 100 processes running, despite only having chrome open with 2 tabs. This is taking up approximately 40% of my physical memory, and have proceeded to start deleting a lot of the bloatware that came with this. I understand that some of this is to be expected with the installation of new stuff, but even my old- PC has less than 70 processes running.

Anyways, I just wanted to know if anybody else was having similar experiences, and perhaps you're experience of what bloatware to remove. You're ASUS bloatware page has been a big help, but there's a lot more than what's there.

Thanks for your time guys.