* Asus N61JQ Owners Lounge *

It took me 3 weeks, 1 week before schedule. I'm in portugal.

 

I seem to have solved my problems by NOT using the hybrid power savings and removing more bloat ware. Not sure which it was, but my money is on the power savings.

Wes

 

I’ve bought this laptop recently and I love it, except for one major issue. I figured the screen wouldn’t be a problem since I can output to my 32" HDTV through hdmi, but it’s simply not working. The laptop doesn’t detect anything when I plug the hdmi. I updated all my drivers and still nothing. I know for sure the tv isnt the problem: I’ve tried on 3 of em, each a different size and brand, and none of em work, as in the laptop doesn’t even detect anything, as if nothing was plugged in the hdmi.

I don’t think the hdmi cable is the problem either, because my tv can "see" it (hdmi input is selectable vs greyed out when nothing is connected). It could be a semi-faulty cable or something but that seems like a stretch, unfortunately I dont have another to try out.

Last is the hdmi port on the laptop that could be faulty, but I did a search and nobody appears to have had that problem so it seems unlikely. Any way to verify the port?

Or it could also be something else completely that I’ve overlooked… Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

I'm having a overheating problem with my N61jq... I tested it on furmark and he turned off... How could i solve it?

 

There are two things you might want to try. First hook up the cable then go into the Catalyst control and find the detect displays button. Click that. If the TV doesn't show up, try rebooting the computer with the HDMI cable plugged in. It might be picked up on boot. Also make sure the TV's input source is set as the HDMI one.

If the over heating isn't caused by warm room temps, I'd contact support if you have a warranty.

I've sent my laptop in to have it repaired 3 times now and it mainly depends on whether or not it needs parts. If it does I'd say 3 weeks. if not then a couple of days depending on shipping.

My experience maybe different since I'm in the US on the West Coast.

 

A couple days ago, I was wiping down the keyboard with a wet towel and promptly after booting, the keyboard malfunctioned with various keys returning random values and some keys working fine. I shut off the laptop after about ten minutes of confusion, disconnected the keyboard. I tested the keyboard about five times over the span of 44 hours and its conditions seems to change each time. Is my keyboard fried (as the towel actually wasn't very wet) or should I keep waiting?

If it's beyond helping, is it possible to send in the KB itself to be individually repaired/replaced, or do I have to send the whole laptop into warranty for repairs?

Nothing else seems to be damaged and I've confirmed that external keyboards work fine.

 

I forgot to mention that nothing is detected in both display settings and the ATI catalyst. Also tried rebooting, replugging etc several times and still nothing :/

 

Was the source on the TV set correctly? For example the HDMI source on my TV is input1. Make sure that is set correctly. Otherwise you'll either need a different laptop or different HDMI display to test to see where the problem is.

 

Yes it was set correctly, and like I said I tried on 3 different hdtvs so that can't be the problem.

 

Just grab an ISO from here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html

Then download the drivers from ASUSTeK Computer Inc.-Support-

The keyboard can be replaced somewhat easily. There are tabs holding it in, sometimes there is double sided tape that you have to tear. I posted generic instructions here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...rd-replacement-repair-manual.html#post6889173

You can find replacements directly from asus here: http://us.estore.asus.com/index.php?l=product_list&c=1751

You may also be able to find it cheaper elsewhere, like ebay or from a web search.

 

Yeah, i've got a spare KB... I was going to try and do the backlit mod..
It's quite easy to remove and all of the N61's (that i know of) shouldn't have any tape or anything like that..

@ShaGuar Instead of worrying about sending it back, (if your a computer savy). Take the back panel off, and get a can of compressed air (about $2-$5) from any general store or electronics shop/computer shop possibly.. and spray in the outlet on the left side of the laptop.. You will see dust go everywhere (well should) deepening on how long it's been used Etc. Be careful not to touch too much inside (it's safe to do though), and you'll see that it's got 3 heatpipes.. Which there are 3 parts of the outside exuast.. Which is split into thirds, make sure to spray it out thoroughly..

Oh and possibly don't keep your hand on the compressed air for too long, as it makes the fan spin super fast (probably not designed to spin so fast). Which in term could damage the motor/fan itself..

Anyway for anyone who does this (shouldn't damage) their computer. If so i take no responsibility, as i'm just repeating what i did for my Asus..

Anyway after doing all that and making sure there are no chunks of dust left in the actual computer itself, and putting the access panel back on, you should see your temps drop alot (Mine dropped about 10-15c after around 4-5 months of heavy use)

Glad to have helped anyone that i have helped!

 

I am now having a problem with my N61JQ. I have to press F1 to boot into Windows.

The problem started a couple of days ago when I plugged a USB memory stick into one port while simutaneously transfering files to an external hard drive via the USB 3.0 port. Windows Explorer stopped respong after inserting the memory stick and I could not get the task manager to start either. I got a black screen after that so I turned the latop off using the power button. When I powered back on the laptop would not get past the startup screen.

I now have a clean install of Win 7 after reformatting. I also updated the BIOS with settings at default. The laptop will still not boot to Windows unless I press F1. Most of the info provided from a Google search says the two most common causes of this problem are a faulty CMOS battery or an incorrect BIOS setting. I have no idea if that might be one of th problems but the BIOS clock is accurate and I never changed any of the settings in the BIOS anyway.

I'm not sure what else to check before I send this thing in for repair. Are there any suggestion?

Thanks in advance.

 

A few days ago, I did a clean install by using the Windows 7 recovery disc that came with my N61JQ-X1. After the Windows 7 recovery disc was finished installing Windows 7, a message appeared on screen and told me to insert the support disc (driver/utility disc), which I did not do, I just restarted the computer and Windows 7 was to doing some setups. As for the drivers, I downloaded the latest ones from the N61JQ driver thread. Now I'm not having any issues with my N61JQ and the total processes running on my computer is in the low 60s.

 

So the Asus Accidental Warranty won't cover the keyboard itself? It seems to be excluded from the list warranty terms.

I have the same problem, except it seems to occur randomly and rarely after playing Bad Company 2 or the likes, and I have never experienced it in-game.

 

The ADW only covers 1 incident in 1 year, so depending on how much time you have left, it may not be worth it to spend it on a keyboard. Personally it is such an easy and non-expensive replacement that I'd do it myself. If you're not comfortable with it, by all means, it is covered under the warranty.

 

I have a 5100,and it is twice the size as the one in my computer.It will not fit.

 

Thanks for the advice, I wasn't aware that ADW was usable only once. For now, heating the chiclet keyboard in front of a 120w lamp seems to slightly help, but is there any way to safely remove the plastic layer of the KB to get to the main chips for faster drying? I have experienced water spillage once, but it was not with a chiclet keyboard and it was working after 24 hours (and, I might add, considerably more water).

At worst, I suppose I'll skip ASUS servicing (which requires standard shipping of the entire laptop) and replace the keyboard. But I'd love to avoid all hassle and simply have the problem resolved cleanly. Again, it would be helpful if anyone knows how to disassemble the keyboard (as it appears tightly shut) for drying.

 

@iluvfuz, yes, usually there is a bezel that is the top layer of the keyboard surrounding the keys themselves. This can be removed carefully with a prying tool, credit card, knife, guitar pick... sometimes there is a film layer underneath it, you'll want to be careful not to rip it, it's sort of like the inside of a floppy disk. I think only backlit keyboards may use it - I'm not 100% sure. Either way, it's probably possible to take it apart carefully without destroying it completely. You'll of course have to remove it from the computer first, it's held in with some tabs, and use extreme care with the keyboard connector.

 

Disassembly PDF from Gentech<-It's been posted before, but is a great resource.

Click on the keyboard module in the TOC, I think you're covered.

 

Hi there,

I just got ASUS N61JQ-B2, Multimedia Notebook (Dark Brown) - Intel Core i7-740QM, 16" HD LED, 4GB RAM, 500GB HDD, ATI RADEON HD 5730 1GB, Blu-ray Combo Drive, 802.11bgn, Bluetooth, 2.0M Webcam, USB 3.0, and I have a question on how to enable HD audio bit streaming ( i.e. Dolby trueHD and DTS HD Master Audio) from it when viewing Blu-Ray movies.

According to specs, ATI RADEON HD 5730 fully supports HD audio codecs to compatible recievers.

Can someone walk me through how to set this up ? Do I need latest Catalyst drivers etc...

Thanks,
Nikonowski

 

I don't have blu ray/Nor the compatable receivers, but i somehow reckon if it doesn't work out of the box (it should) try updating your drivers to all the latest..
Otherwise i have no idea as i don't use that.. Sorry

 

Thanks Matt ! I cannot believe that nobody else is using this functions - HD audio is the reason you should watch Blu-Rays It is so much better than the regular DD and DTS.

Please help!
Nikonowski

 

Sorry to ask so many questions, but I'd like to know my computer the best I can. I'm trying to take full advantage of the N61JQ, so I decided to see if some overclocking is okay. The default core clock speed in 650 and the memory clock speed is 800, but I pushed them both up 70.0MHz using AMD GPU Clock Tool 0.9.26.

I haven't gone through formal benchmarkings, but it seems to have increased heavy rendering by as much as 10FPS or allowed for a prior framerate using more graphically intensive settings. Is the 70MHz increase in clocking safe in the long term of the 5730 using stock cooler, or should I just push it back down to default?

Also, thanks to Allur for redirecting me to ASUS' eStore; I'll be ordering a new keyboard from there for reliability over shady vendors.

 

Or you could have used ebay.. With a reputable seller..
Anyway

@the Graphics card OC'ing, see how hot it gets. If you may have a thermometer.. Compare the actual output of heat in comparison in real life tests, because as far as i know the 5730 doesn't have a heat sensor/no programs detect it.. That and/OR you could try running a stress test overnight, in doing so make sure you have it in another room, as you WON'T, sleep..

Just a question regarding the O/C. How did you get it to recognize it? As i just googled "AMD GPU clock tool" and it came up with a Techpowerup link, BUUT it says that it can't find any supported devices.. :/

 

HWMonitor and GPU-Z can both tell you the GPU temp.

 

Yeah, I'm using GPU-Z and the highest I've seen it go in recent PC games is about 76C, while idling at 53-58C. I believe I read that the 5000 series and later has some measures to prevent damage from overclocking, but I'm not sure how far that would go in the long run. However, I seem to have found a spot between 70-80MHz increase to both core and memory clock speed before artifacts begin to appear, but the heat of the GPU doesn't seem to change. I'm going to see if I can find a program that can record the temperature over a period of time so I don't have to Alt-Tab between fullscreen games to check the temperature. However, I'm not sure how accurate these readings are.

Also, Matt, is this the link you used? Because it seems to work perfectly right out of the box after immediately after installing. GPU-Z recognizes the new clock speeds as well and I have found that the clock speeds boosted my 3DMark 11 score from P1192 (default clock speeds) to P1356 (+70MHz).

By the way, I couldn't find an eBay seller that didn't ship from Hong Kong, delivered faster than a couple weeks, or didn't have a few pieces of negative feedback that mentioned lack of service to DOA or wrong packages. I was also eyeing the backlit version on eBay, but it seems to be a poorly made duplicate with LEDs. I don't do much hardware purchasing online aside from Amazon, so I admit that I don't really know what I'm doing.

 

Fario, but i agree you can get scammed on ebay, it's happened to me once before..

I just changed to the generic drivers from Ati/AMD, now it works!
What program do you use to measure the heat?

 

GPU-Z is lightweight and simple
EVEREST also works well, but if you just want the temperatures, you have to find the Sensors pane amidst all of the other included features. I think it's free now that it's discontinued.

And I just discovered AMD GPU clock tool also checks the sensor as well--go to the Thermal Sensors tab and check the Enable Reading box for the first entry only. Then press the Start button and it will display and record the average temperature until you stop and clear it.

 

Oh i see now!
I was meddling around with that before, and yeah i used GPU-Z to test if the clocks were effective...
I shall play around with it at a later day
Along with mums netbook

EDIT: I'm finding that increasing the Memory clock BARELY increases temps for me, and that increasing the core clock by 10 increases the heat by 0.1c at idle however..

 

I game on my N61JQ-B1 a lot, so I want to buy a notebook cooler!

I am thinking of buying the CoolerMaster Notepal Infinite. But I have a concern.
If you take a look at the cooler... ( Front of Cooler Master NotePal Infinite notebook cooler | Flickr - Photo Sharing!)
... So the notebook has a vent at the middle, I don't know what it is cooling, but would that be covered by the black thing on the cooler? Would it make a difference? Is the Notepal Infinite a good choice?

 

I haven't seen any notebook coolers that had done much to cool down the N61JQ. The best I've seen cools the system down 2c at most. Personally I think you'd be better off spending your money someplace else.

 

Really? Cause I put a book to raise the laptop and it went down 2c on idle. And I read some other person's post that his cooler dropped it 6c on idle.


The guy's post is in this thread btw: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/505249-decent-cooling-pad-asus-n61jq-x1.html

I just want to know if the one I am buying is good (CoolerMaster Notepal Infinite). Don't want to buy the ones in that thread.

 

Hello all,

About the last Intel Rapid Storage Technology V10.1.2.1004 drivers I have many system freeze when I use it with Momentus XT Hard Drive ...

The system stay cool but some errors occur when I working hard on network and system freeze

For me 10.1.0.1008 is more stable but the best stable drivers is the very old drivers

I.m not sure but I suspect my Hybrid Momentus Xt hard drive for this freezing... with this drivers it come unstable when some error occur.

I would like to know if you already experiencing something like that and if you have any solution..

thanks

PS: I do not have any special event in system event excepted "system shutdown was not planned..." and "event audit was ignored..."

 

hey everyone, new to this forum. i got the n61jq-xv1 and its great. its a powerhouse of a machine but the keyboard flex is getting annoying. what ever happened to people trying to mod a backlit keyboard into this system? that would make this the best laptop for its price.
i installed wubi and dual booted windows with ubuntu. but for some reason ubuntu was extremely slow and non-responsive. has anyone else experineced similar slowness? i always thought that linux based OS would have been less resource hungry than windows so expected it to run smoothly, but that never happened

 

ss3000: I haven't installed Ubuntu via wubi, I just install via booting the live CD, and set up dual booting through grub.

When I run Ubuntu, I haven't run into any performance issues, though I can't get suspend to work right or good touchpad drivers.

 

@ss3000

I installed ubuntu via wubi too from Windows 7 and I do not have any slowness problem - I have dual boot and I choose the first choice everytime (ubuntu desktop and ubuntu) - you should have to boot 2 or 3 time before to have full power system

 

Don't waste your money on a cooler. It does absolutely nothing. If you want an ACTUAL change in your temps - unscrew the bottom cover of the laptop to expose the fan, ram, etc etc.. This will give you extremely lower temps, and it won't void your warranty. I operate mine like this 98% of the time. THIS is when a cooling pad comes in very good use - with the components exposed. However, just opening the bottom of the laptop will give you extremely better temps 8-10C on load. If you add the cooler it will be even better. ONLY when the bottom if removed though. It takes 1 minute to un-screw, and if you have to take the laptop somewhere you can clip it back in without screwing it back on. It won't fall off. Give that a shot. I drilled over 500 holes in my back cover, so I can have the temps like the cover is off - but I still have protection by having the components covered up.. sort of.

 

@ss3000: perhaps you need to run a disk check from within windows. If you install using wubi, performance will be noticeably worse than a normal install with partitioning the disk. It shouldn't be terribly sluggish though, to the point of being unusable, which makes me think you may need to do a disk check and maybe a defrag.

 

I was getting freezes like that back in December. I tried various RST drivers and graphics drivers (and even swapped memory sticks) but nothing helped. Finally, downgrading my USB 3.0 firmware from V3.0.2.7 to V3.0.2.5 apparently fixed it (haven't had freezes since doing that in January). Here's my post with instructions.

 

Sweet JEZUS! What the heck does it look like now?

 

upgrade your momentus xt firmware to SD24

 

New ATI Catalyst 11.2!

ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver

 

I'll throw up a pic soon.

Sweet! Thanks!

 

Here ya go:

--

 

HOLY at those holes. how much did that reduce the temps by? as much as when you have the whole thing off? and what did you drill it with?

 

With the entire cover off - my temps were about 6-8C lower
With the holes - around 6C lower.
It just depends on how long the laptop has been on. Hence, the whole laptop generally gets warmer after 6 hours of being on.
I drilled it with a normal drill bit (I forgot the size, I borrowed the bit)
If you DO drill, make sure to drill into the black side of the cover. If you drill into the silver side, you will have rough edges on the cover when you're done.
Right now, after about 6 hours of being on - my laptop's temps are:
35HD
54GPU
56CPU
I wouldn't call those idle. However, they're a close guess.
I think my temps would be a bit lower if I didn't replace the thermal paste because I think I didn't put enough on the GPU and now the screws are stripped so I can't fix it...
Oh well. Laptop runs too damn hot anyway.

 

The heatpipe area is the weakest spot, anything hit hard enough may cause the plastic to crack. When i read this i thought you would atleast drill it in line or honeycomb circles but lol at that pics. Nice work anyway, for my use i always have the cover off since i'm using the laptop like a PS3 system nowdays, it just sits there no need to move.

And well thermal paste is a must because for only 4 months of use the stock thermal pad dries up.

 

yes I saw that on momentus seagate forum, I think its the right thing to do. Thanks for your answer.

 

So I have come up with and extra $100 after doing my taxes. What do you guys suggest I spend it on as far as the laptop goes? I use the laptop for playing sc2 and using firefox mostly. I was thinking Ram, but then realized I have never seen it use more than about 2.5 gigs at once. All ideas are appreciated! Thanks.

 

you should get a mechanical keyboard. they are so fun to type on. and really great for starcraft 2.