* Asus N61JQ Owners Lounge *

I fully agree with you, dragging along the right edge of the mouspad to scroll is the better than the touchpad can do, but not with N61JQ !!!

@fabsblu
I will contact a.s.u.s to have more infos about this (restoring hidden partition F9) and I will come back with infos

 

Thank for the link to the Catalyst Driver site. That is the driver that I was trying to install. I keep getting an error message though. Am I the only one getting this error?

Should I care whether or not I am running the latest driver if I am not having any problems?

 

Has anyone installed Linux on this laptop yet? I was thinking of dual booting Ubuntu and I was wondering what kind of driver/compatibility issues I might run into. I'm planning on installing the 64-bit version.

 

I had the same problem and found a fix on google. Run C:\ATI\Support\10-5_mobility_vista_win7_64_dd_ccc\Bin64\ATISetup from a cmd window as administrator. It will only take a second or two to finish. Then run the original setup file. I had to do this 3 or 4 times until it finally finished 100%, but it did work eventually.

Note: Double clicking on "ATISetup" in Bin64 worked too, but I only realized this after I ran it through a command window so you might need to do the same.

 

Unfortunately we have exhausted all of our old stock at the old price and have moved to the new price . When the price increase came out we purchased several units at the old price and maintained the low pricing. Sorry but most resellers will likely be at the new ASUS pricing (unless they have old inventory still remaining).

 

New Azurewave webcam driver: V5.8.54000.207

 

Right, KOH - I have seen that but was respondings specifically to the poster that was linking to 1066...wanted to be sure everyone that saw their post realized it was the slower RAM.

 

FYI, yes, HP created a monster extended battery solution for their NC6400 (that also attaches to the 6910P) that attaches to the bottom of the laptop and makes a new base with a tilt. It's a 12-cell extension to the existing battery and gives the system some 3-4 hours of usage. We've purchased/installed them @ work. However - the N61JQ does not have any type of capability on the bottom of the system to facilitate any battery extension as it doesn't have a docking port. Thus, I figure Asus would have to do some major engineering feat to put any kind of extended battery solution together for this puppy. As one poster noted they can go any further back due to the the way the system opens.

Love this laptop and am really glad I got it but have to agree that the short battery life is a negative.

BTW one of the main reasons I finally decided on this unit was this incredible forum. As an owner/Administrator of a vBulletin site myself I know it takes some work to keep these forums going so - here's a "THANKS" to our forum Admin(s) and owner(s). And of course a major "thanks" to all who contribute to make this such a helpful site.

 

I'm currently running the 32-bit version of Ubuntu 10.04 I didn't realize I needed to download a different ISO for the 64-bit version. The good news is, almost everything worked right out of the box (no NDIS wrappers for the wireless or any silliness like that). One issue I am having is that the Ubuntu version of suspend doesn't actally suspend like windows (flashing LEDs etc) it just seems to turn of the screen and is back instantly. Which is great for performance, but I'm not about to pack it into a sleeve while sleeping under Ubuntu.

 

Well I went for the 32-bit version after remembering my woes with the 64 bit linux distros out there. All I can say is now I remember why I stayed away from ATI. I have been unable to get it to display on dual monitors. Has anyone out there been able to get dual displays working in Linux?

 

Sorry cannot help with the first problem, never had problems so far, in any case I hope the advice given by KoolAid055 has worked out for you.

If you're not having any problerms and don't play games on the NB then you can forget updating the drivers but for some of us we can't get by unless we're constantly updating them, me included

 

Whats the reasoning for the new price overall you think? High demand for the machine or are they using more expensive components in it now?

Oh btw, does anyone know when ATI usually releases their driver updates? I'm looking forward to 10.6

 

ASUS said it was a increase in component prices.

 

In the last few months they have released a new driver around the last week of the month.

 

I wonder if the N71JQ is going to become also more expensive.

 

ALL of these things have happened to me so far :-(

Awaiting my 2nd replacement. I paid for and was meant to receive a working laptop around a month ago. I am so not happy :-(

Here's hoping 3rd one will work perfectly otherwise I don't know what I'm going to do (may involve a gun to someone's head!) haha.

 

Can someone recommend a Blu-Ray upgrade to replace the existing optical drive?

 

My laptop has finally been repaired! Hopefully they fix all the issues I wantEd them to. Pretty good turnaround requested on 1st, tech got it on the 8th and fixed on the 16th as well as shipped.

On a sidenote, is this Asus most successful laptop ever? Maybe the reseller can help us out with some sales figures?

 

While it is a very good seller, it is not the most successful ever, or even currently.

 

Congrats and lets hope they fixed all the problems for you.

I believe G73JH sells better than N61JQ.

 

Does anyone know if the N61 has a eSATA port multiplier?

 

You won't find an eSATA port multiplier internally in any laptop. It is either and external device, or can be internal for desktops.

 

Bah! It is the most successful when Greg owns one. Greg = success!


HA!

 

That's what I'm talking about!
Did your nephew find a laptop, and did you check out the used X1 listed here for $799?

 

I think someone posted here about LCD costs going up which might have caused the price increase.

 

That's good news Risco! Lets cross our fingers. We don't want your situation to turn out like Tony's who we haven't heard from since May 2nd.
What's up Tony!!!

 

The only way I see an extended battery for the N61 is if Asus uses this hinge on more models. I think the hinge design is a nice feature so maybe they will use it again. I wonder if they even thought ahead about the battery when they designed this hinge.

 

Whats going on guys!!! I been very busy with work I finally have a working N61!!! I did a clean install and everything is working fine! Is there any page with updated drivers listed down ?

thanks

your bro

tbroc!!!

 

Justin & Donald, It's good to have you guys checking in on us.

What is your best guess about if we will ever see an extended life battery for the N61, given the drawback with the screen hinge design? Could you please check with your contacts at Asus and see what their crystal ball says?

 

Hey guys...I want to run two monitors (it will make my command center more sexy!) how much of a difference will I notice if one monitor is HDMI and other Dsub ? Would kind of suck having them side by side and you can tell the difference in picture.

 

That's great news Tony!! . I took down the updates on the first page as it was to hard to keep updated. The Asus support site has been much better at updates lately and you can get most of what you need there now. I think Ati catalyst is up to 10.5 now. Be carefull if you flash you bios especially version 209 as it has bit some of us. Which bios did they ship back yours with?

 

Mine's 2nd monitor is working fine using the VGA port and the stock repository drivers. I found the Ubuntu display utility for dual monitors works better than ATI CCC for initial dual display configuration. Easiest is to configure both displays to work as a single large desktop. Use the program here to fix the dead space in the monitor configuration https://bugs.launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/libxrandr/+bug/373367/comments/10

 

I am afraid the answer is never. If you need more battery life I would recommend buying a second battery.

 

Thanks again for the help bro!

 

Mine shipped back with 209....210 is out huh ? The laptop is a lot more stable compared to the beginning of Feb. when I first bought it... I wonder if the bios updates has something to do with that.

 

I don't think so bro. I had the origional 204 and never had any stability problems. I screwed up when flashing v210 and bricked mine. I am waiting for a new motherboard to be shiped to my autorized service outlet here in Seattle. If v209 is working good for you I wouldn't mess with it after what you have been through. I think v210 fixes the problems people were having trying to flash to 209. But since your v209 is installed and working don't mess with it bro! We can't take you having another RMA, throwing around dumb bells and such.

 

Thank's Donald. It doesn't matter to me as mine is plugged in most of the time. But people keep bringing it up and wishing it would be so. I think they needed to hear it from someone like you so they could deal with it and move on.

 

I got dual displays working with my 20" and the laptop monitor, but now matter how I try to configure it, it will not work with my two external monitors. In fact, my 17" monitor (hooked up through the vga) won't even turn on even though it is detected through the ATI Control Center. I figured this would happen going ATI. I usually steer very clear of ATI for this very reason. Oh well I guess I'll be stuck with a single display for linux. I'm using the latest drivers from ATI's site, but I've tried the ones in the repo as well.

 

In windows I run dual displays one on DSub and the other over HDMI. I'm running two different types of monitors so there is a difference in display, however if you have two of the same monitors I doubt you'll notice any differences. For example the fonts displayed on my monitor hooked up through dsub are far better than my HDMI one, because it's a better monitor.

 

As it is already mentioned in some other threads ATI has released 10.6 driver. Here is the link for 64bit version:
ATI Catalyst? Mobility Display Driver

 

Just bought my N61JQ. I uninstalled most of the bloatware, but the cpu usuage is still running @ 29-30%

Any tips on how to get this even lower?

 

Not yet. We were going to look at laptops last weekend and both got too busy. This weekend is going to be crazy too. ACK!

 

Welcome back Tony. Glad to hear you finally got a working N61!

 

Got my laptop back today! Top marks to the service team, the replaced the motherboard and the toucpad, as well as the lcd bezel which had dust under it. Only problem I have now is the wear level on my battery is @ 10%

Other than that I give 10/10 for turnround time and overall RMA process. Seems the UK centres have improved as I heard a lot of horror stories.

 

That's my preference as well! Anybody any idea if that is possible with other touchpad drivers?

 

Hi guys,
Got my n61jq-x1 couple of days ago. Love it so far. I have a question for our great expert team. I have OCZ vertex limited edition 50gb.
It reads at 270 mb/s and rights at 250 mb/s. Before I put it inside the machine I was thinking hook up this drive to esata using external 2.5 enclosure powers by usb port and data uses esata. Install windows 7 ultimate and if everything goes well replace current hdd permanently. First question would that be noticebly faster, then current drive?, second would that change add to the battery live? And third, does the laptop sees esata port as internal sata? If this was discussed before, sorry, it's hard to thru 480 pages, I already went thru couple of hundred Thanks

 

i will recomend that you use some software like acronis true image, and restore the image in that drive, or make a clone drive...
because if you install in esata mode, i think that maybe it will give a BSOD when you plug to a sata port...
or im wrong??? well that actually happend if you make that in usb, but i never use a esata port.. :S

 

I think eSATA and SATA II run at the same speed, so you should be seeing your 270/250 MB/s speeds running externally as well. As such, it will be much faster than the current drive (at least twice as fast?).

I think the only difference between eSATA and SATA II is a slight increase in voltage and better shielding for eSATA.

 

Great news Risco! Hopefully the battery works fine and your troubles are over. Things are looking up around here with you and Tony getting your N61's working. Thank's for all the help you provide to the Lounge.

 

Just got this Laptop like a month, worth every penny