Asus UL30VT FAQ / Official Owners Lounge redux

Do you still have your original drive to swap in for a test? What happens if you use standby instead of hibernate? I've had random window hibernation failure, no BSOD, so quit using it until I find out what is happening. This is using standard drive. What you need to rule out is possible OS install error for your new SSD or does it only affect certain SSD? Ergo the standard original drive test.

 

Edit:

Okay, so I got the turboboost working, and it's at 1.73 ghz now.

Now while I am monitoring it, why isn't it going back down to 1.33 ghz?

 

Hello Everyone,

I have hust received my UL30vt-X1. What a beautiful thing !!!
I am really impressed, but I have one question at this time regarding the color parameters as the picture seems to be quite blue.
What kind of color corrections have you applied into the graphic properties ?

Thanks for your help.

 

I believe you must turn turbo mode off to have your CPU go back down to 1.3GHz.

Congrats on your purchase

Personally, i just left mine as is since I'm not doing anything too intensive with photos or videos. However, try play with the Splendid options. It should adjust your screen's contrast and gamma output automatically with the preset options.

 

Windows 7 has a color calibration tool that you can use. I turned my blue down a LOT and my red down slightly, and it appears optimal this way.

 

I should actually go to 1066MHz (it does in my case anyway). You might have Min CPU speed in P4G set to 100%, that then keeps it up all the time. Check your settings.

 

Thank you for your help. I didn't know there was a calibration tool with 7. And by the way how do you access to Splendid options, I can't find any hotkey nor software regarding that option ?

 

Hmm, well.

I put my settings as this:

Plugged in - 100% min, 100% max.
Battery - 5% min, 60% max.

The thing is that, I unplugged the laptop, and it didn't go down or anything. I don't mind it running at 100% when it's plugged in, but it didn't go lower when I actually care about battery.

Do I have to restart the laptop or something?

 

Nope, did you save after making settings? Mine does as Wisse. I'm using CPUZ to monitor changes.

 

Ok, so sorry for the big pictures.

But here are my power settings on battery:


Then, I have 3 different programs to view my CPU speed, but I don't know which to read (I'm reading CPU-Z though).

Orthos reads my speed at 1733, yet I put the max CPU at 60% so I don't know how that's possible.
RMClock also reads it at that speed as well.
Cpu-Z reads it at 1600.

Here it is at idle:


And here it is doing Orthos:


As you can see, the core speeds are the same.

I also did an undervolt, and on RMClock it says the voltage is like 1.013 and on CPU-Z it says it's 0.9.

Am I doing anything wrong?

 

did you simply call asus to complain about the hdd noise and they sent you the replacement? no rma? they didn't tell you to send it in for inspections?

 

Your speeds look right according to buss X multiplier, do you see the ratios?

I noticed the clock differences between the programs as well so I stuck with CPUz.

Here's my full game and battery using throttle stop with VID set for stability.

Notice the buss X multiplier. At some settings this will float to allow for auto CPU loads.

 

question you all. My ul30vt will not see my gig switch. It will only stay in 100meg mode. I have head anyone say that hey have this probelm. I think I need to do a full format on this laptop and make it all nice and clean though so maybe that will help it. All my other asus laptops are connected to the switch at are able to get gig but just not the ul30vt. Any suggestions?

 

Most asus ul30vt advertises as offering 10/100mbps lan, not 10/100/1000mbps.

 

its show that my computer has a Atheros AR8131 gigabit card in my computer. I hope its gigabit.

 

The atheros AR8131 is not a gigabit card. It's a "fast ethernet" card according to Atheros

 

I can see the confusion; as advertised on the Amazon site:

Specifications
Operating System: Genuine Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit
Display: 13.3-inch HD LED-backlit Widescreen (1366 x 768)
Intel Platform: Intel Core2 Duo processor SU7300 (1.3GHz)
Graphics: Switchable: Intel GMA 4500MHD and ASUS DGE powered by NVidia GeForce G210M with 512MB VRAM
Wireless: WLAN 802.11b/g/n (draft 2.4GHz n)
LAN: 10/100/1000 Mbps Ethernet

..and it's listed as a PCI-E Gigabit controller card under hardware manager.

..from Atheros:

"Our Gigabit Ethernet enables the highest 802.11n WLAN performance, supporting up to 600 Mbps physical data rates, providing optimal connectivity to content and services for the most compelling whole-home,"

Totally false advertisement, Asus should swap these out with i5 machines

 

Hiya folks.

Just picked up an UL30VT yesterday, after the price dropped at Micro-Center, and it looks like it's going to be a nice machine.

However, it looks like mine has a defective lid position sensor. While setting it up yesterday, it kept going to sleep unexpectedly. Usually when it was sitting on my lap, but sometimes when just sitting on the table. After playing around with various power settings, I finally changed the 'lid closed' action from 'sleep' to 'do nothing'. Now the laptop screen goes blank from time to time, but at least it doesn't go to sleep.

I'd take it back to Micro-Center, since they are nearby, but I grabbed the last one in stock. I guess I'm going to see how well Asus support can deal with this.

 

ah i see so its the ethernet card is really just a 10/100 card. man that sucks. It takes forever to copy over large files over to it. Im only getting about 12megs in transfer speed while all my gig computers are getting 50megs. Well I just have to make sure I have more time. Still a great laptop

 

Hi, I'm about to install an SSD onto this notebook. I have an Intel X25-M. I'm trying to enable AHCI, but I was under the impression that you could simply change it in the BIOS. I have not yet installed Windows 7 onto the SSD yet (and the BIOS is the same version as the one that shipped with the laptop).

After doing some searching, it seems like people had to install a driver for it from Intel's website, rather than enabling it in the BIOS. Could someone explain what the proper procedure would be?

Thanks!

 

I am new to this forum. I have recently purchased the UL30Vt-A1 and Intel 80GB X25-M. I was originally planning to do a clean install of windows 7. But after getting the unit I realize that I don't have another copy of windows 7 64bit edition sitting around and Asus do not include any windows 7 recovery disk.

Now, my qustion is, how do I get the asus recovery installer no. 3439 (?). Is it downloadable from Asus site? Also, can I use the recovery disk instead of windows 7 64bit HP edition in the Digital River method?

 

You don't need a SSD driver for the SSD to work on your laptop. Just pop it in and it should work right out of the box. However, before making the upgrade, I'd suggest considering cloning your SSD. This will save you some time from transferring all your existing files from your old HDD to the SSD. You won't even have to worry about reinstalling all the necessary drivers and whatnot.

For AHCI, you're correct that it is enabled in the BIOS.

 

I'm not familiar with the "asus recovery installer no. 3439" however, you can create your own recovery disks with Asus's AI Recovery software which should already be pre-installed in your system.

If you read my post above, there's also another option for you where you can clone your new SSD from your existing HDD which can bypass all the necessary Windows and drivers installation as well as other third party programs and user files. You'll need a USB 2.5" HDD SATA external enclosure and download a free copy of Acronis True Image.

 

Thanks for your quick response. I was trying to avoid the step that requires installing windows 7 in the stock HD and then cloning everything (except the bloatware) on the SSD.

I will try creating recovery disks using AI Recovery software. Can I use the recovery disks instead of the Digital River method to install windows 7 on the SSD? I can delete all bloatware manually after that.

 

I'm not familiar with the Digital River method. Do you have a link?

 

My mistake. Should have said "instead of" Digital River method (edited my earlier post). I am not familiar with downloading windows 7 64bit edition files from Digital River dot com. Someone suggested this in an earlier post. I have realized that I don't know what the Digital River method myself.

 

kosna

Downloading the image form digital river is just another way to do a clean install as to buying the W7 DVD. You can clone as David suggested or you can buy the two disk set, one you have, from Asus which includes the OS disk.

This is the two disk set that comes with the UL80 but for the UL30vt according to Asus girl.

Anyway, either method should be fine depending on your time and needs. I have cloned and used the DR image on two separate drives, no problem.

Did you get the V2 driver DVD? I'ts what I used.

 

I am still clueless. How do I download the image from digital river? Do you have a link?
How much does it cost?

 

You can clone windows 7 with everything by using windows 7 itself which i believe a little bit easier. Just backup a disk image, start windows 7 repair, restore image to your ssd. It should be simpler than the Acronis True Image method.

 

I have never used windows 7. Please tell me the steps needed to do this.

Please correct me if I have missed anything.
1) Install windows 7 HP utilizing the existing image in the stock 500GB harddrive.
2) Backup a disk image using usb dvd-writer. (Do I need to activate windows 7 for this?)
3) Turn off the laptop. Swap the stock HD with the SSD.
4) Turn on the machine. Go to BIOS by pressing F2. Make sure windows can boot up with external usb dvd-write.
How do I access windows 7 repair?

 

kosha, you also need to align the SSD drive. Here is the link I used for reference on swapping the drives:

Blog Archive Clone Windows 7 from HDD to SSD; How To

and for aligning:

Guide Guide for Win Xp installation with Diskpar (alignment), nLite, Ramdrive, Page file Tweaks, Browser Tweaks, My Doc folder move and Print Spooler on Vertex

Guide Partition alignment importance under Windows XP (32-bit and 64-bit)..why it helps with stuttering and increases drive working life..

 

I finally ordered the UL30vt-A1, I am in Argentina, and I had get it with an importer, because this model is not sold through official channels

It will be delivered in 10-14 days, and I am using this time to get prepared for everything that could happen.

At this moment, I am compiling all the software that I would need to get things working as soon as I can.

 

Thanks for the links. According to the article, alignment is important for windows XP installation.

 

There have been numerous debates about whether or not it's needed in W7. I have been getting lousy benchmark results with the drive misaligned, and will be aligning it some time this week. From what I've read, the majority believe the benchmark results will be significantly affected, but real world usage won't notice much of a difference.

 

Tech support at Asus said that there would be an option in the beginning to create recovery disks. I may need upto 3 dvds.
Is the back-up method in windows 7 require 2-3 dvds? Does this method save everything including other asus programs?

 

You can use dvd/harddrive/usb flash drive/other computer hooked up to the same network/ or whatever you want.

This method saves whatever you have with or without bloatware depending if you removed them or not in windows. It's just a easy and free and flexible disk cloning method. It also doesn't require a usb drive enclose as well which saves you some money.

It's sort of like this guide that i'm currently writing, but with a few modified steps.
http://asus-ul30.wikispaces.com/Windows+7+Backup+Guide

If you have access to a flash drive and another computer, i'd recommend you do this.

Backup your computer to the other computer through the network (use wireless N or lan, wireless g is very slow). Then create a boot disk.

Follow part 2 to create disk image to networked computer.
Follow part 3 step 1 to download a copy of 64bit repair disk.
download multibootIso from here
http://www.pendrivelinux.com/boot-multiple-iso-from-usb-multiboot-usb/
Have a empty 256MB or greater flash drive in handy.
Select your flash drive from the drop down menu, check to format the drive
Then copy the repair disk disk image to the root of the flash drive. Rename it to w7repairdisc64
Download menu.lst and replace the file on the flash drive from here.
http://asus-ul30.wikispaces.com/Windows+7+Backup+Guide

Then
1. Turn on your computer
2. Boot from usb
3. Restore disk image from other computer

 

Thanks a lot jack, I was searching if the backup method was possible using lan or a flash drive, and your guide has cleared all my doubts

 

Quick question. Since I am selling my desktop, I can keep my Windows 7 Ultimate copy. Do you people recommend me to do the fresh reinstall to Ultimate, or stick to Home Premium?

Edit: I am asking performance wise, or if there is any known issue with Ultimate, or any stuff I should know..

 

Jack, how long does it take to make and restore a 250GB image thru Cat5?

Using clone software and usb drive takes about 6 hours for reference. I went that way, so if drive dies, then I'm up in 5 minutes after drive swap with all main apps.

 

For anyone wanting to do a clean install, you can download your W7HP image here:

http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent..../X15-65733.iso

You will need a compatible 4G USB thumb drive and the Windows USB Tool from MS to format the USB thumb drive and set up the ISO from Digital River. You will need to add the Asus utilities and drivers from download or external DVD drive or image of the driver DVD after first boot. Use your Keys from notebook but I had to phone in to activate.

All free other than the $7, 4G- USB Drive.

 

It really depends on how much actual data there is.

For full 250GB image through cat5 (100mbps), it'll take around 5-6 hours. For wireless N, it'll take around 3 hours. If you have gigabit lan, then it really depends on your hdd/ssd speed. Probably will take 30-45min if you have a fast hdd.

The method that i recommended has a clear advantage over regular cloning methods. You can get back up and running under 1 minute if you wanted. You can use your backup image without actually restoring the backup. E.g. boot windows 7 from the backup image and continue your work.

 

The link is not working hydra.

 

Try this one
http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65733/X15-65733.iso

 

I'm having trouble with this too. After wiping the drive and doing a clean W7 install, then installing the graphics driver removal tool followed by the latest NVidia graphics driver, then P4G Hybrid 1.25, then trying each of "Load Manufacturer Defaults" and "Load User Defaults" in BIOS, I'm still not able to get the Graphix Boost button to work. I've put it to sleep, hibernate, restart, repair and restart, etc, all to no avail.

:UPDATE:

I installed a bunch of ATK utilities, and now the Graphix Boost button is working.

I would also like to report that the BSOD after sleep issue is SSD-related:
http://www.ocztechnologyforum.com/f...still-sleep-issues-with-the-new-1.10-firmware

Regarding aligning SSD drives, the benchmark results are definitely better than when they were misaligned. I'm using Windows 7 X64.

 

Thanks and Thanks...websense keeps shutting me down..today I get through!

 

Not sure if the problem is with the laptop or the TV, but when I connect my Samsung Plasma over HDMI I can't output any digital audio formats to it. In the properties for it, under the "supported formats" tab, it lists the maximum number of channels as 2 and the list of formats is empty. I'm using the latest nVIDIA driver. Has anyone been able to output digital formats over the HDMI port on this laptop?

 

What players are you using? I play lots of movies in DTS and DD using MCP. Does your screen support these over HDMI? My sounds go through receiver which strips off the audio then passes video on to screen via HDMI.

 

Do you have the right codec? I'm a big fan of Shark007

 

Hey everyone,

My UL30VT-A1 is randomly rebooting for no reason.

It usually happens when I open up new tabs in firefox with youtube videos or if I'm loading up a bunch of applications.

I repeat "usually", sometime it happens randomly.

I just did a fresh format and reinstalled are the ATK drivers, VGA drivers, Audio Drivers, Power 4 Gear application, Touchpad driver.

Could anyone tell me what's up?

 

Is it overheating?