*Official UL30VT-X1 Owners Lounge*

yes you need to install the ATK generic function

 

My X1 brightness hotkey works normally except when I'm using the integrated graphics card and when coming out of sleep/hibernate mode. The brightness Fn key will work if I switch graphic cards or reboot. Not sure if anyone has found a fix for this yet.

 

Hi, I'm thinking about purchasing a ul30vt. However I came across this thread where the owner of a ul80vt has experienced a 6% loss of battery life in around 2 months. So I was wondering if anyone else has noticed that they've lost so much battery life in such a short period of time. The thread is here.

If this much battery drain is normal I may just pay more and get a the macbook pro, since they are touting the lasting 1000 cycles before losing up to 20%.

 

Well I've got a couple MacBook Pros and the battery life to begin with is about half the UL30VT-A1's: 5 hours instead of 10. Doing the math 10 - 20% is 8 hours which is still 60% longer life than the MBP.

But in fact I doubt the battery loses that much life over time, it could be that the person posting doesn't "condition" his battery once a month or so which can effect total capacity over time, I don't know. The bottom line - and I'm a fan of the MacBooks - is if you want maximum time on a battery charge you'll be better off with the UL30.

 

That indeed did the trick. I don't see much of a difference, but I guess it's turbo now.

Another question, what are the Fn + C and V hotkeys? They don't seem to do anything...

 

Trouble with "clean install" as you're finding is you lose a lot of functionality.

Fn+C invokes Asus' Splendid Utility screen color program, Fn+V pops up the camera app, both of which you need to reload to use.

People concerned with "bloatware" should delete item by item after they know what each does, in my opinion; just "nuking" an ASUS system often has unintended consequences. Just my opinion.

 

Tallan, while I agree with you that over the term of 1 year the ul30vt will still last longer than a mac books. However if I go by the op of the other threads estimate of 6% every 2 months, by the end of the year that's 36% battery loss! And by the end of year 2 it's 72% battery loss, and not even making it through the end of year 3. While the back by the end of year 3 will be at around 20% battery loss.

I don't know, I guess I'm just looking into this to much. But I want to get the most out of my money. My G1 took a crap on me after 2 1/2 years of use, and I want something that will last longer I guess. After 2 years of use my g1 was at something like 65% battery life. I guess I'm just babbling now. lol

Thanks for the info though. I still may just get the ul30vt, and just buy a new battery when that one becomes unacceptable to me anymore. I don't know what I want anymore lol. If only the JT's would just come out and I don't have to think about it anymore.

 

Remember, the moment a battery is assembled, its capacity starts degrading from then onwards. There's nothing you can do to stop it, only slow down the rate of degradation.

Battery degradation is not a linear function; it really depends on a multitude of factors. However, if you do subject the battery to the same "cycle" of use continuously, then it will be a somewhat linear decrease in battery capacity.

In the case of the new unibody MacBook Pros, if you want to slow down that battery degradation you'll have to unplug and run on battery power everytime the battery gets fully charged, because you can't take out the battery. At least you can remove the battery from the UL30VT, or buy a new battery if it's really worn out without the hassle of sending it in, or taking it to the Apple store.

 

For a laptop that itself will last a long time I'd wait for a refresh of the MacBook Pros. Sooner rather than later they have to update them with the i3 and i5 CPUs, usually that means a slight price drop as well (like $100), new GPUs (puh-leez!), bigger hard disks, etc. The unibody construction is IMO the strongest in the industry short of a Toughbook, no doubt in my mind you'd get 3-4 trouble free years easy.

 

Thanks for the info guys, it really is appreciated. I think I'll give the ul30vt-a1 to be in stock at amazon until their deal with the free external dvd drive expires. In which case if I hear that the 13" pros don't get a refresh till mid-late this year I will default back to asus. And if we still don't hear anything about the ULxxJT series, I will get the ul80vt-a2 (silver) or current 13" pro. Someone finally got one in the UL80vt/Ul50vt thread. I asked them if they had the same qc issues as the black version and they said they did not. So I could be pretty solid with the silver ul80vt or current 13" mac pro I think.

 

Hi,
I'm just thinking of purchasing Asus ul30vt (other possible choice is HP 5310m) notebook.

Does turbo33 work in linux too ? I mean if I can run CPU at 1.73GHz in linux.

How about working outside in bright and shiny day with asus's glossy screen ? Is it doable (at least in the shade).

Thank you guys

 

I am thinking of picking up an UL30VT-A1 from Gentech and I noticed they had some customizing options listed below the laptop.
After reading some posts about getting rid of the "bloatware" and reinstalling Win 7 to increase/maximize performance...some had mentioned installing Win 7 Ultimate version... There is an option on the site to choose the ultimate version and lists it as a DVD. Does anyone know if they just include the DVD and it would be up to me to clean off the computer and reinstall the new version or do they do that?
Also, they have the option to add the Intel wireless card...wondering if this is installed by them or they just send it along for me to install?

I'm sure I can do it....and I understand the principle... but it's the first time I've heard the term "bloatware" before. I want to maximize the speed/performance, so I'm wondering if this is the best way to accomplish this.

Thanks guys!
Chris

 

Does anyone know where I could find a 4-cell battery or ul30 model with a 4 cell? I just want something thats 1.5kg, and this will be perfect.

 

with the 8-cell it's 1.6-1.7kg is it really that much of a difference?

 

Eh, I kind of liked starting clean. If it means I can't use the Asus camera utility then I'll live with that. The bloatware on the original install was just too much to deal with. I personally think Asus could have done with better manuals.
As for the Gentech question, I'd say give 'em a call, I ordered from them and they were pretty friendly (although I didn't do any customization options). I would hope they do the Win 7 install though since it doesn't come with a DVD drive. And as I understand from the discussion in this thread, the benefit of the Intel card comes from it having 2 antennas, it's not in the standard A1 config because there's only 1 antenna installed. Ask if they install a 2nd antenna, that would be quite a deal.

 

If you use the Windows Recovery DVD for clean install does it install all the bloatware again?

 

Good question...I'd love to know this too.
And is it worth it to change the OS to Ultimate or just reinstall the home Prem version again? What is the benefit of the Ultimate version?

 

Thanks! I sent Ken an e-mail and I will try and give them a call tomorrow as well.
When you do the re-install, how do you get rid of the bloatware?

 

Well.. I dont see any reason to reinstalling it and getting all the bloatware back again.

I'd probably borrow my friend's WIN7 DVD, install it and use license key from the bottom of the laptop.

 

No, the "bloatware" is on the second ASUS Driver and Utility disk; the Windows Recovery disk will just give you a basic Windows install.

 

Do you end up having to get any driver from the second disk from somewhere else? Is there anything on the second disk that you might not want to lose?

 

Basically none of the ASUS applications will run without loading the support files, but you'll have a complete Windows install. I'm not sure if all the drivers needed for things like wifi and bluetooth are available via Windows, but they are all on the ASUS disk, which has a menu system allowing you to pick & choose. Also you can get individual drivers from the ASUS web site.

 

i may be wrong, but I always thought the recovery brings it back to factory default state, which is how the pc was when it shipped.

 

The Recovery PARTITION (hit F9 on boot) will do that, the Recovery Disk is just Windows (the OEM version at that). Also if you burned a set of recovery disks using the ASUS software for that purpose what you did was create a multi-disk image of the Recovery Partition, so using them will put things back to "as shipped" as well. This is actually one of the nice things about ASUS, they give you a LOT of choice, tho it can be a bit confusing.

 

interesting. yeah i was thinking of the recovery partition, but i thought the recovery cds were the same. That's good to know though.

 

The recovery DVDs you create yourself using the ASUS software ARE of the recovery partition, but ASUS also provides a Windows OS install disk and an ASUS Driver and Utility disk which come in the box with the CyberLink software disk.

 

From what I have usually seen from Gentech, they give you the option to either have them install everything for you with an obvious delay in arrival time to you or they ship everything to you on the regular time but you have to install it.

 

Just to be sure: If i create a bootable usb media with the "Windows 7 Recovery Media for Windows 7 Products" cd i get a fresh install without the asus bloat software?

Besides that is there anything special one should watch out when reinstalling the OS? All drivers can be found on he asus website, right? What asus apps should i install? (I had a post where someone described the various Asus Apps but lost it.)

Thanks in advance, i guess those answers where allready answered in the thread but they are very hard to find in the 200 page monstrosity, even with the search function

 

Here's a thought: why not use the machine the way it came for a while and learn what potentially helpful things the ASUS software can do for you before deciding it's "bloatware?" Then when you've tried the various programs you can delete the ones you do not want via Control Panel on the basis of experience rather than ignorance... and not show back up here complaining that this that and the other things no longer work.

Sorry if I'm being crabby but I'm tired of people wanting to just "nuke" everything without knowing what they are doing and then expecting others to take their time helping to get missing functionality back for them. It's getting old.

 

Because there are certain apps i definitively will never use, and as you sure know, will leave traces in the registry or system even when uninstalling them. Besides i like to have control what gets on my system and what not - feel free to use the nb as it came but for me and this is no option.

 

There are registry cleaners both free and commercial available all over the web, and with a 500GB drive having a few orphan .DLL files spotted about is not going to fundamentally matter an ant's eyelash as to your overall storage.

Once you know what you're doing delete unwanted programs from Control Panel, clean the Registry and defrag; you're done.

 

Download and install ccleaner, run said app and tidy up you registry. Presto!

While you're at it, I would also recommend getting other great Piriform util's such as speccy and defraggler (the latter only if you have a platter HD).

 

Besides i am planning to change to a ssd your points are valid kungfusion.

I dont want to sound harsh but quick answers to my questions would make my life easier and this argumentation would never happen. Anyway right now i am creating an img out of the recovery disk and will know more in a few hours. I am out

 

Anyone game on their A1/X1? Does it handle Bioshock and do you think it'll handle Bioshock 2? Direct2Drive has a good pre-order deal on Bio2 that includes 1, but it's only until tonight and I want to know if I should get it!

 

Here's your answer...

 

Yeah, this thread became a monster full of useful information, but it's almost unsearchable

 

Yes I agree with tallan: there are a lot of repeat questions. Ive lurked this thread since its invention, I can say with certainty that the onslaught of recently asked questions have all been answered in one form or another in this thread; some of them multiple times.

On the other side of things, the search is broken. And flipping through 200+ pages is certainly no fun. But it also goes to say that I've seen a majority of these questions getting answered only several pages prior.

While im ranting, by far this thread is better than some of the others ones i frequent around here. A bunch of the other ones have the same person triple or quadruple posting one line questions. No one seems to realize the use of an edit button.

Anyhow, not sure why Im adding my two cents. Maybe the search function can be fixed? Or maybe Im just using it wrong?

 

Well, I just placed my order with Gentech for the UL30VT-A1 ! Although I couldn't tell if they are backordered or in stock...no hurry, so no worry.
Thanks for the words of wisdom guys.

 

Hey guys, quick question: What audio device does the UL30VT have? Realtek? Intel? Just asking, because I've found Realtek audio to be annoying, yet their audio devices are everywhere.

 

realtek, but i don't even use the drivers.

 

EDIT: After some digging around, all is fine.

 

Dont know if this helps anyone but thats what i tried to get a fresh install on the nb and how i succeded:

My first attempt was to create a bootable usb out of the asus recovery cd but failed.
I created a iso out of the disc and then tried to move the iso to the usb stick using the Windows 7 USB/DVD Download tool.
But the tool denied the created iso file, there is a Tool that should fix that but it didnt work for me.

The next attempt was to create a bootable usb stick using diskpart (use google to find out more, its a microsoft tool) and then simply copying the contents of the disk onto the usb stick. The stick was detected as a bootable drive (press esc while starting the laptop to see the boot device selection list) and the installation even started to load but as soon as the first screen appeared the process just stoped, i was able to move the mouse but nothing else happend. Maybe my recovery disc is corrupt who knows?, but here i stoped trying to use the recovery disc for the installation and simply grabbed one of the official windows 7 studend iso files (see list at end of the post).

This time the USB Download Tool accepted the iso and creating a usb installation was a breeze. The only issue i had was that the tool is unable to execute the bootsect.exe contained on the disc because its 64bit file and i am currently working on a 32 bit system. There is a solution that can be read up on the help page of the tool - i hadnt todo that because i allready created a bootable usb stick in attempt 2.

From that on the installation is just a matter of minutes and standard procedure. The only odd thing i had is that windows told me the key provided (was using the key on the bottom of the nb) is not ment for online activation. So i had to call the automated phone system to activate it, but that worked.

I got the drivers from the asus page, in combination with this forum thread to find out what utilities are usefull and what not.

So far the laptop works perfectly fine and i have no issues with it.


Windows 7 Studend Isos Download Links. Those isos are legit and from microsoft and where/are handed out to people who bought the windows 7 online via the studend program.
Feel free to use google for more information

For my installation i used the German Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) iso.

Code:

Windows 7 Home Premium (x86) - DVD
(English)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65732/X15-65732.iso[/url]
(German)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65740/X15-65740.iso[/url]
(French)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65738/X15-65738.iso[/url]
(Spanish)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65770/X15-65770.iso[/url]

Windows 7 Home Premium (x64) - DVD
(English)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65733/X15-65733.iso[/url]
(German)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65741/X15-65741.iso[/url]
(French)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65738/X15-65739.iso[/url]
(Spanish)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65771/X15-65771.iso[/url]

Windows 7 Professional (x86) - DVD
(English)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65804/X15-65804.iso[/url]
(German)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65812/X15-65812.iso[/url]
(French)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65810/X15-65810.iso[/url]
(Spanish)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65842/X15-65842.iso[/url]

Windows 7 Professional (x64) - DVD
(English)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65805/X15-65805.iso[/url]
(German)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65813/X15-65813.iso[/url]
(French)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65811/X15-65811.iso[/url]
(Spanish)[url]http://msft-dnl.digitalrivercontent.net/msvista/pub/X15-65843/X15-65843.iso[/url]

 

Just read up on optimus and Nvidia said they had it on their 200 series. does that mean it's possible to install drivers and make it work on the ul30vt?

 

I was wondering the same thing...

 

http://www.engadget.com/2010/02/09/...-graphics-switching-promises-the-best-o/?s=t5

Sounds promising, the article says that the Asus u30JC will be supported.

 

It doesn't mention the JT in the article or at least I missed it going through it twice... where does it say that?

 

it does mention the u30jc

 

Oh yeah sorry, i meant the jc - i edited my post to prevent further confusion

 

Might want to edit again, I believe its the U30JC, not the UL30JC

 

No. It's been mentioned a few times already earlier on in this thread. Because the graphics is switchable, you can only use drivers supplied by Asus.