ASUS W5 Laptop Memory error

Hi,

First time poster here. My apologies if I'm posting this in the wrong place.

My brother in law gave me this laptop and it's been working great for about a week but then suddenly, I started having all these problems with it. (IE crashes, web pages inaccessible, virus scan not completing, restarting by itself). At first I think I had some sort of virus so I attempted to restore the system using the ASUS restore CDs. Well, that failed part way through so that pretty much left me in the cold to do anything since that failure prevented me from even booting from the HD any more.

So I take it to a computer repair place and ask them to wipe the drive and re-install the OS (I would've done it if I had an XP disc). They reported back to me the next day that the diagnostic was showing memory errors but they couldn't replace the memory since it was embedded. (I assumed that meant it's on the motherboard and can't be deactivated). They tell me they can't guarantee that the laptop will work for very long or even at all.

So I take it home and begin re-installing my software and boom... same things start happening.

Does anyone know about this memory flaw and is there something I can do about it? All I really need to do (I think) is somehow deactivate the on-board memory. If that's possible, how do I do that? The guy at the repair shop didn't have a clue. He seemed surprised there was on-board memory in the first place. Or does he not know what he's talking about?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
LouMan

 

I don't have any experience with bad onboard RAM, but I imagine that if there isn't a firmware (e.g., BIOS) switch telling the computer not to use it, then you're pretty much left with replacing the motherboard or the entire computer.

You should call support first (I mean ASUS support) and determine if there is a way in which you can turn off the onboard RAM. (maybe there is a physical switch on the mainboard, for instance) You can also check the BIOS for an option to do that.

 

Thanks for replying E.B.E.

Yep. That's what I've been thinking but I can't for the life of me figure out how to get into the BIOS to look for that option. I'll see if I can find a manual for the motherboard. Maybe I can find something on this switch suggestion. In the meantime, do you have any idea how to get into the BIOS so I can try that first?

 

F2 at ASUS splashscreen

There might be an option of disabling certain signal lines which might achieve the same effect, but that's doubtful, and it's also not something that you can do at home...

 

LOL. One of the few F keys I didn't try yet. Thanks.

No such luck in the BIOS setup. Going in search of a switch.

 

OK. I'm at a loss here I think. How do I find out what type of motherboard this thing has without taking the thing apart?

 

Use something like CPU-Z.

But it won't tell you much more than the model number of your notebook, I'm afraid...

 

It is unlikely that the oboard ram is the module that failed. I can only tell you that 9 out of 10 shops do not specialize in this or notebooks in general and usually misdiagnose or not diagnose the complete problem. Take it to a dealer that specializes in asus products. they are not hard to find

 

Ok. Thanks. Guess I'll get a screwdriver.

 

Possibly. I'd rather avoid the extra cost if I can rule it out myself first.

 

go to memtest.org
download the iso and make the bootable disk
run it for about an hour or more until a few loops passed. if no errors were returned the diagnostics you got are faulty. if errors came up remove the extra ram on the sockett and run it again. if no errors came up then you can replace the ram in the sockett that you removed.

 

Yes, I totally agree, do what Geared2play says. It might have been a misdiagnosis, I did not consider that.

Only if the test fails with just the onboard RAM, is the diagnostic clear.

 

I am just going by what countless customers told us after going to geek squad. I really can not recall an honest diagnosis from them