My M50's Giving Me Problems

I bought an m50Sv-A1 last Thursday online from one of the sites recommended on this forum, and it came in last night. I was really excited of course, it being my first laptop. When I started it up everything went pretty smoothly, though trying to use the biometric scanner gave me some problems. I probably should have taken a hint right there.

Since then, I think the thing's crashed about 12 times at least.

Mind you this is within less than 23 hours of opening it, and it's been on maybe 4-6 hours in all that time.

I believe it first crashed when I tried to install Firefox. Then when I tried to d/l an Add-On for Firefox. Then it crashed twice when I tried to open Firefox. Then when I tried to d/l and install Skype. Since then it's crashed at numerous times, the reasons for which I can't remember. The most recent two times is when I finished installing Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth II. The install went OK, although a bit slower than I expected. But when the opening movie started it crashed, and at different points of the movie the two times I tried to run it. Only the visuals would crash, the audio kept going. The disc is fine, I know for a fact.

Further, the battery charging LED doesn't work. It worked when I first plugged the machine in and had it there for about an hour (the laptop was on at the same time) but then when I left and came back home two hours later and plugged it in, the LED wouldn't go on.

I have to say I'm somewhat disappointed. I've heard a lot of good things about this laptop and was hoping it would work out fine.

I was thinking it might just be a Vista problem. Should I just uninstall Vista and install XP? Should I just send the computer back to the company I bought it from and ask for a replacement? Or should I call Asus and talk to them instead?

Off topic, does anyone know if this laptop runs well with Ubuntu?

 

1. For your software problems, I believe it is probably due to Vista. One of the solutions you can take is to reinstall your computer using ASUS provided recovery disk. If that still does not work out, you should consider installing a fresh Vista, which should also be included in your package.

2. As for the LED, is the computer fully charged when you plugged in the second time? If not, then you should talk to the vendor about replacing a new machine.

I'm sorry to hear about your experience.

 

Update:
The battery LED works, I tried letting the computer run for a while without being plugged in and now the light works again once I plugged it back in. I guess it turns off when the battery's full, even if it's plugged in?

 

Correct. AC plugged in, Light on = charging; Light off = fully charged.

 

Thanks for your reply, viper.

I did not receive a copy of Vista with my computer, only a copy of the Recovery DVD. I just rebooted the laptop with the CD in the drive, and I'm in the recovery wizard. Do I want to "Recover Windows to first partition only", "to entire HD", or "to entire HD with 2 partition"?

 

If you already have data in D drive, then select "Recover Windows to first partition only". If not, then I recommend recover "to entire HD with 2 partitions".

 

Random crashes == usually bad RAM. Use MemTest86+ to check it. Please check my Tips and Tricks guide for some more details.

If you bought from one of the four resellers listed on the Info Booth, I'm sure they'll be very helpful in assisting with a solution to your problems.

viperabyss: I'd recommend a memory test before Vista reinstall. All those random crashes with unrelated software hints to me that it's not really software that's at fault.

 

Got it, I'll give it a try. Thanks EBE

 

I was thinking more on the line of corrupted system files, but yes, memory may also be a problem too.

 

Sure. That's a good possibility. Still given the fact that more often than not it's bad RAM, and that the test is not destructive & easier to do -- memtest first.

 

Agreed.

On a side note, it seems like you spend a great deal of time on here

 

Well, currently my laptop doesn't really have anything on it that I'm worried about losing. First I gotta see if it'll let me even load up a browser so I can download memtest. if not it looks like reinstalling windows is gonna come first.

 

How do i use memtest? it's a .iso.zip, would i have to unzip it, then burn it to a CD, then pop the CD into the laptop and boot from CD?

 

Yes, or you can download the .exe file, which you can store in a floppy or USB drive.

Here are some tutorials.
http://www.techspot.com/vb/topic62524.html
http://forum.x86-secret.com/showthread.php?t=3120

 

Thanks for the links, viper. Got it up and running. Looks like I don't have to do anything with it in the meantime.

If there is something wrong with the RAM, who should I talk to about it, the site I bought it from, or Asus?

Also, can I fold the laptop closed while memtest runs?

 

You should talk to your vendor about replacement. Since you bought it within 7 days of purchase, your vendor should be able to replace a new one to you.

As for closing the lid, I wouldn't recommend it, as it may trigger laptop's own hibernation command. May not happen, but just in case.

 

Thanks again, I greatly appreciate your help, viper and EBE. I'll post the outcome here. Hopefully all goes well. I'd almost rather it be a RAM issue, 'cause if it's Vista then who's to say that the recovery disc I have will help. Meh, we'll see

 

It's gone through one pass, no errors. Should I hit Escape to exit, or let it keep goin? How many passes should I let it do?

 

Let it work through a few passes, sometimes errors don't show up in the 1st.

But if no errors in the 1st it usually means there are no errors. So it's back to installing Vista.

(or perhaps some other hardware problem who knows...)

 

i gave it 3 passes, no errors.
i'm installing vista now... *crosses fingers*