Power4Gear install problem on U31JG running Windows 7 64-bit

I've been trying to install the latest version of Power4Gear on my U31JG-RX122V running a fresh install of Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit, but the installer hangs on the empty command line window that opens during the install. The command line window is opened by the following file:

C:\Program Files\P4G\P4GUpdate.Gadget\P4GUpdateInstaller_x64.exe

Pressing ctrl+c or closing the cmd window aborts the installation of the entire program. I've tried leaving it running for about an hour without results. Does anyone know what is causing this and how it can be fixed?

My U31JG has the following hardware specifications:
Intel Core i5 480M / 2.66 GHz
Mobile Intel HM55 Express
Intel HD Graphics
NVIDIA GeForce GT 415M

Software specs:
Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit w/ service pack 1
Intel HD Graphics driver 8.15.10.2302
nVidia GeForce driver 267.76

Power4Gear version I'm trying to install: V1.1.41

The reason I want to install P4G is specifically for the ability to control the activation of the dedicated nVidia graphics card, this for battery saving purposes. Currently, with all drivers installed and up to date, it seems to either automatically change between the integrated Intel and the dedicated nVidia graphics card without any kind of feedback, or simply not change at all and constantly run on the dedicated nVidia card. If anyone knows of a good way to achieve this control without P4G then do tell.

Thanks

 

You have to install the ATK utility first. I had the same problem after a clean install of Windows.

 

Thanks for the tip 0cz, but I had the ATK utility installed. I did find out what caused the problem though. The clue was in the path of the file that caused the install to hang; P4GUpdate.Gadget. Turns out that this is some kind of Windows Sidebar gadget, and that if you don't have Sidebar installed (which I didn't) the install will fail. Silly of Asus, but at least it works with Sidebar installed, and you should in theory be able to remove Sidebar after installing P4G without problems. Mystery solved!

EDIT: It seems that you can't actually control Optimus through P4G after all, so I guess it's only good for easy swapping between power profiles. I did however find a way to control Optimus through nVidia Control Panel, and although it's a bit cumbersome it's good to at least have the possibility to do so. Under "Manage 3D settings" it's possible to set your "Preferred graphics processor" to "Integrated graphics", which does appear to disable the use of the dedicated nVidia card completely, even when running full screen 3d-applications like games. You can enable an activity monitor for the dedicated nVidia card through the "Display GPU Activity Icon in Notification Area" option under the "Desktop" menu item to check if the card is being used or not. You also have the possibility to specify programs that should trigger an override of the "Preferred graphics processor"-setting and use the dedicated card no matter what, which is a step in the right direction. What I would really like to see though is the possibility to let these choices be set according to whether the laptop is running on battery or is plugged in, so that you wouldn't have to go into the control panel and change it whenever you want more or less power usage.

It is especially worth noting that according to the Optimus whitepaper the following call types trigger the activation of the dedicated nVidia card:

- DX Calls: Any 3D game engine or DirectX application will trigger these calls
- DXVA Calls: Video playback will trigger these calls (DXVA = DirectX Video Acceleration)
- CUDA Calls: CUDA applications will trigger these calls

This means that if you fire up casual DirectX games or want to watch a video while on battery, things that the integrated Intel HD Graphics should be able to handle easily, the power drainage will be a lot higher than necessary due to the dedicated card being triggered. While being plugged in this doesn't really matter, but while on battery it does. Thus I would recommend those who use an Optimus-capable laptop for watching videos and playing casual games while on battery power to either select the integrated graphics card as the preferred one while on the go, or to configure specific profiles for the applications in question. It should help save power and reduce noise and heat.

Sources:
http://www.nvidia.com/object/optimus_technology.html
http://www.nvidia.com/object/LO_optimus_whitepapers.html