Questions regarding the V1S-A1

Will I be able to walk into a store and purchase this laptop by August 26th in Canada? I'm in Ontario.

I've noticed that the laptop comes with the Intel Turbo Memory, I've read that this does not work on XP. If I revert to XP what are the implications?

How exactly do I revert to XP since Vista is pre-installed? I'm not very tech-savvy so a link to a step by step guide would be helpful (I've read things like having to change the HD from SATA to ATA and scrounging for a variety of drivers).

Will this laptop suffer the same battery problems as the V1J/p with the poorly coded ACPI ( http://www.notebookreview.com/default.asp?newsID=3537)?

I may as well ask this while I'm on the ASUS boards, what're the expected release dates for the G1S-A2/3? Are the G1S-A# laptops less problem-ridden than the V1 series?

Are there any good places in Canada to purchase Asus Laptops from that offer customization? Looking at xoticpc.com the amount of customization available for the G1S-A1 and V1Jp is amazing compared to milestonepc.

 

Depends where you are in Canada.

As far as I know, if you revert to XP, Robson memory will just be idle and do nothing, howeever, I'll need a confirmation for that.

To revert to XP, you just need to format the HD and install XP by booting with the Windows disc.

Not sure about the battery, but I am really hoping ASUS does fix it.

Release dates haven't been announced specifically, but mid August to late September would be a good guess.

 

I'm in Ontario. So in reverting to XP as long as I have a Windows XP disc I will not have to be worried about searching for drivers or changing a bunch of settings? I've heard a lot about Vista leaving traces of itself. This website I found lists a few extra steps: http://removevista.com/remove_windows_vista_xp_c.html
not sure how important they are.

 

So long as you format your drive and do a fresh install of XP, there won't be any traces of Vista left. However, you will want to make sure that XP drivers are available for your particular laptop on the Asus website before you format your system. If they are available, I recommend that you download them all ahead of time and save them to a flash drive so that you won't have to hassle with downloading them onto another machine and copying them over. (while you're at it and if you have space on the flash drive, I suggest you download an antivirus and firewall program so that you'll be safe when you get back online)

 

You will also have to have a valid XP licence, pretty sure you would if ya have the disk. Still not sure what everyone has against Vista though... especially those people who don't know much about computers other than hearsay.

 

Installing XP will be pretty easy, And most drivers like Sound, Graphics, Storage, Ethernet and Wireless are all available from the original manufacturers, IE Nvidia and Intel. I really hope the battery issue will be fixed but as the ACPI thing was on the mother board and the Santa Rosa has a brand new mobo (965 vs 945) It should be solved. I will put XP on my V1S when I get it and I would be happy to write a guide listing the appropriate drivers for you.
As far as I know Turbo memory will show up as free space as a external drive under my computer and you can store stuff on it. Moving your pagefile to it might help improve performance to. Its quite possable you will be able to walk in and buy it as Asus is very good at getting its models to the market quickly after releasing them.

 

By The Way If you contact MileStonePC by email and ask them some special modification, they will try to give you a price, as long as they can have the part.

 

I would only install XP if there is a specific reason for you to do so. For example I use XP on my work laptop because half my devel tools and environments don't work in Vista. For my home laptop Vista is running well with 2gbs of Ram. File sharing has been fixed and works well between vista/xp boxes. Just make sure your pc clock is set right.

 

I will be looking forward to your guide Matt_h1, and thanks in advance. My main reason for choosing Vista over XP is compatibility with programs. Although I've also read that XP uses less energy than Vista, so an extension of battery life? I also want this laptop to last 4-5 years and if the Robson memory causes more stop/start cycles on the HD wouldn't it cause it to not last as long? And on that note, how simple is it to replace a HD if one dies out?

 

HD are very simple to replace.
1. Unscrew
2. pull out the HD
3. insert new HD
4. screw the HD in
5. install OS

that's the general idea. I don't think the Robson memory causes more stop / start cycle.

 

Vista would use about the same amount as XP with the Aero effects turned off.
If you don't have the laptop yet I would suggest just seeing if Vista does work for you... if not then go back to XP.
The robson memory wouldn't have that much... if any... effect on the HDD really, from what I could tell would just give the HDD a bigger cache to play with.

 

No it will not cause more hard drive cycles. If you use turbo memory it would actually save your hard drive because it will be accessing it less. Not having it active should be like any older laptop now. You will be fine.

 

My main concern with Vista thats left then is: http://news.softpedia.com/news/Forg...s-Harvest-User-Data-for-Microsoft-58752.shtml

 

If all you worry about is your application not work on Vista, then how about still use Vista as O/S and run your XP on top of Microsoft Virtul PC or VMware.

 

I don't really want to waste HD space with VM software. Has there been a release set for the V1S-A1 yet? I really hope stores receive it by the end of August

 

Whatever they might say, Microsoft clearly says that your name and all that stuff are not transmitted. Doing otherwise would consitue violating their own agreements