W3V is here, some questions

Thanks to ProPortable for getting the laptop out to me ASAP. I was expecting it to arrive next week, by early estimates.

1. Can anyone start logical disk manager on theirs? I want to see how the HD is partitioned. Any idea why they partition it in the first place?
2. Why is the HD formatted in FAT32? I see the NTFS tool on the desktop so yes, I know I can convert it, but it seems silly to me.
3. Does anyone know which specific programs need to be running in the tray to allow the hardware keys to function. For example, the right side bluetooth, WLAN, etc keys. If I disabled/exited every ASUS utility in the tray, would those buttons still function? What specifically is running to allow it this functionality? I am hoping it's something in memory, so I can get rid of all the icons. What about the media buttons on the left? Same question.
4. If I reformatted and reloaded the OS from the XP CD-ROM, will it do an exact restore, or will I have some control over the process? I don't want it to partition my drive or format it back to FAT32. Some manufactuers give you a restore disk and you have no options over the scripted install.
5. Are there any utilities or programs I need to install to get onboard hardware to work? The user manual sort of implies that you need to install drivers for power management, touchpad, bluetooth, etc but it seem all that stuff is already done. Am I missing anything?

Thanks.

Peace!
Sygyzy

 

Thanks Kai....

The answer to #2 is this: ... you can change your format to NTSF with the dos utility.... If you search online this is completely safe and is just as good as if you did it originally. You can only do this once..... you can't from from Fat32 to NTSF and then back...... and you can't (I believe) go from NTSF to Fat32 at all. So, since Fat32 is faster for gaming and a lot of people still prefer it, and because it's safe to change it over...... it's the ideal way to ship these out.

Asus always includes the dos utility shortcut right on the desktop of all of their new systems....... so change it or leave it.. but when you've decided, you can just delete that shortcut icon.

Hope that explains it.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

1. There are 3 partitions. A 2 gig recovery volume, the boot partition, and a "storage" partition. You'll probably want to leave the recovery volume be, and use a dos boot disc/cd or a normal Win2K or XP install to repartition the rest of the drive.

2. Who the hell knows.

3. Power4 Gear, Toshiba Bluetooth Stack, Intel Proset, the ATK0100 ACPI Utility driver, and the Synaptics driver all need to be installed. One of the function keys is for Internet Explorer. The ones on the other side work with most media player software.

4. The restore disc will reformat the partition in FAT32.

5. Everything is on the install disc. I recommend installing the bluetooth software AFTER the ACPI driver and Power4 Gear. You will need to turn on Bluetooth by pressing the button either before or during the Bluetooth software installation. At this time, I have yet to figure out how to have Bluetooth turned on and ready to go at startup.

There is one function key combination FN+F2, which will turn WLAN and Bluetooth off or on simultaneously, but it requires the Wireless Console utility. If you don't install it, it will only disable or enable the WLAN. The Console utility is fairly worthless, in my opinion, and not worth installing.

Kai

 

i heard pressing f9 during startup boots up the recovery thing from the hd.

i am also in question about how i should reformat the w3v. isn't NTFS better den FAT32?

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by PROPortable

 

Fat32 is faster

NTSF is more secure

Thats the simplest way to put it. NTSF takes up a little bit more room on the drive, but unless you're a hardcore gamer, I think most people will much rather the benefits of NTSF.

I still game on occasion and I can still do it on my NTSF drives... but if I did it a lot, I'd prefer Fat32.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Well thats true also.... but I'd figure on playing games off of say a single Fat32 partition.... I mean what do you need to put all your games on??? ... not even 20 gb....

I know what you mean and you're right about that. What does Asus has say the W3's 60gb drive partitioned into? Was it 3 - 20gb partitions? I don't remember.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by PROPortable

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by BBQmyNUTZ

 

Thanks for your replies guys. I was able to get into the diskmanager so I figured out the partitions. I am curious, is F9 really the only way to get into the recovery partition? If I install a fresh copy of Windows, will I be able to have it merge the two data partitions and leave the recovery one, then make one of the data ones "active/bootable?" Anything else I need to know before I do this?

Peace!
Sygyzy

 

Speaking of M$, their benchmarks show nearly no difference between FAT32 and NTFS in games (perhaps unsurprising if you're a conspiracy buff). The analysis is here.

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by PROPortable

 

You could use the recovery discs as well.


Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

There is SOME control...... I only use the recovery discs for just that.

Thanks,
Justin
PROPortable
www.proportable.com
[email protected]

 

Well, I got everything up and reinstalled. Here's an interesting tidbit: my product key did NOT work. I entered it 2 dozen times checking for typos. I used my own copy of XP and tried to register it with the key that is on the bottom of the notebook. Weird.

Oh one more: Can anyone fit the W3V into the center sleeve in the laptop bag? I assume that's where it's suposed to go. There is NO way to do this without scratching it up along the zipper!

Peace!
Sygyzy