Weird Windows 7 and N81 problem

Maybe someone here can help me. . .

I got my N81vg in the mail earlier today, and after making sure everything seemed to be functional, the first order of business was installing a 64 bit operating system (I still don't understand why they ship a computer with 4 gb of RAM with a 32 bit operating system). I downloaded Windows 7 RC1 from Microsoft, burned it to a disk, boot up, and tried to install it. I got an error soon into the installation saying, "Required CD/DVD device driver is missing."

I canceled the install, rebooted, and my computer hung at the POST screen. It detected USB devices, AHCI device 0, and then got stuck for a while at AHCI device 1 (all the while, my DVD drive was spinning rapidly). When I hit F2 and went into the BIOS, my DVD drive was not being detected. When I got out of the BIOS and let Vista start, it tried for about 5 minutes and then the bar got stuck.

I restarted, took the DVD out, and no trouble - no more hanging at POST, Vista started normally, and the drive was detected. I put in another DVD and restarted - no hanging, Vista started normally. However, when I put the Windows 7 DVD back in, I had all the same trouble over again: the computer booted up on the DVD with no problem; I got the error saying that the DVD device driver was missing; when I restarted, the DVD drive spun like crazy and the computer hung at detecting AHCI device 1 before apparently giving up; then, Vista started to load, which apparently froze.

Does this make any sense at all? How that Windows 7 disk in the drive cause problems for the BIOS? This is ridiculous. Ideas?

 

Are you sure you've correctly burned the image copy of Windows 7?

 

maybe the disc is bad
i cant seem to think of any reason for the bios to not recognize ur CD though...
btw i own n81 and i had windows 7 (removed it since it gave me some bugs) but i did it by USB stick(zen vision m in my case) so i recommend you to do the same

 

I saw some posts at a Taiwanese forum; a poster claimed that he/she tried 3 units of the N81 (can't remember if it was Vp or Vg), and all had problems with the DVD unit.

ie screen would black out, OS would hang, while playing movies.

 

I downloaded a new copy, burned a new copy (at a much slower speed), and tried again. Windows 7 installed fine -- but when the computer restarted after installation and booted off the DVD again, I clicked the install button again out of curiosity, and got the same error about missing drivers. When my computer rebooted again, POST hung at detected AHCI device 1 (the DVD drive) and eventually gave up. The problem, then, appears to be intermittent. It also seems to occur only when my BIOS is set to boot off the DVD drive. At least I finally got a 64 bit operating system installed (apparently due to luck). I will experiment more and possibly call ASUS in the morning.

The problems mentioned on the Taiwanese forum are disconcerting. If the problem is indeed a faulty DVD drive, can I simply get a new drive sent to me? Or could they send me a new drive so that I could replace it myself? There's no reason for me to spend much time setting up this computer if there is a fair chance that I'll need to return it.

Thanks for all the help!

-J.

 

here's the link - i hope you read chinese.
http://www.mobile01.com/topicdetail.php?f=233&t=1062406&last=12140165

To recap, some people have experienced that problem, others haven't.
One of the posters tried 20 times burning/playing - all ok.

The poster also made a youtube movie showing how playing a movie had hung to a black screen
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iB_ZuOlGlag

Good luck, mate.

btw, I have no idea whether you could convince Asus to send you just the drive.
Perhaps it's a firmwire issue (which they haven't released a driver for).

Anyways - down the road I'd probably buy an external blue ray burner... (digressing)...

 

You can try to change form AHCI to IDE mode or something in bios maybe. Even though Win 7 has a very high compatability we cant all be lucky and expect it to work though in its beta stage on a computer that is not meant to support it.

For the W90 I have to turn off one of my video cards in the bios to install there was a bug with dual monitors, I dont know if it still happens in RC1 but I turned it off anyways (but burned 32bit on accident lol so need to install it again)

 

It really seems, though, like the problem is with the drive and not the operating system. Regardless of whether Windows 7 supports the hardware, the BIOS shouldn't be periodically failing to recognize the drive, nor should the drive be perpetually spinning at times and cause the operating system to fail to load.

I'm going to contact NewEgg tomorrow and try to get a replacement.

-J

 

why wont you try using USB to install?
and after that on windows 7 check if the Drive works correctly
i installed windows 7 allready with USB
but i didnt use the drive with it
i find it hard to believe that if you have a problem with the specific CD only with a BETA version of an operation system that you can conclude that its somthing on the system...

 

I've since burned some other DVDs, and they cause the same problem (ie, either hanging at POST or freezing after the OS starts, in both Vista and 7).

Also, as I mentioned, regardless of whether the operating system is beta, that should not affect what the BIOS is doing one iota. What is on the CD is irrelevant at that point (as subsequent tests have confirmed).

 

After researching this for a while longer, I think I've solved this problem. I was wrong about some of the symptoms. It was due to an issue the dvd drive's firmware has with certain operating systems, including Windows 7, but not Vista. To reiterate the trouble:

In Windows 7, and apparently some Linux distros, the DVD drive ((HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GSA-T50N) will work for some amount of time, but then will start to spin continuously. It will not respond to a soft eject, and it cannot be accessed. Upon restarting the computer, the drive will still be spinning (even during POST) and the BIOS will fail to recognize it. On booting into Vista after this, the computer will freeze up. Windows 7, however, will boot up, and the drive will, of course, not be recognized. All the while, the drive is still spinning. The only way to fix it is to do a cold reboot, after which the drive will finally stop spinning and the BIOS will recognize the drive. These problems do not occur in Vista alone. The really curious thing, as I mention above, is that when this problem starts in Windows 7, the drive keeps spinning even after the computer restarts even though no programs are polling it. I really don't understand this part.

In any case, as I mentioned, this appears to be a firmware problem. Some people have reported mailing their computer back to ASUS, whose solution is to install an updated version of the firmware. If this is true, no such updated version has been officially released. There is an unofficial release (RR07) that some have claimed solve this problem, but I didn't try it. The fix that worked for me was to change the IDE operate mode in the BIOS from enhanced to compatible. This is an unsatisfactory solution, but I preferred it to testing out an unofficial firmware. In any case, presumably a new version of the firmware will someday be released.

I should add that aside from this, and a small problem with the computer's wireless, getting Windows 7 running properly was pretty straightforward and all of the Vista drivers worked in Windows 7. I never, ever would have even tried, but I could not easily get a copy of 64 bit Vista. My limited interaction with Vista over the last few days was rather unfavorable (though frankly, much of it may just have been because I didn't bother to uninstall all of the bloatware since I knew one way or another, I would be wiping things clean), but Windows 7 is as clean and minimalist as I could hope.

I've been very happy with the N81vg so far, though I dislike a few design decisions. I haven't gotten a chance to test battery life extensively or run benchmarks, but I will when I get a chance. I'm curious about how the 120m preforms. Unfortunately, I have already gotten much cat hair on it.

Thanks for the help,
J.

 

Good to hear that you have identified the issue!

With regards to the "dislike a few design decisions", might I ask if your Vg model has the function key, also at the extreme left?

btw we should all collectively email Asus everyday, until they get the message and do a proper keyboard.

Cheers mate.

 

Surprisingly, no - it has the control key at the first left, which appears to be a difference from the vp. It would have driven me crazy otherwise, since, maybe because I'm left handed, I use the left control key exclusively and am use to finding its location by feel. Also, that would make playing certain games really irritating.

I'm pretty happy with the keyboard, aside from the space bar, which is especially loud and clicky, I think. The buttons on the trackpad are somewhat stiff, but I'm getting used to clicking in the corners where they face, which is easier.

 

hmmm... INTERESTING... that`s good to hear, John...
It`s a pain for me with all the cutting, pasting, moving around the words...
and especially dumb when I can`t crouch in games hahahahaha

When you`re free, I was wondering if I could trouble you to find out the model number of the keyboard that you have, as well as the physical dimensions...
http://www.laptoplifestyle.net/guides_and_how_to_articles/replacing_a_laptop_keyboard_-_asus_a8j_series.html

Simply, there are 4 small latches that hold the keyboard, as well as a screw on the back of chassis(indicated with a K).
The latches are quite a bother; you`d have to use a small flat screwdriver and push them inwards (towards the screen), and at the same time, sorta pry the keyboard upwards.

It`s definitely not as easy as opening the Dell...
I appreciate your help, John!

 

has there been any firmware by now for the drive?

 

I was wondering this too as i'm hoping to order one soon and install Windows 7.

 

anyone with this problem ended up upgrading the Asus notebook's bios to the 207 build and the drive problem went away?