Windows 7 x86 - Minimalistic G50VT driver installation guide

Alright, so I know that there's been several Win7 G50VT topics already. But after following some of them, I realize that I hated most of Asus' included softwares and drivers, so...
Here's a guide to install most/all of the things you need, without the annoying overlays and poorly written softwares.

For the below, my DVD drive is letter F, and my primary HDD is C.

1) INF Update for chipset (F:\Software\INFupdate)

2) Intel matrix storage manager aka IMSM (F:\Software\IMSM)

3) Hotkeys Driver (F:\Driver\ATK0100)

4) Keyboard Filter (F:\Driver\KB_FILTER)

5) Realtek Audio Driver (F:\Software\Audio)

6) Hotkeys Software (F:\Software\ATKHotkey)
-- 6.1) After install, reboot
-- 6.2) After reboot, go to (C:\Program Files\ASUS\ATK Hotkey), 2 things to do here:
-- 6.3) #1 - rename "ATKOSD.exe" to make it not run on startup I renamed it to "ATKOSD.exe NO RUN")
-- -- 6.3.1) Changing volume won't have graphics showing, so it will no longer lag/minimize you when gaming
-- 6.4) #2 - create a shortcut of HControl.exe onto desktop
-- -- 6.4.1) drag the shortcut to start button (bottom left)
-- -- 6.4.2) drag it to "All Programs" after start menu shows up
-- -- 6.4.3) drag it to "Startup" folder
-- -- 6.4.4) release the shortcut of HControl.exe inside the Startup folder
-- -- 6.4.5) Hotkeys will now run when you boot up Win7

7) Now there's 3 unknown "Base System Device"s and 1 "Unknown Device" in your "Devices and Printers" page, and you still haven't installed a GPU driver
-- 7.1) For each "Base System Device", click Properties > Change settings > Update Driver, and search your disc. You'll get:
-- -- 7.1.1) Ricoh xD-Picture Card Controller
-- -- 7.1.2) Ricoh SD/MMC Host controller (will complain it didn't install properly, but it does anyway)
-- -- 7.1.3) Ricoh Memory Stick Controller
-- -- 7.1.4) The "Unknown Device" is the ITECIR Infrared Receiver (EC)
-- 7.2) Now for GPU
-- -- 7.2.1) Go download Dox's WinV/Win7 185.85 driver for nVidia GPUs here
-- -- 7.2.2) Run it, and follow the procedures
-- -- 7.2.3) Reboot and be reunited with your powerful GPU once again
-- -- 7.2.4) Your hotkeys for brightness will finally work as well.

8) Now install OLED and media buttons drivers -- 3rd party
-- 8.1) For OLED, I'm using Predator MF's LCDHype
-- -- 8.1.1) Get it here and install it
-- -- 8.1.2) Get drivers for G50VT here, follow that post's instructions
-- -- 8.1.3) Grab an LCDHype script in that same thread. I use my own script, obviously (though I admit it has some bugs).
-- -- 8.1.4) To make it run on startup, find lcdhype.exe, make a shortcut, then put it in "startup" as per step 6.4
-- 8.2) Now to install driver for those media keys
-- -- 8.2.1) Get it here (AsusNbKeys_v1.3.zip)
-- -- 8.2.2) Unzip it on desktop for now
-- -- 8.2.3) Get the fixed version here
-- -- 8.2.4) Unzip and replace the old file.
-- -- 8.2.5) AsusNbKeysCtrl.exe allows you to set what each media key does
-- -- 8.2.6) After setting it up, run AsusNbKeys.exe to actually run the program.
-- -- 8.2.7) To have it run on startup, create a shortcut to AsusNbKeys.exe, then put it in the Startup folder as per step 6.4

--done for now, still need to some some sort of volume display though, i was suggested to try Microsoft Keyboard driver for that, so maybe I'll try that later--


Disclaimer: This guide was written for G50VT on BIOS 0209 with Win7 Ultimate x86 installed.
Other G-series laptops or G50VT with other BIOS versions or other Win7 versions may or may not be able to follow the same guide (although it most likely will with minimal adjustments).


Note:
- Some of the above installers can be found either on your G50VT disc or at http://support.asus.com/
- I'm not using Direct Console 2.0 -- what a nightmare
- Not using Asus' power settings aka P4GX, I can set my own thru Win7
- Using Win7's driver (and interface) for:
--bluetooth and wifi
--web cam
--touchpad (I use a mouse)
- I don't use ethernet


Credits:
aidar77, for his guide on installing every driver
hvieira @ laptopvideo2go, for his analysis on the dox drivers and OC settings
Dox @ laptopvideo2go, for his Forceware 185.85 for Win7
Predator_MF for LCDHype
NP_ for Asus Notebook Keys, and Neoflame for fixing it


Tips from users:

 

If anyone has any luck getting a system tray icon that displays current volume percent, please let me know, thanks.

 

Awesome guide, will try this out for Win 7 Ultimate RTM x64 later on (technet, not pirated), and let you guys know how it went.

Glad to see the fn keys work, since they don't on the RC (for me at least).

Follow Up: Everything installed, worked great! Though Windows Update took care of the nvidia drivers, and also some of the device drivers.

 

I suggested using a DOX GPU driver because it is more optimized. But if you don't need every ounce of power from your GPU, any up-to-date driver should be fine.

 

does hdmi out work for you guys on windows 7? (64bit) it doesnt seem to detect an external display for me...i'm not sure if this is specifically my machine or not yet as i never got to try it when i had vista installed. going to try it with linux later and see what happens i suppose

 

if i cannot use directconsole (didnt work for me).. can i somehow put of ALL led´s on the back side?

 

ootz0rz: I can confirm that HDMI out is working on Win7 32bit on a G50VT following my installations above. I have not tried x64 so I'm not really in the position to say anything about it.

zakazak: There is no known way to turn off those annoying LED lights yet, other than using Direct Console. Then again, using that piece of junk is too much a trade-off just to turn those lights off. There's supposedly a user-written version of Direct Console in the works, so I'll keep you updated when it comes out.

 

i´m thinking of getting the led´s out of my notebook..but i have no clue yet on how to open it and get them out :x

 

Well....the most obvious way is to take off the lid and then cut the wires or remove them from the LEDs.

 

guess i will do that

i got devices which are not installed:

base system device (the mmc host controller so np)
DTB03
Unknown device (infrared)

Cannot install the last two devices.. dont even know what dtb03 is :x

and this asus ntoebook keys v1.3 will change the touchpad-buttons? Or what does it do? :x

 

ANK changes the touchpad buttons to keystrokes or functions.
I changed mine to volume up, volume down, mute.

 

ah thats nice

if u dont use directconsole.. how do u overclock the cpu?

 

SetFSB can OC the CPU

 

and is there maybe also a guide for the asus g50vt-a1 ? i dont want to damage anything :x

@edit:
somehow your lcdhype script shows cpu always at 0%

 

Just refer to Tev's G51 guide in his sig and use ICS9LPR604AGLF for the clock generator.

 

How do you turn your touchpad on the G50VT-x5 off? Ever since I installed Windows 7, the bright keys that are to the right of your OLED screen don't seem to respond, even though I've installed every driver. I tried AsusNBKey as well, and while I got it to recognize the key event, I can't seem to get it to have the touchpad turned off.

 

If you mainly use a mouse, you can disable the touchpad through bios. This won't turn off the led around it though. I guess another way would be disabling the synaptics device in mouse properties in the control panel. I think the latter will turn off the led around the touchpad too.

 

Thanks, Synaptics' drivers did the trick.

 

is there a way to change power profile using asusnbkeys?

 

Not that I know of, but there should be a system tray button for battery life and switching between power profiles.
The system tray is the set of buttons on the right-most side of the start bar.

 

Ok ive made a prog to switch between power profile with logo/splash.

Unzip my SwitchPP.zip

Place it somewhere (C:\PowerProfile for me)

Open ChangePowerProfile.vbs in Notepad

Change the three GUID at the top. You can obtain them by doing this cmd in Command Prompt: powercfg -list

Now In AsusNbKeysCtrl, capture the Event code and place C:\PowerProfile\ChangePowerProfile.vbs in Execute File textbox.

BUG: I cannot hide the DOS box because i'm using the Shell.Exec command.

I know it's working with WIndows French. It should work with the English Version. Let met know if it's crashing.

 

I might give it a try later, thanks.

 

okay i now re-installed win7 cause i got an ssd:
i cannot install the intel matrix controler:
i only get "install failed"

any ideas? :x the one from homepage + cd both dont work

also what is that:
DTB03

and infrared cannot be installed

 

is there any way to get the cpu% working on lcdhype in ur script?

 

If anyone runs into this error: "No Driver was supported in this driver package." while installing the Realtek High Definition Audio drivers, you may need to run the Setup.exe file in compatibility mode. Choose Windows Vista (Service Pack 2) and Run as administrator. This worked for me.

 

My CPU % works fine with my script posted above. Does it not work for you?

1) Is your SSD in a RAID setting?

2) I believe the DTB03 is the TV Tuner driver (see that yellow circular port that reads "ANT" on the left side of your G50VT? yea, that.)
However, there is no actual TV Tuner hardware in the computer, so there's no need for it. Read more here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=283253

3) I don't use infrared, ever. I doubt a lot of people do.
Me installing the infrared driver, or putting it in this guide would go against the premise of this guide, sorry!

 

Updated LCDHype script a little.

 

Thanks for the guide, Ill be sure to use this as an outline for the x64 version.

 

no. when i go to bios -> harddisk setup -> compatibly mode

this is the error i get:



Tried the win7 x64 driver now. same error.

please help me
i guess i need this driver to be able to run my e-sata fine (plug & play instatt of rebooting all the time)

thanks

 

I'm not quite sure what's wrong..
You can try the matrix storage manager straight off Intel's support site:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Detail_Desc.aspx?agr=Y&DwnldID=17882&ProdId=2101&lang=eng



.

 

"this computer does not meet the minimum requirements for installing this software. Setup will exit"


doesnt work too :x

 

I'm running out of ideas... Are you sure your HDD is not faulty?

 

nope.. it didnt work on the original hdd i had in , and now on the ssd (intel postville x-2) it doesnt work either :/

 

Is there a current guide for this? I just got a G50VT-A2 and would like to get win7 on it. I have the upgrade DVD from Asus but not sure what all I still would need to install/update.