Tips & Tricks (hardware failures, Windows, and many others)

Here are various quick tips and tricks that answer some often-asked questions on the forums. The reason: so that I don't always write the stuff in answer to every individual question, I will refer to this thread instead.

Last update: July 26th 2008

Table of Contents

1. What to do if my notebook doesn't POST?
2. Has my HDD gone bad?
3. I keep getting bluescreens!
4. I bought 4 GB of RAM! Why does the computer say I have only 3?
5. My resolution is too high! I can't read my laptop screen...
6. I want to remove my second partition, and make my Windows partition fill the entire hard drive.
7. Windows no longer starts! How can I fix it?
8. Windows no longer starts! How to back up my data off the Windows partition before I kill it?
9. Windows doesn't install! I want to wipe the Master Boot Record / wipe my HDD clean!
10. How do I save power (underclock, undervolt) with my Intel CPU?
11. How do I save power and reduce heat with my nVidia GPU?
12. What are stock and modded GPU drivers? Which should I use?
13. How do I check my battery wear?
14. What is battery calibration, and how do I do it?
15. Can I read SDHC memory cards with my old, built-in SD card reader?

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What to do if my notebook doesn't POST?

Before deciding that the computer is dead and sending it for repairs, try the following things. First, make sure that the computer indeed doesn't POST. If you can get into BIOS and change boot setings etc. it's probably just a Windows / bootsector / HDD problem. In that case, see Windows no longer starts! How can I fix it? and I want to wipe the Master Boot Record / wipe my HDD clean!.

If you are sure it's a POST problem, apply the following "cold restart" procedure which will restart your notebook if it suffered from a temporary glitch or bad peripherals:

1. Remove all the peripherals (USB ports, firewire, video out, eSATA, everything).
2. Remove the battery and unplug from the mains.
3. Press the power button a few times, and keep it pressed each time for 5 to 15 seconds.
4. Plug in the mains (not the battery).
5. Try to boot and get into the BIOS.

If it starts fine after this procedure, it was just a temporary glitch. If it still doesn't boot (and you feel up to it):

• Remove the HDD.
• If you have two chips of RAM, remove one of them at a time.
• Remove the ODD.
• Remove any other removable components such as components connected on the miniPCI port (like WiFi).
• Try to boot and get into the BIOS with each such configuration.

If removal of one of these peripherals (HDD / one of the RAM chips / the ODD / miniPCI) causes the computer to start booting again, it's clear: that peripheral was the cuplrit.

A common cause for computer death is a bad or interrupted BIOS flash. If the death occurs just after you flash the BIOS, it's almost sure to be the cause. Such a situation can be reverted without exchanging hardware, but usually only by computer repair professionals. There are also some steps that you can take, see the 2nd post in my BIOS update guide for some suggestions.

If your computer doesn't start after all the steps above, then I'm afraid you have a dead motherboard or some other non-user-removable component, and you need to send the laptop for repairs.

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Has my HDD gone bad?

If you dropped/jolted your notebook hard while it was running, you hear strange noises from your HDD, or for some other reason you suspect hard drive failure, here is what to do.

Back up your data!!! This is the very first thing you should do.
(In fact data backups should be performed regularly, but if you suspect hard drive failure and you don't have a recent backup, it's high time to do it!)
[Thanks to Greg for pointing this out.]

Then, use the Windows (XP of Vista) checkdisk tool. To do that, press the Start button + R, then type cmd at the run box. That will start a command prompt. Close all Explorer (or any other file manager) windows, and any other processes that might use the non-Windows partitions, and type the following:
chkdsk d:/f/x/r
chkdsk e:/f/x/r
and so on for every partition besides C:. The /r switch instructs chkdsk to verify the disk for bad sectors, and /f/x are for fixing file table errors. The surface check will take a while to run on, depending on the size of the partition (up to tens of minutes on NTFS partitions, possibly more on FAT32 partitions). In the end, it will display a summary which includes "Bad sectors". The number of bytes in bad sectors should be zero.

Then, run:
chkdsk c:/f/x/r
That will require a restart, since the OS partition has to be unmounted. Upon restarting, Windows will check the C: partition. Keep an eye on it! The summary at the end of the check is only displayed for 1-2 seconds, after which the computer automatically restarts. Again, you should have zero bad sectors on C:.

This completes the Windows side of things. Now, you should use the HDD manufacturer's utility to check the SMART status of the HDD. That utility is usually in the form a bootable CD image (ISO) that needs to be written on a blank CD, and then that CD should be booted. Here are links to the testing tools for common manufacturers:

Hitachi Drive Fitness test
Seagate Seatools
Fujitsu Diagnostic Tools

Usually there will be a "short test" and a "long test" available. Run the short test, if that passes, then your HDD is fine. Otherwise, you can choose to run the long test.

So what if I have bad sectors? A few bad sectors is no reason for serious worries; there are millions upon millions of sectors on a modern HDD. However, do backup your data! And keep a close eye on that HDD! If the number of bad sectors increases over time, it's time to return your HDD and get a new one.

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I keep getting bluescreens!

Well, bluescreens can happen due to a lot of reasons, so there is no general guide on how to solve them, but here are a few starter steps. First, you need to actually see what the error was, if it was in a certain driver etc. For that, press Windows + Pause/Break, then go to Advanced > Startup and Recovery, and uncheck "Automatically Restart" under "System Failure". Then, the next time the BSOD happens, write down the STOP error code, and the driver file that caused the error, if applicable (e.g., nvdisp.dll or cdfs.sys).

One common cause of bluescreens is instability resulting from undervolting and/or overclocking the CPU, and overclocking the GPU, so if you get bluescreens stop undervolting or overclocking immediately. Also, make sure your Windows is fully patched with the latest updates.

If you still get bluescreens after you did this:
If you get unrelated, seemingly random errors in the bluescreens, then it is probably faulty RAM. Use memtest86+ to test the RAM (google for it). The test should be run while away from the computer (e.g., overnight) since it's quite lengthy. Let it run at least a few complete passes, since errors don't always show on the first pass. There should be no errors whatsoever. If there are any errors, your RAM is bad and has to be exchanged. Obviously, if you have more than one stick of RAM, test with only one stick at a time to determine which of them is faulty.

If the BSOD always mentions a particular driver file, then the problem is probably due to that driver. Try updating or downgrading the driver; if that file is part of a modded driver (e.g., nVidia GPU drivers from LaptopVideo2Go), revert to the stock driver.

If none of these steps help, or if you have good reasons to suspect that none of the causes above is behind your BSODs, please post in the forums for more help, including the following information: your machine manufacturer and type, your OS (XP or Vista), the BSOD information that I listed in the first paragraph, and any other information that you think might help with identifying the problem.

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I bought 4 GB of RAM! Why does the computer say I have only 3?

Currently, there are limitations to using 4GB of RAM or more, especially in older notebooks. The first thing to keep in mind is that 32-bit operating systems (like the most common versions of Vista and XP) cannot use the full 4GB. Even though 32 bits can be used to compose addresses in a 4GB range, some of those addresses will be reserved for memory-mapped devices like the GPU and the HDD. See here for details: Dude, where's my 4 Gigabytes of RAM? The net effect is that you will see between 3 and 3.5 GB of RAM, depending on the particular type of computer. Note that recent patches to 32-bit Windows XP and Vista enable them to recognize that the computer has 4GB of RAM, and display 4GB in the system properties; that doesn't mean they will use the whole amount, however. They are still limited to 3.5 GB, and there is no way around this limitation, so the information in the system properties is simply misleading.

Before the 32-bit limitation kicks in, there are several other things that can go wrong with older notebooks:

• The hardware (chipset) might not be able to address the entire range. If so, there's nothing you can do except upgrade the motherboard (which in the notebook world is equivalent to buying a new computer).
• Even if the hardware is able to address 4GB, the BIOS might not support it. A BIOS update might fix this, if the mainboard manufacturer included memory support in the BIOS fixes (check the list of changes).

Newer notebooks (at least the Penryn and Montevina generations) should not suffer from these problems.

If your hardware supports 4GB of RAM, one way to make use of all of them is to upgrade to OS to Vista 64 (if you're willing to use Vista). Make sure you have the necessary drivers before you take this step, though! There also exists a 64-bit version of Windows XP, but driver support for that version is very bad, so I don't recommend it. One (not so good) alternative, with which you can keep a 32-bit OS, is to enable PAE, if your hardware supports it; but PAE implementations are fraught with problems on many consumer machines.

Even if your computer doesn't use all 4GB of RAM, there's no big reason to worry: the difference from 3GB to 4GB of RAM is very difficult to feel in real life with current OS-es and applications, except in isolated cases e.g., working with graphical tools and very high-resolution images.

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My resolution is too high! I can't read my laptop screen...

Here are a few tips to make your screen readable:

• Most importantly: change the DPI setting in Windows (under advanced display properties). Make it 110% or so - play with it until you get fonts to a dimension that you are comfortable with.
• Some applications will ignore this setting (also some Windows components but hush! don't tell anyone ) Set the font sizes explicitly for these applications.
• Use Firefox as a browser, and install the TextZoom extension; then set all the pages to load at 110% text size or whatever you're comfortable with. The TextZoom extension will require some tinkering to run on newer versions of Firefox. Namely, you need to edit the declared max supported Firefox version: open the extension file as an archive, look for install.rdf, edit it, and look for the tag TargetApplication, and inside it Max Version. Change that to a number greater than your current FireFox version. Needless to say the TextZoom extension is not guaranteed to work with recent versions of Firefox, such as Firefox 3. It has always worked for me in Firefox 2.

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I want to remove my second partition, and make my Windows partition fill the entire hard drive.

Here's a short answer: DON'T! You should never keep your personal data on the Windows partition (or any OS partition for that matter).

The reason: Windows installations have a habit of failing when you least expect it. When that happens, you usually need to wipe the Windows partition and install a new copy from scratch. If your personal data is there, you will need to back it up, which can be a big headache since your computer may not even start. If all your data is on another partition, you can go ahead and wipe Windows without a second thought, while your data is nice and safe. There also exist procedures to move all the personal data locations (including things like My Documents, Internet browser profiles, etc.) from the Windows partition, on other partitions, so that you can keep that data safe, as well.

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Windows no longer starts! How can I fix it?

If Windows doesn't boot at all, you can try making it bootable again with the Recovery Console. For that, you need a clean Windows installation CD (XP or Vista depending on what you have). For Vista, there is a separate, downloadable CD image containing the Recovery Console (google for it), so that you need not buy a separate OS CD if you don't have one. Boot the recovery console from that CD, and type at the command prompt:

fixmbr
fixboot

That will rebuild the boot settings of Windows. Be aware though if you do multiple-boots with other OSes (Linux for instance): those OSes might (and probably will) become unbootable!

If Windows does try to boot, but hangs somewhere after that, try first to boot the "Last Known Good Configuration". To do that, press F8 at the initial Windows loading bar. Select "Last Known Good Configuration" and let the machine try to start Windows. If the last known good configuration doesn't work, reboot and press F8 again, then boot in safe mode and try restoring the computer to a point where it was running properly, using the Backup and Restore center (in Vista) or System Restore (in XP).

If after that Windows is still not running properly, you can try repairing the installation using the Recovery Console (get to the Recovery Console as described in the first paragraph). Please search other guides for details on the procedure.

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Windows no longer starts! How to back up my data off the Windows partition before I kill it?

Well, you are learning the hard way that you should never keep personal data on the Windows partition (or any OS partition for that matter). In the future, always keep your personal data on a separate partition, and when the time comes to terminate Windows, you can do it without any headaches about losing data.

But anyway, here is how to backup your data. There are two main options:

1. Remove the HDD, put it in an external enclosure, plug the enclosure into another computer (via USB, FireWire, eSATA or whatever connection it allows) and copy the data. This is the easiest solution, with the drawback that if you don't have an enclosure you have to buy one (it's not very expensive though). Make sure the enclosure is the correct type (SATA versus PATA) for your HDD! Note that destkop (3.5") SATA enclosures may work for notebook (2.5") SATA HDDs, since the connectors are the same. However, destkop (3.5") PATA enclosures will NOT work for notebook (2.5") PATA HDDs, because the connectors are different.
2. Boot a Live Linux (or another Live OS) from a CD or DVD. Mount the partitions on the HDD if they are not automatically mounted. Then you can use a full-fledged operating system to copy the data wherever you want. For instance, if you have several partitions and will wipe only the first one, you can copy the data to the partitions that remain intact. Or, you can copy the data on a USB HDD or flash drive. Or, you can connect to another computer via the network and copy the files like that. Note that if you want to write on NTFS partitions, you need ntfs-3g to be included on your Live Linux CD.

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Windows doesn't install! I want to wipe the Master Boot Record / wipe my HDD clean!

If you can no longer install Windows due to messed-up boot settings, there is a way to reset them. Here is how to do that. This guide also works if you want to wipe your HDD for other reasons; except security reasons: with this guide the data will still be there and is recoverable by professionals.

Download the base FreeDOS ISO, and burn it on a CD. Boot the CD. You will get a command prompt; below I assume the drive letter for that prompt is "X". First, try erasing the master boot record only, and keep the partitions intact. For that you need to type the following commands:

X:> CD FREEDOS
X:\FREEDOS> FDISK /MBR

That will wipe the Master Boot Record on the HDD. Press CTRL+ALT+DEL to reboot. Try installing Windows now.

If it still doesn't work, you choose to proceed with wiping the HDD. Be aware this deletes any recovery partition as well! Start FreeDOS again. Type the following commands:

X:> CD FREEDOS
X:\FREEDOS> FDISK

That will start the FDISK utility. Delete all partitions (the interface is self-explanatory).

Close FDISK.
X:\FREEDOS> FDISK /MBR

That will wipe the Master Boot Record on the HDD.
Press CTRL ALT DEL to Reboot. Your HDD should be wiped clean, except the partition table was not erased.

To also remove the partition table, download Knoppix from knopper.org, burn the ISO on a CD, boot from that CD. Type startx if XWindows doesn't start automatically; after XWindows starts, press ALT+F2 to get the runbox; type qtparted. Remove and rebuild the partition table.

Finally, use FDISK or a clean XP or Vista installation CD to re-create the partitions as you wish them.

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How do I save power (underclock, undervolt) with my Intel CPU?

This guide is for Intel CPUs. On most current Intel CPUs the lowest multiplier voltage cannot be changed; so there will be no power and heat savings on idle use. However, undervolting is still worth it if you often use your CPU at full blast (for things like encoding, mathematical simulations, etc.) Here is a study I wrote that shows the Advantages of undervolting the Intel Core Duo. Those results also generalize to Core 2 Duo and later (although the numbers might be different, the trends will be the same).

Note: To simply downclock your CPU without undervolting, follow all the steps below but don't bother with the voltage values: just use the defaults. This is useful e.g., if you want better control over the frequencies, than what Windows or the stock power management applications offer.

I recommend RM Clock for frequency control and undervolting. Download the latest version (make sure it's RMClock and not CPU RightMark! It's a common mistake.)

A note on the Santa Rosa platform: RMClock has not been fully updated to support the Santa Rosa platform. If you have a Santa Rosa CPU, it may detect it as a Conroe (desktop version) instead of the correct family Merom (mobile version); this will mean incorrect voltages are detected. Firstly, make sure to use the latest RMClock version. Secondly, check after clicking Defaults whether the CPU is detected as a Merom. If not, go to the Advanced CPU Settings page and click Mobile (instead of Desktop) at the bottom of the page. Correct voltages should be detected now, but this is by no means guaranteed. Santa Rosa also offers two new features: SuperLFM where the CPU is slowed down even further than the speed corresponding to the lowest multipler; and IDA, where for single-threaded CPU-intensive applications one of the cores is turned off and the other is accelerated to beyond its nominal maximum speed. These features are still buggy in RMClock. Overall, it's better to refrain from using RMClock with Santa Rosa notebooks until it's been updated to properly support this platform.

Another note, on Penryn and later platforms: RMClock has not been updated to support these platforms, either. From my experience, RMClock gives inconsistent voltage and temperature readings with Penryn. Therefore, it shouldn't be trusted for undervolting, either. It is also very likely that similar problems will occur with Montevina. I recommend you refrain from undervolting until RMClock or another undervolting utility has been updated to properly support your platform.

If your notebook is supported by RMClock, install the program and start it up. Go to Profiles, then click Defaults. Loading the defaults for your particular platform is important (otherwise you get some generic useless defaults), so make sure you do it! Then select from the Voltage dropdowns to the right:
- lowermost dropdown list: the voltage that you want for maximum multiplier.
- uppermost dropdown list: the voltage for minimum multiplier. For all current CPUs except the older Pentium M-s, this will be limited from below from the hardware. The program will then interpolate voltages for the rest of the multipliers.

There remains the question how to select the voltages. As I already said, if you only care about downclocking, leave the voltages at their default values. Caution: Before using ANY voltages lower than the default ones, the CPU has to be THOROUGHLY TESTED FOR STABILITY, on EVERY MULTIPLIER that you use, and for which the voltage has been modified. Stable voltages will vary among CPUs of the same type, so even if somebody was able to run the computer at X volts lower than the default voltage, that's no guarantee that your computer will be stable with that voltage. Every multiplier that you use has to be tested separately; the fact that voltage X works for the max multiplier doesn't mean that the voltages interpolated automatically by RMClock will work on the smaller multiplier values.

A safe way to find good voltages is to start from the default values, decrease the maximum-multiplier voltage in small steps (e.g., 0.05 volts or less) while allowing RMClock to interpolate, and after each step do thorough stability tests. Do the stability tests using Orthos Beta, which is based on StressPrime but is modified to stress both cores at the same time. Run the CPU stress test for at least 3 hours, separately for each multiplier that you use. To do that, configure the Max Performance profile similarly with the Battery Saving one below, but selecting the multiplier that you want to test (instead of the minimum multiplier like in the Battery Saving profile). Then apply the Max Performance profile and do the stability test. Once you're satisfied that the computer is stable, return to the Max Performance profile page, select the next multiplier that you use, and repeat the cycle for all your multipliers.

Setup the RMClock profiles, once you are sure that your voltages are stable. Choose the following profiles: on AC power, Performance on Demand; on battery, Power Saving. Configure those modes, as follows. Power Saving: Select from the tree to the left Power Saving, and under Battery select Use P-state transitions (PST) and just select the first index (the lowest multiplier). Performance on Demand: Select from the tree to the left Performance on Demand, and under AC Power select Use P-state transitions (PST) and select several indices (multipliers, FIDs) starting with the lowest up to the highest. For instance, I have FIDs from 6 to 11 and am using 6, 8, and 11. It makes no sense to use many steps since the computer will run at lowest or highest FID most of the times, anyway. Furthermore, using more multipliers increases the time needed to run the stability tests.

Then click Apply. Your CPU will now speedstep while on AC power, and be capped at its lowest speed on battery.

Do not worry about the CPU throttling feature: it's not so useful and I have noticed it can worsen performance.

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How do I save power and reduce heat with my nVidia GPU?

This guide only covers dedicated nVidia GPUs. Unfortunately, there isn't much to cover. Recent driver versions have all but removed user control over the GPU power profile. The GPU adjusts the profile automatically according to load, and lower clocks are used on battery.

nVidia cards in Windows XP: Make sure you use a driver that supports PowerMizer. Newer driver versions allow very little control: you can only select whether or not you want the GPU speed to be capped to a lower value when the notebook runs on batteries. This can be done only in the Advanced mode of the nVidia control panel. If you have such a driver, make sure the GPU is capped when on battery.

With older driver versions, you have more freedom. You can select among three power profiles: Power Saving (aka Standard 2D), Balanced (aka Low-Power 3D), and High Performance (aka Performance 3D). Go to the GPU driver config page (right click on the desktop, Properties, Advanced, Settings, GPU): select Power Saving for battery, and Max Performance for AC Power (if you're gaming or using GPU-intensive apps); or Balanced for AC Power (if you don't game nor use GPU-intensive apps).

nVidia cards in Vista: In theory, the GPU power profile should be controlled via the Vista power profile (see below for the procedure). In practice, I have found that the driver ignores the Vista profile settings, and the GPU profile adjusts automatically according to load. Also, lower clocks are used on battery. Nevertheless, this lack of control could have been due to a problem with my particular setup, so I cover the (theoretical) procedure for GPU profile control below.

I assume your laptop uses the PCI Express interface for the GPU. That is the case for virtually all current dedicated GPUs. If your GPU is integrated, those are much more power-efficient, and the default power profiles will probably be good enough for you. Click the battery icon in the system tray, then select More Power Options, and from the ensuing page, click Change plan settings, and from the next page select Change Advanced Power Settings. Power saving profile: Select from the dropdown list the powerplan(s) that you use for conserving power (by default, Vista uses Battery Saving on battery and Balanced on AC power). Look for the PCI Express setting, expand it, and set the Link State Power Management to Maximum Power Savings both on battery and on AC power. High performance profile: Select from the dropdown list the powerplan(s) that you use for high performance (e.g., High Performance). Expand PCI Express setting, and set the Link State Power Management to Off both on battery and on AC power. Now you only need to use a power-saving Vista profile when you want your GPU to consume less power, and a high-performance Vista profile when you want it to go full-speed.

It is possible (in theory and practice) to also lower the clocks for the GPU profiles, using software such as Riva Tuner. This can be used to emulate to an extent explicitly controlled GPU profiles. But that's something for another guide .

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What are stock and modded GPU drivers? Which should I use?

The drivers CD that comes with your laptop includes the so-called "stock drivers" for your GPU. (well, that is, if you are one of the lucky ones who actually got a driver CD; otherwise, the drivers are integrated on the recovery partition or recovery optical disks). The stock drivers are drivers given to the laptop manufacturer by the GPU manufacturer (nVidia or ATI); the notebook manufacturer then customizes them to suit that particular laptop. They are (supposedly) stable, and supported by your manufacturer. Sometimes, updates to the stock drivers are released; however, the typical policy in the industry is to not release many driver updates, and stop with releasing new versions as soon as the notebook is gone from the shelves in stores. However, if your main concern is stability, read no further; keep the stock drivers and only update them when your notebook manufacturer releases a new version.

Many times however, the stock drivers are based on an older version, and there are newer versions available that offer (sometimes significant) performance improvements. The desktop drivers will not work for laptop GPUs; so they have to be modified ("modded") to work. Be warned that modded drivers are not guaranteed to work, are supported neither by your notebook manufacturer nor by nVidia/ATI, and can sometimes be buggy or create problems.

The main source of modded nVidia drivers is laptopvideo2go. Make sure you download the modded inf for your particular GPU, or else the driver won't detect it and won't install! For modded ATI drivers, use the MobilityModder.

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How do I check my battery wear?

Over time, batteries wear down and can't hold the same charge they held when they were new. As a consequence, the time that the computer can run on battery decreases. The amount of wear that affects a battery is expressed in percent, and can be computed as:
Wear (%) = (DesignedMaxCharge - CurrentMaxCharge) / DesignedMaxCharge * 100

If you're using Windows XP, download MobileMeter and run the executable. No installation is necessary. Right click on the Mobilemeter window, Options, Battery, check the Battery Wear field.

If you're using Vista, download RM Clock, install it, and start it. Use it without any management of the CPU, just go to Battery Info, select the battery device (you will have 2 if your computer takes a modular battery), and check the Designed Capacity and the Fully Charged Capacity. Use the formula above to compute your wear. (what I called CurrentMaxCharge is called Fully Charged Capacity in RMClock).

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What is battery calibration, and how do I do it?

Over time, the minimum and maximum charge readings of the battery may become inaccurate. The result will be that sometimes the battery reads a less than 100% charge, but is no longer charging; or the computer shuts down too early, while actually there is still some charge left in the battery. One of the main causes of readings becoming inaccurate is battery wear (see above).

To fix this, you can run battery calibration. Some notebooks have an option to do that in the BIOS. For those notebooks, reboot and enter BIOS. Look for the "Start battery calibration" option or something similar. The BIOS will then charge the battery to full, and then ask you to unplug the computer and leave the battery to discharge to empty; do so. When the battery is discharged, the calibration is complete. Restarting the notebook into the operating system should give you accurate charge readings.

For notebooks that don't have the option, you can sometimes replicate it manually. Charge the battery to full, then unplug the computer and turn off all the battery alarms (Low Battery and Critical Battery). Let the battery drain completely. Start Windows and recharge the battery. Reboot one more time. With any luck, your battery meter is calibrated after this procedure.

Do not abuse this option, as Lithium-Ion batteries don't actually like fully discharging them to empty; this adds some wear to the battery (more than the ordinary usage patterns).

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Can I read SDHC memory cards with my old, built-in SD card reader?

Chances are the answer is yes, and you only need a driver update. If you have a Ricoh controller for the card reader (many laptops do, including nearly all ASUS laptops), then you'll probably get it working using the instructions on this page: Ricoh SDHC driver. Use the ZIP archive and install the drivers manually, for all three devices (MS, SD, XD). Reboot the computer, and test the card reader with an SDHC card. How to install a driver manually: right click the card reader device in Device Manager, Update Driver, Install from a Specific Location, and browse to the folder containing the driver, e.g., the location where you unarchived the ZIP file, SD subfolder, if you are updating the SD card driver.

Getting this to work in XP is a bit trickier. It requires a couple of reboots. I thought at first mine didn't work, but then it started working in a couple of days. I am not sure what got it working but I suspect it was one of the reboots performed in the meantime.

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Well, that's it for now. I'll keep updating the guide with new information and insight, as I gain more experience myself.

E.B.E.

 

VERY good info.

 

Nice! Thanks a lot!

 

this is a great article, e.b.e.! i was thinking about writing one of these myself when i had more time, but you beat me to it, and did a much better job. one thing i will mention is that you can get a lot of these utilities by downloading the ultimate boot cd with much more:

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/

 

One thing you need to keep in mind (and put in your guide): back up your data as soon as you think there is a problem with your HDD, and then run the utilities to check the disk. CHKDSK and similar programs may attempt to fix the errors, which may or may not erase the data on faulty sectors. I've seen it happen.

Not to mention its a good idea to back up anyway, just in case the disk does die .

 

Thanks all! I did a small revision. (typos, some corrections, at table of contents etc.)

Greg: I included your info, thanks.
ejl: Which of the tools are included on the ultimate boot cd?

 

Whoa..thanks, nice guides and very informative

 

wow.. i suppose i just undervolted my cpu... was it really that easy!??? i always thought it was a tedious and time consuming process

 

It actually is. Don't overlook the stability tests that I mentioned!

 

E.B.E. this is almost the "Master Sticky". Very nice and very useful. I think I might just link instead of answering the same question over and over. Good job!

 

eeks. ok.
i also checked my batter wear.

it states 4752mWh for designed, fully charged capacity and remaining capacity... is it in wonderful order?

 

it has memtest and i think all the different hd diagnostic tools directly from the manufacturers. freedos is on it as well. in addition, it has some cpu stress tests that can test for cpu errors, and some free maintenance tools, like antivirus, partitioning and hd cloning apps.

 

Yep, it's in top shape. But you must have a digit wrong, it should be more around 47000 mWh (47 Watts-hour, a typical capacity for a 6-cell battery).

ejl: thanks. I will check that CD and add a link to it as soon as I get the time.

 

Updated with:
* 4GB of RAM not recognized
* Data backup on Windows failure
* Advice on not keeping personal data on the Windows partition
* ASUS recovery procedure including clean install trick

 

Added SDHC link to Ricoh card reader driver.

 

Relatively major update:
* Added: Battery calibration info.
* Added: Stock versus modded GPU drivers.
* Edited: CPU undervolt, to show how to only downclock without undervolting.
* Edited: SDHC info, and GPU downclock info.
* Removed: ASUS-specific stuff, and moved to The ASUSFAQ.

 

Updated again: significant overhaul of the power-saving sections, among others with cautions about stability, and info about Santa Rosa and Windows Vista settings.

Also many edits and clarifications in the other sections.

 

Could you elaborate? - I'm in the process of attempting to resize my partitions and it looks like I can do it in disk management by shrinking the Vista one and enlarging the data one - but I don't want to do it until I move all the personal data that I already put on the Vista partition over to the data one. Is there a program that does this or just a series of steps?

Thanks

 

Good guide.

 

Sorry, I never keep stuff in My Documents so I never used this feature. Search around, I expect google will yield some procedures.

BTW you can shrink in Vista but you cannot move starting points (e.g., move the 2nd partition to the left then enlarge). Furthermore, the amount with which you can shrink is limited more than necessary in Vista.

I recommend the bootable ISO of BootItNextGeneration for both steps. (Shrink C:, then Slide D: )

 

I wanna do number .9 (wipe the 1st partition) but when I type the commands a message says: I/O error writing drive A.
in the begining before the command I have : [DR-DOS] A:\> and then after that I write the command. Any help here please?
thanks

 

I can think of two things:

a) Try issuing the command from C: or another letter corresponding to the hard drive.
b) Maybe the HDD is not detected for some reason? Do you see it in the BIOS for instance?

Also, are you using FreeDOS? I'm not sure what that [DR-DOS] thing is, perhaps things work differently there.

 

Thanks E.B.E..
a)I don't really know how to issue the command from C, have tried some things but it doesn't work

b)I can see the HDD in the bios and I'm using the programm from the link in your first post. There is one free version and another one, downloaded the free, burned it on a bootable cd and when I boot from it I get this screen where I type the commands. (pic attached)

 

So, let me make sure that you use this version:
http://www.ibiblio.org/pub/micro/pc-stuff/freedos/files/distributions/1.0/fdfullcd.iso

(I'm not sure how the FreeDOS screen looks like right now)

 

Nah didn't use this, thx for the link,
cheers!

 

So, did it work?

Note that you said

 

Updated with:
- new info on undervolting (poor support of Penryn, also made Santa Rosa remarks more cautious)
- new info on nVidia power profiles control (or rather, the lack thereof) in latest drivers
- link dead computer to bad BIOS flash
- updated info about RAM limitations, suggestion Vista 64
and other minor updates.

 

Great article. I just used the first method (about POST not running) and it helped. At first I almost got to windows and the second time I succesfuly started up the computer. I just hope that this wont become a habit for my new asus g71v because that would really suck.

THANKS!!!

P.S.: Right after I posted this the laptop died again. It only worked for about 5 minutes (still a record since these problems started happening) and it's getting pretty annoying!

 

Glad my post helped (at least temporarily...)

I suggest you either return the laptop to the reseller (if it's very new, it can be considered Dead on Arrival) or else to ASUS, for repairs.

 

Is the support better now ?(been a year now) I have a C2D P8400 on asus G50vt and would like to undervolt it for power saving when I travel via train , or are there any other tips ?

 

I don't know since I have not tried undervolting in a while... Check whether newer versions of RMClock have been released, and see their changelogs. Maybe they fixed it.

Please note that because the lowest-multiplier voltage is locked from hardware in Core Duo and newer processors, there is very little power saving benefit to undervolting in low-usage profiles such as the one you mention. It's better to address other power consumers (GPU, screen brightness, WiFi and BlueTooth, etc).

The benefit is more in heat savings when the CPU is pushed with computationally intensive tasks.

 

ok thanks , will try once I have some time and hopefully will provide some feedback

 

This is useful thanks!

 

I have an Acer Aspire 4720z Notebook, Windows Operating syatem. I keep getting a blue screen message telling me to disable bios memory options such as caching or shadowing but I don't know how to do either of these things. Help.

 

Do you know how to get into the bios?

 

That "disable BIOS memory options such as caching and shadowing" is a generic advice included with (certain types of?) Windows bluescreens. Your computer is most likely unstable due to other reasons. Follow the generic tips for this item: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=221692#bsod

Are you undervolting or running 3rd party power management software by any chance (e.g., RMClock)?

You could also consider performing a memory test (memtest86+).

 

This is very handy. Thanks

 

Under "How do I check my battery wear?", you can also use BatteryBar to check battery wear. It installs as a toolbar that you can turn on/off on your taskbar. I've been using it for a while now. It has a few other nice features about it as well. Just a FYI