My m570u (Experiences and Questions)

OK, it's time that I posted an update of my experiences with my m570u.

First of all, I should start by again saying that the process of ordering from Flawless was pleasant, and Brian has been very nice throughout, even following up with me to check on the status of things.

Unfortunately, my experience with the machine hasn't quite been, pardon the pun, flawless. One of the problems definitely isn't with the machine per se, and the other continues to puzzle me.

I'll start with the (relatively) easy one first. My intention all along had been to dual boot Windows and (Ubuntu) Linux. Upon receiving the machine, I repartitioned and reinstalled Windows. I did run into a problem (more on that later), but eventually got Windows up and running (for the most part) and did the linux install. However, I then ran into a problem in both Linux and Windows. I had lost my CD/DVD drive. It was detected in BIOS, and worked perfectly if I was to boot from a CD, but neither OS could see it at all. Only after resorting to yet another reinstall of Windows did I come across forum posts describing the culprit -- the Grub boot loader.
As described here: http://www.brianparsons.net/?p=63 (and the forum posts linked from there) I found out that there is some sort of incompatibility between the m570u BIOS and the commonly used Grub boot loader. Apparently using LILO instead of Grub gets rid of the issue, but I'm also very curious as to if/when Clevo might issue a BIOS update that fixes the problem. (I'd also love for anybody to point me towards a how-to for switching from Grub to LILO, since the Ubuntu installer at least doesn't give an option for anything other than Grub.)

The issue with the CD/DVD drive not being recognized is not a huge one, since apparently there is a workaround by not using Grub, and I can get everything back to working in Windows by simply using the "fixmbr" command in the Recovery Console (just wish I had tried that before reinstalling for the 3rd time... ah well).

The bigger problem (because I have no idea what's causing it) is the seemingly somewhat random Blue Screens of Death that I get when booting Windows (see attached image). This problem manifested itself shortly after my first Windows install on here (long before any sort of Linux install happened). The BSoD always happens at the same time (right after the Windows logo loading screen and before getting to the login screen), but does not happen upon every boot. This problem has manifested itself on each of the three installs of Windows that I've done (two times I tried Windows MCE 2k5, this latest I tried just regular XP Pro). At first I thought it was a specific item from Windows Update that triggered it (since I hadn't installed much at all, and nothing weird), but I have been meticulous with the last to installs, and the problem didn't show up until after all the updates have been installed. The only other programs I have installed are iTunes, Miranda IM, WoW, and AVG AntiVirus. The computer booted fine after all of these were installed. Nothing, absolutely nothing, changed between the time that it worked and when the problem started happening this time.

The good news is, I can temporarily remedy the problem by booting into Safe Mode and restarting (I don't have to do anything in Safe Mode, just boot into it and restart). The next time booting after that it always boots just fine. However, the next time starting up there's a good chance that I'll get the BSoD again.

As an added piece of information, a couple of times after booting the Windows error reporting dialog came up and took me to this URL:
http://wer.microsoft.com/responses/....2.0?SGD=a4efdeab-9fe1-42f7-ad9d-c21a78fe3af1
I'm not sure what that's indicating, but maybe it means something to somebody else.

So anyway, the point of this long post is to make sure others with Clevos are aware of the issues with Grub, the BIOS, and the CD/DVD drive, and hopefully solicit some ideas as to causes/fixes for the STOP error that I'm getting.

All that said, the machine certainly is nice when it's working. 5290 in 3DMark06, absolutely gorgeous display, tremendous features... if I can fix these couple of issues, I'll be extremely happy.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions anybody might have...

 

In my years of experience, this error is almost always a driver problem. And the most common driver that causes problems is video.

Also, go into MSCONFIG to the startup and disable EVERYTHING, then reboot and see if the problem goes away.

However, I would also recommend you run tests on your RAM and hard drive, particularly RAM. Grab MemTest86 and run a long diag on your RAM.

That error is generally caused from a conflict with "something" that is loading on bootup, which is why clearing the startup in msconfig is good place to start. And it works after rebooting from safe mode because windows has a chance to unload and reload it proper as part of the reboot process.

 

sorry to hear the problems JCQ. Dang i thought you were in Calif, so i can check it out for you personally.

Elminst is correct. BSODs during startup, especially if its a new install of Windows, can mainyl be caused by:
1) memory error (in RAM, and occasionally in CPU cache)
-- use the bootable CD from http://www.memtest.org
2) software (drivers, processes, corrupted files, non-compatible startup programs/files)
-- use HiJackThis to find all startup services, programs, plugins
3) and the very unlikelihood that you hardware is not properly connected/secured/seated in the system.
-- you can check to see if the RAM, HDD, Optical drive, TV Tuner card, and Wireless cards are all properly secured and seated correctly.

I had a friend that had similar problems on his Clevo, turned out that the wireless card (under the keyboard) was not seated correctly.... and if you want to believe it, MemTest came up and showed that the CPU cache had errrors.... that is definitely rare. So I re-seated the wireless card and replaced his CPU, still good a new now... even he want to upgrade from a 6800 Go.

These are the best steps to check out your problems... especially since can reproduce the BSOD. That means that you can weave the possible problems. I would not send the notebook back, unless if you feel that you dont have the time to figure this out.

Tell us how it goes, you got support.

-Gophn

 

I did actually run the memory checker that's on the Ubuntu CD, and after one full pass it didn't find any errors. I can try that memtest thing also to verify.

As far as drivers, I haven't installed anything except what came with the computer.

I'll investigate further and see what I can find and post a follow up if I figure anything out.

Thanks for the suggestions!

 

I've had a Sager 5760 (m570u) for three weeks now, and seen this error once (BSOD occured immediately after the windows bootscreen with the animated progress bar).

Will try the suggestions above as well and report back.

 

Glad I'm not the only one.

 

If I were a Clevo reseller, these BSODs would make me want to fix it for you at no cost and express service... seriously, if you guys were near me, I would check them out for you.

BSODs have always been a pain... but if you can reproduce them (same time and place), then you have a very high chance to single out the problem.

 

I tried disabling everything in the Startup tab of msconfig, but still got the BSoD.

Brian at Flawless just sent me a BIOS update, so we'll see if that does anything. It'd be really nice (a little funny and ironic, given that I just got the workaround going) if it fixed the issues with the CD/DVD drive being lost due to a conflict with the BIOS and Grub bootloader.

I did also notice that there's apparently a new(er) audio driver available from Clevo's site. I have no idea if that makes any difference, since it's apparently 88.7 MB and is downloading at 4.3k per second. Are those drivers mirrored on any US site by any chance?

I'll keep posting updates if I learn any more...

 

MSCONFIG is not that great... especially when you want to see EVERYTHING that is starting up.

Use HiJackThis, its 1 file, and has much better functionality than msconfig

 

A little update...

I flashed the BIOS using the updated one that Brian at Flawless sent to me, and after multiple restarts, I have yet to see the BSoD. Of course now that I say that it will probably come back just to prove me wrong, but as of now, things seem to be working. Here's hoping it stays that way!

Unfortunately I'm not really willing to go through the hassle of reinstalling Grub as the main boot loader, so I'm unable to check to see if the new BIOS fixed the issue causing the CD drive to be invisible, but I'd definitely be curious to know if anybody else experiments with this. (As I've finally got mine booting and working using LILO, I'm a little loath to go and do something that might screw it up again.)

 

Glad to hear that its working.

The BIOS... thats definitely uncommon.

Hope everything is okay from here.

 

I knew I shouldn't have said anything.

Though it booted fine a few times last night, when I booted up this morning... the BSoD was back. Sigh. Ah well, back to trying to figure out what's causing it. Or just hope that the problem goes away when I switch to Vista. Blah.

 

Jinxed yourself.

I truly believe that it is something else other than software. If you reinstalled Windows a couple of times and it occurs, why would it be any different with Vista.

 

Have you ran Memtest as Gophn suggested? Do you always receive the same BSOD (0000000a IRQL_NOT_LESS_OR_EQUAL)?

 

Yup, i've just encountered this problem too, and it's becoming more frequent. And safe mode also is the only way to boot up without the BSOD. I'll have to hit you up on your offer for you to personally fix my laptop.

I'll try the memtest soon. Some people on newegg think the corsair value select is of poor quality. If that doesn't work, i'll check to see if my wireless card is properly seated, as my signal strength is not what it should be.

 

Rickster, which anti-virus program do you use? I don't want to say that the problem is solved (given what happened last time I thought that), but I have now had a whole bunch of successful restarts after uninstalling AVG 7.5 free edition. The reason I thought to try this was that I just got a call from a friend who recently installed it and has just started getting BSoD errors. Now, he doesn't have a Clevo (he has a Dell laptop), and he couldn't tell me if he was having the same STOP error as me (he's going to take a picture of it next time it happens), but it seemed a little more than a coincidence.

I'm torn -- on the one hand I'll be ecstatic if the BSoD problem is fixed, but I also really don't want to have to avoid AVG. I really like that program. Also, I've never had any issues w/ AVG 7.5 on my desktop, so if it is to blame, it most likely is some sort of conflict w/ the laptop config, I suppose.

Anyway, something to think about Rickster. I'll post an update if/when I learn anything else (or the BSoD comes back).

 

jcq, if you want a good Free Anti-Virus, get Avast!

I technically dont have one running, i keep one installed, but disable it from starting up. It makes the system take a huge hit in performance. That and its not really needed, as long as you have a good firewall (ZoneAlarm Free is perfect). And if you use Firefox. Have 2 free spyware/malware programs installed (Ad-Aware and Spybot) just in case if you want to scan your system, but again, not needed liek the anti-virus.

I have yet to get any viruses or spyware.

I have been doing this whole spyware/malware thing since the epidemic hit about 2-3 years ago. All my customers are set up with:
Firewall: Zone Alarm (free version)
(Optional) Anti-Virus: avast! or AVG
Spyware/malware: Spybot and Ad-Adware
Web Browser: FireFox

They have yet to ever called be back for spyware/viruses, usually called for other dumb things like wireless networking or how to back up data. Which is a good thing since I guarantee all work and setups done, so I dont charge anything to return if a problem occurs from what I have done.

 

hah, i opted to have Brian to install avast on my laptop (no BSOD), but the interface annoyed me and its pop ups were more bothersome. So i went to AVG which I found superior. That's quite sad that'll i'll have to uninstall my beloved AVG.

I'll try that and report back.

 

I'm now having the same issues and also have AVG installed. Have you guys discovered what the issue is?

 

Nope, never learned what the problem was, but switching to a different AV program (in my case, Avast!) seemed to resolve the issue.

 

uninstalling AVG anti-virus fixed my problems

 

Even the newest BIOS isn't going to fix the Grub issue.. if you really want to play with linux still, here is some info and perhaps easiest fix. Just download Ubuntu Alternate Install.. if you have the alternate install disc.. (NOT the Live one) just install linux and when it comes to Installing GRUB press the ESC.. this will bring up the sub menu with the whole install process numbered out and you can select to install LILO instead..

Putting it short.. You need the Alternate Install, and when its asking where to write GRUB.. press ESC to install LILO from the menu..

I am not sure if you will need to update LILO after each install of a new Kernel update.. But to be on the safe side just ask in the official forms for Ubuntu.

I haven't played with linux for a few weeks since I installed Vista x64.. but one thing you will want to know.. after you install LILO on STARTUP right after POST.. you will ether need to hold down the esc or press the shift key to bring up the OS selector to get into windows (don't remember exactly)...

TAKE care.. I do miss linux.. but I will install that on my external drive when I get one.

 

Yes, I'm a Linux user and ran into this ACPI problem myself. I had been using GRUB for quite a while, but have been using Linux since back in the days when LILO was still the default bootloader. LILO does require you to re-run 'lilo' each time you change your kernel or boot partition configuration, and I still have problems with Linux not being able to use the DVD drive with DMA. But at least I am able to use it when I have to...

I tried following the fix common ACPI problems wiki page and got as far as trying to recompile the DSDT, but only found a couple of warnings that have no real effect on the DVD problem. So I keep trying to check around for new BIOS versions, but I don't even know if Clevo is trying to fix this issue or not...

 

Those of you looking for a sound and free firewall, you might find this site interesting on which one to choose. There are some surprising or maybe not so surprising results on some of the better known name brands that people shell out a lot of money for.
www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php#firewalls-ratings
www.matousec.com/projects/windows-personal-firewall-analysis/leak-tests-results.php

 

I am succefully running Windows XP Pro and Kubuntu Feisty. To get around the DVD issue under linux, I just modified grub and added "acpi=off" onto the boot line. This sucks because it disables acpi, but the DVD drive is more important to me right now.