A8JP Owners Lounge

Have any of you tried the dual-core xp hotfix and/or xp sp3? I installed the hotfix first and my jp started overheating much faster. I uninstalled it and things were back to normal. I installed sp3 last night and I'm overheating, again.
My understanding is that the hotfix is included in sp3. It's supposed to increase performance, but it looks as though it makes the cpu/gpu run much hotter.
JJ

 

Well, you are not the only one. Apparently I spoke too soon. The bezel on mine started to separate on both sides whenever I closed the screen and I noticed black plastic laying near it. I have never even really moved my laptop around, however I use it daily and open and close the lid every time I do. Hopefully this isn't any indication of how well the laptop is built. I have only had it for 7+ months. I called into Asus and they were able to set me up with an RMA and provide me with standard overnight shipping data. They have been very good as far as communication, and I expect my laptop back in a few days. I will let everyone know how it turns out.

 

My hinge mounts cracked (probably because of 3 kids knocking it on the floor every other day) and I was able to send it in for a free fix. Asus even paid the overnight shipping. I must say that the 24 month warranty is nice. I still have the entirety of this year left on it.
BTW...
I noticed that my laptop was overheating and shutting off during Titan Quest play (even outside of the afore-mentioned hotfix, but much more significantly with the hotfix). I blew out my heatsink vent and it didn't look mucked up, but I haven't had an overheat since, so I guess it must have just been on the edge (I'm still not using the hotfix or sp3, though).
JJ

 

My A8JP seems to run hot most of the time. Like Hard drive at 55 C and CPU at 70-75 C and the fan most of the time. Nothing OC'd or anything, anyone else have this? Playing pretty much any game it overheats and shuts down.

 

I had that problem; I used a vacuum to clean out the ventilation on the A8JP. Still, I think it runs fairly hot, even normally.

 

I second that, see the Info Booth sticky / Maintenance Guides / Cleaning.

 

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Got it back today. Looks as though they replaced not only the bezel, but also the top silver section of the laptop.

When I originally got my a8jp, I peeled all the stickers off. Now I have a 'Graphics by Nvidia' sticker, next to a designed for 'windows XP/Vista Capabable.' I know they didn't replace the bottom section because my Windows XP and serial # are all still the same.

The new section of the shell has some slight scratches near the mouse pad.

One other thing of note, now when I push the release to open the bezel the screen does not release and I have to work at getting the screen up. Other than that, worth the time to get it fixed up.

 

Weird. New chassis components should be blank (no stickers or anything). Add the scratches on top of that, and it makes me suspect that you were given a top chassis stripped off another A8 computer.

 

I just opened up my A8JP and cleaned out the fan and what not with some canned air, didn't really seem all that dusty compared to what I've seen in my desktop when I clean it. Anyways, it used to run 60 degress C idle and in the 70s under load sometimes even 80s, now after cleaning that little bit of dust, its running 45 under load. So if yours is running hot, I HIGHLY suggest getting a can of air and opening that puppy up even if it doesn't look all that dusty, cuz it makes all the difference!

 

Does anyone have any problem trying to get Catalyst Control Center to run on X1700 on Ubuntu 7.10? Seeing the release of 8.04 is getting me excited to run the open source OS once again...but sadly, the ATi drivers aren't giving the green light.

 

(This problem was solved on the other thread)

 

I'm relieved to see my problems are not uncommon.
1) Overheating
2) Right Hinge is broken

Also my backspace key fell off. What are my odds on Asus covering these? If Asus decides that they cannot cover these fixes, will they charge me for shipping back?

 

Overheating: make sure you clean the dust from your fan and heatsink regularly. There's a guide in the Info Booth.

Hinge(s): this is more or less a known problem so they should fix them from warranty.

Backspace key: well if they don't fix it from warranty you can always get a keyboard off the ASUS eStore (assuming you're in the US) for 20USD and replace it yourself... it's really easy.

 

Thanks for the reply. If I open the laptop to clean the cpu fan will it void the waranty? I've upgraded the RAM and replaced a dead hard drive, but I assumed they were user replaceable parts.

 

Warranty's fine as long as you don't remove the heatsink off the CPU. If the layout is well designed you'll be able to remove the fan without removing the heatsink.

 

Yes, the fan is very easy to take out (just a few screws, does not void warranty). Clean that and use compressed air to blow dust out of the grilles (tip: use moist tissue to catch the dust on the other end).

Like E.B.E. said: do NOT remove the entire heatsink! You will understand when you see the warranty seal on one of the scews above the CPU conductor.

 

Is the gray sticker on the back where the serial number should be? I can't find my SN on the bottom of my laptop and that sticker has been completely worn out along with 60% of my Windows product key sticker. If this is the case, will Asus still service it?

 

I've heard about this problem (SN rubbing off...) I'm not sure what they will do. Do you still have the SN written down somewhere (receipts for instance)? You need it for the RMA... as long as you have the actual number, I'm not sure it matters whether it's on the sticker or not. (one can argue it's their fault for not protecting it properly from wear and tear in the warranty period)

 

I'm not sure where the boxes/papers/etc. but I'll look for them. I was hoping the SN would be embedded into ROM somewhere that a software could read it. Here is an image of the bottom of my a8jp. In the upper left corner you can see that my windows sticker has partially withered off. Circled is where I think the SN used to be...

 

Yeah that was probably it...

 

Don't know if anyone else has experienced this, but I was having a horrible time downloading the vga drivers for vista 32 from the asus website. So that I could get the areo theme working. I did a bit of research and found this, mod tool application that lets you modify the original ati drivers. I installed the ATI drivers and still no areo, so I did a bit more research and found that if you drop the resolution down to 1024x768 you can choose areo, so I did so and then bumped it back up and the areo theme stuck. I now have a nice dreamscape moving background. W00T!

 

I was shocked when I saw your torn Windows licence sticker, but I guess it was just photoshopped?

 

Why don't you call them and ask how you can find out? I have the same problem with my sticker but i kept the original box. As long as you have a receipt of when you bought it, it should be fine.

cheers!

 

S/N should be: on the bottom of the notebook; on the sides of the box the notebook came in; and also on the gray warranty flier that you got with the notebook. Perhaps also on the receipt from the store. It's quite difficult to lose all these things so even if the sticker rubs off you should be able to recover your SN.

 

Sorry to bring up an old thread, but I was wondering if you all can help me!

I have been having problem with my A8JP while playing games. After about an hour of playing any game, the LCD screen shuts off. The computer is still on, the game is still going. So I have to press the FN+F6 buttong to increase the brightness, only once, and it goes back to it bright as day.

But it then just goes to black seconds later. Press the FN button again, bright. You get it. I basically have to exit the game how bad it gets. And when Im back at desktop, I dont have the problem

Ive searched these and other forums, but couldnt find anything that helped.

So I contacted Asus Live Help. And besides being annoyed by the person taking 3 minutes between responses, he wasnt any help, and told me it was a temp issue and to upgrade my video card driver and bios.

Brought up some questions. I have the version support.asus.com video driver already installed long ago, but I read on these forums here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=107078&highlight=non+modified+X1700 that I can use a catalyst and it works better and is supported!?

My temp sticks at 70f when playing, and idles at about 40f. This is high in my opinion. I have cleaned the fan already, I dont have a external cooler though. Will the updating the bios cool my computer down?

Anyone else have this problem!?

 

Hmmm...
Well, I can definitely comment on the temp. I use a cooler and I notice a big difference in the temp of the air coming out of the right side. It's a targus that was given to me. I'm guessing wal-mart or staples.
As far as the screen...
I might recommend uninstalling/reinstalling the video card drivers. If that doesn't fix it, then reformat. If neither of those fix it, then you're probably looking at a hardware problem. If you still have warranty, then it should be a free fix. I've had my screen replaced, but because of hinge mounts.
JJ

 

Actually, those temps should be in celcius Either way, those temps are not high at all and it's most certainly not an overheating issue. Like Asus said, updating the GPU driver and Bios is the first steps in diagnosing your problem and that's what I would recommend too
If that doesn't fix the problem, the next step is to do a system restore. Formating your hard drive should be your last option before sending it in for repairs.

 

Okay, so I bought a cooler from Circuit City and was able to play all night without any problems. But thats only one game. Im gonna try another game when I have time to see if that helps.

I have the gpu update from support.asus.com, but I heard i can go to ATI and download an updated catalyst driver that supports x1700?

Thanks for your help, maybe it was just overheating, ~shrugs~. If the cooler decides to work, Im not changing anything. But if I keep getting the problems, Im gonna download the new bios and maybe the catalyst driver.

When I first bought hellgate: london I played for almost a full day without a cooler and it didnt do anything. Then the remaining days after that the black screen appeared.

So Im thinking that could happen again, cooler or not. Play all day yesterday, today will suck.

 

Also consider updating/reinstalling ACPI drivers. This might be caused by power management bugs.

 

I don't think the ricoh sd card reader works with sdhc. I have a microsd 4gb and 8gb and it won't read either one. If I use the usb-microsd adapter that came with my 8gb, it reads just fine.
Is this something that can be fixed with a driver update or is it just not going to work?
JJ

 

Yes, it can be fixed with a driver update. See for instance my Tips and Tricks, I think it's the last question but I don't remember exactly. The one about SDHC.

 

I've had this laptop for over a year now and for me at least, it's been one of the best purchases I've ever made. My specs: 2GHz/2GB/160GB HDD. I used to use my gaming desktop to download stuff 24/7 but that sucked up a lot of electricity. For the last three months, I've used my A8JP as my main computer and leave it on 24/7 to download. I have it hooked up to a 20" LCD with the DVI connector at 1600x1200 resolution. Other than the average 2 hr. battery life with it's unplugged, I'm quite happy with my setup, as it suits my needs perfectly. I originally bought this lappy to casually game on the go, but if I wanted another laptop with similar specs in terms of power, features and portability, I don't think I could find one. I mean, most newer Asus laptops have bigger HDDs, faster CPUs, more RAM capacity, faster GPUs, BUT they don't also have DVI, bluetooth, IR, and a Camera, or is there such a beast that exists?

 

I think you can find a good new ASUS laptop with HDMI (DVI replacement), BT, and a camera. All these are pretty much standard nowadays. For instance, the F8V, a 14" like the A8: http://www.asus.com/products.aspx?l1=5&l2=26&l3=501&l4=0&model=2370&modelmenu=2
has all that. Not sure it has IR.

 

The serial number should also be on the battery. I can barely read the sticker on the bottom and a support guy told me about the battery. It's clear as new.
JJ

 

That was an odd process. I do have the 8gb working through the card reader, now.
I, first, just installed the driver for the sd reader. I figured that I wouldn't need the others. Then it showed the mmc not having a driver and it wouldn't even notice a card was there.
Then I tried running the executable. The mmc was still without a driver, but the card showed up as a drive. When I tried to open it, though, it said that it wasn't formatted.
I rebooted, probably, 5 or 6 times through the whole process. Now I am copying files to the card. The mmc reader still doesn't have drivers, though.
JJ

 

That's the same for me (MMC not working), but I don't care about MMC. Actually since I made that guide I found out that if you reboot with an SDHC card in the reader, after installing the drivers, it will "force" Windows to recognize the card. At least in my case. So that should save (some of) the 5-6 reboots.

 

Does anyone know how to force the fan to run full speed, all the time?
I tried speedfan, but it doesn't recognize the fan.
I'm currently using notebook hardware control, and it sees the fans through acpi, but even when I turn off automatic and turn on manual, the fan keeps slowing down.
Is there a registry entry then I could force or a different program that has been tested?
JJ

 

I don't know of any fan control program that works well with new ASUS notebooks...

 

Do you have Notebook Hardware Control running, by chance? I installed it a few days ago, to check temps, and it started turning the screen brightness down, way darker than fn-f5 will. It happened 3-4 times over a couple of days. I hadn't happened before running nhc and it hasn't happened since I stopped running it.
JJ

 

NHC has not been updated in a while... hence its support for newer chipsets is iffy, at best...

 

I have a problem with my A8Jp, and it only happens on Vista. Whenever I plugged in the AC adapter, the laptop freezes. Is there any way to solve this problem? TIA.

 

This looks like a power management bug. Try uninstalling and reinstalling the ATK drivers, and ATK Generic Function Utility, if you have such a thing on the drivers CD. (newer ASUS computers have it, not sure about the A8J, probably not)

Also make sure to stop any 3rd party power management utility such as NHC, since they may interfere with power management and cause this problem.

Post back if this doesn't solve the issue.

 

Thanks for your reply. It's a freshly installed Vista, still freezing when plugged in the ac adapter. There's no 3rd party software installed. After installing ATK drivers, it's still freezing when ac adapter plugged in. I have no idea what is wrong. It's only freezing on Vista. It did not freeze on XP or Ubuntu.

 

Install chipset drivers, all ATK drivers and utilities, and make sure Vista is fully patched (up to date).

You may also wish to try this: reinstall Vista cleanly, install chipset drivers and ATK drivers immediately after Vista.

 

It still did the same thing. I just found out that if I powered the unit up without the ac adapter plugged in, it always freezes when I plugged back in. But if I powered on the unit with ac adapter plugged in, unplugged and plugged back; then nothing wrong. I just email Asus support for help. Now I just wait for them. Thanks for your help E.B.E.

 

Another suggestion, in case you're not running the latest BIOS: update to the latest BIOS.

(you will find it on support.asus.com, search for your model number)

 

Everytime I press the power button, the button turns green, it sounds like the notebook is booting, then i hear a beep and it turns off.

Any suggestions before I ship it off to Asus? Had this laptop for just under two years so I am still under warranty according to Asus Tech support.

 

Can anyone get the stereomix audio option to work?

I'm trying to record music that is playing on the computer(not outloud on speaker) and my voice at the same time (from microphone).

Any body know how to do this?

Thanks

 

Is there a program that will underclock, or somehow otherwise castrate, the cpu/gpu? I'm overheating during Sacred 2, even with a cooler and blowing out the heatsink.
I'm thinking that if it's slower, but still playable, it would be cooler.
JJ

 

In case it's still useful:

Check first if the memory is properly seated; try another RAM stick if you have one (or 1 out of 2 if you have 2). Beeps usually indicated bad or poorly connected memory/GPU.

You could disassemble and clean the fan and radiator by hand (blowing it out usually doesn't do remove much of the dust).