A8jm owner's Lounge

I saw a post in Notebookforums, a guy got 3 hrs 40 mins with lower settings, USB mouse and no wifi.

So far, with normal office work, low-medium settings (3rd lowest brightness, still ok for me), wifi on, browsing, app installing, downloading and office stuff, I usually get 3 hours, plus minus a few minutes.

I'll try run that Battery Eater app, see what I get.

 

You could also try undervolting. It should give you another 10-20 minutes.

 

It was freezing? But were there any artifacts?

 

No artifacts, just freezing. I get artifacts if I push the ram faster than ~445 or so.

Really though, this laptop performs well enough to play any games that I want, so i'm not super worried about it. Half Life2 looks amazing, and plays great, as does FEAR, so i'm happy.

 

Yea, OCing too much can either cause crashes/freezing, inaccurate calculations or artifacts.

DarrenF-> just curious, does the webcam work in linux? or can you tell me what kind it is? I believe if you open a terminal and type lspci, it should output information about your system, including the specs of the webcam.

 

I was reading your review and I am kind of concerned about the heat coming out from under the laptop since I use it on my lap pretty often. Were you using it for intensive computer processes before the bottom got warm? How long did it take for it to be very uncomfortably warm?

 

uncletut: I had it on for about 30 - 40 minutes and then used it on my lap. It wasn't uncomfortably hot, but quite warm. Not sure if it would get hotter, but I didn't really want to test it near that certain area anyway .

 

darren@A8JM-ubuntu:~$ lsusb
Bus 003 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 004 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 005 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 002 Device 001: ID 0000:0000
Bus 001 Device 006: ID 0ac8:0321 Z-Star Microelectronics Corp.
Bus 001 Device 001: ID 0000:0000


The webcam is on the USB bus. It's made by Z-star, model vc0321 as you can see. Shouldn't be too hard to get it working.

http://72.14.203.104/search?q=cache...linux&hl=en&gl=ca&ct=clnk&cd=1&client=firefox

 

Hey guys, I've never OC'd a vid card before.. what do u use? I used the built in nvidia coolbits to adjust clock and mem frequency, but when it did the auto OC, at 480/400, my 3dMark06 went from 2365 to 2117 ??? Should I try using something else?

 

I used powerstrip

 

Or download X-treme G drivers from tweaksrus. Their drivers have built in overclocking.

 

Best OC program for nVidia cards is Riva Tuner, can't beat this.

 

Interesting. I can only burn at 2.4x on my 4x Sony DVD+RW discs but I can burn at 8x with my 16x DVD+R. That kind of sucks.

 

I guys, I am a fellow A8Jm owner. Actually I have 2 in this house. I chose it due to the input of these forums, so thanks all.

I was wondering if anyone had succeeded in installing Vista Beta 2 on an A8Jm. I ask because I can't, on either laptops. It appears to be a BIOS issue or a windows config problem (i have the latest BIOS - 208). I have been trying to dual boot XP SP2 & Vista.

Here is my epic:
1.
I can't boot to the vista DVD (yes I've reburned it to be sure). it detects the DVD, & requests i press a key to boot from the CD/DVD, I do. Then it resets. Every time. I happens on both laptops.

2.
"Well, Its okay, I can install from windows XP". Sort of, here is how that goes...
Insert the DVD, autorun & begin the install, everything is cool. I have made a seperate 20G partition for it to live on, it copies the files (not to that partition though, to c: so it seems...) then it reboots.
That is the last you will see of windows untill you recover your boot.ini & MBR using a XP recovery CD. This is because Vista uses a new boot controling thingy (BCD? edit it with bcdedit) & it seems to be configured wrong for my laptops. I can edit it after i fix the MBR but in doing that i seem to destroy Vista's boot thingy.

catch 22...

argggg, anyone else had luck on a A8Jm? I know my DVD's are good because we used the same one on a mates Dell6000, it worked no worries...

 

I'm actually trying to do that right now, and will let you know how it goes. I have to figure a few things out first and burn my Vista Download to a DVD. I downloaded it directly from microsoft and it was fast! 600-700kbps and its like 3.1gigs and took 1.5hrs.

 

Nice connection there, took me about 5hrs at 170k.

As a side note, be sure to get 2 Vista keys off microsoft, for some reason they will allow you to get 2. Youcan apparently use them on 10 computers also, so you should be right till the next version comes out.

 

Hey guys, just thought I'd let u know that my review got posted on NBR

Thanks for all the input I got from fellow A8Jm owners here.

Here's the thread if anybody's interested, I'll also keep updating the post on my blog as I find new things.

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=58474

 

Cool... allready read the review. Great Job! Repped.

@ zaph42. Yea.. I have DSL 8MB DL and 600k upload. I tried to download the 64 bit version but I think the servers are full right now. I will try later. Also, MS gave you 2 keys, 1 for the 64bit ver and one for the 32bit ver.

 

+/- DVD's burn at different speeds on different burners. Also to burn at 16x you have to have 16x DVD's and they are very expensive right now. Perhaps thats why your only getting 8x.

 

Would somebody do a DVD-Watching battery test, please? I'm wondering how long the thing will last for DVD viewing, at an acceptable brightness level. Please??

 

lol, you're not the only one. I have the exact same problem as you, so we know that at least its not the vista DVD doing it (asumming you used the bundled NERO to burn it).

how do you recover boot.ini? i know you can fixmbr from repair, but boot.ini? ive had to recover it with the recovery discs...not once but twice. Someone with the w3j had the same problems. WHY!!!!

oh yea, doesnt work with bios 207 either.

 

@gusto5 - ive done it about 5 times now over the 2 laptops here, I may have been wrong about fixing the boot.ini. I did a fixmbr & a fixboot. not sure what the 2nd one does, but it let me boot to XP again.

At the peak of my efforts i tried to install from windows & cancel the reboot so i could fiddle with the boot setup it had made for itself (using VistaBootPRO, bcdedit was beyond me), but I couldnt cancel it in time, so that didn't work. I also means waiting for a 5sec window after 2-odd hours....

 

after fixing the boot.ini, i suddenly have the computer booting off boot.ini in my recovery partition, which has never appeared until now, and im not even aware of creating it. I posted it in anew thread.

 

I have 16x DVD+R's. But the burner only seems to burn at 8x

 

Have you tried any DVD-R's do they burn at 16x? Because I know my +/- 16x burner only burns a certin format at 16x... forgot if it's DVD- or +.

 

Alright, well my A8jm just arrived unexpectedly today in the mail.

Now, I'm thinking of reformatting, so I really hope this hasn't already been asked, but could someone compile a real quick list of what drivers I need to make sure I have to get it up and running off of a reformat (synaptics etc.) and just a rough idea of where to get said drivers.

I'm sorry I would try and do this all myself, but I don't have the time at the moment to search as I'm supposed to be outside working.

I would greatly appreciate any help with this and I think it would be a good addition to this thread. (A Reformat your A8JM guide)

 

you can find most of the drivers on the CD's that came with the laptop.. i redid mine first day with little trouble, went from xp home to xp pro.. just used the device drivers on the CD.. i had to use the nvidia drivers from the CD as the ones from the site didn't seem to support the card yet.

Adam.

 

Get a copy of WinDriver Ghost, and use it to collect all your drivers from the existing Windows install. Save them to a cd, or external drive. Then after you format, you can point windows to the external source for the drivers. Use the 'Fast Collect' method to only backup drivers not supplied with Windows.

I do this on every computer that I format.

The program allows you to try it for 15 days, but since you're using it right before you format, this doesn't matter.

http://www.5cup.com/shareware/Windows_Utilities-Backup-WinDriver_Ghost-2.02.html

 

also, dont use the synaptics drivers off the driver CD. Get them directly from synaptics.com. The ASUS release for the a8jm is problematic.

 

Also, can I just reformat and use the Windows recovery cd to reinstall the operating system or do I need to create a XP cd?

 

I think you can just pop in the recovery CD and take it from there (as long as your recovery partition is still there)

 

Guys, just wondering if any of you has got SpeedFan to work on the A8Jm? It never detected the fan sensors on mine, and I had to try download some profile, but can't find the motherboard (in Everest, the motherboard says unknown for the A8Jm). Any tips?

 

Please excuse my ignorance, but how do I ensure the Recovery partition is still there if I reformat the hard drive to get rid of the partitions that the computer came with?

 

If you delete all the partitions, then the recovery partion will be gone. If you are reformating for the sole purpose of changing the partions, why not just use a utility such as Partition magic? You won't gain any measurable performance if you use the factory restore disks to reformat just to move the partitions.

 

Eh I guess I wanted to just start from a clean slate with NTFS etc. And no junk.

 

If you just want to convert to NTFS, there's something called FAT to NTFS conversion utility that's included in your default install I believe.

ASUS doesn't really put much junk in there, so you should be ok with the default.

 

my only issue with that is that every time I tried to use it, it gave me an error of some sort

 

Maybe this'll help?
http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/maintain/convertfat.mspx

 

If your drive is currently FAT32 and you plan to move partitions, do not convert to NTFS until you have modified the partitions. Reason being, the various bootable Linux live cd's play much nicer with FAT32 than NTFS as far as partitioning goes.

 

Please? Please?

 

i'll try to do a dvd watching test later tonight

 

Hey guys

Is the ASUS-A8JM US/CANADA model only as I cant find any info or resellers in EU? Hope this is not the case as importing it would cost a fortune too. Customs love ripping you off.

Any info would be cool
thx

 

Shnoob: I think in EU, u guys have the A8Jc only (Go 7300, 4500rpm HD, T2300 1.6 GHz). Anybody care to correct me if I'm mistaken?

 

Thanks so much.

 

I have a question for you guys. Can you configure the 7600 so it doesnt run at high speeds? So when im on battery can I lower the specs so I can get longer battery time?

 

You should try underclocking... Download X-Treme G drivers from tweaksrus. There is a built in over/undrclocking option. And then it also tests the settings to make sure that it is stable at those settings.

 

That for sure seems to be the case in the UK. There is one retailer which will upgrade the HDD to 5400rpm (at a charge, naturally!!)

However the A8Jc does come with bluetooth.

 

It also comes with bluetooth in Asia. The A8jm and A8jc do. Just not in NA. I think the only differences between the N.A. A8jm and the Asian A8jm are, The NA comes with a 5400 RPM and the Asian one comes with a 4200 RPM . O also, we get a 2 year gobal warranty. And some freebies.

 

Seems the Asian and the European set ups are very similar: bluetooth, 4200 rpm hdd, 2 year warranty and freebies (mouse and bag).

One thing the A8Jc in Asia, can you get more than a T2300?

 

Just received my A8jm yesterday and so far I'm fairly happy. My biggest complaint is the screen -- is it just me or does it seem like the angles are INCREDIBLY restricted? Particularly vertically -- the slighest movement vertically of my head causes a noticeable change in image clarity, a problem I didn't have with my almost 3 year old Gateway 15.4" w/ matte screen.

This isn't a huge deal to me, but it's somewhat disappointing since I expected the screen to be a bit nicer than my old laptop's.

I ordered mine from PortableOne, and they were awesome to deal with. Incredibly fast response times via email, shipped it out a day after I ordered it (with heavy customizations -- 2GB, 2GHz, 7200RPM HDD), got it in 2 days, everything works great. No crapware installed, only 3 small stickers on it.