ASUS UL30 Owner's Lounge

Does anyone have any idea how to fix the loose battery? For example, if my Ul30a is sitting on a flat surface and i pull it towards me, the battery will get "stretched out" to a noticeable gap between it and the body. Anyone else notice this?

 

Are you locking both ends of the battery? Note one of them has a spring that locks the tab automatically, while the other needs to be pushed manually. (this is to allow one-hand removal of battery)

 

Just realized this. Thanks!

On another note, have they released an update to fix the resolution in the EasyGate or whatever its called?

And what do the BIOS updates improve?

 

Asus UL30a-X5 worth getting? What is the difference?

 

I got a ul30a (aus version) about two weeks ago now. I was in desperate need of one so I couldn't hold out for a JT or PT and the VT only comes in black here..

anyway, I have nothing but great things to report about the laptop. it had easily enough power to do day-to-day tasks. I only use it for word,excel, youtube, web browsing. it has no problem multi tasking the above with no lags whatsoever.

this model also comes with bluetooth and there is no battery wobble or panel creaks. the 2 yr warranty is a great added bonus too.

I typically manage ~8 hrs battery whith balanced mode and about 7 with every thing turned up. near 10hrs on full on battery saving mode.

I will be purchasing an intel SSD in the near future to make it even snappier (although there are no complaints atm - more can never hurt )

solid laptop!

 

can somebody help me with my UL30A, whenever I used an earphone the sound is not clear as the sound would be in the speaker.

 

Did you try different headphones? Also try upgrading your audio drivers.

If that doesn't solve it, then perhaps try it in a Live Ubuntu CD to make sure it's not software problems, and if you get the same thing, then you can assume it's hardware and RMA the computer.

 

Hi, I'm been looking at the UL30JT model and have questions for those of you who own the VT model, are you guys upset that the JT is coming out right after the VT model? Is this something asus does often?

 

I'm about to do a clean install of Windows 7 so I'm downloading all the drivers necessary, On the asus support page two video drivers are listed, first one is VGA Driver Version V8.15.10.2021 and other one is Intel Graphics Driver for Win7 64 bit Version V8.15.10.1892, is the VGA driver also for intel? if so why the different naming?

EDIT: solved

 

They do tend to update models really fast, sometimes to the dislike of people who just bought the model which overnight becomes obsolete.

That's technology. Almost the minute you start it up, it's obsolete and something better is out there. We have to learn how to live with it.

 

Really sorry that this is about a different Asus computer, the UL 80 in it's various forms. I can't believe there is no NBR Owners Lounge for it. I would think UL30 buyers would at least consider the 80 since it offers hybrid graphics for not a heck of a lot more money.

Can anyone either comment on the 80 or point me to the forum my brain-deadness or blindness missed?

Thanks much,

 

Moravid,

New owner of the UL30A - also interested in a clean install. How are you going about this? Is there anyways to do it via the recovery disk? (i would think that the all the bloatware would be reinstalled if i used that).

I suppose the obvious alternative would be to get my hands on a copy of Win 7, and just use my key. I'd rather avoid doing this given that I don't know where to go about getting this. Besides would you have to call to activate? (another step I'd rather avoid)

Any suggestions would be super appreciated!

 

Antihero,
I am trying to do a clean install of Windows 7 via usb, doing this by downloading an iso of digital-river. I downloaded a USDN student iso and used the "Windows 7 USB DVD Download Tool" to make the usb bootable but I got an error when loading it. So aim now downloading another iso and with a slow connection will take a few days, but it should work.
If you plan to install using the provided recovery disk, make sure you read the following thread, this way I think he bypasses all the bloatware. I would try it as well if I had with me a usb dvd writer.
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=468027

 

There is this:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=428368
UL80/UL50

 

I have the same copy from the Digital River, as my friend bought Win7 for his computer that way.

Only problem is that in Canada, there was only the Win 7 Professional available, whereas my UL30 was preloaded with Win 7 Home Premium. So I don't think my key from the UL30 would work anyways.

Did you laptop come with Professional?

Thanks for sending the link - I'm definitely going give that a try.

 

Hi antihero
I have successfully reinstalled Windows 7 using a retail ISO I downloaded from [removed by moderator].
I recommend you install it this way, make sure you download all the drivers that you require, I placed my drivers in drive D so when I finished installation I easily installed drivers.

I believe the different Windows 7 versions are the same, because when you upgrade from Home to Ultra, as I did, you do not need to download anything but the key activates features that are locked.

 

Hi all !

I'm about to buy a UL30VT-A1 since the JT version isn't getting on the market soon (and at a higher price).

But I need another info before buying it.

Dos the UL30VT-A1 feature Bluetooth ??? I have always read that it doesn't come with Bluetooth... is that right ?

Also, some says it has a Gigabit LAN, while other only a Fast Ethernet.... Who's right ?

http://www.abesofmaine.com/item.do?item=AS88437#tabs -? Bluetooth without Gigabit LAN.

http://www.jr.com/asus/pe/ASU_UL30VTA1/ -> Gigabit LAN but no mention of Bluetooth.

http://www.amazon.com/UL30Vt-A1-Lig...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1269353026&sr=8-2 -> Both Bluetooth and Gigabit.

Anyone here has bought his UL30VT-A1 recently ?

Another thing : is this models comes with Intel or Atheros wireless card?

Thanks to all !

 

Yeah, I'm confused about the Bluetooth thing as well. On the Asus website for the UL30 there is a driver download for Bluetooth... will that work?

There's one for 32-bit windows 7, then two others not specifying version...?

Asus took 3 months before resending (rebuilding?) my DOA UL30-a2. To compensate they sent me a Bluetooth mouse... but this model seems to not have Bluetooth. I seem to remember something about Bluetooth and 64-bit windows, does this mean that the hardware for Bluetooth is in the unit but it needs the right driver?

 

@ Ghost & Moosebear

The UL30A-A2 does not have Bluetooth hardware. It's my main complaint about what otherwise has been an awesome computer. I use a slim USB adapter that has worked well, it just occupies another usb port. Now I wish I had gotten a UL30VT...

As far as the UL30VT goes, the ASUS spec page for it says:
Intel® WiFi Link 1000
Integrated 802.11 b/g/n
Built-in Bluetooth™ V2.1+EDR (optional)
Atheros AR8132M 10/100Mb
Azureware NE785H (optional)

So it looks like it does NOT have gigabit, MAY have bluetooth, and DOES have intel wifi.

 

I just got a UL30A-A2 over the weekend to replace a Dell XPS m1330 that was stolen. I'm a bit disappointed in the performance of the SU7300 processor.
I know i'm taking a step down from the T7300 processor that was in my XPS but i wasn't expecting such a big hit.
Most notably, playing flash-enabled content in Firefox sucks up a huge % of CPU resources to the point of being almost unusable:
- e.g. playing Farmville in Facebook consumes up to 70% of CPU and is just plain sloooooooooooooooooooooow.

Is this everyone else's experience? or was I just expecting too much?

 

Just got my UL30vt yesterday, and I'm loving it so far. Now I'm trying to figure out how to get the HDMI out to work. I used the same cable I use for my PS3 to connect the notebook to my Panasonic Viera 42" plasma, but nothing ever appeared on the TV screen, and Windows never gave any indication that a new display had been plugged in. I went to the control panel under "connect to an external display," and no external displays were found. Any ideas?

 

Try set your laptop to dedicated graphics instead of integrated.

Yes, even with an overclocked SU7300 on my UL30VT, playing some flash games are still very laggy. The UL30 series are not meant to be used with CPU intensive software.

 

Any way to do this besides hitting the button in the top left? I'm still getting the hang of how to switch graphic modes on this.

 

Huh. After a reboot and finding the Nvidia control panel, it's working. Hulu looks great on the plasma! =)

 

So I'm contemplating either a UL-30-A1 or a Thinkpad Edge 13, both with the SU7300 processor. Any thoughts on how well this processor handles multi-tasking in windows (i.e. Chrome, Office, Digsby, maybe I-tunes)? How about 720 and 1080 video? I don't intend on gaming, so that won't be an issue.

Thanks.

 

Well the UL30X5 looked perfect for my needs - a mobile communication device, with plenty of storage, thin and light etc. When my order arrived I set it up and was over the moon with everything. Then, I tried a video call to my daughter in Europe. She could see me fine despite the low spec cam, but couldn't understand a word I was saying. Quiet and totally distorted with bits of each word missing.
Phoned Asus who talked me through user controls for setting up the mike - no improvement. Called them again and they talked me through driver updates/download - no improvement.
Sent the mchine back to Asus as I assumed by this stage the mike was defective. Returned to me after a 10 day turn-around. Incomprehensible customer advice note regarding the repair - but the macjine was no different.
So I called and explained the problem to Amazon who sent me a replacement within 2 days.
That machine arrived this evening and guess what? - it's exactly the same. I've tried video calls with both my daughter (MSI Wind) and my girlfriend (Asus EeePC) and neither of them can understand the speech coming from their machine, while the voices I hear through my speakers are fine.
Are they all like this, or have I just received two defective machines?
Incidently, I tried an external plug-in mike and it was louder, but still distorted.
Any comments/experiences folks, because it looks like I'll have to be returning two machines on Monday and other than being useless for phone calls, I like everything else about the model.

 

Seeing your message I tried my USB mike to record, and it works fine... mind you there could be a sound card issue, USB mike bypasses that.

Anyone else having problems like Bazza, does this machine record all right?

I'm still trying to get ASUS to extend my warrenty, after dicking me around for 3 months replacing a DOA machine they are now trying to tell me my warranty runs from last December for a machine I finally just got last week. Fat chance that I'll be cool with that.

They sent me a bluetooth mouse to make up for the inconvience, oh, but look the UL30 doesn't have bluetooth.

Dell is looking pretty good to me right now. Asus makes good machines, perhaps, but if your customer service sucks so badly, at least for Canada, it's very limiting.

 

Nicely done. So are you saying you were able to use the Home Premium key on you laptop to activate Ultimate? (i.e. are the Ultimate features locked on your UL30).

My workaround was to borrow a external DVD drive from my IT dept at work, and then using the "premature installation" method prescribed on the link you sent last time. The guide is a bit much, and it really could have been simplified by just saying to reinstall using a disc 1 and don't enter disc 2. But then again, all thanks to him for even taking the time to write the guide.
It's maddening the hoops computer owners are put through to get a clean install. (Although I will say ASUS has less irritating bloatware than most manufacturerers)

Haven't bought a laptop in a long while - interesting they come pre-installed with a partition - I've always set my other machines up that way to allow for easy reinstallation of the OS. Good recommendation!

 

Hi,

I just an ASUS UL30A a couple of weeks ago. It came with ASUS external DVD-RW drive. 4Gb RAM, 500Gb hard drive, integrated webcam.

I bought it from somebody who had it for a week or so. It came with Windows 7 64 bits. I wanted to erase all files, etc this person could have left in it, so I did a complete reinstall, using the supplied DVDs, no problem whatsoever....I kept the original 3 partitions: the 15 Gb one for the Express Gate multimedia, 8-sec fast boot utility, the 160 Gb Windows 7, and an empty 330 Gb D: one.
On the later one I installed Ubuntu 9.10 karmic (64 bits).
The machine works beatufully on both operating systems. I really love this laptop....really light (much lighter than Dell XPS 1330 and Macbook 13), and a looong battery life!...plus great looks.
You can look at my post for installing Ubuntu 9.10 64 bits and lots of applications (some compiling work involved): http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?p=9063666#post9063666

On my Asus UL30A I´ve had none of the problems with audio that Bazza mentioned. I´ve Skyped with several firends and family, in both W7 and Ubuntu, and it just works fine.
This is a muuuuuch better machine that my (for now dead) Dell XPS 1330. That had the video chip die on me three times in 2 years. Had to have the motherboard replaced twice...NOw I have to buy yet a 3rd motherboard to recover it. I´ve had very bad experience with Dell. They make machines with very good specs, nice looks too, but really bad quality. Other two previous Dells also died not long after being bought (customer service is good though).

 

Just curious if anyone's found a way to embed a bluetooth dongle or some other workaround inside the machine.

Some brilliant dude in a forum for my last laptop (HP TX1000) which was a total piece of crap, was able to do this mod. I'm not even close to being comfortable to attempt anything like this without proper guidance. See the following for what the type of thing I'm referring to: http://forum.tabletpcreview.com/showthread.php?t=8889

Btw - here's a overpriced bluetooth dongle that should match our laptops:
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku=44255&vpn=USB-BT21 BLACK&manufacture=ASUS&promoid=1219

Has anyone used this? Thumbs up or down?

 

On sale for 8 bucks until tomorrow only. Hmn, nice tight fit against the machine, looks smallish.

Reviews on the NCIX forum are alright, so are the ones on Amazon:

 

The BT USB dongles mentioned previously are all overpriced. Check DealExtreme for a better deal:

http://www.dealextreme.com/details.dx/sku.11866

 

Bought this laptop for my mum a few days ago. Really impressed with it. Got the Carphone warehouse model in the UK. Wrote up my thoughts here:

http://techloving.blogspot.com/2010/04/asus-ul30-ipad-beater.html

Very tempted to get one for myself when I need a new laptop, especially if it drops any more in price.

 

Hello world,

After reading like 40 pages of this thread and performing some searches, I couldn't find any hints on the following questions:

1. Is the SIM card slot present on those UL30As delivered without 3G card preinstalled?
2. Are there 3G antennas present? (If so there should be two spare cables with Hirose connectors as shown in the attached photo)
3. Is there a free MiniPCIe slot to upgrade a 3G card?
4. If so, is it difficult to get to the MiniPCIe slot? Do I have to break warranty seals to get there?
5. Has anyone swapped the WiFi card? Do I have to break warranty seals for that?

Thanks for any help!

regards

 

inquisitor,

1.There is no SIM card slot on the UL30 series laptops.
2. 3G antennas are not present either.
3. There is only 1 mini PCI-e slot and it's occupied by the wifi card.
4. Getting to the mini PCI-e slot will require you to disassemble the laptop and break the warranty seal.
5. A few members on the forum, including myself have swapped their wifi card. You can remove the warranty seal and keep it intact if you're careful enough.

 

Thank you for your comprehensive answer, David, allthough it's disappointing!

 

edit: found out about ram.... Was wondering if you guys found it worked faster with dual channel ram than 1 X 1GB and 1 x 2GB?

Also am a little dissapointed so many Processes/Services are running on the machine, has anyone who hasn't reinstalled the OS tried to cut the amount down to speed it up? Thanks.

 

Going to have to take mine back today for a replacement, with the charger plugged in there is a slight tingling sensation from the lid as if it is not grounded properly.
Anyone else has this issue?

 

I have no idea how to answer your questions - but I can answer the first. My UL30A-A2 has a SIM card slot under the battery. I just don't know if it is setup for 3G.

Hope that helps a bit.

 

What did people do to sort out their trackpad issue? Mine is v2.2 [hardware]... The ELAN software/driver has been uninstalled due to the cursor jumping about - this was out of the box and the latest from the Asus website.... The Microsoft generic drivers do a better job but still not sensitive enough...

 

Been provided with these drivers if it helps anyone else from the Asus support team, going to test them out tonight:

http://www.asustreiber.de/downloads...synaptics-treiber-x64-64bit-v14-11-0/download

 

i had the same problem with SD card reader. updating the bios and reset the bios to defaults solved this problem for me.

 

Where can I get one of these in the UK for the best price?

Would definitely get a refurb if they were available.

 

carphone warehouse has the best price at the moment, but it has a slightly slower processor [not by much] and 3GB of RAM instead of 4GB, but 12hr battery is still there etc.... 5% quidco and free next day delivery at £335 or so....

Was wondering if anybody has been able to play games on the laptop? 2 of the games that I have tried both crash - GRID and Left 4 Dead.... What drivers have you guys installed? Found the series 4 chipset drivers off the intel website but any others? Have already installed the latest ones from the Asus website.

 

Y

That's pretty good but I think I'd like the faster version.
What's the best price on that? Are there any discount codes available?

 

Best price on that one was something like £550 which is a complete ripoff.... As the CPU is not that much faster....
Otherwise the UL80VT from pcworld at £550 delivered minus your quidco and 5% discount code going round the net....

 

Is the processor the only difference? Does the cheaper one still have the gpu? What other differences are there?

 

I'm trying to decide between purchasing a UL30VT or a UL30A-A2. The current price difference is about $60.
This would be my only computer.
I carry it daily between home and work, so portability is important.
I prefer not to have to plug in at work, so battery life is important.
My primary uses are office type programs, internet, email, some Skype and photo editing. The only games are internet poker. I may some day view Hulu or such.
I am technology challenged.
Would I benefit from the VT on Turbo or would I just use up battery life with little or no preformance gain?

 

I don't see the switchable graphics being of any benefit to you. But $60 is well worth the insurance imo.

 

Thank you for your reply.
What do you mean by insurance?
Unknown future needs?