ASUS UL30 Owner's Lounge

Hi,
I just installed a great home theater with HDMI inputs. My Ul30A sends a nice image but I can't get the sound to go through.
I have No hdmi icon in playback options yet the device driver is installed.
I run Windows 7 32bit
I have updated the HDMI audio driver to 6.10.1.2068

I hope somebody has an idea ...

Tx

DCW

 

Right click the sound icon in the tray. Select "Playback Devices." Select your HDMI input and "Set as Default." Restart whatever application was outputting sound and you should be good.

 

Hmm ... I have owned the UL30A-A2 now for over 1 year and 4 months. I have been able to purchase "extra long life batteries" for it which can give me up to 16 hours in super battery saver mode (basically fully dimmed screen, no wireless and only word processing). Thus far the initial complaints I had have remained (trackpad drives me up the wall and sub-par build quality). I have treated this machine very carefully, almost as if it were fragile as an eggshell.

That being said, the machine has performed very nicely, and overall I have no complaints.

I was wondering what other people's experiences have been with this machine who have owned it for some time now?

 

I definitely have to agree about the trackpad. I don't know if mine was particulaly bad or what, but if I hold one of the sides (the palm rests area), it may make the mouse click because the trackpad gets affected. I don't know if this is specific to mine or everyone has this problem.

However, I use an external mouse most of the time so I guess it's not such a big deal. Just a bit annoying.

The battery life is GREAT. I'm using the standard battery and usually get a solid 8 hours out of it (with wifi on, but dimmed screen). It runs pretty smoothly for word processing and web browsing. Lags a bit when playing Starcraft 2 with a large army but was able to play through campaign without any problems. Also sometimes loads a bit slowly when outputting to a large monitor, especially when you scroll quickly through web pages.

The screen and lid feel great (love that brushed aluminum) but trackpad area feels like cheap plastic. Love the chiclet style keyboard though.

 

Guys, I have a problem and need your advice, Ive owned this computer since it was out and I gotta admit I love the computer, all about it is perfect.

However it has now turned off twice automatically the last month, just out of the blue when i was working on it, I dont know why.

Any known problems?

 

I did not have the same problems you described with the trackpad - I also prefer using an external mouse whenever I can. The keyboard is also nice - I would give it something like a 7/10. The typing experience for me is such that I only occasionally am "distracted" by the keyboard feel/response.

Hrm ... I never had any problem like this or ever heard of something similar. Asus has a nice warranty arrangement on paper - I have never had to use their service in this though.

I have had two Asus machines - the ul30a-2 and another asus "lower end gamer style machine of a few years back that had such a horrible keyboard (literally worst I have ever used) that I sent it back for a refund ... it was purchased from costco so no problems in this area.

 

Installed Win SP1 (64 bit) on this machine without a hitch, but did not notice much of a change in terms of performance, like I did with my HP 5310m ProBook - anyone else experience noticeable differences with this machine after the SP install?

 

Windows 7 SP1. From everything I have read and listened to (windows weekly podcast). This service pack is simply a rollup of past updates.

Nothing to really improve performance.

The actually update will vary in size, depending on how current you are with all previous updates.

For me the update was 76mb. Noticed nothing, as i expected.

No problem here with the track pad. I would get it fixed, mine came with a 2 year warranty, not sure if thats standard or not.

I have used ASUS warranty with a previous model (A8J) they were super easy to deal with, back in my hands 7 days after sending it out.

 

My observation from ~1.5 years of ownership of the ul30a-a2:

The most recent Elan touchpad driver, v7.0.5.12, greatly reduces accidental movement while typing.

Also, Flash 10 requires Intel video driver version 8.15.10.2021 for hardware accel. If you guys and gals haven't already updated the touchpad and Intel vga drivers, download now from Asus' site.

An issue I have with the ul30a-a2 is after it restarts after sleep mode, the laptop will not connect to wifi unless I disable and re-enable the wireless adapter. This is the case with both the internal Atheros wifi and an Alfa usb wifi adapter. Except for this issue, I have been satisfied with the laptop. I installed Win7 sp1 and have not noticed changes in performance.

edit: I should add that the webcam is awful with low-light situations. No problems connecting to an external monitor or hdtv. I use a Logitech m505 wireless mouse because my fingers get numb from using the touchpad for extended periods.

 

Glad to hear it can be fixed. I'll send it in over spring break because I still need it for school right now. Hope they finish within that week off.

Yeah, mine came with a 2-year warranty too

 

Which part of ``I have No hdmi icon in playback options yetÈthe device driver is installed' didn't you get. Since then I tried another laptop to make sure it wasn't the Marantz that was the problem. The Acer image and sound on HDMI worked right off the bat... Somehow the UL30 is not giving sound through HDMI... at a loss to get it to work..

 

Well, I was just trying to help you out of goodwill and didn't see that part. But, since you're going to throw an attitude when someone is trying to help you, you'd be better off searching elsewhere for an answer.

 

Interesting Problem: UL30 Lying to me!
For no apparent reason my UL30 battery monitor is stuck on 6% critical, orange light flashing. I know this is a lie because unplugged it continues to work for many hours as usual. Has anyone seen this before? I contacted ASUS, their response being:
Dear
> Simon,
>
> Try taking the battery (make sure the mains is not connected) out and press
> the reset hole at the bottom of the unit with a paperclip. Hold it down for
> about 10 seconds.If you do not see the reset hole you can skip to the next
> step. After this press and hold down the power button (no battery and mains
> connected) for about 25 seconds. After this place the battery back and also
> the power adapter and charge the battery. At this stage do not turn on the
> unit. Leave it on charge for a couple of hours to see if the orange light
> goes off.
>
> Kind regards,
> Asus UK Support Team

Nothing changed after doing this, (there was no reset button on my battery). I've also allowed the notebook to completely discharge and automatically switch off.

My guess is it's the chip in the battery that has got confused. ASUS want me to return the laptop (JUST within 1 year warranty) for service, but this is most inconvenient as I work in Malawi and postal service is less that existent.
Does anyone have any bright ideas?

 

What SSDs have fellow UL30 owners been using as an upgrade? I'm thinking about getting an SSD with a Sandforce chipset, maybe something along the lines of a OCZ Vertex 2 or Corsair F-series. But doing a search in the thread it seems most only have experience with the Intel drives. Don' want to buy one of the Sandforce drives only to find out it won't work on the UL30a!

 

Hey guys,

Great forum, but lot of information to go through. I am a noob when it comes to this, so here is my noob question:

I bought a UL30VT last week, and upon receiving it, I decrapified it, and uninstalled some of the software that comes with it. I might have uninstalled expressgate (not knowing what it was) but mistake, since it does not work right now.

Is there a way to restore windows to factory condition (as new) if I do not have backup discs made for it?

 

Hi ForzaMilan, you should be able to hit F9 before windows boots, right after the POST screen when you turn the computer on, to get into software recovery.

That will erase any stuff you have and revert it back to factory fresh settings like the day you got it. So make sure to back up any important personal files and data before you do this.

Alternatively you can use Ai Recovery to burn some recovery DVDs, and then boot off of those.

 

Hi Allur,

Thanks for the quick response. I did try this one day, with the F9 button, but I got stuck in the selection screen and was not sure which option I should have selected. Do you remember which one is the option I need?

I am afraid I will do what I have often done with my HP desktop, which is, install another copy of Windows on the same partition

Thanks again.

 

It depends how you want it set up, the options I think are restore to first partition or restore to the entire hard disk, which will remove any other disk partitions besides the recovery and OS.

If that doesn't work you can do a clean install using the license from the sticker on the bottom of your laptop and the windows 7 home premium 64 bit iso here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/win...-7-download-links-just-like-vista-before.html

 

Sweet, I didn't know there was a link for a clean install of Windows with the product key.

What negative impact would restoring to entire hard disk have (removing other disc partitions) would have? Anything major? I am not sure what the other partition in the laptop does actually?

 

If you didn't store anything on the other partition then it's not a concern, it's just a matter of preference. It should show up as a D: or E: (or whatever..) letter if you go to your Computer.

 

Hey sorry I am still having this problem and I have yet to get any replies. I called Asus and they want me to send in my laptop but that is a major inconvenience for me because I am in school and I don't have a backup laptop. Can anyone please help me?

 

You'll probably need to send it in then if you can't find a software fix. Maybe there's an issue with the hardware. I've been having a hard time getting Asus to take my laptop in too They have a nice long warranty period but it's such a hassle that I don't want to take advantage of it =/

 

Hi just ordered a UL30A and should be here soon, I admit have not read through the 50+ pages, I would like to know if it is possible to upgrade the ram to 8Gb?

UL30A-Q
Many thanks

So far, what are you thoughts on this laptop?

 

I have installed 8gb of ram in my UL30VT-A1 without a problem. The computer reads 8gb and I have not come across any problems!

 

Many thanks, received the computer, looks stunning. Perfect for non gamers on the move

 

My Asus UL30A (purchased Dec 2009) crashed when copying large files.

The Laptop boots up ok and memory is sound (ran Ubuntu and ubuntu memory test for a usb stick).
Putting the sata disk in another machine without a disk is not a problem and windows boots and verifies the disk.
However the bios does not see the disk on the laptop (I do not have the laptop with me so I cannot repeat the exact message).

I may have damaged the strange Disk connector between the motherboard and the disk.

Any ideas where I can get hold of these I've googled lots of sites without success.

Have you come across this problem before?

 

Anybody have experience with some of the 3rd party UL30 batteries from Ebay or other vendors?

I'm interested in getting a fresh pack but want to leverage other's experiences to make the best buy. I think $120 for a new Asus official cell is not worth it. Some of the 3rd party packs are less than $75 and look like they have higher capacity. Of course, their claims might be suspect but I often have good luck with third party battery suppliers, even those on Ebay, when I first do a little research.

BTW: This thread is a monolithic monster. Forgive me if this has been asked and answered but I surely could not find it. Is there a better organized forum with a UL30 section?

aTdHvAaNnKcSe

 

Well I've been using it for a while now & I can definitely recommend the OCZ Vertex 2e SSD. I had no problems with the SSD & I only wish I had bought the 120GB version of the SSD. I still get compliments from people as to how good this little laptop is. It's light, the battery lasts 8+ hours and I have the built-in 3G modem so I'm always connected. To be honest, I'd be lost without it! I love the fact that this little gem can playback 1080p video without stutter. DDR3 RAM is cheap right now, so adding as much as you can afford would be a bonus. Right now I'm tempted to eBay the 60GB Vertex 2 & get the 120GB version as I'm always having to carry around and external USB HDD. I'll post up a video of the boot-time with the Vertex 2 maybe later this week.

 

I just purchased a new A3B (in transit) to use in an off-grid environment. Hardware efficiency is paramount as I'm primarily on battery and charge w/solar. I don't 'do' games or lengthy videos, just occasional web, email, word processing and a small CAD prg.

Since I have the option to run Win7 or XP, I am curious if Win7 offers ANY efficiency advantages over XP? In other words, has anyone confirmed better battery life with one or the other?

Also, if anyone has a DOA, defective or exhausted UL30A battery, I'd like to purchase it. I'll be using just the case, so the condition of cells are unimportant.

 

Do you have an issues with sleep/hibernate function? I installed a Corsair Force 120 GB in and was working brilliant except I'd get BSOD upon wakeup of my laptop. I returned the unit as it seems that a lot of people have this issue and wasn't willing to shut down everytime I opened my computer or let it "on" all the time - which is what the CSR at my local electronics store recommended. Apparently it's not the hard drive itself but the Sandforce controllers that have this issue. The Vertex 2 also uses one if I'm not mistaken.

So I'm curious as to whether or not you have any issues regarding sleep/hibernate, as I'd love to throw back an SSD into my laptop.

I had a similar problem - but not sure if it's the exact same. My computer would make a clicking noise and it would freeze up. I tried speaking to them about it, and they recommended I bring the unit in - their solutions over the phone involved reformatting (which I did and like you it was better for a while). The only thing that seemed to work to prevent freeze up was literally to shake the laptop until the clicking stopped.

I immediately thought it was a hard drive issue, but given how many hard drives failed on me, it seemed unusual that my hard drive wouldn't have died earlier (had this problem for a few months).

Anyhow - the hard drive eventually went wonky and pretty much died - so I have installed two separate hard drives (one mechanical - WD Black and one SSD - Corsair Force 120), and I have not had this problem since.

My recommendation would be to replace the hard drive for the time being until you get time to RMA the hard drive. It's an easy swap and reformat, that you can end up using as a backup drive later....

Has anyone had an issues with the Touchpad driver?

I'd did a clean install and upon loading into Windows 7 (64 bit), the mouse did not move.

I plugged in an external USB mouse and hardware device manager indicated that a number of my drivers did not have proper digital signatures.

I was able to solve some of them by reinstalling the drivers (e.g. Wireless, LAN, and Card Reader) - but I can't seem to be able to get the mouse to work.

No matter what I still see a yellow caution sign beside my mouse in the Device Manager that has an error message that reads:

"Windows cannot verify the digital signature for the drivers required for this device. A recent hardware or software change might have installed a file that is signed incorrectly or damaged, or that might be malicious software from an unknown source. (Code 52)"

I've tried every touchpad driver on the ASUS website for UL30A drivers, still no luck!

I know there are ways to trick out the operating system to ignore digital signatures of software - but could be dangerous to the system in other ways - so I'd rather not have to go that path.

I've never had this problem before with reinstallation of O/S from the recovery discs.

Anyone have some suggestions?

 

I have exactly the same problem. i think it is due to hdd, because the hdd has been doing a wierd sound from the beginning. Has somebody got this problem who is using ssd on this laptop ?

Secondly, i really want to install xp on this laptop. Via usb it doesn't work properly (tried many times with different xp's). I was thinking of buying external dvd reader - it seems the only way how to install it. I have installed xp to different laptops and this is the first time. Has someone installed xp via usb on this laptop ? Any help would be appreciated

 

I've re-installed Win7 with an external optical drive but it's a pain. It takes quite a few tries for it to recognize my drive or the fact that there is a bootable disk in there.

BTW is there a successor to this laptop, or will there be one any time soon? I would love an upgrade to a higher resolution screen, a bit less bezel around the display and maybe some extra battery life. It seems strange that this laptop has been around for almost 2 years and I still can't find something I'd rather own.

 

EDIT: I eventually found the mod below unstable. Since reverting back to stock I have been experiencing occasional instability as well. I would therefore reccomend that you NOT DO IT! I will leave it up simply for reference:
Hey All!
Wanted to report that I have successfully overclocked my Ul30A to 1.55Ghz. I followed the instructions here to get to 1.43 but found myself wanting a little extra. Following the steps below got me to 1.55. (It might do the same for you or it might brick your machine )
1. I downloaded the latest version of SetFSB from the dev's website
2. I donated the appropriate yen amount (Around $10) and waited a few hours for an email response with computer information request and unlock code)
3. I then proceed to mess with the fsb slider (Resulting in not a few lock-ups that required battery removal) Note, make sure to run a stress test of some sort (windows experience index refreshes locked it up for me)
4. I eventually found that 1.55 was a stable speed for my machine (not sure why it won't handle the same clocks as the ul30vt but oh well.)
5. I then used the instructions from the 1.43Ghz link and added the following string to the target field of the shortcut
-w04 -s238.5 -cg[ICS9LR3362CGLF]
the above string tells setFSB to wait 4 seconds, then set an fsb speed of 238.5 and references the ul30a specific clockgen (only available in the paid version of SetFSB.
6. Once you are confident the speed is stable, you can add the shortcut to your startup folder to overclock with each startup.
Also note: it seems to reset to stock clock after sleep, so another shortcut somewhere handy might be helpful. Don't worry, running the shortcut twice in a row does not have adverse affects.

Feel free to post with questions, clarifications or improvements. Be careful and good luck!

 

Just and update: I ended up going down to 1.50 for complete stability. Good news is my mPrime scores dropped about 9 seconds compared to my initial 1.36Ghz. Secondly, I noticed the overclock would reset to stock after waking from sleep so I set up a scheduled task to run the program and the appropriate commands after boot and unlock. Working great right now!

 

So I got the UL30VT, which came with the 14.4V 4400mah battery. My friend has the UL30A, which came with a 15V 5600mah battery. We both want the bigger 6600mah batteries that we have seen for sale on the web, but will the fact that it's a 14.4V battery matter for the UL30A that came with the 15V battery?

TIA,
Alex

 

I was looking for batteries as well and apparently there's no worries about a small higher voltage, I have asked a vendor about this and that was his answer.

I have mine UL30A-A2 since Dec 2009, few month ago upgraded to Win7 Pro - 64 bit (with 5600mAh) and right now I'm getting 7 hrs of battery life for usual usage (browsing, docs, some movies but with wi-fi off).

What is bothering me pretty hard is the Wi-Fi, 2 month ago started to loose connections and from then is still "blind". Therefore I'm looking for another machine and I will jump on B43J soon.

During this time (almost 2 years) I have notice that is uncomfortable for me to not have DVD on board and matte display. I must confess that I don't like glossy and I find it usable only indoor with no direct light on it. Outside use is a mess for me.

Anyway, a good machine and pretty good for travelers except the Wi-Fi, next time I will have with me an adapter just in case. Sorry to say that but apparently Atheros is not up to job.

 

Does the stock hdd replacing with the ssd help against stucking ? It has been stucking from the beginning and it seems that i am not the only one.


+ very weak wifi signal

 

swegyptian (or others): would be interested to hear how you got on with the 6600mha battery?

I have a UL30A (X32A QX11OV) (with 5600mha), a year old this month, and the battery life's not so great now , so I'm looking at getting another battery to use on trips. I have seen a a42-ul80, rated 6600mha, which claims compatibility with UL30A, I wonder how different this would be? Would it last much longer, be much heavier, fit well?

Or is it best to stick with the standard a42-ul50?

examples:
ASUS UL30A, UL50A laptop battery uk
Asus a42-ul80 laptop battery, Asus a42-ul80 battery, Discount Laptop Battery Wholesale

Thanks

 

As the second anniversary of my UL30A-A2 coming soon, I guess it is time to do a little long time report of the trusty laptop... Since its the only computer I have and my research brings me to some of the most remote locations in the world, so it might not represent wear and tear of a normal user...

The bezel was scratched (by me) basically from day one, and the silver paint around keyboard and palm rest gradually wears out because the top cover is too soft and the bezel hits various parts of the paint while travelling.

Fearing the wireless issue might crop up, an extra antenna was purchased and installed right from the beginning. Touch wood, there are no problems with the wireless adaptor yet!

The Seagate 5400.6 500GB HDD developed clicking after its first trip to Tibet, presumably due to the bad roads, luckily I was able to image the whole drive just before it had its last breath. A WD Scorpio Black 320GB replacement lasted another year before it succumbed to the same circumstances in Mongolia earlier this year. Currently its running on a Hitachi 7K500, but will soon be replaced with an Intel 320 SSD.

A year into the ownership I did the backlit keyboard mod. Took about 30 mins off battery life, but it looks nice and useful as well because I'm not a touch typer. The backlit keyboard is a bit thicker than the normal one and as a result of the soft top cover again, the keys do hit the LCD while travelling. My solution is to put on a large glass cleaning cloth whenever I close the lid, works pretty well.

About a month ago the webcam started to act funny, only operates when the lid is opened to certain angles. I suspect that the cable had loosen around the hinge, need to open it up some time! The microphone, as nearly all of you would know, is low in volume and high in noise. I got annoyed (my gf as well) about it so took the plunge, opened it up and replace with some unbranded microphone unit bought in Hong Kong. It worked well ever since.

Somehow the machine came without the bluetooth module, I thought it would be nice to have it handy so I purchased the actual bluetooth unit from ebay and installed it. Realizing that it has been used only a handful of times and it took about 20 mins of life from the batteries, it was removed without remorse.

Battery life-wise at the beginning I got about 10 hours from the 5400mAH battery with power-saving mode, dimmed display and wifi on. Being a heavy battery user, it only lasts about 6 hours with 30% lit display, power-save and wifi. Guess I need to get a new one soon!

The power adaptor is on the way out as well, developing occasional blackout...

Enough of my boring writing I found the UL30A to be a real keeper, depite the plasticky construction it survived quite harsh condition with only cosmetic injuries. I'm especially impressed that the ventilation and heatsink are still quite clean after all it has been through! Now let's see how long it can last!

 

Great to hear what you did, 2 years in and I'm still pretty happy with my UL30a2...although my drive too has been occasionally clicking and freezing from the start, ASUS did a rebuild for me, pain in the butt dealing with them, they have terrible communication, they must have offered 40 times in 3 months that they would call me back, and never did once. Although the click and freeze problem still occasionally occurs, overall a great unit, I might replace the hard drive some time and see how long I can run it too... I wonder if indeed it's the hard drive that clicks though, I never did get an answer on that. Seems logical, since it's the moving part. Thanks for your tale, your writing is not boring.

 

Hi, I hope this forum is not dead yet
I have an Asus UL30VT and I am trying to get my Nvidia graphics to work.
I have tried I think everything, inc wild side drivers from Nautis... nothing works, I always get a yellow mark next to it on stock drivers or any other drivers.
But, in my Device Manager I can only see one Display Adapter (standard vga if no drivers wich turns into Nvidia with yellow mark with Nvidia drivers)..
Where is my Intel 4500 graphic card?? Do I have to install it separately??
Plus, my Atheros AR8131 Ethernet Controller reinstalls drivers every time I boot. I'm up to #26 update, and I clean-installed Win7 yesterday.

 

For those interested, I have solved the problem by flashing my bios with the older version: went from 211 back to 203. Everything works on win7, buttons, P4G etc..

 

The Zenbook UX31A looks like a good replacement, almost, but there are some issues that makes me stay with the UL30A for now.

UX31A:
* only 2 usb ports, one on each side. External optical drives need 2 side-by-side usb ports.
* no Ethernet port
* useless mini-vga. I'd rather have displayport or Ethernet.
* battery life not as good as UL30A
* over $1K

 

I just wrote a screen replacement guide in case anyone needs help with it:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/696133-asus-ul30a-screen-replacemnt-guide.html

 

Just confirming that 8GB RAM works just fine on the UL30A. I just upgraded my UL30A-X5 to 8GB DDR3 1333 which I got from a U36SG that was upgraded to 16GB DDR3 1600. In conjunction with an upgrade to a Crucial m4 SSD, the UL30A practically flies with everyday tasks (web browsing, email, office productivity, etc). It's actually faster and more responsive than the U36SG now (still have to swap the HDD for SSD on that one).

 

That's awesome, thanks for sharing! What kind of gains did you see just from the extra 4gigs? I'm running a Samsung 840 ssd right now which helped a ton, just wondering if the extra ram would make a big difference. I'd love to squeeze some more life out of this thing, right now I'm kicking myself for not getting the VT.....

 

Normally it´s being said that more than 4gb ram won´t speed up your computer unless you are using large programs or are heavily multitasking.
Does it, to your experience, speed up using light programs & light multitasking?

@ phatalbert1000: The VT is a nightmare, having unsupported graphics driver since 2009 :-(

 

Running 8gb's of ram now in addition to my Samsung 840 ssd. I don't know what (if any) gains I've seen from the RAM but I can say that my usage sits right above 50% pretty regularly now.

 

Can I ask what bios you're using or if you needed any workarounds to get it going? I tried upgrading to 2x4gb today, and it won't post, even with the newest (albeit old) bios version. :/ I got "Corsair CM3X8GSDKIT1066 8GB 2X4GB PC3-8500 DDR3-1066 SODIMM Memory Kit". I thought it would be compatible, maybe not.

 

Just curious if anyone has attempted a battery rebuild. I purchased an 8 cell on ebay after my oem battery started to fail. Sadly, it's maxing out at around 69,000 mWh capacity instead of the 84,000 of the oem version.