Asus F8VA Montevina Mobile Platform review

There is a new ExpressGate for the F8VA available on the ASUS support site if anyone is keen to try it. I will give it a go as soon as I get my new F8VA next week.

 

Fingerprint sensor cannot read my fingerprints in the Asus Security Center (Win XP).

I have tried different fingers moving up, down, left, right - whatever. But it always says one of three things:

- Move your finger more to the left

- Move your finger slower over the sensor

- The fingerprint cannot be verified. A picture has been scanned, but has been discarded due to insufficient quality.


How can I use the Fingerprint sensor to log on to windows??

 

Maybe the hardware is faulty, or maybe the sensor is just dirty? I have no experience with these sensors, but you can try cleaning it.

I think the right move should be from top to bottom of the sensor, and not too quickly.

 

It may sound odd but I have found cold, dry fingers never read properly... go wash your hands in warm water and leave them a little moist (not wet though) and try again... I recon that will fix it...

 

Is there a guide somewhere on how to install XP on the F8VA-B1? Or can ASUS provide a CD to install XP instead of Vista? I think someone mentioned they had that for some other models.

Mine should be arriving in the mail today and I definitely can't use Vista (I do music production).

The ASUS site is giving me lots of error pages when I look for drivers so I hope I won't have any problems.

 

Yeah, there is a guide here: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=122632#xp

 

Got my notebook coming in 4-7 days and am very excited.

Many thanks to you all who have done the work with the XP Pro drivers btw....

 

THANK GOD
I love you!

Really, thanks. I was scared haha

 

The work is Ken's, from GenTechPC. I just provided the link

 

Hi all,

I just got the F8VA-B1 and downgraded to XP.
I followed the guide above but had to redo the install 4 times, because I kept having problems installing the drivers. By trial and error I found an order that worked and am posting my notes here to help others switching to XP. I make no promises that this will work for you, but it did for me.


1) Install xp w sp2

2) Install inf update from driver disk

3) Get wireless working:
download driver in the xp install guide and put it on your F8. Open device manager, go to: unidentified network controller (On pci bus 3 device 0 function 0). Choose Update driver telling windows where to search for the driver.

4) Run windows update. Install all critical and software updates (not hardware. for the moment ignore every found new hardware dialogue)

5) Install moded video drivers as described in the install guide (I modded them on another computer)

6)Install other drivers on driver CD, in order listed (note that the touchpad driver did not work, and the path for fingerprint was slightly different that that in the guide)

7) install sound drivers as described in guide

8) install lan drivers (need to plug in ethernet cable to get option to update drivers)

9) allow any remaining "found new hardware" dialogues to progress. the ir driver install will fail, this is expected. disable it in the device manager.

10) install power4gear as found in guide.


This order worked and is going great for me, although the wireless is weird. I'll post my questions about that below.

 

My wireless is being pretty weird. my hardware switch and hotkeys don't seem to do much (I have to go to the control panel to disable it).

also, more annoyingly, it works very poorly when on battery power, but works great when plugged in. Has anyone else had this problem? is it caused by power4gear? any trouble shooting advice?

thanks!

 

Download and install the intel wifi drivers from their website.

 

I think in XP you need the ATK drivers, ATK Hotkey, and Intel ProSet (the wireless utility -- I hope it's still called that...) in order for the wireless hotkey to work.

If you don't have all these, perhaps it's also the cause for which the wireless is working poorly on battery.

 

thanks guys
I'll give it a try
maybe I should have let windows update update those drivers after all!

 

It's better to get them off of intel's website. More up to date and more complete.

 

Thanks for this ... do keep us updated ... I will get mine in a few days still and am seriously considering downgrading to XP Pro as well....

 

Hi Everyone,

I just got my f8va and it is a beautiful machine and so far I love it. Have not used it a lot yet, but I am having a little problem with the keyboard. While typing, letters do not always take. It is not any specific key, just that I seem to not be hitting the keys hard enough or I am typing to fast for all the keys to register. Has anyone else had this issue and is there a way to adjust the sensitivity of the keystrokes? Not sure what can correct this other than slow down and type with more force...

Thanks in advance...

By the way, the laptop stays cool even after being on for hours, cooler than any laptop I have owned. Rather amazing not to have sweaty palms after typing for a couple hours... I am a writer so this is the best laptop for heat as an non-issue for the palms...

 

Keyboard problems for the F8V as well? Not good. People have been reporting this sort of stuff for the other popular Montevina models: M50V, and recently also G50V. It also happened for the M50Sv. You may wish to check those threads. There are also some proposed solutions by EmporiumBoutique (that thread is linked from the Info Booth/link in my sig/under "Miscellaneous"). Searching "{model number} keyboard problem" in the google box on top-right should provide you with the threads.

 

I got the same notebook last week and the exact same thing happens to me. I thought that it was me not pressing the keys hard enough. I'm also experiencing wifi issues, and my hard drive and fan seem to be making weird noises. I do like the machine...still those things bug me.

 

I have been searching the forum and have not found this posted yet and could not find the information in the link 'info booth' EBE, but I will continue to look. I don't have any problems with the wifi or the fan, the computer really works well, just the skipping keys is becoming an pain in the you know what. Yeah, I thought I wasn't pressing the keys hard enough too... there must be some kind of setting because there is no specific key which is dead etc... tx (I clicked the H in thx and it didn't take lol)

 

Bryanh...does you signal ever drop when you use wifi? That's an issue I'm dealing with now...

 

M50S/V: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=252283
G50V: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=287947

 

Boneca: I am having problems with dropped wifi (actually, my wifi will work for a minute or two then say limited or no connectivity) but ONLY when the laptop is not plugged in. I will try updating the wifi drivers, and if that does not work, I’ll pull off power4gear and see if that helps. I’ll report back if I fix it.

I have also been having some trouble with missed keys, But keys on this laptop have way more travel than those on my last one, and I feel like the missed keys thing is getting better as I get used to the keyoard.

 

Thanks EBE, I will visit those links right away.

Boneca: Nope, no problem with wifi here so far, have no problems connecting at any time... might want to check the bluetooth and wireless lan settings, because I did have an issue when I disconnected on accident. I had somehow turned it off when trying to turn off blue tooth...

 

Got mine the other day and am enjoying it! A VERY nice machine.

Thus far I only have one little quibble. The keys on the keyboard seem a little small for me (and I have somewhat small hands) and it is a little difficult to type on for me. The keyboard keys are also not quite as "stiff" as I normally like ... but these are small nitpicks. It is a very nice machine all around!

I also like the fact that Asus includes a laptop bag, a screen cloth and a little mouse with their product. I already have these things, but such inexpensive "add ons" are a good addition in my opinion.

 

Is there much difference, when gaming or just regular computing, in the T9500 at 2.54 GHz vs the P8400 at 2.2 GHz? I'm leaning towards the P series because I hear it's more power efficient, but I don't want it to go obsolete in a year because of its speed.

Also, will Asus come out with something comparable to this in a few months? I don't want to be like those poor people who bought the F8Vs a week before the F8Va came out!

 

Question for you all ... regarding the 64 bit Vista drivers.

I downloaded the two available drivers offered by Asus and downloaded the 64 bit video driver package from ATI for the video card.

Any other drivers I am missing?

And would the 32 bit Vista drivers work equally as well in cases where a 64 bit driver is not specifically offered?

I am thinking of trying Vista Ultimate 64 bit on the notebook....

 

Hey all,

I am trying to update my wireless drivers but it is not going well.
are you sure the F8VA is compatible with intel wireless drivers/proset?

i installed proset ok but it does not work with the atheros wireless drivers ken recommended. I tried replacing those drivers with the intel drivers, but windows is resisting.

 

Well... after a raft of silly issues I still don't have a replacement F8VA and have asked for a refund... looks like it wasn't meant to be

If anyone else ever looks at ExpressGate on the F8VA I would love to know if it is in the correct aspect ratio... but it doesn't look like I will ever find out first hand...

Anyone got any ideas on a good alternative to the F8VA?

Small but as powerful as possible and available in Australia without breaking a A$2500 budget?

 

Thats the problem there is no other 14.1 in that is as powerful as this laptop.

 

i posted in another thread but figured i should note it here. i received my f8va-c1 last week, got home from work, opened all the boxes and sub-boxes, fired it up, went through the first-time vista config, it downloaded updates and rebooted, i went into the bios and had a look around - changed one item 'enable intel TXT'. i thought this unit had the TPM security module, and also figured that it wouldn't have the option in the bios if it wasn't there.

i don't know if enabling that made it go bad - but it did. could not get it to boot again after that. hit power, leds would come on, drive would spin up, then "PING" it would drop power to everything, before even the screen showed anything. did this over and over. tried every trick in the book to 'reset' the BIOS - leave it unplugged with no battery overnight, hold various assortments of keys down while powering up - nothing.

shipped it back to asus the next day (i live in the sf bay area where asus US hq is, so they got it next day). they report that the motherboard is bad, needs to be replaced. sigh. they have no spares - 'model is too new'. so, they say 'two weeks to get a new mobo from taiwan'. i say "no thank you, ship me a replacement laptop - i had this thing all of two hours before it died!". they're considering it, i should hear back tomorrow (sep 2). very, very frustrating.

this is the first ASUS laptop i've ever gotten, having owned dells going back more than a decade, and a recent Acer (which my wife will eventually get as a hand-me-down). to have the laptop die two hours after opening the box - it's like being a kid at christmas and nobody remembered to buy D-cell batteries for the toys, and all the stores are closed!!

 

Anyone know if the inlaid design on the handrest of the f8va is exactly the same as the design on the m50? Handrest, not top. I've seen pics of the gorgeous design on the handrest of the m50, but pics of th f8va aren't as well taken so I can barely see it. Someone who actually has one, please post better pics?

 

Sorry about that... it's not a pleasant feeling to get a laptop that doesn't work (a "lemon"). Unfortunately it happens. Let's hope you get your replacement soon.

 

I've finally installed XP SP3 on my F8VA-B1

It was easy - I just followed the guide "arass" posted and used the drivers/links provided in this review.

One thing that was forgotten was the webcam driver. You can use the driver on the driver DVD that comes with the laptop, under software/webcam. Then you have to check which specific camera you have (there's four possibilities). Go in the properties for the "USB video camera" in device manager and get the model number - then open the .ini file in the webcam folder and look for that model number - it'll tell you what path to go to.

Not sure if that made sense but once you'll try it you should find it easy.

So far everything is working great on the laptop - I did alot of tweaking and it's blazing fast now. MUCH better than on Vista.

The only thing is that the fingerprint scanner doesn't work well. It took me 10 mins to set it up and it only recognizes my finger 10% of the time.

I must say I find the design of the "inside" (keyboard, etc.) of the computer to be severely lacking in quality. My dad just got a 600$ Lenovo Ideapad and it looks 100 times nicer/better quality than my 1300$ machine...

Why on earth would they make the keyboard/screen a different colour from the wristpads?! UGLY. And cheap plastics all over... I don't really care though, I got the fastest CPU could get for the money so I'm happy with this. All I need for music production is raw processing power.

 

Hey, I bought this laptop recently and quickly downgraded to Windows XP...Got all the drivers required and it it is working great.....except for one thing...my audio and video while watching movies and listening to music constantly stutters for a second...and it tends to get annoying...are there any ways to fix this problem?

 

Is it still bearably fast on Vista, for those who downgraded? I'd rather not downgrade to XP because I really love the features and GUI of Vista. Can someone briefly describe what the speed is like? It can't be THAT bad, with 4 gigs RAM... like how many seconds would it take to open up a program, versus XP?

Also since no one seemed to answer this, maybe they just didn't see: Anyone know if the inlaid design on the handrest of the f8va is exactly the same as the design on the m50? Handrest, not top. I've seen pics of the gorgeous design on the handrest of the m50, but pics of th f8va aren't as well taken so I can barely see it. Someone who actually has one, please post better pics?

 

so, i'm afraid i gotta update my tale of the dead F8VA-C1. i wish it were a happier story, but unfortunately ASUS killed all goodwill. recap with update. yeah, this is really long - but ultimately it's a cautionary tale - beware of asus's customer service/support. they try hard, but they do NOT deliver.

received the laptop tuesday August 26 via fedex from an online vendor.
got home from work that evening, fired it up. went through Vista first-time startup. downloaded updates, yada yada. reboot for update install. it would not boot up. hit power button, a couple of leds would come on, HD would spin up, then it would just die like a power kill switch. if it was plugged into AC, it would cycle like that, every ten seconds or so powering up then shutting down five seconds later.

called ASUS support, granted it was midnight, so they get credit for having someone there to answer the phone. 'take the battery out, let it sit ten minutes, then try again'. i did that, same thing. decided to leave battery out overnight and try in the morning. same thing.

called asus again, they issued RMA. dropped it off at fedex same day (wednesday aug 27), ASUS received it thursday aug 28 in the morning. so the guarantee of 'free overnight shipping both ways' for service held true, which i was pleased with.

i gave it a day, then called to check on status on friday morning aug 29. 'motherboard needs to be replaced, two weeks for it to ship from taiwan'. i requested a new laptop, as i'd just gotten it and it died two hours after first powerup. i faxed them proof of when i purchased it. busy with other things at work.

heard nothing back. called at 4pm. 'we didn't get the fax, but we often have problems with that line'. great. funny the fax report said it went fine. i refax, and customer support person says she'll wait by the machine and call me when she gets it. she calls a few minutes later. i ask when i'll get replacement laptop. "well, it was originally a 'regular' RMA, but now to get a new laptop we have to get approval then convert it to a 'DOA RMA'". i ask how long that will take. "person who does that has left for the day, but will be back tuesday (monday is labor day)". sigh. okay.

tuesday afternoon, i get an email advising me that the motherboard is dead, and they have ordered a new one from taiwan which will be there in a week or two. ( i'm also advised that i need to let them know if i want them to "ship the laptop back to you while we wait for the replacement parts", then i can ship it back to them when the parts arrive. ***?? what possible rational reason could there be to ship me a BRICK to hold on to for two weeks, just to ship the BRICK back to them to unBRICK it???)

i reply to the email, and advise that i had a request in for a whole new laptop, and that i faxed evidence of this to them the previous friday. she replies that "Unfortunately, no one has received your sales
invoice to show proof of purchase within 30 days. If you could please
re-send those documents to me, I will make this for replacement as
opposed to repair". i just about scream, but try to remain civil. i tell her i've already faxed it TWICE, asking me to fax it a third time is ridiculous. she checks, and tells me that indeed they did get the info. fancy that. by now it's late afternoon, so i drop the matter for the time being.

wednesday sep 3 i'm so freaking busy with other stuff i forget to even check on status.

thursday morning sep 4, i initiate a 'livesupport' chat with them. i ask for status. she says "well the technician needs to do a final diagnostic, then we put the paperwork in with sales, then they ship the laptop". i complain that i was told the motherboard was dead LAST FRIDAY, so what possible further 'diagnostic' is there to do. she says it will "probably be done today". i ask her to please try to make it "definitely be done today", pointing out that none of these delays thus far have been valid. she says i will be advised immediately if there are any further delays, and they will email me when they have the tracking number for the shipment.

friday morning sep 5, i've heard nothing back. i livechat with them again. 'oh, yes, it went out last night, your tracking number is XXXXX'. well, that's nice i suppose, though i was supposed to be emailed that info. while i'm still in the livechat i look up the tracking number with fedex. yup, it went out thursday night....via "fedex 2 day service". the estimated delivery date? monday, sep 8!!

i complain that the warranty says 'free overnight shipping both ways'. she says the shipping department must have made a mistake. then she backtracks and says that well it wasn't a mistake, it's that they provide 'standard overnight' service, but not 'enhanced overnight', meaning that since the unit went out after 6pm on thursday, that meant that fedex considered it received on friday, and since 'standard overnight' doesn't include delivery on a saturday, it had to wait until monday. i was pissed off. had they not dragged their feet for the better part of the week to begin with, i could have had the unit in my hands on wednesday! i asked her to please ship out a new laptop OVERNIGHT for delivery saturday, then i'd return the one that arrived on monday, but that was a no go. 'you're getting a brand new laptop!' - as if that's some great kindness, considering the week i've wasted since receiving a lemon.

the really pathetic thing is that the ASUS service center is in fremont, california, and i'm near santa rosa, california - not even a hundred miles away. the tracking progress is sadly hilarious - it arrived in oakland california - 50 miles from me - thursday night. and it's just sitting there. not moving at all until around sunday night, when they'll truck it up to this area, and then deliver it monday afternoon. had they actually shipped it overnight, i'd have had it friday afternoon.

so, i suppose this is sort of just therapy, getting this all out there. sorry it turned out so long. the reality is though, i'm already dreading when it arrives. is it going to become another brick the day after i get it? i seriously don't trust this hardware, and more than that, i do not want to ever deal with asus support again. so i'm thinking i may wind up just selling it on ebay, and hope i can get as much as i spent. then i'll buy something solid. i had thought asus was a premium brand but not any more. heck, i was setting up a new coworker's macbook pro just yesterday, and marveling at how it didn't become a brick after two hours!

 

so with that giant post behind me - and the replacement laptop here on the desk next to me, i have a question for anyone else who may own this laptop.

when i start the laptop up (quiet boot disabled), it reports "can't detect TPM device!". okay, fair enough. that's the intel super-dooper security chip, i had thought this laptop included it standard, but i guess not. however - just like on the laptop that turned into a brick - the bios includes the option "configure intel TXT(LT)". it was immediately after enabling this and saving the bios config that the previous laptop bricked. it may have been a coincidence -- but i'll tell you what, i'm never going to try enabling it again! what i am curious about is whether any existing owners of this laptop have ever enabled that option successfully.

anybody?

 

I haven't tried but I certainly won't try after reading your story haha

 

well sure. but based on the lack of responses, i guess this model isn't exactly setting the world on fire to begin with...

 

I'm not going to try either, nor do I care to anyway!

 

just bought this, cant wait to try it out

 

My case exactly, on a F8VA-B1 model! The message appeared for a while now. I installed the latest Vista updates this morning and changed this same BIOS setting during reboot.

I got the exact same behavior. In my case, ExpressGate (Asus' Splashtop) works! Did yours?

I am concluding that it's a BIOS reset issue and will focus on that now, before I call local (Greece) Asus Support on Monday.

Thanks for sharing your story

 

Does the F8Va-B1 support ddr3 ram?

 

I don't understand how the Windows subscore for Graphics is 4.7

Windows website: http://windowshelp.microsoft.com/windows/en-us/help/0fee4637-8b21-41f1-87f6-66d2205420d61033.mspx

It say's Graphic subscore is based on dedicated graphic memory the video card has. F8Va has 1GB, that should be at least over 5.0. What gives?

 

Anyone?. I want to know this before I buy it.

 

i never tried the expressgate, never got that far.

i'm amazed that they leave a bios config in place that will brick machines if certain hardware isn't installed. at minimum it should grey-out if the hardware isn't installed. crazy.

 

Nope. Totally different DIMM slot.

 

WOW! Nice review and very helpful.

But I think im gonna have to go with the M50Vm-A1 instead of the F8Va-B1 because of video cards. I still think Nvidia laptop cards perform better.

THANKS!

EDIT: This is also another interesting review for others in my situation... http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=278457

 

Hey, maybe a stupid question, but does the SD reader on the F8va-B1 read SDHC cards? I want to get a 8 meg one for my camera, bot obviously not if my notebook wont read it

thanks!