Asus N53SV & N53SN SandyBridge Owner Thread

No such issues here.

Please check for any errant programs which are constantly taking up more than 3% CPU.

Please try a reinstall. If not, Asus will do it for you.

If you want a faster laptop, upgrade memory (use 2 or 4 of CMS08GX3M1A1333C9 8gb dimms), or get an SSD. Your system will fly.

 

No such programs found. I've reinstalled Windows already but it doesn't help. And I already have 4GB memory, it should be enough to run windows flawlessly. I would try opening the laptop and cleaning it up if it didn't void the warranty.. that's why I'll be sending it to be checked. Thanks for the answer

 

Maybe go for a HP Envy next time. Not sure how good they are but they look nice to me.

 

--nevermind--

 

There are a few things you should check.
- Are the fans clogged with dust?
- Do you have a virus or some other process causing the slowdown (and the overheating as running the CPU at 100% or the hard disk all the time will cause heat to build up).
- Is the DVD drive or hard disk faulty?
- Is your hard disk full or nearly full? It may need defragmenting after creating more than 10% of free space.

I fixed a laptop that had the fan clogged by dust. It also had a fake anti-virus program installed that was permanently scanning the hard disk, using 100% of the CPU as well as the disk and making it run very slowly. It would shutdown without finishing the boot process until I unclogged the fan and then I could see why it had been running really slowly.

I have also fixed several computers that were running badly because the DVD drive was about to die. It caused slow downs and random crashes. I have also seen slowdowns caused by hard disks that are about to die and have lots of bad sectors. The system still works but is very slow and flaky.

 

Anyone had tried to use 1TB drive in 2nd hdd bay?

 

Really good advice!

 

After spending all day exercising with soldering and failed a lot of times. Seeing that I'm not a master in soldering and didn't want to do something bad on my laptop i decided to implement one of my 'brilliant' ideas.

I took the USB connector from a wireless USB stick, soldered two wires onto + and - (first and last pins), put a plastic/rubber to hold the wires and .. duck tape entered them trough SD-card slot, then went trough the margins of the laptop until the dvd space and then put trough the whole for the keyboard connector, then soldered onto the thin wire from the keyboard. I must say that soldering the wires to the keyboard connectors was one of the most difficult things I've done in a long time . The connector is so tiny and it's so easy to just put solder onto all the pins. I don't know how you guys are handling with solder so easily...

Chinese are doing everything and selling it on ebay, they should just make the plug for the keyboard (the one that laptops with keyboard backlit support have) with 2 wires on the other end...

I'm not too proud of what I've accomplished but for me it's more proof of concept than the final version. I don't want to ruin my warranty for the laptop by soldering something onto the components inside. Plus for me to make the wi-fi switch it would be really difficult and really risky, so this solution is ok for the moment, even though my laptop looks funny now with those wires and duck-tape coming out of it

Now the pictures with my gipsy backlit keyboard
https://www.dropbox.com/s/nowvz29m50rlpfn/2012-05-28 01.32.29.jpg
https://www.dropbox.com/s/eakflj1b42ivgoi/2012-05-28 01.32.44.jpg

It looks like crap, i know, but it works for now without soldering anything on the laptop.... And i can switch it on and off whenever I want

After I opened the laptop now I realize for our laptop is feasible the solution to take +v from one of the pins from HDD-SATA connector, like this one (with some adaptation): http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/465841-ul30-backlit-keyboard-mod-42.html#post7610098

 

Brave soul! Nice job getting that up and running. I would like to do a backlit keyboard mod myself, but I haven't quite worked up to it yet... But the inspiration is easy to find around this forum! Keep up the good work!

 

Hmm.. Whoever implemented the keyboard backlit mod without the wi-fi switch, in your case is your keyboard still lit-up when the laptop is in stand-by?? :O

 

And the saga continues...
Computer returned again from service, they have replaced the faulty screen but keyboard still isn´t working even though they have allegedly replaced it. Top row of number , backspace, delete, s, t and a few other keys are still not working. ASUS if you are listening your service provider TAB Computer Services are fing useless.
I´m probably gonna return the computer to the seller try and get another brand because I´m sick of the crap service/quality.
Or could I remove the keyboard and see if there are any loose wires etc and not void the warranty?

 

Sorry to hear that. I hope I'll never need their service.

You can remove the keyboard, it's easy and it won't void your warranty.
Look for a video in youtube to guide you. You just need to pick the top tabs at the top of the keyboard...

 

Thanks for that, Asus support said to uninstall/reinstall ATK drivers. Strangely enough that did nothing. I have removed the keyboard but don´t know enough to tell if there is a loose connection or not. Google was no help, should I disconnect and reconnect the keyboard or just RMA the thing again!

 

Hi,
Sorry to hear about your troubles. You may have tried this already, as others may have suggested, but removing your keyboard is pretty easy. You can try detaching the keyboard ribbon from the connector, and reattaching it, making sure it's seated snugly. You also may be suffering from a bad keyboard, or the connection to the motherboard may be your trouble. At least those are likely suspects in my mind. Have you tried a keyboard swap? That may work.
I'm interested to hear about your findings.

 

Hey all,
Earlier I posted about wanted to get my hands on some system restore discs for a N53SV-XV1. If you would be willing to part with your discs, I could put them to use! If anyone can help me out, please send me a PM!
Thanks in advance,
C.

 

Hi

I have a quick question.
Do I need to unscrew anything to remove the keyboard?

I want to replace my dvd drive with 2nd hdd bay, but I still have warranty(over one year). I wonder whether it will be noticeable if I switch it now and in case of emergency I switch it back.

 

The keyboard pops out with the removal of 5 clips at the top of it.
Then, one screw is all that holds your DVD drive in. I would say it would be hard to detect.
Check back earlier in this thread to see some pics of the process.

 

Thanks for info.

One more question.

Did anyone swapped face plate of dvd-drive with face plate of 2nd hdd bay?
N53 has awkwardly shaped face plate of dvd drive...

 

The HD caddy I bought has a faceplate that doesn't fit. So I am not using a face plate. You do not really notice it and at least no one will try and eject the disk

 

For any of you who need a video how to remove the keyboard:
Simple how-to Asus n53 keyboard replacement - YouTube

 

How did your 9-cell battery work out? Did you do any comparisons between it and the stock battery?
I would consider buying one like this when the original battery is not holding it's own anymore, but for now, it gets me from outlet to outlet without any issues.

 

Thanks for the video. It is really easy

 

Hi all,
Just so people are aware, the N53SV-XV1 takes 1333MHz PC3- 10600 DDR3 RAM, not 10666. Going back over the forums, I've noticed that a few people have had trouble with RAM upgrades. This is a likely cause.
I had some trouble figuring this out for myself doing some reading here, but for those with questions about RAM upgrades, this is what you need (at least for this model).

 

Not even close to the truth. Once, I had a possibility to modify the N53SV BIOS. I was able to force RAM to work with 1066 MHz instead of 1333 MHz. Compability was quite good, but didn't help as it should. In my opinion the problem lies in Command Rate, which is set to 1T by default or even other RAM settings. Unfortunately, we don't have any access to such settings and ASUS won't help.

 

No, not really. It's just a naming issue. Peak transfer rate is 10666⅔. Some round it down to 10600, some round it up to 10700. And in addition to 10666 you'll also can find variations like 10667 and 10660.

Bottom line, they are all the same.

 

Maybe I should have added "my $.02". Or, "this is what worked for me."

Why would you want to even bother with tweaking BIOS when RAM with this timing works out of the box?

And, I wasn't aware that RAM speeds were a naming issue. Interesting, I'll have to do a little more Google-ing on the subject.

 

All,
Has anyone come up with an idea for a break-away type connection for the power adapter cable? Had a near miss today with the notebook plugged in and the dog passing close by. No damage though. Just wondering if there's been some type of solution, or work-around to having the AC adapter plug hanging straight out from the rear of it.
Thoughts or ideas appreciated!

 

After a lot of switching modules, I'm now using three specific CMSO8GX3M1A1333C9 for 24 GB in specific slots. Many configurations are not stable with more that two sodimms. I could not get 32 GB stable on core i7-2630QM N53SN

For stability testing, I use memtest from hcidesign. This seems to get all relevant errors in ~8 hours with 9 concurrent instances.

 

Regarding the above, has anybody had any luck with this type of adapter?

Right Angle 90-Degree Converter for 5.5 x 2.5mm DC Power Connector - LC53 | eBay

 

hey guys!
I have a problem with my N53Sn,i recovered my windows after nearly one year, now everything is good instaed of my audio keys.(The 5 keys on top of laptop) they won't work at all!
please help me

 

Try reinstalling these drivers, and doing a restart. (Windows 7 - 64 bit)

(Description ATKACPI driver and hotkey-related utilities)


ASUSTeK Computer Inc. -Support- Drivers and Download N53SN

 

Is there a way to remove faceplate of the dvd drive?
I managed to get caddy with replaceable face plate...

 

I have seen this question asked a few times on the forum, but I don't recall an answer being given.
Looking at my own, it looks as if there are some plastic release tabs that may allow the cover plate to be removed and switched out. But I haven't taken that on myself.
Anybody else that can offer advice?

 

Thanks.
I searched the topic and no answer besides "it is easy"... (I don't want to break it).

Anyone updated their BIOS recently? I was wondering if it is worth (AES-NI support in 209 and I am using LUKS and TrueCrypt) ...

Is it available on N53SV Bios 204? I can't find it...

 

If you use TrueCrypt and LUKS then yes.

Make sure you get the correct BIOS file. Because you refer to AES-NI in 209, which indicates that you're talking about SN model. At the same time you ask about SV model's 204.

ASUS787 is talking about Easy Flash. Update process is explained at page A-12 (appendix) in your user manual.

In short, download the BIOS update and unpack it to an USB pen drive. Boot your system, enter BIOS, connect USB pen, go to advanced tab, start Easy Flash.

 

Why not using the newest 2.15? Or some older version is better?

 

Ok. Thanks, I updated without problems.

I have N53SN. I double checked it with the sticker on the bottom of the laptop. Sorry, for confusion.

For my model newest BIOS version is 2.09.

2.15 is for N53S V

 

Hi all,
I've asked before, and had one response, but I think I am still going to need some more help here. (To the person that has offered to help, if you're in the process of helping me, please let me now and disregard this post)
I bought my N53SV-XV1 used on eBay, and it did not come with recovery discs.
What I would like is someone (who owns the same model as me) to use the "AI Recovery" utility program to burn the backup/restore DVDs and ship them to me. I want to restore the notebook to an "out of the box" condition.
I'm willing to reimburse expenses. Please, if you're able to help me out, I would be grateful.
Thanks.

 

You do not need someone to ship the disk. ISO of restore-dvd would be enough. You will be able to create bootable dvd burning that ISO image.
Unfortunately, I bought my computer without OS, so I can't help...

 

Thanks for the advice, I appreciate your help!
Anyone else out there that can help me out?

 

Actually, I think you'll be much better off creating your own recovery discs with Windows AIK without bloatware, updated to SP1 and with all the latest patches and drivers.

Do clean install and follow this guide.

 

Thanks for the advice - that's where I'm at right now.
I want the ability to do a factory restore, as my machine did not come with the original hard drive with the recovery partition intact. So I'm reaching out to the community here for some help in getting me there.

 

Hi guys, I got an error trying to search this thread so I apologize if this is answered somewhere (only manually went through 100 pages before I got too tired)

I have a strange issue with my bluetooth headset on this laptop that I can't seem to fix. It connects fine and works perfectly, but if I don't have any audio running for about .. 10-20 seconds, anything coming through later will be choppy and stuttering. I would then have to reconnect the headset and everything will be fine again (unless I stop listening to audio).

My headset is a p311 arctic, and works fine with my ipad. I've tried updating bluetooth drivers. I thought at first it might be the power management settings, but there is no tab under the bluetooth module so no luck there.

Any ideas?

Thanks a lot

 

How about disks from Dreamspark? Are they legit with your key?

 

That's an interesting program, I was not aware that it existed. I don't think that will help me out, but I know someone who would be interested. I will pass it on to them.
Thanks for the heads-up!

 

I'd just install fresh as someone said. Factory restore is going to put all of the bloatware back on there, much of which isn't needed. Fresh install Windows and install the drivers.

 

Hey all,

I have a problem with my n53sv.
When the laptop goes into hibernation everything works fine. When I "wake up" the laptop will go alot slower and ultimately freeze. This sometimes leads to a full green screen where nothing responds.
When I try to restart (power button) again, everything is back to normal.

I saw on page 109 that some people also have this problem but they all have a SSD drive. I have a HDD (640GB), the one who is default in the system.


Is there any fix for this?

Thank you!

 

hello,
which touchpad driver you use.
does own circulation?
I have n53sn with elantec touchpad.

Thanks, Wallice

 

Do you have 'write caching' enabled for your harddrive?

 

It is currently enabled yes.
Should I disable it? But won't that "slow down" the laptop?


edit: HDD is a wdc wd6400bpvt-80hxzt1

edit2: Well, I did some testing today and:

It seems that if I go into hibernation/sleep mode --> computer works for 2-3 minutes, then freezes --> either shut down or wait an eternity
OR! I read something about the disk drive and I tried opening it. After I opened the drive the laptop starts running again and till now has been working correctly.
Off-course this is not how the laptop should work but it's still a solution.
I will do some more testing after my exams have passed ( in 3 weeks ). Won't be using the laptop extensively.

I still have disk writing caching enabled btw.