Asus UX31E Zenbook/Ultrabook Owners Lounge

I am a new forum user.
I just received my ux31and a Samsung DVD writer.
I would like to make a cloneziila clone to an attached external hard drive.
But I do not no how to change the boot bios to boot from my DVD.
Need help

 

Hit esc when you see the asus boot logo. it should bring you up to a menu to choose which to boot, USB drive or SSD, or bios!

 

@noxxle99, kanishka42, cmr, yxo2, and any who were following my posts about the audio jack defect from 10/22 - 10/24:

Asus finally responded to my technical support request made 10/19. It took 3 weeks instead of their advertised 48 hours. And all it said was to fill out an RMA request form. I had long since called them up to get the RMA started, but decide not to go further when I learned it would take 10-14 business days plus shipping time on both ends.

I decided to pursue RMA replacement with Newegg instead, since their process requires only 2-3 business days plus shipping time on both ends. I shipped it out 10/27. I got an email from Newegg today, saying they restored the system to factory configuration, did not find anything wrong with the audio, and hence would be sending the same unit back. Since I'm certain the defect is hardware issue, I find this hard to believe. I fear some tech plugged in headphones, heard something resembling music, and decided everything was ok. I called them to request a different unit be sent, and to verify they tested for stereo separation in the audio jack, but the CS agent said she could only relay information to the "inspectors", who make the decision. 12 hours later, I got an automated email from their system, basically revealing that same unit would still be sent back.

If the defect is still present when the unit arrives, I am going to argue for a return (despite laptops being non-returnable, only replaceable, under Newegg policy). I paid for this system on 10/12, I still don't have a working product in my hands one month later, and instead I've had to spend hours troubleshooting and communicating with CS agents (and writing angry posts!). If I were to re-RMA it, it'll take another 3 weeks, by which time, I would be better off holding onto the money and waiting for Ivy Bridge. It'll save me the trouble of adjusting to their flawed keyboard/touchpad/hinge.

I am sharing this experience to give a heads up to those who end up with a similar defect. This is a warning about the kind of headaches that might be faced when one tries to RMA a product with a defect not easily noticed or commonly tested for. There's no one to blame, except perhaps Asus' quality control, because everyone is just "following a procedure". Please plan accordingly if you find yourself in a similar situation.

 

Asus reps are a joke. I messaged them regarding keyboard and pixel problem. No response. I posted all over their facebook to get some response, still nothing... this unit will be going back to amazon if I don't hear from them by wednesday.

I also PM-ed Chastity, who is a rep for asus on this forums. No response! nice!

 

Ugh. Thanks for following up with your experiences. Asus wasn't particularly responsive to me on the same issue either. I guess I'm fortunate that Amazon agreed to cross-ship a replacement unit, which has been working great thus far.

While I like my UX21 and the Zenbook line, reading about others' experiences here with this and other Asus products has led me to think that this will be my last Asus laptop. Early adopter or otherwise, this is just not how product support ought to work, especially in a world where a certain competing "fruit brand" has the capability to service a laptop -- or replace it on the spot -- at any of numerous retail locations.

I understand that problems can and do occur during fabrication and assembly, but the available recourse for affected customers needs to be better than "wait some indeterminate amount of time for someone to get back to you", followed by weeks-long RMA processes.

 

Update: I was informed by the Newegg CS Representative I've been working with that for whatever reason, a supervisor has overridden the declined RMA and approved it "as a courtesy." I'm not sure my case got escalated because of my constant emails/calls, or if someone on their tech end became enlightened to the nature of this defect. However, the unit that I sent in for RMA is already on it's way back to me. Hence, I am to send it back to them again (it's being called a "recall"), before they ship the replacement unit.

At this point, my choice is between accepting the replacement (which will likely reach me after Thanksgiving), or arguing for an exception to Newegg's policy to refund the unit per my last post. I am leaning towards the former since my chances of getting a unit with another defective audio jack are slim (only three people reported issues like it here, and I can't really find instances of this problem elsewhere on the web). That, and I wouldn't have to pull any more teeth with customer service. Well, I can only hope.

 

Hi, new to this forum, and new owner of Asus UX21E.

I checked my unit carefully with regard to the audio output, and I can say that it is some of the clearest, most enjoyable audio I've heard from a laptop. Furthermore, played thru the onboard speakers, the sound is quite acceptable and surprisingly loud, compared to the netbooks I've owned.

Facts no one seems to mention in the specifications when buying the unit.
1) You get a USB-to-100/10 Ethernet dongle. Nice. If you want a 1000/100/10 Ethernet capability, like I did, get another dongle. I got the Plugable.
2) You also get a mini-VGA to VGA adapter. Using it, I verified that the unit supports up to 1900x1200 resolution in an external CRT. In this config the internal LCD will be off. The Intel app and the key mapping allows easy switching between LCD (1366x768), LCD and CRT (1366x768, usually) or CRT only (up to 1900x1200).

I'm now attempting to install W7 Ultimate, and eliminate the recovery partition.

 

Posted this in the other UX31 thread but thought it would be good info to put in the OP?

 

How common is the keyboard problem that people keep talking about?

With my discount the difference in the Asus and 13in Air is only $100 so I'm trying to pick one. I love the Asus display but that keyboard problem could be a deal breaker for me.

 

Note 1 to self: Never buy a computer from ASUS if I expect it to be supported worth a damn.
Note 2 to self: Never, EVER buy a computer from Newegg.com

 

I've never had an issue with neweggs RMA program.

 

I was under the impression from these forums that ASUS had good support.

 

Asus support is hit or miss. I've used quite a few Asus notebooks since '07 and of the three I had to send in for services, one had to be sent back because someone either cut or forgot to reattach the bluetooth cable.

Take a look at the RMA sticky and you'll get a general idea of the best and worst case scenario when dealing with Asus support.

 

To be fair to Newegg, I've never had any problem with them before this, and I've purchased at least $100k worth of equipment from them over the last 8 years (for personal use and at my last two jobs). As a result, I also have very high expectations for them. I've had to RMA defective things before (curiously, the last two were also Asus computers), but it was always hassle-free. I'm glad the RMA is now approved, but they could easily have done more to mitigate the time I already lost (cross-ship the replacement, been clearer and more prompt in responses, not initially denied the RMA to begin with).

It's an issue with the design, so you could say it is 100% common. However, whether it's a problem depends on one's typing style. Some people seem to have no problem with it (Anand's review), but others (like me) will have to overwrite their existing muscle memory relearning how to type to not constantly missing keystrokes.

Hmm, it looks like Newegg successfully managed to send some kind of recall request through UPS. Per the tracking history, the unit had already made it to my city, but was automatically turned around and is on it's way back to Newegg. This actually saves me two steps: 1) letting my apartment complex management know that I'm expecting a package and authorizing them to sign for it, and 2) me hauling the bulky box six blocks to the nearest UPS store to send it back to Newegg.

 

that's what i did. i couldn't be happier with it. the trackpad works, i mean REALLY WORKS, not like that sentelic POS "worked" after i installed the bleeding-edge alpha drivers and it was kind of okay. the keyboard is slightly better (i mean, it's a laptop keyboard, it's never going to be awesome). the battery life isn't poorer than it says on the box... it actually lasts 40 minutes LONGER than the box says on occasion.

but most importantly, i can plug it into all my speakers, headphones, stereo, etc and IT DOESN'T BUZZ.

i miss the right ctrl key. that's what i wanted from the ux21: a macbook air with two ctrl keys. the extra ctrl key was not worth the price of entry.

 

Five days in to ownership of the UX21E, and now here are my thoughts.

Saved a system backup, loaded a new copy of Windows 7 Ultimate, saving the original installation as Windows.old. Once I was certain I needed none of the original installation I deleted the old W7 directory and extended the C drive over the Asus recovery partition,to maximize the drive size. This gave about 109GB.

After installing a new W7.64U, I found that the recovery from sleep was 2 seconds or less, even without the ASUS instant on application. I installed it anyway and it didn't make a lot of difference.

Searching online for an AC adapter yielded nothing. Sites purporting to sell one used a power adapter plug which was not the 3.00mm diameter one this laptop needs. So I found nothing. Asus seems to offer none. Where can I buy a second AC adapter?

Next priority is more storage. Is there a SSD larger than 128gb which will work? I don't see anyone swapping theirs out yet.

 

help!

today I tried to flash bios 207 (I flashed bios 206 with no issues last time) and now it wouldn't power on..

any suggestions?

 

Fact: The power plug for the UX21E is a 3mm diameter 3-conductor one. Radio Shack sells one of their "Adaptaplug" line of plugs which is 3.0mm in diameter but it is a 2 conductor one. It is labeled plug "G". I bought one anyway and determined that the center conductor DOES NOT make proper contact with the power input, so this plug is useless in rigging up your own power supply.

I see that a plug similar to the Radio Shack one is for sale at Digikey. This will NOT fit the UX21E:
http://products.cui.com/CUI_PP-019_Datasheet.pdf?fileID=5697

Using the Radio Shack "G" Adaptaplug, I tore it apart to get the 3.00mm cylinder (very carefully!). Then I used heat to remove the center conductor, and then took an AMP/Tyco gold plated machined female connector pin and soldered it to the end of a piece of stiff 1.0mm wire. Then I inserted the new pin into the 3.00mm cylinder along with some "Goop" high density rubber cement to insulate and hold it in place. Finally, I attached leads and allowed it to dry.

The connector fit fine. The laptop begins charging at about 18.9VDC input, with a minimum load of about 1 amp. This is enough to run the idle system and also charge the battery. If you have the display on and are using CPU power or peripherals, then it quickly moves up to almost 2A or so. Now, I'll encase the connector in more Goop and let it harden, and use it with an old 19.5V power supply from a long dead laptop. So, no need to wait until Asus announces availability of the AC adapters for the UX21E, at least theoretically. I'm an electrical engineer and used to doing work of this sort but I would not recommend it to the casual laptop user. The consequences of mixing up the polarity of the wires or permitting a shorted connection would possibly be damaging to the laptop.

I'll be rigging up a second connector in the same way, to make an auxiliary battery. In this case, the battery should be a 6s LiPo battery, 6 cells in series. Best bought as two 3s cells, and charged using a hobby charger of the type used for electric model airplanes and cars. Charging Lipos with a Nimh or NiCd charger is asking for a fire so don't even think about that! Having a big auxiliary battery to plug into the power input connector is the answer to the problem of the cross country flight with a laptop which can't quite last long enough, but has no replaceable battery.

 

quick question for the owners: is the ram user expandable, the specs say it is expandable but I cannot seem to get a clear answer on how. And if it's one slot or two?

Same question for hard drive - can it be swapped out?

 

It is NOT.

 

damn, I would buy this laptop immediately from the microsoft store (1190 including tax for the ux31 i7) if it had any way to get to 8gb. why does all the literature say "expandable to 8gb?!?!!" frustrating

 

It turns out, that if you upgrade the UX21E's installed Windows 7 Home Premium to W7 Pro or W7 Ultimate, you can access it as a client using Remote Desktop, and in that mode it will support a graphics mode of up to and including 2560x1600! This is exactly how I am running it now. Given that, a professional can use it as a portable desktop replacement - that is, carry it into the office, connect it to local ethernet network, then operate it from a full size monitor. The video quality is far superior to the analog output from the laptop. This is really awesome. But again, you have to have at least W7 Professional installed to do this - Remote Desktop Server is not in the Home version, only Remote Desktop Client.

Upgrade to W7 Professional can be done online at the Microsoft Store for $90. Microsoft Store Online - Microsoft Windows Anytime Upgrade: Windows 7 Home Premium to Professional - Buy from Microsoft Store However, I used a retail copy of W7 Ultimate to upgrade mine - in my case I had to reinstall Windows from scratch. Disadvantage, more work, advantage, getting rid of the Asus recovery partition, which gives more space. Come to think of it, you can get rid of that partition anytime you want.

 

I believe that when remote in your desktop is doing the actual rendering, not the remote.

 

Hi Everyone!

I can confirm that using the older Atheros wifi driver results in a 100% improvement in transfer rates. Using .459 as provided by asus averages 2MB/s rates whereas .432 averages 4-5MB/s+ rates. This has been consistently proven. I have linked to the .432 driver below, let me know if anyone experiences the same.

atheros_wifi_9.2.1.432_win7.zip

 

I'm confused.

Are wifi problem present on the UX31 or the UX21 alone?

 

Newbie from overseas here. Not so sure if Asus's support level is anything like the US, but common sense for us is that they'll wait on fix from your end before they have anything here.

Anyways, I don't usually replies in forum, and this is my first Asus. Was a regular VAIO Z user, but made the switch because of the steep price (About 150% more expensive). UX31's nice, it's just extremely buggy.

1. WiFi: before the update, it's just nightmare. After the update, still can't use Logitech's Unifying mouse+keyboard combo. Or even being around another WiFi's signal.
2. Touchpad: before update, kinda jumpy. After update, 2F scroll still doesn't feel right.
3. Keyboard: Agreeing with everyone here that it needs getting used to. Can't tell the difference before/after the driver update. But the WiFi on/off and Power Profile switch works only when I first turned the computer on. After the first restart, they stopped working.
4. Some of the drivers I downloaded didn't work/won't install. Asus live update just failed before the update and after the update, shows nothing to update.
5. All the above errors is nothing compared to my last problem though. Windows Explorer kept on crashing. After the VGA driver update (I'm guessing it's got something to do with the Aero function), the crash is delayed a bit. So, I'd appreciate any help regarding this.

That said, I still love the other features in UX31: liking the SSD (my first SSD in a laptop), loving the LED screen (brighter than my 5 yo VAIO's LCD), liking the general built quality.

 

Hello,

I don't know if my UX31 may have a problem or if don't know how to use the power plug...

When I plug my UX31 to the power plug, it charges correclty but the LED of the plug cable remains orange no matter if the battery is charging or fully charged. The manual states that the LED should switch off once the battery is fully charged (but I think it is wrong and should switch to green), but it doesn't, and stays orange. Shouldn't it switch to green when charged ?

How about yours ? I wonder if there's a connector problem on mine.

EDIT: looks to be a BIOS flashing issue? http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus-reviews-owners-lounges/618121-asus-ux31e-zenbook-ultrabook-owners-lounge-15.html#post8042618

I flashed mine using ASUS Live Updater (but dunno the BIOS version it flashed).

 

I updated to BIOS 207 using WinFlash on my second day of getting it, so I don't know whether this is an issue with the previous BIOS or not (from prev posts), but mine turns green when it's 100%.

 

I have the same problem, please try to scratch an external hard disk or external monitor cable connector to the aluminium body of the computer, do you se sparks coming from the cable? That's my problem...

 

Sparks?! Really?


I have checked the BIOS version Asus Live Updater installed, it's the 207 one. So WinFlash will not allow me to re-flash the same version or go back to another one. But I initialy updated my BIOS with WinFlash (Live Updater use it), so I don't think it has to do with the way one update the BIOS. Maybe the BIOS version? I may try to go back to 206.

This thing is really puzzling me, I want the charge indicator to work properly.

I would like dazz87 to give us some more info on his experience. What BIOS version had the issue?

So far :
imprzaWRC, used WinFlash to flash 207 => no issue
me, used WinFlash to flash 207 => issue
dazz87, used EasyFlash to flash ??? => issue
dazz87, used WinFlash to flash ??? => no issue

 

Ha, yes sparks...and i am not alone...some felt electric shocks when they touch the laptop, sending it back...

 

Hey guys,

how's the behaviour of your fan unit like? Is it true for you that sometimes the fan spins up for just a few seconds while the ac adapter is plugged in and windows being in "Performance" or "Entertainment" mode?

 

I started a separate thread regarding the "charger not turning green when fully charged" issue: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asus/627328-ux31-charger-not-turning-green-bug-thread.html

 

Hi guys,

Can anyone tell something more about how the Sentelic trackpad behaving after the driver updates?
And what about the 256GB SSD experience? The controller is clearly slower, but is it really noticeable?

Thanks!

 

Hi
I have a UX31E with 256GB SSD. I have an issue with the WLAN adapter (stable connection problems)

but more important is the SSD "problem". Windows tells me, that my drive is only rated with 5.9 (standard HDD rating) and not as excepted for SATA 6GBit/s SSD a 7.9 rating.

Today now, I have recieved an answer from the Asus support:

I hope, this issue will be solved soon. What is your SSD Firmware? My Firmware is: 10.01.02

Best Regards
Anomen

 

anybody updated the Asus live update to the Nov 22, 2011 version? Previous versions never worked. Now, it just crashes upon opening.

 

General rule of thumb concerning Asus, don't use live update, get the updates directly from their support site.

 

Is there a way to perform a middle mouse button click with the Elan touhpad? I've searched the settings panel but found nothing.

 

Did that too. But once downloaded, they either failed to install or did nothing. So, I tried the ASUS Live Update. Did a reinstall of the Live Update, seems to be working and managed to installed the 3 failed upgrades from before. But I still have issues with my Windows Explorer crashing (and apparently I'm the only one experiencing this).

--
ASUS-UX31E - Intel Core i5 - 128 GB SSD

 

Hey guys, so I decided to buy the Zenbook, managed to fine the one with Elantech trackpad etc. but... did any of you have problems with...

...buzzing keys?

I mean, when I'm playing music on the speakers the whole freakin' keyboard is resonating with it so it is buzzing, like as if the speakers were flawed. But when I put the fingers down on the keys the buzzing stops. ?! :/

 

I just recieved my new ZENBOOK UX31E and I wanted to format the drive and re-install Windows 7 on it. I am not a fan of most of the software that comes with the Laptop. My problem is that when I try to install Windows 7, it can't find the hard drive or disk controller to install windows. It needs the correct driver to continue the installation. I called ASUS Support and opened a case with them. They told me they didn't have a driver that they could provide.

Has anyone else run into this issue? I am searching the forum and have not found anything yet.

 

I did it with external usb disc drive, first it didn't recognize it but when i started it first in windows, then restarted the comp., push the ESCAPE button upon restart it showed up. Hope this helps.

 

I'll give it a try and see what happens and let you know.

 

I figured it out. I was trying to boot off the USB 3.0 port which needed drivers during the Windows installation. I switched it over to the other port and it's installing now.

 

Can someone test if you can output 1920x1200 to two external monitors at the same time with the UX31? I am looking to be able to have it connected to two monitors at my desk when I am not travelling with it and have an extended display across the monitors. I would not expect the laptop display to also be on at the same time.

I am looking at one of these to replace my current machine but I need to have that ability. I haven't been able to find in anywhere in the spec, manual, or any reviews (though I haven't read every single review out there).

Thanks in advance!

 

If I had a micro-HDMI-to-HDMI-adapter, then I would have tried it...

 

I Flashed my ux31 with winflash and had no problems..

 

I think i bricked my UX31.
i went to asus support website, downloaded bios207, unzipped to c:\, rebooted to bios ez-flash, 20 seconds later it doesnt turn on.
I have asus desktop boards and never had a problem using ez-flash in this manner.

Is there anything i can do besides RMA? Second bios maybe?
Please Help

 

Did a little digging on my only rant here in the forum (Windows Explorer keeps on crashing). Turns out there're bunch of other "Windows 7-64bit" users out there that have the same problem since 2009.

Anyways, there doesn't seem to be a single hot fix for the problem, nor has it been identified by MS. So, I'm posting the errors that I got here. Hope someone here can help 'cause I still think this is something to do with Asus's proprietary s/w and/or driver.

Error1 (error in ntdll.dll):
Faulting application name: explorer.exe, version: 6.1.7601.17567, time stamp: 0x4d672ee4
Faulting module name: ntdll.dll, version: 6.1.7601.17514, time stamp: 0x4ce7c8f9
Exception code: 0xc0000374
Fault offset: 0x00000000000c40f2
Faulting process id: 0x4cb4
Faulting application start time: 0x01ccb0248186cb9d
Faulting application path: C:\Windows\explorer.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
Report Id: c85bbdaa-1c17-11e1-992d-742f68cdf70fFaulting application name: explorer.exe, version: 6.1.7601.17567, time stamp: 0x4d672ee4
Faulting module name: ntdll.dll, version: 6.1.7601.17514, time stamp: 0x4ce7c8f9
Exception code: 0xc0000374
Fault offset: 0x00000000000c40f2
Faulting process id: 0x4cb4
Faulting application start time: 0x01ccb0248186cb9d
Faulting application path: C:\Windows\explorer.exe
Faulting module path: C:\Windows\SYSTEM32\ntdll.dll
Report Id: c85bbdaa-1c17-11e1-992d-742f68cdf70f

Error2 (actually specifies ASUS WS Shell Ext 64):
Faulting application name: explorer.exe, version: 6.1.7601.17567, time stamp: 0x4d672ee4
Faulting module name: ASUSWSShellExt64.dll, version: 1.1.0.27, time stamp: 0x4c7f631d
Exception code: 0xc0000005
Fault offset: 0x00000000000051da
Faulting process id: 0x%9
Faulting application start time: 0x%10
Faulting application path: %11
Faulting module path: %12
Report Id: %13

NOTE: It seemed that every crash generated both these errors.

Hmm... quick look at ASUSWSShellExt64.dll and found the solution:
Windows explorer constantly crashes on new Asus - Microsoft Answers

ASUSWebStorage is the main culprit. So, I'm hoping this will fix the crash.

 

Can someone kindly answer my question (2 posts prior)?
I am already dealing with Asus at getting an RMA but they are already giving me a run around.
Asking me for a copy of my invoice. When i send it to them, they are saying that its not good enough. I sent a nice color scan of the original invoice, wat more do they want.
Do they think I'm trying to cheat them on warranty coverage? The device has been on the market for like a month LOL.
They just trying to delay or detract from having to follow through on their responsibilities.
Already fed up with dealing with Asus. How could they release this product and have it requires constant bios updates, but not include any kind of flashing protection? No flashback, no dual bios and couple that with horrible flashing apps and very poor documentation, is a recipe for disaster.
I have a Asus desktop motherboard (RIIIE) and it has both flashback and dual bios, and after flashing many times, Ive never had to use either. It has EZ-flash in the bios too, and ive never had any problems with it. It works with NTFS, exFAT, FAT16, FAT32, and maybe others. On top of that, its over a yr old. How can the newer version of EZflash be so much worse?