The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.
← Previous pageNext page →

    N56vz review and owners lounge - Techno Art

    Discussion in 'ASUS Reviews and Owners' Lounges' started by nipsen, Jul 6, 2012.

  1. duhai

    duhai Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    66
    Messages:
    241
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    @Nipsen

    Hi Nipsen,

    Thanks again for the tests and your thoughts!

    These two facts are very important!


    I’m afraid that you can be right. :smile:


    Wow! I would expect this to be done by Asus.

    Thank you, Nipsen!
     
  2. nipsen

    nipsen Notebook Ditty

    Reputations:
    694
    Messages:
    1,686
    Likes Received:
    131
    Trophy Points:
    81
    Same here.. But it's not really surprising. Have been talking to people at Sony for example who were hired to do the nitty gritty technical details - with no knowledge whatsoever about how their tools worked, how network transport worked, how programming worked, how hardware worked -- nothing. They were just extremely fond of sounding like they knew things. So incompetent people got hired to do technical details by managers who were equally incompetent at technical things - as well as on actually measuring results. It's the same thing they do with their marketing companies. They buy a marketing campaign, and then let the marketing firm set their own standards on how to measure if it was a success.

    And what happens when someone says: "Oi, look here, you have this and this and this completely wrong, because of such and such...." - is that they will want to get rid of you. After all, you're the problem - according their numbers and collected marketing data, they are on the path to ascend to godhood any time, see.

    I've ran The Witcher 2 while having the monitor open. It's cpu and gpu intensive, and scales to multiple cores. It would typically leave two processors at boost, and.. nothing else really different. It would switch back and forth, though. But since it would go to boost and stay there for a second or two, with at least two processors in boost, I didn't think anything of it.

    ..but might be, for all I know, that Asus added something in a later bios. Such as forcing all processors to always fall back to power-saving states within too few cycles. And that will prevent the cpu from maintaining boost unless all threads are 100% busy (i.e., prime95, and no other threads existing on the system).

    edit: and yes, a completely different question is if it's really going to impact performance in any way. I think it does, to some degree. It should be possible to get a bit more out of it.. maybe 10%.. on normal unordered, non-synthetic execution. I'd guess... mostly because of thread response.

    editer: Yeah.. seems like that's it. The processor is set, in all modes, to enter the lower sleep-states. This makes the scheduler go haywire. So on a game that will make the gpu run at 100%, it's not a problem to keep all cpu cores at boost. But if you have threads spawned that complete, or threads that halt (lots of games do that, lots of programs inherently need to do this), then the boost-states drop back and forth. Won't necessarily kill the performance, though. Will.. do some more testing.
     
  3. freesailor

    freesailor Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    4
    Messages:
    95
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Which BIOS version do you have?

    Did you find a speed reduction below base speed (2.4 Ghz) in "The Witcher 2" game or just below Turbo Boost?
     
  4. nipsen

    nipsen Notebook Ditty

    Reputations:
    694
    Messages:
    1,686
    Likes Received:
    131
    Trophy Points:
    81
    The last one. When I tested things the last time, I don't think "c7" was enabled.

    2.1, or 2.3. It's the same in all games, it seems to me. The boost can only be enabled on each core for such and such many.. I don't know.. ms? 30ms? Then it needs to go down to a lower non-boost state. So if there's always something to do, then you can rotate that and practically always have at least two cores in boost. Why do it like that, when having two cores constantly in boost would be less problematic? Is this a way to adjust the heat around the die? Is there some mysterious reason why the "sleep" states that assure immediate cache-response are disabled? Is this connected to the way the ram is set up? Why not make the bus-speed adjustable as well as the multipler? There are... probably a bunch of reasons why it's set up like this. But it seems to me that they all have to do with the fact that until the thermal design on the n56, none of the asus chassis (or any other laptop really) would have been able to deal with the heat all that well. So they've enabled all of those functions not to match the current setup, or to save power, or avoid hitting some psu-related problem. But instead just to ensure that the processor doesn't burn in. As per "intel recommended" settings. And then they've gradually scaled back from there.

    Because if you wanted to throttle the processor to hit 80 degrees max on the die (which is very low, compared to other laptops - and which the processor doesn't actually fulfill either) then there are a million other approaches that would make sense here.
     
  5. freesailor

    freesailor Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    4
    Messages:
    95
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Good if base speed (and not lower) is kept even in real-world heavy load tasks such as GPU/CPU demanding games, I hardly could call it "throttling" especially if no performance loss is perceived.

    I agree with you that Asus likely choose a quite conservative setup in BIOS and that is the reason for this behaviour.
    Just guessing, but it seems a plausible explanation for this choice.
    I've thought that it was based on temperature (like induced throttling after 95°C) but it seems it's really triggered by something else.

    Anyway I think that (unfortunately) you are right about those Asus BIOS guys, I just hope they will be able to give us more efficient and manageable versions in the near future. :(
    Unless you give us a modded version, of course! :D
     
  6. HotelPapa

    HotelPapa Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi guys!

    All this talk about this BIOS problem (?), is it possible to explain it for a not-so-technical-adept person?

    Having a Clevo W350E for a week was enough, so I've sent it back and ordered a N56-S4195H. But after i've read the couple last pages made me wonder if its a good laptop?
     
  7. nipsen

    nipsen Notebook Ditty

    Reputations:
    694
    Messages:
    1,686
    Likes Received:
    131
    Trophy Points:
    81
    It's like a... you bought a semi-sports car that's locked at 80% throttle. It's going faster than you need on most roads. But in return it burns too much fuel, it can't slow down as much as it should when idle, and it's not as comfortable to ride as it should be.

    ...Also, when you open the glove-compartment while on the freeway, the motor stalls. Except it's not that dramatic, I guess, since there's no traffic, and all the travels are experienced as lasting an instant.

    :/ ..not sure how far that analogy works.
     
  8. HotelPapa

    HotelPapa Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    I get the picture :p

    Is that something Asus kan fix? With an upgrade for example..?
     
  9. nipsen

    nipsen Notebook Ditty

    Reputations:
    694
    Messages:
    1,686
    Likes Received:
    131
    Trophy Points:
    81
    ..apparently not.
     
  10. freesailor

    freesailor Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    4
    Messages:
    95
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    16
    I prefer the analogy with a sport car that is speed limited to 250 Km/h (e.g. BMW M3) whereas a competitor car, without speed limiter, can reach 280 Km/h but is more unconfortable to ride and maybe less durable because overheats more.
    It all depends how much you need to reach 280 Km/h or if you are interested in other features too.
    There are many notebook with throttling to some extent, without being unusable (e.g. Asus G75v, that has thermal throttling and battery throttling too and is considered one of the best performer amongst gaming machines).

    It would be nice to have a new more lenient BIOS by Asus but I'm not optimistic.
    After all, N56VZ performance seems to be great for all kind of work (except ... stress test!) and the laptop stays quite cool, so I don't think Asus would risk removing speed limitations, if this has been intentionally set.
     
  11. duhai

    duhai Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    66
    Messages:
    241
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    @Nipsen

    Hi Nipsen,

    I would like to stress on what you said:
    Unfortunately people with your vision are very rare in my everyday life. It’s very important and serious for me that what you said. I’m glad that I have a word with you.

    If you decide to publish a book with the technical analogies I will be the first buyer of the bestseller.

    Regarding to N56VZ you can check how it behaves with a more powerful PSU. If the pre-production sample of N56VM (i7-3720QM, 630M) runs without throttling issue then probably 650M is considerably more power hungry GPU. Unfortunately I can’t see listed the real power consumption of 630M/650M.
     
  12. nipsen

    nipsen Notebook Ditty

    Reputations:
    694
    Messages:
    1,686
    Likes Received:
    131
    Trophy Points:
    81
    ^*cough* actually... the 630m is a fermi card, and the 650m is a kepler card. The kepler card probably has lower power-draw at full burn. It also can scale down dynamically. It's very efficient for the amount of grunt you have.

    (..and a book, huh? lol :D)

    @sailor: Mm.. no, that's the problem. It's like you have an m3 sports-version (the standard version without a limiter), and it's got a.. standard 5-shift gearbox with a clutch and a flywheel designed for half the amount of horsepower. And Asus' solution when people complain about nasty crunching sounds is to give you a plank to put under the gas-pedal.

    It'll work, sure. Now the nasty sounds are gone. Sort of. But you would have a smoother ride on all speeds if you either used the ecm correctly, or picked a new gearbox..

    You know.. that's literally the problem. Instead of having a cut-off on the revs, or throttling the air or the injection... there's a plank under the gas-pedal, and someone just bent the pin in the injection module. It's... *rrrgh* It's just so exceptionally wrong, all right? :p

    It's so unprofessional. Also, it's asking for something to eventually break. Like it did with the ram. 16mb - oops, not supported. And like it did with the sata 3 support on earlier motherboards. And Asus' solution is to say: yeah, is the plank fitted in the right position under the gas-pedal, sir?
     
  13. HotelPapa

    HotelPapa Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    But these problems, do they occur when gaming or only when you're stress-testing the machine?
     
  14. nipsen

    nipsen Notebook Ditty

    Reputations:
    694
    Messages:
    1,686
    Likes Received:
    131
    Trophy Points:
    81
    No, you're driving perfectly fine with the normal traffic on the freeway.

    But specifically. No, the laptop can go to "boost", 3.3-3.1 Ghz while the graphics card is on 100% activity. And stay there for hours without eventually becoming overheated, or even very hot. More than most laptops out there can. ..practically unique, strangely enough.

    The problem is that each core on the processor drops down to a sleep-state every time it completes an operation or a thread is idling. And then also goes up to boost for no reason when idle, without even going to the lowest clock speed. You also can't use low volt ram, you can't run higher clocked ram, and you can't alter the bus-speeds. Meaning that the computer won't idle at as low as it can (spends more power than necessary on battery). And it /also/ doesn't give you as much processing power as it could when not idling. But, it will still eventually reach overheat in the right circumstances (if the cooling is not awesome enough).

    That's all just bad planning. But er.. turns out dell, hp, lenovo, etc., all have these same types of schemes in place to avoid overheat/throttle.
     
  15. duhai

    duhai Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    66
    Messages:
    241
    Likes Received:
    1
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I’ve made a mistake when read your test results. I was blinded by the throttle effect and didn’t saw the performance drop immediately after the start. :eek:

    It’s obvious that the issue is not temperature related. How strange it is! Is the windows task manager showing the same? I still can’t believe it!
    Asus where are you?


    Edit: Guys, can you post your stress test results if you are with a different BIOS version than Nipsen’s one?
     
  16. PJPeter

    PJPeter Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    110
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    66
    Hey quick question guys, someone is asking me about 'Fast Boot' - it's there in my N56VZ-DH71 BIOS version 211 - is it there for you guys also? It's only available when booting via UEFI. It's having that enabled that lets me boot to W8 in 5-6 seconds so they want to try to enable it on their N56VZ-DS71 and I'm just trying to help them out.

    Thanks,
    Peter
     
  17. gavara

    gavara Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi guys,
    I've read lots of pages and I don't feel my eyes really. I'm glad to join the forum. Sorry for my bad English by the way.
    I have N56VZ-S4016 with Vertex 4 SSD and have some problems also. I have a completely annoying "buzzzzz" sound from my woofer. I've read some posts about it, I also have the same problem. I'm using the latest drivers for Windows7 but no solution. I'm not using subwoofer for that reason, it's a solution also.
    But another thing that is making me crazy is, another weird sound from my speakers. It's a random sound which Windows doesn't have. I can not tell you how it's sound like but will try. When you plug or unplug a jack from or to the speaker that makes a sound like "flap" or something else. When I click randomly to somewhere, that sound is coming from my speakers. Anyone got an idea about the solution? Do I need to sendback my monster back .(
     
  18. PJPeter

    PJPeter Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    110
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    66
    Congrats :)

    If you could be so kind as to call in the Subwoofer buzzing issue to ASUS support I'd be grateful and hopefully we can get it resolved, thanks.

    As for the other sound issues, take a look at this post and the links from it:

    All the best,
    Peter
     
  19. bl@ck

    bl@ck Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    7
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Windows 8 drivers are popping up on Asus support site!
     
  20. hiohaa

    hiohaa Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    ASUS RECOVERY DISK

    So i just got this laptop yesterday.
    It has a recovery partition.

    There doesnt seem to be any software or any ability to make a recovery disk?

    So...25GB is reserved for recovery? Is that it?
    What if something happens to the hard drive. Then what. I lose windows 7??

    i dont understand this at all. i want to be able to make a recovery disk, and free up that 25gb disk space.

    the manual says you can make a recovery disk 'on selected models'
    i can't see this asus recovery software anywhere. please help?

    thanks
     
  21. hiohaa

    hiohaa Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    BIOS

    currently running v 204.

    Asus website goes up to v 214.

    Can i go straight to 214 FROM 204, or do i have to install each bios version in sequence?
     
  22. PJPeter

    PJPeter Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    110
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    66
    Should be fine. Cool, so 214 might give the W8 options I have in my 211 W8 model. What's a link to 214 by the way, I don't see it as an option for the N56VZ under the main list.

    AI Recovery is the program to use if you want to use to make the disc in Windows 7. I personally wouldn't recover to it anyway except if it was a support issue and I had to before bringing it in for warranty service.

    In Windows 8 has a built in process that you can create a "Recovery Drive" and at the end of the process it offers to delete the Partition for you - good stuff.

    Peter
     
  23. hiohaa

    hiohaa Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    nice one, thanks.

    well, link to bios:

    ASUS - Notebooks- ASUS N56VM

    Download:windows 7 or 8 > bios

    its in there.

    but i have a VM, not VJ so.....i dont know if you need it specifically by the sub catergory of the N56 model. VJ doesnt even appear on the model listing on the uk ASUS website....only VM.
    apparently mine is a discontinued model, and in the UK i only see VJ now anyway.

    i got an i7 3610qm, 750gb, 8g ram, gtx 630.

    have to say, going from my 5 year old Dell vostro 1500 to this is a HUGE leap, and im well impressed with its solid build quality, the screen is brilliant, i love the anti glare matt finish.
    2 concerns so far only:

    2 CONCERNS

    - the wireless. its connecting to my router at 72mbps, even though the 300 N signal is switched on in the router.....so need to investigate that (any ideas anyone?)
    - the trackpad. its too big (i mean honestly what is the deal with massive track pads? i just dont understand, who needs to move their finger around that much? is everyone running mouse speed on 3 or something)
    i have to fiddle a bit more with the settings so that it doesn't detect my hands when im typing.
    and i dont like the 2 buttons, and the fact that it can detect your fingers even when you're using the buttons.

    ive always used my left hand to click, right hand to move the mouse. Because of the above problem, i have to remember to rest my finger on the button first, before using my right hand to move. i suppose I'll get used to it but its still annoying.

    its a shame you can't manually set how much of the track pad you want to use. Why on earth would you want it to be active over the buttons?

    the trackpad on my old dell was perfect. Small, quick, hugely accurate, and 2 seperate buttons at the bottom.
    is this Apples fault?
     
  24. PJPeter

    PJPeter Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    110
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    66
    It is a huge leap - it's an excellent laptop and I too am quite happy :).

    The trackpad took some getting used to for me also, but I did get used to it. Not sure about the Wireless signal. You can mod the drivers like I did previously to get back side scrolling and adjust the settings as you want them (palm detect, etc..)

    Interesting -

    Those are the exact same changes that come up for 203 - and it's funny because I was wondering why they let you disable Secure Boot, clear Key Management, etc.. - I did it to test out some custom drivers but Secure Boot itself is the security against Root Kits.

    I wonder if I'd want to upgrade the BIOS though - knowing there is an issue where the system shuts down when doing so and only the upgrade fixes this - that sounds dangerous :p. Not too worried though in truth, but mentioning it. Date on the BIOS update is 12/10/2012.

    Peter
     
  25. hiohaa

    hiohaa Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    24
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    RJ45 CONNECTION

    ........this seems VERY difficult to pull out the cable from the side.
    is there a technique to it? I feel scared about using force to yank it out incase i break the connection inside, but i cant see any other way of doing it?

    is this right?
     
  26. christonit

    christonit Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi, i bought mine last month and i have using it for 2 weeks now.

    Its a nice laptop but it has some flaws that distract me and i would like to now if the warranty covers it and if they could repair it.

    One is that the trakpad is no smetrical, it has like a 0.3cm black space on the right side, i have seen others n56 and its not natural and i have done none of this, they are workmanship faults.

    Another is that after one day of use the spacebar and is a little big lifted on th right side and i have done nothing to it!!!!

    but the fault that i am most conserned is the 4 usb ports that they are hard as hell!!!!! NO kidding i have to learn over something to could disatach any usb memory-_-

    I have been very sad since i saw that because was my father who bought me this one i wanted it to be flawless and i didnt spected that. I really want to fix it.

    Sorry for my grammar.
     
  27. christonit

    christonit Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi, i bought mine last month and i have using it for 2 weeks now.

    Its a nice laptop but it has some flaws that distract me and i would like to now if the warranty covers it and if they could repair it.

    One is that the trakpad is no smetrical, it has like a 0.3cm black space on the right side, i have seen others n56 and its not natural and i have done none of this, they are workmanship faults.

    Another is that after one day of use the spacebar and is a little big lifted on th right side and i have done nothing to it!!!!

    Other problem is the function key, i have to press it right in the middle so it could work and sometimes it doesnt work in the first or second try and i have to press harder.

    but the fault that i am most conserned is the 4 usb ports that they are hard as hell!!!!! NO kidding i have to lean over something to could disatach any usb memory-_-

    I have been very sad since i saw that because was my father who bought me this one i wanted it to be flawless and i didnt spected that. I really want to fix it.

    Sorry for my grammar.
     
  28. christonit

    christonit Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    8
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi, i bought mine last month and i have using it for 2 weeks now.

    Its a nice laptop but it has some flaws that distract me and i would like to now if the warranty covers it and if they could repair it.

    One is that the trakpad is no smetrical, it has like a 0.3cm black space on the right side, i have seen others n56 and its not natural and i have done none of this, they are workmanship faults.

    Another is that after one day of use the spacebar and is a little big lifted on th right side and i have done nothing to it!!!!

    Other prob is the function key, i have to press it right in the middle so it could work and sometimes it doesnt work in the first or second try and i have to press harder.

    but the fault that i am most conserned is the 4 usb ports that they are hard as hell!!!!! NO kidding i have to lean over something to could disatach any usb memory-_-

    I have been very sad since i saw that because was my father who bought me this one i wanted it to be flawless and i didnt spected that. I really want to fix it.

    Sorry for my grammar.
     
  29. gavara

    gavara Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    4
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    It's the same with my N56VZ too.
     
  30. PJPeter

    PJPeter Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    110
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    66
    Picture to know what you mean?

    It gets better with use, just tight to start from my experience.

    Sorry to hear about your fn/spacebar issues, I had kb issues with my first N56VZ also and those do sound annoying.

    Peter
     
  31. HotelPapa

    HotelPapa Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    So, finally typing on my new N56.. Quality is miles better compared to the Clevo W350E, but like the guy above, it has its "downs".

    First of, what's up with the annoying sound from the subwoofer? I've googled around, and it looks like i'm not the only one experiencing this problem. It's like a "durrrr" when I scroll a web page. I guess listening to music or radio is an easy fix :p
    On the other side, the subwoofer actually makes it possible to listen to music.. I like!

    Second, which driver should I install to configure touchpad finger gestures? I've installed the Asus Smart Gestures, but it doesn't work...?

    I've got a good first impression tho, nice keyboard, OK touchpad, it boots windows in 20sec :)

    Also, have any of you switched out the optical drive with a hdd slot? Any recommendation?
     
  32. Goldenratio

    Goldenratio Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    11
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hoping for some quick help.

    Some days ago I started my N56 and it freezed on the starting windows boot screen, had to hard restart it and it tells me I need to recover Windows. After clicking the enter button on that prompt in DOS apparently it started reinstalling Windows, and here I was all my dta gone and Im back to square one whereas the N56 is back to factory settings and all and is exactly like when I first bought it. Luckely, much of my very important data is saved on my portable HD.

    Now here I am uninstalling bloatware and reinstalling everything step by step, but something is wrong with my USB 3.0 drivers. I have tried updating to the latest drivers through ASUS support/drivers website but I cannot get rid of those yellow exlamation marks on USB host controllers in device manager. I have tried uninstalling all USB drivers from device control, reinstalling old version with no success. Reinstalling latest USB drivers also yields no result. It is simply not working whatever I do. I cannot advance to the next step transferring data from the portable to the N56. Thankful for any quick help!
     
  33. PJPeter

    PJPeter Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    110
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    66
    About the Optical Drive in HDD slot see here:
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...n56vz-review-owners-lounge-techno-art-26.html

    We went over it in great detail, what kits people have bought and how well it works out etc...

    The Smart Gesture isn't working for you? It worked for me - I'm on Windows 8 now, but I remember it was working on 7 - what are you on? I hacked the 7 drivers to get more options awhile ago if you're interested you can give it a try (if you're on 7).

    I agree the subwoofer is a great feature that makes this laptop sounds good :). Please, please, please though, report the "durrr" to ASUS - there will be times you'll be in between songs, listening to some nice quiet melody and it'll bother you - heck, even playing games I can still hear it when scrolling around - please, just call up ASUS and let them know you're having subwoofer noise issues - I'd give you the case # if it would help, but I have an open escalated case on this, they just need to recognize it as a known/common issue and they will do a full investigation, thanks.

    Thanks and welcome to the N56 club :)

    Peter
     
  34. AnimalMother

    AnimalMother Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    35
    Messages:
    387
    Likes Received:
    9
    Trophy Points:
    31
    I just did a clean install of windows 8 on my n56vz ds71.

    Do I need anything or am I good to go? I think I got all the current drivers/updates I need.
    Why are there so many partitions? Do I need anything else?

    [​IMG]
    [​IMG]
    Thanks guys!
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Feb 6, 2015
  35. nigmol

    nigmol Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Help please, I've just bought a N56VZ in the uk. It's come with Win 8 preinstalled, no disk or product key. There is a backup partition. How do I install on an SSD? I'm not worried about a clean install. TIA
     
  36. PJPeter

    PJPeter Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    110
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    66
    http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...1-rh71-owners-lounge-n56vz-w-windows-8-a.html

    See that thread for all the things I tried in the week I had it before Win8's release. In the end, you want a legit 64bit RTM DVD to clean install w Fast Boot capability. Product key will be picked up automatically.

    Petef
     
  37. nigmol

    nigmol Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    That's the problem really - access to the Win 8 disk
     
  38. nigmol

    nigmol Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    6
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Means you can't install an SSD unless you have an original win disk - its not right as I have genuine win 8 installed!
     
  39. nipsen

    nipsen Notebook Ditty

    Reputations:
    694
    Messages:
    1,686
    Likes Received:
    131
    Trophy Points:
    81
    And whatever you do, don't mention to support that you may have used Linux.. I mean the L-word... on the computer. It actually puts you directly on the terror-list, and you'll be stuck in the Room full of Arabs on the airport the next time you're out traveling.

    Linux, I tell you - or any other OS than Windows, obviously - is Evil.
     
  40. PJPeter

    PJPeter Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    110
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    66
    Yep - I went through all this already unfortunately and got very annoyed with them. I tried using the Recovery Drive functionality but it won't help since it ends up with a corrupted activation setup on the SSD and it won't accept the PK. You'll want to acquire the RTM iso or disc from somewhere.

    If you find out your PK you may be able to download through Microsoft - you should be able to call up ASUS and ask (they did it for me eventually). From there you may be able to access the Microsoft Windows 8 order system - but then again you might not be able to.

    Wish I could tell you better, but you want the DVD.

    Peter
     
  41. nipsen

    nipsen Notebook Ditty

    Reputations:
    694
    Messages:
    1,686
    Likes Received:
    131
    Trophy Points:
    81
    I guess you could try resizing.. shrinking the original gpt-partition until it would fit on your ssd. And then mirror it over with clonezilla over to the new drive.

    Unless they've somehow keyed it to that specific hdd and hardware or something, it should work fine. I'm not sure, but I don't think there's an easy way to just "unregister" the old license, or if it's just going to "overwrite" the previously used one. ..I'm assuming that's what happens, since the key would have to be resubmitted on a recovery install, and so on. But I don't really know.
     
  42. mars83ster

    mars83ster Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    Hello guys,
    I have N46VZ (smaller brother) and I'm looking for disc with drivers for Windows 8 (the one from Asus website are somehow wrong), Any clues where to look?
     
  43. nipsen

    nipsen Notebook Ditty

    Reputations:
    694
    Messages:
    1,686
    Likes Received:
    131
    Trophy Points:
    81
  44. freesailor

    freesailor Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    4
    Messages:
    95
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    16
    I'm afraid that getting the DVD is not the only issue and maybe not the biggest issue.
    I'm worried about obtaining Product Key for OEM installations (although Asus gave it to you I'm not sure it's common practice).
    But I suppose that an activated installation to another disk drive could be done even having just the DVD but no PK.

    I can't try that but this is my guess:

    1) backup your Windows 8 activation ( Windows 8 Tip – How to Back Up Activation | Chris123NT's Blog or Josh Cell Softwares: Advanced Tokens Manager - The Activation Backup Solution )
    2) install on SSD (or a different HDD) on the same laptop, from a clean Windows 8 ISO (DVD or bootable USB), same edition/language of your license of course
    3) restore activation files onto the newly installed Windows 8.

    Since restored activation files should match with encrypted PK written in BIOS, I suppose that it should work, maybe you'll be just asked to do an on-line or phone reactivation for having changed hardware (although I hope not for the mere disk drive change).

    My doubt is if PK is written not in firmware (BIOS) but on the old disk (EFI partition?), in this case it couldn't work (unless encrypted PK can be backupped and restored too).

    It would be good to hear about owners' experiences here.
     
  45. PJPeter

    PJPeter Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    110
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    66
    Sorry to say it, but, you're wasting your time. I did this exact thing already throughout the http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...1-rh71-owners-lounge-n56vz-w-windows-8-a.html I went through the whole process, wasting a week in the process before I finally got it done, writing down what I tried and what worked as I went with hopes of at least saving other board members, doing the same thing I did, some time. The final solution post is this: http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...lounge-n56vz-w-windows-8-a-4.html#post8913370 - a post I made in specific reply to you freesailor... but almost the entire thread is discussing the process up to that point...

    For SLP3.0 there are >>>no OEM keys anymore<<< - MS realized this was being abused and eliminated it. There is your own unique PK saved in the BIOS. When you do a clean install from an RTM DVD it will restore the PK. If you really need it, you can call ASUS up and tell them your serial # and they will give you the key. You don't though, I've done it all already, this exact thing.

    Take the original HDD out of the system to start with, install the SSD in the port you want it to be. If you ever need the HDD boot, then you can do so by selecting it as the boot source in the BIOS after you've reconnected it. If when you install Windows 8 to the partition in the way I described in the owner's thread it does not auto activate as it did for me and as I recorded, then you can still go back easily and back up whatever you want - and I'll eat my hat - or something.

    Peter
     
  46. mars83ster

    mars83ster Notebook Guru

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    67
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    I'm looking for whole DVD for Win8 because e.g drivers don't work properly. So maybe the DVD ones will be good.

    N46VZ is cool I have i7, GT650 and 4GB. When playing batman having aluminium case has it's pluses e.g. laptop is warm but vent is not v.hot like in G53 (untouchable). When in idle it's very quiet, except the HDD but it will be changed for SSD :D
     
  47. freesailor

    freesailor Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    4
    Messages:
    95
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Sorry CC but I've understood you acted this way (correct me if I'm wrong):

    1) you tried to install on SSD (which initially has an installed Win7) using recovery drive (on a USB bootable device).
    This didn't work because Win8 didn't activate, for unknown reasons.
    But this is not a clean install from a generic ISO, anyway, and you didn't try to backup/restore activation files.

    2) then you got a MSDNAA DVD and license (with its product code, I think), installed it and it worked. Right?
    But did you use the MSDNAA code or your original "OEM" code given by Asus (at your request)?
    It's not clear to me, reading your description.
    But this would be a different way too, clean install but using a "written-in-clear-text" code (clear text as the usual string XXXXX-XXXXX- ... etc.).

    Or didn't you use ANY textual product key?
    Did you just made the installation and it activated without entering any code?
    I read that you wrote "activated automatically" but I didn't thought this implies no code required, at any point during the installation.

    Of course, if the solution is simply to insert a DVD, it recognizes "OEM" PK in BIOS, automatically activates and creates all needed activation files matching with that PK, without no need to enter any code, that's very fine! :)
    I was skeptical about MS allowing to do that in such a simple way, also because it seems to me they are trying both to "hide" PKs and to "protect" Win8 ISO images from being freely shared on the net (to the extent that OEMs don't give you installation DVD and no "open" MS site for Win8 ISO download exists).

    Now the question would be: why the installation procedure from Recovery Drive it's unable to do that simple activation just like DVD installation?
    AFAIK it's an installation, not an image cloning, and I thought it substitutes recovery DVD. That's why I guessed that with backup/restore of activation files it should work (with the need to reactivate for changed hardware, at least).
    If not, it would be just a way to recover exactly the same machine but this raises the issue of how to upgrade our OEM computers, with no DVD provided by the manufacturer and no "public" ISO images like Windows 7 Digital River's ones.



    P.S.:
    whereas the usual "product key finders" seem not to work in finding Windows 8 Product Key in installations, some says this one succeeds in that:
    http://www.joshcellsoftwares.com/2011/09/AdvancedTokensManager.html
    It's meant to backup/restore activations too.
    It should be checked against a known Windows 8 PK to be sure it works.
     
  48. PJPeter

    PJPeter Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    110
    Messages:
    1,122
    Likes Received:
    35
    Trophy Points:
    66
    Yes, when I said that it installed and activated automatically I meant that I never entered a key and it never asked what edition - I did not use the key from MSDNAA (which was Pro btw), just got the disc image iso from there (hence my line "I then realized that I have access to the MSDNAA for free through my brother who is still studying. I let him keep his key, but I burned that disc and I used it to do a clean install." a couple of lines before).

    So to be clear, from your list of 1 and 2 above - I did option 3 :)

    I'll test out that product key finder when I'm home, I know what my key is so I can compare. Windows 8 won't usually show you the key - just the last 4 digits - but those matched what ASUS told me over the phone.

    The Recovery Drive is based on ASUS' image - that's why it may not have worked because it was trying to put it to the exact positions as on the HDD and they may not have had the same partition structure. Even repairs of it didn't help - but a clean install works fine for the system.

    I'm hoping there will be such "public" ISO images soon - or that the OEM will provide it as a download for customers if the Recovery image does not work on other hard drives. I've complained - if enough people do, they may listen.

    Peter
     
  49. freesailor

    freesailor Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    4
    Messages:
    95
    Likes Received:
    5
    Trophy Points:
    16
    Good !:thumbsup:
    Now it's clear to me and is good news if one manages to find an ISO (not too much difficult to do really, but it would be nice to have a "public" option, maybe from some months from now when the current "Win8 upgrade fever" will drop ... ;) )
     
  50. mrbub

    mrbub Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    10
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hey guys, I was looking to buy a N56vz and was looking for some input. First I was looking at the N56VZ-DH71 but newegg just went out of stock and I have a program I need to use for work that's not compatible with windows 8 yet. So instead I was looking at the N56VZ-QS71, just wondering if these are basically the same computer. Will be using it for work (excel, word, small geology programs) as well as playing games when I'm home. Thanks

    Newegg.ca - Computer Parts, PC Components, Laptop Computers, Digital Cameras and more!
     
← Previous pageNext page →