Official S96S Owners Lounge

I am new to this site. I just bought a used asus s96s laptop on ebay. I will have it in a day or two. It has a video issue.

Here is all the auction said about the video issue. The laptop will post, boot up, and appears to be working fine except that it has video output issues. "The colors and resolution on the screen are not correct. It is a good picture. the screen is in excellent shape the video card is most likely bad some of the colors are off ."
I see that some other asus s96s owners have had some kind of video issues. I will be installing windows vista 32 bit on it when I get it. What are first things I should try when I get the laptop to try and resolve the issue ?

Thanks,
Eric

 

This is a typical nVidia GPU fault. The only fix is a motherboard replacement. In my work, I've replaced at least 4 motherboards with such faults. They were under warranty.

Alternatively, you can try connecting an external LCD on the VGA port - it should display a correct picture.

On a different topic, I experimented today with the S96S cooling system. Temperatures were actually worse with the GPU's silver heat pad removed and with a dash of thermal paste, reaching 91C. With the pad in place and some thermal paste, GPU temps reached only 85C.
Also, I'm in the process of making a cleaning tutorial for it. I'll post it once its complete.

 

Does anyone know for sure what the warranty length is on an asus s96s laptop. Also, I know that asus motherboard warranty's are a 3 year warranty. Does that mean that the stock motherboard in my laptop has a 3 year warranty or is that only for a asus motherboards purchased separately ?

 

ASUS does not list their S96S laptop under their notebook category. Is there another name for this laptop ?

 

satdog,

Where do I find these pics so I can see what is what on my s96s motherboard.

Eric

 

I'm having this graphical problem with my Asus S96S as well. It really sucks. I've had the laptop for 2 years, does anyone know if Asus's warranty term on this model since I can't find it on their website.
Here are some screenshots of my problems. I tried lots of different things to cool down the laptop. I bought a Thermaltake T2000, and apply Antec Silver 5 to the CPU and GPU as well, but it's still getting hot pretty fast. My graphical problem sometimes automatically disappear, then come back again. It's so frustrating. Does anyone know if this means my built-in Nvidia Geforce 8600M GS is cooked already? I can't even find information about motherboard replacement for this.
http://i34.tinypic.com/j5lbw8.jpg
http://i34.tinypic.com/16bx9nk.jpg
http://i36.tinypic.com/117tzd0.jpg
http://i33.tinypic.com/1412rmq.jpg

 

I FOUND THE DRIVER FOR THE D-MAX CAMERA
so happy, apparently its the same camera they use on the ASUS S62E, just search S62E on the intel download centre and install the vista one. Works for Windows 7 as well

 

Hi everyone:
My Asus S96S works normal again. There is no graphical problem as I posted this, but I think the problem is gonna come back again. It keeps doing this to me. Does anyone know if this is a hardware-related problem or drivers related problem? Is my laptop too hot? It's weird that I don't see the fan speed being displayed on SpeedFan. I use a Thermaltake T2000 cool pad and a my fan( the big fan).
http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/1993/91161040.jpg

 

your temperatures are normal, here's mine, taken i have used this laptop for 2 years without much problems except the video card messing up couple of times. Also i have put in Arctic Silver 5 on the CPU.

 

My computer started having graphical problems again. Anyone can think of a solution for this please help.

 

I would find it really strange. If the GPU is bad the external VGA output should also be affected, right? If it's not then I would suspect LCD failure rather than GPU failure.

Definitely not 3 years warranty by default on laptops.

I think the S96 was classified as a "barebones" notebook, and if that is the case, then it's not supported by ASUS but by the original reseller of the notebook. Not sure about the warranty length.

And about the problems, both yours and ericjd's, I think it's very likely they are caused by the GPU. The 8600's on the S96S suffer from the infamous nVidia fault, so they go bad after a while.

And a PS: Please don't post huge pictures in the original resolution, it completely destroys the layout of the forum on smaller resolutions such as my 1280x800. Also, don't use huge font sizes.

 

Thanks sooo much for the response. OK, so is there any way to replace the GPU or video card in these or to install another one in these ASUS s96s laptops ? Anything at all other than replacing the entire motherboard ?

 

I am not sure whether the GPU is discrete (removable), if yes then you could replace just that. Try the ASUS eStore.

 

Thanks for your response. The asus estore does not currently have any gpu's for sale for the s96s, but that doesnt tell me whether the motherboard has a slot of somekind to plug in another video card, OR if the gpu is replaceable on the s96s rather than replace the entire motherboard.

 

I've seen it with my own eyes at least on two times. The internal monitor had 6x picture but the picture on the external LCD was OK. On another 2 occasions there wasn't any picture on the external LCD.

The whole motherboard has to be replaced.

I'm starting to grow tired of swapping out those bad S96S motherboards, but on the other hand, soon I could disassemble the whole notebook blindfolded

 

Well it's not impossible. There can always be something wrong on the path of the signal from the GPU to the LCD -- but not to the VGA.

Hmm that's unfortunate. ericjd you could consider returning that computer (I think it was you who bought it 2nd hand?) if possible. Mainboard replacement is going to be expensive. Even if you can't return it, it may be a better idea overall to just get a new computer, if your budget permits.

 

guys I have a serious problem,

My computer apprently randomly will not boot up, it freezes on the bios loading screen THE MOST INITIAL screen when you boot up the computer with the intel logo in the bottom.

I cannot boot into safe mode, or enter the bios, it is prior to that stage. I can't boot off USB or CD. Now I called tech support and I was able to solve the problem temporarily by resetting the bios through a hard reset. I poked the little reset button on the bottom of the laptop and than my laptop booted up correctly.

I thought the problem was solved but it happened again the other day. Any ideas?

 

For all of you like myself that have the dreaded ASUS S96S NVIDIA 8600M GPU failure that renders your laptop useless, there is a less expensive solution. I just sent my S96S to:

BAY COMPUTER SOLUTIONS
1189 TASMAN DR SUNNYVALE CA 94089.
(408)541-9828.

He does laptop repair. The total charge to repair the GPU on my ASUS S96S INCLUDING return shipping is $165. If he can not fix it there is no charge. He says he has a 98% repairable rate. He is on ebay as :motherboardspecialistrepair . He has 100% positive feedback . Let me know if you found this useful.

 

Has anyone got a Z96S/S96S with a WSXGA+ screen? Is an appropriate LCD cable absolutely necessary to use a 1680x1050 res 15,4" screen?
I bought a carcass with no LCD and a short circuited motherboard, which I intend to make into a working machine. The MB is off to warranty and I'm considering buying a WSXGA+ screen, but the LCD cable that came with the carcass is meant for the WXGA resolution. Can anyone advise?

 

bump.. does this sound familiar to anyone?

 

yeah, the button battery is dead, unplug it to test and see if the computer will start up...just a warning, it will take 20-30 seconds to come up to just the POST screen.

 

I'll be soon recieving my S96S mobo back from warranty with a pair of WSXGA+ LCD cables. A matte 15,4" WSXGA+ LCD screen is already waiting I wonder whether a WUXGA screen will also work with it?

 

Long time no see everyone! My S96S is still alive and kicking (although I actually haven't done much gaming over it's life so far in terms of what a true PC gamer would). I've been busy with school so that's why. I've been taking care of the GPU by buying a nice notebook fan (cheap and found b/c of slickdeals.net). It lowers the temps like 4-6 degrees so it helps. Also, I've cleaned the insidess with compressed at like maybe 3 times since I bought it and that's helped a lot.

I'm glad that my 8600m GS hasn't died. The only thing that pissed me off about this notebook is that the battery was absolutely horrid. Even when I first got it, I think it only lasted 2 hours. Since then, I've everything right to make sure it lasts and today it will last for 20 mins max on a full charge. I barely used much and I know about how to treat these batteries. I didn't leave me in a hot area for half the year, lol. I hope this does live into the future. I'm still pissed Nvidia too. My next laptop is just going to be a netbook. Hopefully they will have some kind of breakthrough where they run very well using astonishing low power consumption.

 

Well, after about 2.5 years, my graphics card finally died. Worked fine on external monitors but had a greenish scrambled screen on the laptop monitor. I sent it in for warranty and they are waiting on new motherboards to come in.

Powernotebooks made me an offer for $700 credit and I could get a different notebook. Not sure what I'm going to do yet - I can't quite get the same specs for $700.

 

Update: Motherboards were taking too long and I figured this would be a good time to upgrade. Bought another powerpro, but with the P8700 chip, ATI 4650 card, and DDR3 ram - woot!

Thanks for everything guys!

 

Wazzup y'all. Just wanna update. My s96s is still going strong> no signs of gfx card failure(knock on wood). I've finished school and currently working. I use the laptop all the time and I have Windows 7 on it now. Runs perfect Thanks Asus

 

This sounds very similar to the issue that JUST appeared on my S96S yesterday. But I want to make sure it's really the graphics card on mine (and not just a loose cable or something). Did your screen show a bright neon green color where it was supposed to be black and pink in place of white? My problem is exactly like what was described here:

http://www.tomshardware.com/forum/275465-33-green-pixels

I got my machine from GenTech a couple of years ago. If this turns out to be the dreaded Nvidia 8600M failure, does anyone know if they offer warranty coverage for this? Thanks!

 

loopdot, I've seen the "green-instead-of-black" myself too. You ought to try and see what picture you get from using the VGA-out To fix the issue, the motherboard typically has to be swapped out.

 

I tried the VGA out and it did NOT have the issue with everything being green and pink. However, the picture was slightly yellowish. If the graphics card has indeed failed, then it seems logical that it could be causing problems with the VGA out as well.

Thanks for your thoughts! I'd love to hear from anyone else who had the Nvidia 8600M failure issue to see if they experienced the same symptoms. Replacing the motherboard probably won't be worth it, unless I can get it under warranty.

 

HI Guys, i got a Z96j that i've been using for two years now. Love it, its never missed a beat, still plays most games, even had saints row 2 running on it, Über low settings of course.

Just wondering whats the best CPU i can get for it? Been using the T2250 since i got it. Also do these laptops handle blu ray movies? thinking of getting a blu ray drive for it.

 

There's an another lounge thread for Z96J users.

Anyway, a T7200/T7400/T7600 should be a worthy upgrade.

 

that's a shame mitsu (have you been using a notebook cooler because I have been and I barely game on this anymore). Mine is still fine. I can't believe its been like 2.5 years I've had this laptop. I'm glad it's still running, but I'm scared that right after 3 years, where the warranty expires, the graphics card will die on me =/

I'm really hoping something like that doesn't happen..

 

I never used a notebook cooler, so perhaps that would help. Good luck to you!

 

Hi guys, I have a strange issue regarding bios update. I just can't do it. My cd/dvd died long time ago now, so I am trying to update it with USB stick. The update always stuck at reading ROM file and all I can do is switch the power off. I tried 2 different USB sticks, formated as FAT 16, one was 4GB the other 512 MB, no luck. I am scared to use the windows tool so maybe someone have a solution?
Btw, my gpu died, screen was splitted, 6 windows, even after uninstalling nvidia drivers and switching to basic VGA, even in BIOS. But I was still using my notebook, it was on for couple of days. And after I've switched it off and then on again, voila, my screen is normal again.
I am aware that if I install nvidia drivers, it will be overheating and the screen will split again.
Right now when my notebook is idle the temps are 50 C for the gpu, and 49 C for the cpu, but when the system is 50% loaded, the temps rise to 70 C.
Just sharing my pain, I need to send it for reballing the gpu
Sorry for not proper english.

 

my battery finally crapped out. It loses charge very fast but other than that the laptop is still running strong with windows 7

 

Hi everybody
I have a big problem with my s96s...when it starts all I can see is a white screen, I can hear it working like hard drive spinning but nothing on the screen. Is there a fix or its fried?

 

is the lcd for the s96sp the same as the s96s. my girlfriend went all psyco on the screen...... please help.

 

Hi

I have asus s96s. Just installed win7.

I was wondering if anyone has managed to get play/forvard/stop etc. keys working with winamp instead of windows media player?

 

Where can i find the guide

 

Hi,

I hope some knowledgable people are still watching this thread! My dad's S96SP just started having a weird graphical issue. Resolution looks right, and external display works fine, but the laptop display looks partially inverted. Is this a chip problem or LCD problem?

Screen looks like:


Somewhat more visible I think on the boot screen:

Thanks!

 

Possibly a loose/bad display cable/connector

 

Good news. There might soon be a LED converter kit for ASUS or one might just pick a close match from the bunch that is available now: LED Backlight Kit

 

What graphics card does it have? My S96S did that exact same thing with the distorted colors and the green distorted boot up screen. External displays worked fine for me as well. It was the NVIDIA chip that was dying/had died. I sent it in for warranty replacement and ended up getting a new laptop. They told me that because the graphics chip was soldered to the MB, it was cheaper to get a new laptop. I posted (I think in this thread) about the problems I was having a while back.

Not sure if your's is still under warranty of any sort. If not, I'm sorry to say that you might be out of luck. You can still use it with an external monitor at least.

 

My sister fried her S96S, so I bought a new MB from Alibaba. It was 180$ with shipping to UK. The new MB revision is Z96S and one can find sellers here: Z96s-Z96s Manufacturers, Suppliers and Exporters on alibaba.com

 

Yeah, nVidia here as well. I've been gathering it's most likely the nVidia chip is going. This one isn't under warranty any more so we're SOL there. I have found some repair options but I don't know if it will be worth it at this point.
Thanks for the info!

 

Anyone have problems with this model ASUS and W7? My sisters S96S had some BSOD with 64 bit W7 so installed a 32 bit version and still from time to time she gets a BSOD...

 

Hey guys, just an update for you all. It was over three years that I've had this laptop for college, and now the video card has gone bad. Thanks Nvidia....

I'm glad it lasted, but also annoyed that this had to happen now. Basically, there's a bunch of green all over the place and a bunch of off colors. The cool thing is that if I absolutely had to get work done, even though it would hard, I could still type some work up.

And you know what else also sucks? I had a three year warranty which I believe ended in July/August. I don't have the money now, but I obviously need to get a new laptop, which will most likely be one of those AMD fusion netbooks.

RIP S96S

 

If your s96s gpu dies then you can try this. It's not a guaranteed fix and if it works you'll probably run into the same problem again maybe in a month or in a year. But on the other hand if it fails then your motherboard is as useless as it was before.

I also know that people have managed to fix this gpu problem in an oven. They removed all that they could from the motherboard, wrapped it in tin-foil paper, put it in an oven (motherboard must be level) at 180 C, "cooked" it for 5 minutes and have had some success form a week to over a year.
However its a bit more risky then what Alex18c wrote.

 

Hey guys new to this site, seems very informative. Just got my S96s back from the bay repairshop. I need a little assistance on how to install Windows 7 on this laptop. for example 32bit or 64bit, currently running 2.8ghz core 2 duo, 4gb mushkin. Cant seem to find any drivers, if any of you guys could point me in the right direction i would appreciate it.

 

ok , after 4yrs the graphics card finally crashed. Mind you, I stopped playing games 2yrs ago used the laptop for normal everyday use...

I followed this thread http://forum.notebookreview.com/asu...t-boot-video-distortion-fried-video-card.html

and voila.. everything is back up and running . So happy coz I was about to throw it in the trash.