S96J Owners Lounge!!!

A higher resolution screen was never available from Asus, so the only thing to do is try to find one by trial and error. That is a very expensive idea unless you get lucky with the first one so I would recommend against it. Further, for all we know the BIOS wouldn't support it even though the video card would.

If you are using a 32bit OS, either XP or Vista, it can only address about 3GB. You need 64bit Vista to be able to address all 4GB. There are no work arounds that actually work

 

thanks for the insight. I asked about the RAM because during boot BIOS only reports 3GB of RAM. so changing over to an x64 platform will recognize all 4GB although the BIOS only reports the 3?

 

@ TheOriginalGiga RE: 4GB Memory on S96J/Z96J

According to a reply to my question in this thread I started:

So, unfortunately this is a limitation of the hardware itself. Other sources, (including an ASUS technical service rep) have told me that even if the chipset did support 4GB a BIOS revision would be necessary for the 4GB to be utilized by the system, EVEN in a 64GB environment. . Personally I find this rather irritating, and am quite disappointed that Intel used such shortsighted design for this chipset. (I guess its how they intend to ensure we have to keep buying newer tech, instead of simply upgrading older stuff).

I am still doing some research into this and will let you know if I come across any reasonable solutions to this issue.

 

that's what I kind of figured, but I didn't know it was a hardware limit due to addressing. you'd think intel would have learned from Microsoft's mistakes when it comes to future expansion. oh well, it was just a thought that I was pondering about

 

What is the fastest cpu i can install in a ASUS s96j notebook

 

You S96J should use socket M. The fastest socket M processor is the T7600 which operates at 2.33ghz.

 

anyone know a way to enable ahci on s96j? my sata drive is currently in UDMA5 mode

 

If there is an option to change it, it would most likely be in the BIOS.

 

Please I need help, my S96J became very slow in games, especially in multiplayer warcraft3..i already reinstalled XP 3 times but to no avail.
the problem is at first the game plays great, but after maybe 5mins, the game starts to drop fps. this did not happen before.
my config is T7200, 2gig of ddr2 667, and 80gig hdd. i don't know if it has to do with atitool because before, i used it to oc the x1600 but not that high. and that was before i reformatted my hdd.

 

What are your temperatures? If this problem developed over time, perhaps the fan is clogged with dust, causing overheating, which causes thermal throttling in the GPU and loss of performance in games.

If your temps are too large you should consider opening up the computer and cleaning the dust from the fan and radiator.

Use RivaTuner to monitor GPU temp, and RMClock or CPU-Z for the CPU temp.

 

I used everest to check my temps, it's around 77C idle and it peaks at around 95C at load! What i did was disasseble the heatsink, cleaned the fan, applied new thermal paste to the proc and the gpu and removed the pink tape that covers the thermal tape of the gpu chips(my vendor might have forgotten to remove it)..

now it's working great again @50C+ idle to 70C+load..many thanks!

 

Great! A bit of cleaning always helps in this kind of situations.

Keep on enjoying your notebook!

 

All right, it's been a while since I've been around here, but I've finally run into a seemingly irreversible problem with my laptop. The stats for my laptop I believe are still in my signature, but I cannot for the life of me get my CD/DVD multi combo burner to burn any cd/dvd whatsoever. Anyone have any ideas what I should do? I've reformatted this thing 3 times total, and it's always worked until this last time. Now I cannot figure out what has changed from the previous times, but I'm stuck.

 

If it was still working before you formatted it then make sure install Intel INF update, also what software are you using to burn CD/DVD?

 

I have read and read and read. My conclusion is that both the z96jm and z96js have the same mainboard the Intel 945PM chip and both have the same processor supports. The same graphiccard Ati x1600 256mb. I know the display res is higher on the 96js.

I read in a forum that z96js newest bios http://support.asus.com/download/download.aspx?SLanguage=en-us bios 1203 would support 4gb ram.

Will it be possible to flash the z96jm with the z96js BIOS??

Thanks
/Gekn

 

I've had a s96j for almost 3 years now. Well the mobo fried it self sometime last July. I haven't been able to afford a new notebook or find a replacement part since then. I finally came across something that MIGHT work as a replacement mobo.

My mobo is labeled as "Z96Jm Rev 2.0" The board I found online is simply labeled as "Z96JS notebook system board". I know buying something that isn't 100% the same is probably a bad idea, but I know the two motherboards for the Z96J and the S96J are the same. I just don't know if the m vs the s are any different. Form factor is my biggest worry. Any thoughts? I'm more than sick of being stuck at my computer desk again!

 

I have installed the Intel INF update. I'm using Nero, I believe the same software that came with it. I tried Windows Media Player, and I tried CDBurnerXP. I've tried all the different media I have, which includes several different brands. I've tried all the different types I have, CD-R, CD+R, CD+RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD+R DL, each of which contains at least two different brands. After all is said and done, they all give the same message as soon as burning tries to begin, that it failed, with the exception of CD+RW, of which it "burned the data" but there was no data on the CD afterwards, and the verification process failed. Like I said, I'm completely confused because I never had a single problem with any of this until I reformatted this last time, and after the previous two reformats, nothing changed. It was just this very last time. I tried uninstalling the drives drivers and letting them reinstall, still nothing. I'm about to give up and just buy a $70 external drive so I don't have to deal with this, but I hate having to add yet another external thing to my set up.

 

I might reformat my CPU this weekend just to try to see if I can figure out why the drive isn't working. If I decide to do that, I'll post back when I try it again. Still not working though.

 

If it still not working after reformatted the hard drive then the drive could be defective.

 

Well, it seems as though the drive is defective. My drive can read Cd's, it recognizes the blank cd's and dvd's, but it refuses to burn. Everything with the drive works except the burning function which worked before my previous reformat. I backed up a few songs on to cd's just before I reformatted, and it worked, and during/after the reformat, something must have happened, because it no longer burns. It had a good 2.75 year run I guess. Time to look into getting a new one. Should I buy one that'll fit in my laptop, or just buy an external? I don't foresee needing to "burn on the go" but I don't know which one would work out better.

 

And now the S96J turns into a piece of garbage for me.

Not really, I'm just frustrated right now. Either my backlight or inverter just went out on my screen I believe. The screen is black, but under lighting, I can see see that it's on. Anyone have any suggestions here?

 

If you want to replace the inverter board yourself I can send you one.

 

My fiance has an S96J that was originally purchased from GenTech. Was curious on if you guys sold parts. Several things are going bad or are already gone on the laptop and I need to get it running right again. The fan went out in it...think it's still spinning at lower setting, but doesn't run enough to keep it cool at full speed. Also need a new optical drive and keyboard for it.

 

Yes we do, please send me email.

 

Just sent the email...Thanks for your time.

 

can someone help me, i have a asus s96j and it wont update, it pops up with many errors idk why, i want to restore it to factory settings but i dont have any cds

 

I think upgrading to Vista Ultimate was a mistake. Got some problems that I'm thinking might have to do with 64-bit compatibility.

1) When I close my lid and reopen it, the screen still stays dark and doesn't turn back on. If I press the power button after closing it, it'll go in to sleep mode. After turning it back on then, the screen will light up. Annoying cause it's very hard to travel with it on.

2) My function keys no longer work. Tried installing all the drivers but still nothing. The only function keys working are the brightness settings. But there used to be at least a little image on the screen that popped up to show the current level...not anymore.

3) The hotkeys near the power button no longer work. The only one I really care about is the mousepad disabling one. Again, tried installing the correct drivers but to no avail.

4) My computer isn't really utilizing my graphics card. I think this mainly has to do with 64-bit Vista. Like I used to be able to run games fine and all, but now they lag during graphics intensive parts. I can't even run the same resolution in a low demand game like Counter-Strike...:-\

 

it sounds like you caught a nasty virus here's the software I recommend:
Malware bytes, http://www.malwarebytes.org/
spybot search and destroy, http://www.safer-networking.org/en/index.html
Avast antivirus, http://www.avast.com/eng/avast_4_home.html

chances are you won't be able to get to any of those let alone download any updates. If you can get those to download, awesome, run them and clean the PC. If you can't well back up your files and rebuild the PC. you don't NEED the restore software, but you'll have to go hunting for drivers if you don't have it.

If you aren't tech savy this will be an extreme challenge, I HIGHLY recommend NOT going to geek squad or any of those in store places, they charge too much and give you nothing in return, find a little private shop near you and see what they charge, it'll probably be cheaper and a lot more timely.

Firstly upgrading to vista, in my opinion was a mistake. I'm not saying vista sucks, but there is a distinct lack of drivers from the last time I've checked for them. Your games will run a lot slower because Vista has a lot higher resource overhead. this should address questions 2 through 4. you're running into a lack of drivers and compatibility issues. as for your lid opening and closing issues with standby and all. go into the power setting within vista and change the settings of your lid closing and button functionality.

My advice, stick with 32bit XP, the machine was built for it.

 

Thanks Giga. Unfortunately the lid settings don't help with my problem blacking out problem >_<

 

1) Try different video drivers. This is a problem usually caused by incompatibility between video drivers and power management software on the notebook.
2, 3) Uninstall and reinstall all the ATK software. (drivers, generic function, hotkey, osd2)
4) Different video drivers, see also 1.

All these problems are connected. I'm guessing a good set of ATK drivers and software + GPU drivers should help solve all of them.

 

Hrm, I'm not sure what to tell you, maybe reloading the OS or checking for patches.

 

I'm trying to solve a RAM problem with my S96J and can't find answers to my (probably naive) questions.

Up to now I had one slot occupied by a 1GB stick. Today I tried adding a second and that didn't work. Either the two aren't compatible (each works fine by itself) or the second slot is not working (which I fear is the case.) My questions:

1) Can a single RAM stick be in either slot or must the first slot be occupied before the second is activated? I.e. if I move the RAM to the second slot, leaving the first empty, it is no longer recognised. Or does this mean the second slot is malfunctioning?

2) Instead of two 1GB sticks, will one 2GB work? In this thread there is explained that 4GB result in only 3GB being recognised, but is that total or per slot? Would one 2GB stick result in only 1.5GB?

Thank you very much!

(This feels like coming home, three years ago reading this forum/site made me choose my S96J.)

 

If you are only using one stick of RAM, it should work in either slot. If your old RAM works in the first slot but not the second, I would say the second slot is not working properly.

I don't remember much if anything about using 2GB modules in this laptop. My guess would be that the 3GB limit is a BIOS limitation on total memory(independent of 1 stick vs. 2 sticks). I think there also may be compatibility issues with certain 2gb sticks, but again I do not remember.