V1J/P Owner's Lounge

1) No need for more drivers, I suggest using Partition Magic 8, and you should be good to go, it is very easy to use, read the manual, and it is really self explanitory.

2) Vista is an OS, and you will get XP Pro with the V1JP, so the hard drive has no effect on whether or not you will get Vista. You have the choice to get vista when you want it.

3) Performance wise there's a small difference, however the price does not justify the price premium, however if you want more speed, by all means.

4) The F3JP is good, it is an alternative 15.4" laptop that many can afford.

5) You can easily read reviews and compare, but you have to consider the F3JP, G1, and V1JP are all geared to slightly different markets.

Brief*
F3JP - Geared to the lowend market, good specs, good performance, decent quality, at a good and affordable price.

G1 - Gaming laptop, Go 7700, 15.4" WSXGA+, great performance, awsome specs, this is something you may want or consider.

V1JP - This is geared to the business user, it is expensive, offering latest technology, good performance, excellent quality and flexiblity and many features.

If you don't need these features, by all means get the G1 or F3JP, unless you really want to spend more for a V1JP.

 

Thank You milestonepc.com...

I think i will go for the v1jp in the end. I considered the G1, but the green lights are a bit over the top for me. i am a uni student but i like my laptop to be formal looking, plus its not really a gaming spec.

 

Sounds good, and yes those lights sometimes do take away from the laptop since people think it is a distraction and unpressional looking, but many also like it because it is unique. All depends where you stand.

I am sure the V1JP is a formidable choice, plus you will have the option of the modular bay battery for extended battery life, which should help out on those long days at school.

You may also want to read the V1JP review, here.

 

Yes i read the review a few days ago and i have to say Thanks to MysticGolem for all the screenshots and a very accurate review...

I spoke to my ASUS retailer and included in the V1jp box is a extra module battery. So two batteries.

I am now deciding on whether to buy online or at the shop.

One thing i noticed is that the brochure says Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo T7200. is that the same as the core 2 duo?
The centrino name made me think if it is less powerful.

 

centrino is just a trademark for pentium-m or core (2) duo + the intel chipset + wireless capability. So it's exactly the same

 

Hehe, yah, Centrino is the brand name, like everyone who talks about laptops know the name Centrino, it is like knowing Nike for shoes.

Yes the Intel Centrino Core 2 Duo T7200 is the same thing as a Core 2 Duo, it is just a brand thing, pushing Intel's brand name "Centrino" and they've done an awsome job of it too! Centrino also means using intel's chipset and integrated wireless.

 

I noticed that Power 4 Gear can change the multiplier down all the way to 1.5x where as NHC and the other program can only go down to 6x. This may explain why some people are experiencing less battery life after switching away from Power 4 Gear.

 

The CES is next week and im considering waiting until i get my laptop just in case asus unveils a new range or intel announce plans for the 802.11n.

 

The New Asus 17" has been leaked (the homepage)

I have to say its quite dul. Nothing compared to the Asus V1j!!!

Good spec apart from the Nvidia 7600. Hopefully it has 802.11n draft!

 

Received my V1JP a couple of days ago, it's my first laptop in quite a few years and I am impressed with its specs so far.

I've got a couple of queries though :
- There is a 1 x Headphone-out jack (SPDIF) connector on the left side and I would like to connect the laptop to my receiver, what sort of adapter am I supposed to use ? I mean, is it an optical SPDIF or a Coaxial SPDIF connector ? I can easily find SPDIF optical cables (3.5mm) but so far haven't found SPDIF Coaxial 3.5 adapters..

- I reinstalled XP Pro in there because of all the bloatware, reinstalled then drivers and most useful tools with Asus CD but I can't find the tool which lets me configure what happens when say the lid is put down whether it goes in hibernate or not.

- I started the process to get the free Vista upgrade and on the ASUS website ( http://event.asus.com/vistaupgrade/index.htm) which links to a third party who is responsible for sending the actual DVDs. Now, they asked me to provide a Redemption Form and I haven't been able to find that anywhere in the box so I'm not really sure if I will ever be able to do that **** upgrade..

A word of caution to UK buyers, www.asuslaptop.co.uk has good prices and will ship you next day if stock is there but their customer service is just non existent, I've sent half a dozen of emails in a couple of days and they replied to none of them and they're a very small company, it's not like they are a Dell..

Anyway, time to play with the V1JP again!

Cheers
Dan

 

I would like to share my experience of taking my V1JP to the first two days of school, Thursday and Friday.

Started school at 9 am, carried the laptop in the Asus bag provided, plus carried my own backpack for books and binders.

A lot of my friends got to see my laptop, they instantly liked it, especially the girls.

The weight of the laptop is definitely noticeable, since I carried the laptop in the case, but held it in my hands most of the time. I am looking into getting a laptop backpack.

Anyways, by the end of the day, which was 5 pm, my battery was down to 11% left, so in my opinion 3 hours of battery was just enough to squeeze through a full day of school, but I didn't use it constantly, i just pulled it out when people wanted to see it or use it for themselves or myself.

Then on Friday i was in school for few hours, showed some of my other friends, and who asked me about the MBP and MB vs other laptops, and explained to them about how technology would change by December. Once again their comments were something like "Wow kool laptop!", "How much?", "Its a nice laptop", "Kinda big", "Heavier than my T60 14", "Wow this thing has everything!", "ASUS, isn't that Acer?".

Overall I'm very pleased how things are turning out in school, I can't wait for the Modular bay battery to arrive, and to note, I did not send my laptop in for a new screen yet, I will do so in roughly 1 week since my RMA # lasts 30 days and I need it for the first week of school at the least.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

Maybe it's been public knowledge for months but I just discovered that the mini DVI port on the V1JP is actually a HDMI port.
Just a few minutes ago I connected the laptop to a Sony 40W2000 LCD tv using 1920*1080 at 30hz and it just worked!
I have to do some further tweaking and hopefully this laptop can be used as well as a media center machine.

Did some research for the SPDIF adapter required to plug the laptop to a receiver and it seems this is the adapter that will do the trick :
http://www.tvcables.co.uk/cgi-bin/tvcables/AD011.html

 

Yup daneel3001, right when I got the V1JP i knew it was a HDMI port, I took it to my friends house he also was like WOW mini-dvi = HDMI but without sound.

Good thing you verified it with your TV!

It would have been kool if it could do sound too, ohwell got to use another cable from the SPDIF jack.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

ASUS actually originated from Acer. The compnay started out by engineers leaving Acer. (Thank You wikipedia )

Just found that remark funny.

I dont know why Asus call it u-DVI, when it is essentially HDMI. I tried a google search on u-DVI and got nothing

 

Maybe this question's pretty dumb. I'm a newbie of Asus V1JP.
Does anyone know how to upgrade the memory? I've no clue to open the memory compartment.

 

You can't call the port an HDMI port because that would imply that it can transmit sound too, so Asus called it u-dvi to be politically correct, also this way those who want to use HDMI or the u-dvi to DVI cable (provided) can do so easily.

 

The memory compartment was a bit of a pain. You have to remove the bigger cover next to it first and then pop off the actual memory cover. In addition to screws the bigger cover is also held down by snap tabs. The memory cover has snap tabs, too. My camera was dead or I would've taken a few pictures so people would know where the snap tabs are.

I wouldn't recommend it if you're not good with your hands because you'll need a small flat screw driver to help with the snap tabs. The covers have very tight tolerances and are high quality so it took me much longer than usual. There is a place (divot or whatever you want to call it) to the get the bigger cover started once you have removed the screws.

May be geared2play will post a procedure to the assembly thread.

Edit: It's fairly easy to scratch/dent the material if you haven't dealt with snap tabs before. The material is excellent but it is going up against a metal screw driver. I was lucky enough to not leave any noticeable marks.

 

So u got your V1J just to impress your friends in school? LOL.....
Just a joke.

 

haha!, How can any Asus product NOT impress your friends.

I still got another 20-30 friends to show next week Monday, and see what they thing, lol!

And if my next notebook is going to be a V2 or V6, that would also impress a lot of people.

Thanks,

MysticGolem

 

i am on my second battery now ive had it like a month and a half and my first battery went to 62% in 2 weeks and my second battery to 30% in about a month and has been going between 30 and 24 just randomly i onlt just about get an hour out of it which is rubbish

 

Alright I've got a slight issue with the Bios and I don't know how many of us are affected. I have a North American V1Jp. The bios that shipped with it was a V1J version 301 bios. Version 304 and 305 of the V1Jp bioses rename the model number to V1Jp to keep the two models separate. The problem is that all three methods (through the bios, DOS, and Windows) of updating the bios check to see if the model numbers match. The result is that I am unable to update to any of the V1Jp specific bios verions, 304 and later.

So far the only thing that affects me is a thermal policy change for Merom processors. This was implemented in version 304 for both the V1J and V1Jp.

I'll let you all know what support tells me.

 

Interesting thing about the BIOS. I just let the auto-updater program that came with it update...I don't even remember the revision number. I'll have to peek when I get home. However, reason I'm not tapping on my new V1 is because I left it home to stay on line to download some torrents. I came back a few hrs. later, and it had a BSOD, memory dump started...yadda yadda. It felt awfully hot too. I left it on quiet office mode with a webpage left on with firefox that was refreshing every 10 seconds (one of those add ons). So, it's off for now cooling, while I'm at the cafe tappin on my old Dell backup C400
Anywayz, I'm very curiuous as to if I have the newest BIOS revision..re: the Merom THERMAL ISSUE...etc...I'll be stayin tuned

 

Hmm, that brought something to my mind. A week ago I tried to install the latest catalyst control center + drivers (the big package). The thing won't install on my V1J, it keeps stalling when trying to install the drivers. Something about the VGA drivers not being found.

Installing the older drivers from ASUS provided disc doesn't help. In fact, every ATI catalyst release I've tried has the same problem, the bundled version being the only exception.

Tweaked drivers like Omega and DHzer0point do install, so I'm sticking to them, but is this a common problem?

 

I doubt the bios would have anything to do with your video card driver issues. ATI drivers can be difficult to deal with in general. With my last ATI card I usually had to do a clean uninstall of all ATI stuff before installing the newer version.

 

I got my V1Jp today from milestonepc, thanks Danny!
I was quite satisfied with the purchase and the notebook is excellent so far!
The screen is beautiful and I'm OK with the design: sleek but I wish these ports are at the back.

However, I find the CD-drive is a little hard to close; I have to press it in hard and sometimes it will spring open again. Also, I noticed that the laptop itself wobbles on the table because one of the rubber thingies at the bottom is a little suspended. It's not a big problem, but it's a small annoyance :\

Are other V1Jp owner having the same problem?

 

The latch locking action for the optical drive seems to be actuated instead of a passive spring loaded setup. I'm guessing that it actually uses a motor for both locking and releasing the drive (the old ones just use a motor to release). All I do is hold it closed until I hear it click. I don't have to press in hard at all.

Do you hear a click when you close it?

 

ruoste: The reason for new drivers not working is because of the x1700 inside the laptop. ATI has not yet release official support for the x1700 in their drivers. If you look at the release notes of the latest driver/catalyst package, the 1700 is not listed. So, we have to use that which comes on cd. Are you having troubles with the provided drivers?

Ram installation: One of you mentioned using a flat head screwdriver to remove the main panel.... I personally do not recommend that. I managed to remove the panel without any tools but my fingers. Of course it is a great pain and I was afraid I'd snap something. All went well though.

dthm: I have the same problem when closing the cd rom drive. When you hear the first click after closing the drive, press a little harder until you hear a second click. It should be closed now.

 

Hehe, I didn't have enough finger nail to do it

 

Anyone else get the newer BIOS updated other than 303? they are up to 306, and it won't update! This is bugging me. I e-mailed ASUS, but nothing from them yet. I thought the BIOS files ended in .ROM as well...when I download the update, it's .306, whatever the update number..am I missing something?

 

Bios files doesn't really have to end in anything, it's just a binary image file. Asus has yet to call me back. I guess you have the V1Jp also?

 

Could anyone tell me what the docking station actually does?

 

The Power Station is a device into which you plug in all of your peripherals, like your external monitor, speakers, printer, external keyboard and mouse, scanner, USB devices etc. You then plug your notebook into the Power Station. When you are ready to take your notebook with you as you leave you simply unplug your notebook from the Power Station and off you go, instead of having to unplug each of your peripherals from the notebook, and then of course instead of having to plug each of them back in when you return, you just plug your notebook back into the Power Station.

 

ahhh. thank you.

 

Alright, I'm incredibly close to getting a V1, but had a question about the ram...

Is it really that tough for average joe schmoe to install the ram? What are the chances of something going incredibly wrong.

Also, after reading through this thread, I'm most likely going to order it from MilestonePC.com... when upgrading to 2GB of ram, do I just select 1 or do I need to get 2 that match? Yeah, I'm a noob when it comes to hardware.

One more thing , I am a designer so I will be doing a lot of image editing and some video work... how much more performance can I get if I upgrade the harddrive to 7200?

Thanks everyone.

 

Yes This seems to work for me too.

Also, I don't want to make another topic, but does anyone know how to disable the info text during boot up? They only show for 1 second or so and I can't tell what it says but it shows up between the Asus logo boot screen and the Windows XP loading screen.

 

Yes, I have the V1JP, and I'm still waiting on ASUS to respond. Also, a NEW BIOS version just popped up on their site 308...for the V1JP..would be nice to actually be able to UPDATE IT.
I've tried the winflash update, the BIOS update already installed when you hit F4, and I made a USB flash drive a virtual A: drive, placed a DOS utility on it so it would boot with the new AFLASH2 Flash utility downloaded from ASUS website and every BIOS update offered from ASUS 304-306, (there is a 308, but I couldn't get it to download yet). I got an error saying the V1JP does not match the V1J..well duh, isn't that what I'm trying to change? Again..still waiting on ASUS!

 

With regards to ram, to access the ram on the V1JP is a bit of a pain, unlike most other notebooks. If you order from us, please send an email, and we can put in the extra gig of ram for you.

With regards to the 7200rpm and 5400rpm, yes you will notice the difference in performance. Your boot time will be faster, and load times for programs will be faster. In terms of accessing and writing and reading, all of these will be faster aswell.

But you will also have to note, that SSD is almost around the corner, look here.
http://www.engadget.com/2007/01/09/riteks-16gb-and-32gb-ssds-starting-at-a-low-low-169/1#comments

 

Does anyone have any idea, when the first notebooks with SSD will be available? Would ASUS update their current models (like the V1JP) to use it, or would we have to wait for Santa Rosa based notebooks to actually see this feature appearing?

 

Regarding the Asus Docking station. Does anyone know if you can hook up a display to it, and treat it as a secondary display by way of ATI's multi-display support? In other words, dock the V1J/P, use the V1J/P's display as one 'desktop', and a secondary display hooked up to the docking station as a second 'desktop'?

Thanks

 

I wonder if anybody managed to get the SPDIF audio out to work ?
I bought a Phono Socket to 3.5mm Mono adapter which fits just fine.
I have K-Lite Codec Pack installed on my machine, I turned enable digital audio in Advanced bit in Sound properties but still nothing, the AC3 decoder I am using is as well set to allow AC3 passthrough.
What a pain..........................................

 

I'm having a problem with my V1JP and I was wondering if anyone could offer any advice. I just had a live update "out of memory" error that made the computer inoperable. I couldn't even shut down properly because of "access denied" errors. I thought it was from the Asus live update so I uninstalled it. Now my computer is running very very slow with lots of pauses and temporary unresponsive messages and it's driving me crazy. (Took me like 4 mins to type this post).

Here are the specs: T7600 and 2Gb of Ram and its connected to the dock if that makes a difference.

Thanks so much!

 

I have another person that had the same problem with a different Asus laptop. One of the fixes is to install an updated BIOS however I noticed previous posts in the thread that people were having problems with this. I have tried as well and have not succeeded in updating the BIOS. I was wondering if there any updates on this issue.
Thanks so much!

 

Ok I just talked with tech. support. We tried flashing the BIOS in a number of different ways in order to upgrade the BIOS from V1J 303 to V1JP 304 or 308 including trying to override in DOS and it didn't work so now I have them stumped. I will have to call them back on Monday. I will update if I find a fix.

 

Asus' live update sucks - always has...... It's the only piece of software that Asus includes with their systems that I really don't like. For anyone who likes to pick their updates right off their site and read about what they're getting first - it's a no-brainer anyway.... but if I were you, I've never run into the problem you have, but restore your computer back to before you had that problem, then uninstall it. That shoudl take care of it.

 

Thanks for the info!

Looks like my procrastination made me miss the free pocket router deal .
I'm debating between the T7200 and T7400. My research only showed that it's not worth the price for the slight increase... but it's nagging me.

 

What you should know isn't really regarding the price over the increase in "speed", but more the lack of increase in real world performance for the increase in cost... I wouldn't worry yourself about it, trust me.

 

I'm still having problems with the v1jp. I tried the restore point and that didn't work. I've called technical support multiple times and I'm not impressed with them at all. The last thing that told me to do was to hit F9 in order to reinstall windows,etc and that didn't work. So now they are telling me to send it into them. Has anyone had experience with this? Does it take a long time in order to get the laptop back because I really need it. I'm kind of worried because I'm not too impressed with what they've done for me thus far and I'm wondering if I'm just wasting my time sending it in? Thanks.

 

I just got off the phone with ASUS as well. This is obviously an issue with a lot of folks. The guy said he'll get back to me tomorrow on this one.

You may just have no choice but to send it in, as I will if they so suggest. I don't really see any other recourse.

 

They're telling you to send it in because they can't get you to help dix it over the phone.... it's as simple as that. Asus has 4-5 techs in the US and Albert and Patrick have helped us for the last six years... I'm not sure who you spoke to, but to not be "impressed" with either would be impossible. IF you're simply not impressed because they couldn't fix your problem, which doesn't make much sense to start with, over the phone... I'd love to know what would impress you.

My question is - when you hit F9 did you get into the recovery console, or not? If not, did you format your system when you got it? If so, you would have formatted out the recovery console - which is bad - but you can simply use the disks instead. The issue you have started after you screwed with some software, and doesn't seem like anything I've ever heard of in terms of a hardware issue...... If you formatted it out, it would take care of any issue you had... either you did something wrong or you weren't able to format it out at all...... either way, it would boogle my mind as well.

Now, step by step, please let us know what you did... I'm certain I could help you.... Any time they feel like a customer is getting frustrated, they simply would rather stop and suggest they send the system in... You may email me if you'd like me to give you some better instruction...

 

Well, just send it back or go to your nearest ASUS service centre. You can't just balme ASUS technician can't fixe your problem, remember, "over the phone" can do much if major problem/s arised.