V6V/V6Va/V6J/VX1 Owners' Lounge(Best EoL notebook ever)

it should be 2 years warranty if you bought the laptop 1.5 years ago.

 

Hey rahasyavadi if possible could you send me a copy of the v6 disassembly manual? Cheers I'm trying to work out if I can sort out a faulty back light issue with my v6v.

Cheers

 

I had a back light issue with my V6J and i sent it back to Asus and they replaced the motherboard.

 

555bug, a disassembly manual is linked on the Info Booth sticky.

 

How much is the V6J worth now? I am trying to sell my V6J but i don't know how much to sell it for.

 

Old tech by now - I'd say somewhere less than $600 given Asus other current offerings, despite the build quality of that era. Wait and see what other opinions you get too.

 

Hey guys, sorry to bump this thread but if any of you V6 owners can give me some upgrade advice (see my thread in the main Asus section) that would be really appreciated - it's such a great model

 

I currently have the V6J and i am planning to upgrade to M50Sv

 

I'm pretty sure a V6j is just worth giving to a good home,

 

Does anyone here have experience trying to get the ATI HyperMemory feature to work on the V6Va? I do not know if it is possible to do so.

 

Has anyone tried putting a 250GB IDE into a V6J? The asus website says that V6J only supports up to 100GB.

 

I did, it works.

 

Thanks for the help E.B.E. I was planning to buy a M50Vm but decided to stick with the V6J with a few upgrades.

 

Oh, I'm sticking with the V6 at least until late spring. And even then, who knows... There just doesn't seem to be anything of equal quality to take its place.

Right now I am running T2400/2GB/250GB. I was thinking to upgrade to Merom, but the retail Meroms are just as expensive as when they were released, so no thanks...

 

I currently have 2GB of ram but is it worth spending the extra money for 4GB of ram?

 

I doubt the 4GB of ram is worth it - if you are still in a 32bit OS you can't use it all. I might upgrade my processor to a merom after my warranty expires (W3j) and get to 64bit, but we will see. I agree with EBE though, there are no worthy upgrades from the V6j era.

 

Since my warranty on my V6J has expired I replaced all the thermal paste of the CPU, GPU and northbridge with artic cooling MX-2 and the results so far are pretty good. I think i might upgrade my CPU from T2050 to T2400 or T2500

 

Yeah, if you're wondering whether you need 4GB of RAM, you probably don't. If you do upgrade, I think the most efficient way to do it would be to buy just one 2GB stick and run with 3GB.

Also, if you do decide to upgrade the CPU, go straight for Merom. It makes little sense to pay almost the same money and only get the T2400 Yonah. Get something like the T7400.

 

I think getting T2400 would be better for me since it only cost $35USD for a used one while T7400 brand new is around $170USD for me.

 

Can't you get a used T7400?

 

Currently i can't find a used T7400.

 

Not used, but still has a pretty good price on eBay.

 

Does anyone here know if the ATI X700 card in the V6Va is even capable of HyperMemory?

 

I just received my WD 250GB HD today.

 

r. I don't know.
G. Congrats. It's a good HDD. Not noisy at all, fast, and SPACIOUS.

 

It got about 33mb read and 25mb write. What speeds did your HD get E.B.E?

 

Never tested it formally. I just "felt" it was slightly (but noticeably) faster than the HDD I had before, during normal use. I guess I also used the copy speeds from Total Commander to assess, but I don't remember numbers now.

I can test using HDtune tonight.

 

Hope it helps.

 

I think my speeds are low because i tested the HD in an external usb case. It should be faster in a laptop.

 

This was in a W3j, but the HDD is the one you are using, just for comparison. This drive definitely feels faster than the older ones.

 

Yes, I strongly suspect that will be the case.

 

Would a T7250 or T7300 work in V6J?

 

I don't know the T7250, but AFAIK the T7300 won't work, it's a different Merom packaging for the Santa Rosa platform.

 

Maybe useful to some, my experience with the new Synaptics drivers (the ones supporting chiromotion and all the bells and whistles).
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=306768&page=2

Additionally, some brief notes on how to install SDHC support for the card reader using the "famed" antifart driver

http://www.antifart.com/2007/12/31/panasonic-sdhc-driver.html

I tried last night to force-install the W7Sg Ricoh SDcardreader driver for the V6J card reader, even though they have different versions of controllers. Bad idea, it didn't work and destroyed the FAT partition on the SDHC card. No problem, no important data there.

But yeah, I have found in the process of restoring the card reader to working order a good way to make SDHC work.

So, unarchive that antifart driver, go to the device manager, find the: SD card reader, XD card reader, MS card reader; manually update the drivers to those from the archive; and reboot the computer. Note there is also an MMC reader that is not in the archive. The default driver will remain for that (although it won't work).

After the reboot, all the readers should be listed in the IDE/ATA devices. The MMC will have a question mark and MMC cards WILL NO LONGER WORK (some incompatibility between the old and new drivers), so if reading MMC cards is important to you, better not do this. But who in the world uses MMC cards? I don't know.

Now (and this is important) insert an SDHC card and reboot again with the SDHC card in. This should make Windows recognize the card.

From now on you should be able to use SDHC cards normally: remove, reinsert, they should be recognized.

Write speeds ~2MB/sec, read around 4-5MB/sec.

3-4 times larger with a dedicated SDHC USB card reader (7MB write, 16MB read). But yeah, this one is internal. So there is a tradeoff.

 

I just now talked with USA ASUS tech support agent Quentin, asking him if we can get a V6Va main BIOS update to support the ATI HyperMemory feature (the ATI Mobility Radeon X700 128MB card in the V6Va definitely supports it). He then talked to someone else while I waited, and next he indicated that they would create one and let me know. I am crossing my fingers but not holding my breath on this one.

He also said that he had just been told that when I get the new BIOS, I will need to get the new video driver as well. I then told him I have already installed the new driver. (I did so by going to http://www.driverheaven.net/modtool.php and following the instructions to use Driver Heaven's Mobility Modder with the current desktop Catalyst driver suite from ATI.)

 

E.B.E what voltage are you running your T2400 at?

 

1.112 V at 11x multiplier, stock .950 at 6x, and interpolated in between.

Good luck with the BIOS, rahasyavadi!

Correction to my touchpad drivers post, the touchpad toggle hotbutton started working after a couple of restarts.

 

So my V6j's screen is starting to flicker - I'm hoping it's not starting to die, but my guess is I need to start doing a bit of research so if/when it dies I'm ready to pull the trigger on a new computer. I've not paid any attention to anything on the laptop scene for a couple of years. I know I love my V6j and would be happy with "today's version" of it - whatever that may be. My favorite things about the V6j are the relatively thin form, the great screen, nothing flashy/ugly.

So...I'm sure I'm not the only one who is looking at replacing this awesome machine...What have you done? Or what would you get? I'm open to other brands, although I have become sort of an Asus homer.

Thanks for all the suggestions that I'm sure will come pouring in!

-E

 

It means that they will come up with a new BIOS version on the official site?

By the way, rahasyavadi, what is your current BIOS version?

 

First, I would like to emphasize that your problem with the screen is in all likelihood fixable with components less than 50USD total cost. You will probably need to replace the inverter and inverter cable. Of course, it is not certain that this is the problem, however it is very likely. Please describe the screen problem further.

Now, on to the replacement.
Unfortunately, I will have to tell you what I told other people who were searching for good replacements of the notebooks from the "golden era" of ASUS notebooks. There isn't anything from ASUS that will offer the same level of quality and good looks.

Nevertheless, ASUS still makes good machines. Want size of screen are you interested in? If 15.4, then perhaps the best option for you would be the M50 series (M50Vm, M50Vn). They are not "business" notebooks like the V6, but seem to be reasonably well built and good looking (although shiny...) Have their problems, but they are not severe. Ask or research for details. If 14", then perhaps the F8V. Plastic, budget series, but seems to be very reliable by the small amount of problems that I've seen.

There is also the newer N series which offers 15.4 and 14 inch as well, but they are very new so almost nobody has one. So, we don't know how good they are.

There also exists a replacement to the 15.4" V1, the V1V, however that's only available in certain countries and the V1 has its problems as well, perhaps more problems than the notebooks mentioned above.

13.3, there is the F9 which is pretty much unknown at this point since not many people have it. There is also the W7 but that hasn't been updated recently...

If you would like advice from other brands, you should probably fill in the FAQ.

 

Very quickly (I must go):

It ended up that they heard that "the" BIOS supports HyperMemory, but I eventually discovered that the BIOS version that came on both of my V6Va's, the newest for the V6Va, 4.1, does not support HyperMemory. I flashed 3.5, the one downloadable from support.asus.com, and HyperMemory automatically started working (it will not work for you unless you install a Catalyst driver suite; for doing so see my last post; I am running 8.10). By the way, I have the file for flashing 4.1; if anyone wants it, PM me.

I was going to wait to post until I could figure out if more HyperMemory can be activated (up to 128 MB is activated on my 2 x 512 MB stock main RAM), but I wanted to reply to Matisse.

 

Thanks EBE. I'd like to understand more about the fixability of my screen issue. Right now it's an intermittent issue where the screen pulsates - sort of like the amount of power is flickering causing the screen brightness to flicker. I think it happens mostly when I'm adjusting the angle of the screen - which may lend credence to some sort of cable thing?

What is the complexity of the inverter & cable replacement? I can usually follow directions pretty well. How do I determine if this is what I need to do?

Thanks again for your help (and also for your thoughts on replacement units). If I can get more life out of my v6j...I'm all for that.

-E

 

I will answer your question tonight or tomorrow morning, right now very busy. But the procedure is not exceedingly difficult, we have the disassembly manual.

 

eslayter, you can find the disassembly guide in the Asus info booth.
Here's the direct link to download the guide
http://www.mediafire.com/?dlqzz0vdc2x

Like EBE said, it's most likely a problem with the inverter. I suspect it's loose and may only need to be re-seated securely. If that doesn't work, you can purchase a new inverter from the Asus estore

 

Thanks for the link for the disassembly guide. Looks a little intimidating, but not impossible.

I guess I'd go as far as the inverter step, reseat it, then work my way back through the guide in reverse to reassemble?

 

Hi, yes, that's the procedure you should follow.

Note that although it is likely that your problem is being caused by the inverter, it may also be due to other causes. Possibilities:
a) inverter cables (either the one going from the mainboard to the inverter, or from the inverter to the LCD)
b) inverter cable connectors
c) LCD coax (signal) cable
d) the backlight of the LCD itself

If the light on the screen flickers all at once, then this is an inverter issue. If there are "patterns" of flickering, such as bands going up and down, then it's more likely to be the LCD coax cable.

As far as I know the V6 does not have a separate inverter cable (mainbd ==> inverter), but there is a whole bunch of cables that needs to be bought and replaced.

In any case, the mainbd ==> inverter cable, the inverter, and the LCD signal cable, are cheap and relatively easy replacements. The others may be more problematic, but they are also less likely to be the problem.

Perhaps you will also find these threads useful:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=221727
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=197630

Hope this helps.

 

While i was loading up the XP setup page on my new unpartitioned 250gb HD i received this BSOD.

Does anyone know how to fix this?

http://img527.imageshack.us/img527/2778/img0074yh9.jpg

 

I don't know for sure why that error appears, the stop code 7e appears to have any number of meanings after a google search.

I'd suggest check the HDD thoroughly to make sure it's alright. You can look at my Tips and Tricks for ideas on how to do that (skip the Windows parts since obviously you can't run Windows).

 

I removed each RAM stick at a time and both came up with the error. I also pulled out the wireless card but still had the error.

I put back in my old 100gb HD and used the recovery partition and nothing went wrong.

Is it possible to put the HD into an external case and install XP onto it?

 

I guess it can be done, however, if it doesn't work when it's installed internally, there's a good chance it won't work in an enclosure, either.

It is entirely possible that you have a bad hard drive. What I meant with my Tips and Tricks was the hard drive testing routine:

where you skip the chkdsk tests (unless you put the HDD in an enclosure and use an already available Windows machine to test it).

Of course, you need to partition the HDD in advance of the chkdsk tests.