New W3J - a few questions

I got my W3J a few days ago from MilestonePC. They're a great, easy-to-work-with company.

On to the computer. First thing I did was wipe the hard drive and reinstall Windows using a Dell XP Pro SP2 CD. I ended up with a "Dell" folder in program files, but after deleting that it appears identical to your standard Windows install.

I installed the drivers off of the CD, sans the video card driver. I used the Omega drivers in its place. I also used the audio and lan drivers from the Asus website because I thought they might be newer. I've recently uninstalled the TPM driver, as I don't think it is of any use to me.

Now on to my questions...

1) What is the best way to manage all of the wireless drivers and software? At times, I can have as many as three icons in the taskbar telling me that some connection is not connected. I think these notifications are pretty useless and I'd like to get rid of them...I've tried telling the taskbar to "Always Hide" these icons, but the next time I start up my computer they go back to "Hide When Inactive". One of them is for my LAN (cat5 cable) one for the wireless connection, and one for the bluetooth. The bluetooth icon especially bothers me because it seems logical that I wouldn't always have a bluetooth device connected.

2) The performance of the machine overall is very quick, except when opening programs. Notably Firefox, Thunderbird, iTunes, etc. Oftentimes it takes 4-5 seconds to pop up. My desktop with an Athlon 64 2800+ is much faster. Not sure what could be causing the W3J to be so slow...

3) How can I disable the media buttons on the right side of the machine? They are annoying as ^%*#, as I always hit them on accident and cause Asus DVD to load.

I'd appreciate any suggestions.

Thanks,
Josh

 

I'm not sure about the media buttons on the left but the wireless/bluetooth/etc. buttons on the right are controlled by the process hcontrol.exe and if you end it then pressing the buttons doesnt do anything anymore.

 

The speed of your programs can very quite a bit. It all depends on how much ram both machines have and how much ram is being used constantly on both machines. Check this link out on how to optimize your notebook:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=5787

 

Yeah, the buttons on the right are pretty convenient, I'd rather keep them working. I remember when I did a reinstall...the buttons on the left didn't work until I installed something...if only I could remember what it was...maybe hcontrol controls both the left and right buttons.

Thanks for the link, that is an awesome guide.

 

When it comes to wireless configurations...really, your best bet is to let Windows handle it, and get rid of any other 3rd party software for wireless networking. Windows XP does the best job, in my experience. The icons can be annoying, but that's nothing compared to not being able to actually get online, because your networking is flaking out.

That's my 2 cents.

 

Yes, Hcontrol is the process that runs the hotkey buttons on the sides. It just doesn't let you customize what the buttons do .

 

Do you ever use wired ethernet? If not, you can just disable the ethernet connection on your network settings. That will get rid of the "not connected" icon in the system tray. You will have to remember to enable it though if you ever do connect.

You can also disable the little pop-up balloons tips that come up if those are annoying to you.
http://www.onecomputerguy.com/windowsxp_tips.htm#balloon_tips

 

I forgot about that one, I was assuming he was using all 3 types of connections, on a semi-frequent basis. As a note, the Icon will only go away if they are inactive. By "inactive", windows really means "disabled". Inactive does not include unplugged. Windows treats this like a fault condition, and notifies you.

Also, do any of the side buttons on the W3J allow you turn on/off the Wireless and the BlueTooth individually?

I am actually google-hunting at work right now for a shortcut solution for turning Connection icons in Network Connections on and off with a shortcut. I'll post here if I find anything.

 

very impressive. you use the Dell CD and was successful. I have plenty of them and when I install them on other computers, theres always something thats buggy the moment I get into windows. congradulations!

 

I do use wired, wireless, and bluetooth so disabling things isn't really an option.

If I uninstall the Intel stuff, will Windows just take over automatically? I'll give that a shot.

The side buttons do let me turn them off, however it doesn't seem to affect the icons in the taskbar.

 

Intel software uninstalled, but I can't seem to find the Windows counterpart.

 

Intel driver was uninstalled with software...put the Asus driver CD in and installed only the driver, Windows is taking care of the wireless now.

What is the 'Wireless Console Utility' listed under the 'Wireless Device Driver and Utility' section of the driver CD?

Thanks

edit - wireless on/off button on right side of keyboard no longer works.

 

I believe that's the Asus utility that interfaces with the Wireless Proset. I cannot be entirely sure if it needs the Intel Proset software or not. I have seen mixed messages, most saying that the control program for the buttons cannot be changed...but also a post or two for registry edits for it. If i can find more info I will.

Maybe someone who is more familiar with the Asus-installed wireless software can answer that question?

 

I reinstalled the Intel ProSet software and the on/off button is working again, so apparently HControl interfaces with the Intel software, not Windows.

 

That's kind of a bummer, especially for me, since I was hoping that would be one of the first things to go away on my new W3J.

Oh well, I suppose I'll just have to find other ways to cut bootup and clutter. Guess now at least we all know that you need it for the button to work.

 

Ugh, same... why do they include the Intel Software when Windows does a fine job? Stupid business decisions...

~ Brett

 

On my W7J, the wireless on/off switch works just fine with the Windows wireless manager. So, I'm pretty sure it will work the same with the W3J.

If you search the forums, you'll find several long threads where people have debated the value of using the Windows wireless software vs. the Intel software. In my opinion, the Intel stuff is a big resource hog and is overkill. But some people liked the extra features or found that it worked better with their hardware.

 

Maybe your programs are loading faster on your desktop because the hard drive is faster. Do you have a 5400rpm or 7200rpm in the W3J? Even a 7200rpm notebook drive will be slower than a desktop 7200rpm. (It needs to be in order to reduce heat and power consumption.)

 

there is an option to set the intel proset software to let windows manage wireless, the side buttons still work the same way too

 

Well, the whole 5400rpm vs 7200rpm in notebooks have been discussed many times.

Overall, the 7200rpm provide a boost in loading times, cost more, equal heat and power consumption.
This is due to the fact that the drive has to spin less for loading a program, when compared to 5400rpm that will spin a little longer.

However, you shall still expect a difference between the 7200rpm notebook drive and a 7200rpm desktop drive.

If you do upgrade, keep the old drive, just in case anything happens.