ASUS A8JS VGA upgrade Go7700 -> GF9650M GT (1GB) (and other VGA cards)

[ludeksls]

Hello jommoner!

I tried to make an update of my ASUS A8Js graphic card (from 7700 to 9650). I exactly followed the instructions but my laptop does not work after I switched my card.

Here is what happed right after I turn on my laptop after card is switched:
Dvd-rom makes a correct check sound, hard drive starts working, but it is still loading and does not stop or changes its behavior, screen stays black both on external monitor and laptop display. After one or two seconds I can hear initializing ASUS sound (the same which you hear when you see the ASUS logo before system starts booting) but simultaneously starts continuous beeping sound. The frequency of beeping is cca 3 beeps per second. (beep…beep…beep…beep…beep :-) ).

Situation:
BIOS:
I flashed your new bios from DOS bootable floppy disk. After new bios is flashed it looks same like the old one even date is 03/02/2007.

VGA:
I ordered Graphic card 9650M GT for ASUS M50Vn directly from Czech ASUS. Label has these numbers: 60-NSDVG10000-A11; 10015902-00592; 69N0CDV10A11-01, chip is nVidia G96-650-C1. This model is written on invoice: M50/L50VN VGA_BD./AS.

Difference:
Only difference is that my old card is broken. So when I turn on computer with my old 7700Go installed I can see artifacts everywhere and I can boot up only to Windows Vista 32bit safe mode. But I think that this should not have any influence on graphic card update. Broken is the old card.

So please can you please try to help me. I have got only two days, than I must return my new card, because It I do not then I lost claim for right to return.

Thank you.

Ps.: If you need recoding of the sound or pictures of my card, I can provide them.

[fusion]

... The frequency of beeping is cca 3 beeps per second...

Sorry I can't be much help... but you get the same beeps with no GPU installed, right?

....More pricier this time, but just glad they've got some available now...

Yes! Still I'd like to see it under 200. I'm broke. LOL.

PS I will shed more light on the BIOS mod process soon...

Look forward to your post! I have read some about using various software, like AMIBCP, and wondered how you did your BIOS mod.

Please keep us posted on your progress with the M260. Thanks.

[jommoner]

ludeksls : I have no idea what is going on; I have never had the 3 beeps - I wonder if it doesn't recognise your card (either due to bad flash (nothing flashed) or....... the card is broken).

So, basically

(1) Maybe AFLASH didn't update the BIOS as the revision numbers were the same
or
(2) Maybe the card is actually broken
or
(3) Something is wrong with your laptop - damage from the broken 7700 (very unlikely)
or
(4) Some change in the card or something??

If you are about to run out of time, just post the card back - don't lose your money!

I will check back 10 hours from now, in the meantime, can you do these things:

(1) AFLASH.exe has the option 'Save current BIOS to file' (see screenshot here) http://support.asus.com/technicaldocumen...uage=en-us
Please SAVE your current BIOS to a file, call it 'mybios.rom' or whatever, and please post THAT BIOS on this website, or anywhere I can download it tomorrow morning (10 hours from this post). *do not just post the BIOS you tried to flash, actually post the 'Save current BIOS to file' file up, I will then look at it, and check that it does have the 9650M support.

So, in summary, you will need to
- Put your 7700 Back in
- Run AFLASH.exe. save current BIOS to file, then post THAT file (the BIOS *saved* from AFLASH onto the disk, called for example 'mybios.rom') up on this website, or anywhere and post a link here, so I can download and check it
- Take a high res photo of front and back of your card, so I can check nothing else is amiss.

If you run out of time, just post it back to ASUS!

I will check back here in 10 hours

Good luck!

[ludeksls]

First, I d like to thank you all for your effort to help me.

... The frequency of beeping is cca 3 beeps per second...

Sorry I can't be much help... but you get the same beeps with no GPU installed, right?

Yes, „the beeping sound“ is the same like in case when no GPU is installed.

jommoner:

I saved my current BIOS to file “ludabios”.
I scanned my card in high resolution - front and back.
All three files are packed to LudaA8JS.zip and can be found here:
http://rapidshare.com/files/429748905/LudaA8JS.zip

and also here:

http://www.uloz.to/6501029/ludaa8js-zip

The bios is also attached to this message. Pictures are to large for that.

Today evening I am going to stay at home so if you have some time and patience we can try what ever suggestion you have to solve this problem/challenge.

[jommoner]

Checking files now.....

back soon

[jommoner]

Mmmm; have done some investigations.

(1) Your BIOS flashed fine - that is OK. It has support for 9650M GT and Go7700.
(2) Both our cards say 9PGE2 on the back - that should mean they are 9600M GS, but, I guess ASUS just reused the boards, so it means nothing. Your chip is a 9650M GT from my research, and your card looks identical to mine. So you card *looks* OK.

I'm sure my BIOS is fine, because I am using it right here on my A8JS; also, I have an Asus A8JR. The A8JR came with a 128MB ATI X2300 (very slow card). I did a BIOS mod for that, and it now has a 9650M GT card installed, and works fine.

Results of some experiments

(1) Asus A8JS and A8JR with 9650M GT - works with BIOS modification (suggesting the BIOS mod should be working on yours).
(2) Asus A8JR with *NO* graphics card.... Switching it on, it gives a continuous series of beeps, 3 per second, just like yours.
(3) Asus A8JR with *wrong* graphics card (Go7700)... Switching it on, it just powers itself off within half a second

At the moment, everything points to a problem with the graphics card. The possibilities are:

(1) The card is the wrong type, e.g. a 9600M GT or 9600M GS
- this is probably NOT the case - the G96-650-C1 is a 9650M GT according to many internet sites. Trying loads of Random BIOSes would give a chance of a bad flash too, so this isn't a good thing to do (unless you were stuck with the card)
(2) The card is broken - this could well be the case, given that it gives the series of beeps, rather than just switching off...
(3) A problem with the installation (unlikely, but possible).
(4) A problem with system resource allocation (see below!)

We can only focus on the third option just now, so... here is what you should do.

(a) From the photo 9650GT_front, I can see some Arctic Silver traces around the resistors. I guess this happened after you *removed* the card and cleaned it up for the photo, but do clean these using tissue and e.g. methylated spirits is what I use, and clean it gently, but so that there is *NO* Arctic Silver left before you do anything else. -> Remove all the Arctic Silver! (this is really important!!!!!)

(b) Try reinstalling the card (always have battery and power cord unplugged)
- when reinstalling, try to make sure the connector is pushed in, and wiggle it around a bit in case of dirty contacts , then make sure it is pushed in before scre_wing it down. Make sure you scre_w the 'earth' in (the little cable that connects the card to the metal fan module) which is on one of the 4 screws.

© If you now get a series of beeps, then remove one of the 2GB Ram modules (with battery and power cord unplugged). If you still get the series of beeps, remove the other and put the first one back in. Try each RAM module in each slot. If you have an old 512mb or 1GB stick, try that too!
- the reason for this last step is that the 945PM chipset (in our A8JS laptops) only supports a 4GB address space...... that includes memory mapped peripherals etc. I only have 3GB in mine (the computer only recognises 3GB even with 4GB installed).

The graphics card needs to be mapped into the 4GB address space, so... this might mean that it can't get mapped in, so is complaining.

If your computer actually lets you use the 4GB of ram, there is a high chance this is the problem! Even if it only shows 3GB (but gives dual bandwidth) there is still some chance this is the problem. The A8JS only supports 1GB sticks, so try an old stick if you have one laying around as well.

--------------------------------------

If you try all the above, and nothing works, I think you actually have a broken card! (this is possible, even from Asus - they test them once, but who is to say what has happened to the card since the test, while it has been in storage? I doubt they have an M50Vn to test it on before they post it out, they would need a whole fleet of laptops to test the cards with..... So - clean off all the arctic silver before sending it back to the company. (But do send it back if there is no luck).

Let me know what happens; I am going out for a few hours, but will be back in maybe 6 hours from now. I will check back and see what has happened.

If you do end up sending the card back, I will do more research from my end, and it may still be possible to do the upgrade later on. Also, it may even be possible to repair the 7700 at a push. So I will keep looking into it, even if we dont manage to get this card to work (and personally, I think the card is broken, but the 4GB memory may also be the problem)

Good luck, will check back soon!

[ludeksls]

Hello jummoner,
thank you very much for your post.
And now results :
I tried everything what you have advised. I ve changed memory for original 2*512MB (only 512 MB), cleaned the card really carefully, etc.
But unfortunately still have black screen and “beeping sound”.
So it looks like that card is not working. Tomorrow I am going to try it again and if it is not working than I ll send it back to CZ ASUS. Then I ll try to order new one somewhere else… Or I can send you notebook and you can try yours ;-) and if it it is ok I ll order card form Germany or Slovak ASUS for change.

[jommoner]

Hello jummoner,
thank you very much for your post.
And now results :
I tried everything what you have advised. I ve changed memory for original 2*512MB (only 512 MB), cleaned the card really carefully, etc.
But unfortunately still have black screen and “beeping sound”.
So it looks like that card is not working. Tomorrow I am going to try it again and if it is not working than I ll send it back to CZ ASUS. Then I ll try to order new one somewhere else… Or I can send you notebook and you can try yours ;-) and if it it is ok I ll order card form Germany or Slovak ASUS for change.

The main problem is that I live outside of Europe, so postage would be expensive.

It seems unusual that you would get a faulty card from Asus, but it does seem that that is the case! (especially as you get the beeping sound, which, at least on my Asus A8 laptops, only seems to occur with no card, not with the wrong card.

Will do some tests later with an A8JC (64MB Go7300) - and see what happens when a 7700 and an ATIX2300 are inserted - to see whether it beeps, or whether it also does the quick-shutdown behaviour. If it also does the quick shutdown behaviour, then it means your card isn't being recognised as a card at all, and thus is faulty!

[fsdude]

Hello again jommoner,

The stats for my ASUS A8Jm are PCI\VEN_10DE&DEV_0398&SUBSYS. Hope that info is of help . Thanx!!!!

[jommoner]

ludeksls: Status report:

I have tried removing / refitting different graphics cards to my prized A8JS to see what might be going on; results:

A8JS - supported cards Go7700 and GF9650M GT......

Go7700 - works fine
GF9650M GT - works fine
ATI X2300 - fast beeps as previously described (note - unrecognised graphics card)
No graphics card - fast beeps as previously described

Also : my 9650MGT card is identical to yours (including the same codes on the GPU chip, and same codes on the back of the card) - so you have the correct type of card.

Therefore, the A8JS gives the fast beeps to report 'graphics card error'. Since the BIOS you have installed (and downloaded back off the computer and posted here) is the same as the one on my A8JS, this means that the only two explanations are:

(1) The graphics card is faulty (99% chance)
(2) There is a fault with your A8JS such that it accepts the Go7700 but not the 9650M GT (1% chance - especially unlikely as the Go7700 runs hotter than the 9650, so presumably draws more power).

Therefore, I advise you to return the 9650M GT card and get a full refund, and consider getting (or testing) one from another source.... can you go to an Asus store nearby and check for compatibility yourself?. Otherwise, you could get one from the eBay seller who currently has them up for sale, or consider sending me the laptop as a last resort (but would be expensive, and would definitely be a last resort, I'm sure we could do more tests prior to taking this step!)

By the way, you could try repairing the Go7700 card if you wanted - will try to find some good sources about this later on!

fsdude - your card is definitely a Go7600 - let me know if you want me to make a BIOS supporting Go7600 and 9650M GT