Asus G73JW Freezes after Windows 8.1 Update - Network Related

Anonymous
2013-11-19T13:41:57+00:00

Quick background.  I had trouble installing the Windows 8.1 update - it continually crashed on installation.  I contacted Microsoft Support and they directed me to this site: http://social.technet.microsoft.com/Forums/windows/en-US/1e1adbc5-b78e-4b2a-9661-4139d13cc7d3/0xc1900101-0x30018-error-during-update-restore-win8?forum=w8itproinstall

In the end, I was able to install Windows 8.1 by disabling all of my onboard devices (audio, networking, etc).  When I re-enabled them, I found that the computer would crash anywhere between 0 - 2 minutes after logging in.  I assumed a driver issue and, in those 2 minutes, was able to update each driver via Device Manager (requiring several reboots).

Everything worked fine for a few days.  Now, the computer has started to freeze again.  Disabling the built-in networking solves the problem, but I would obviously like to access the internet.  On top of that, it's inconsistent.  Once the freezing starts, I *must* disable networking via BIOS.  But then if I re-enable networking, it doesn't automatically lead to a freeze - I'm writing this post from the troubled computer right now.

I've confirmed that it's related to the network card because I tried a dozen things, but it kept on freezing.  Disabled the network and boom - freezing is gone.

I don't know how long I'll have a grace period.  If I only need to disable the networking once a week, I can live with that.

Thoughts?  Drivers are updated.  The install is as clean as possible since doing the update required me to wipe my system.

I'm certain that going back to 8.0 will solve the problem, but I like to keep my system current.

Hardware: Asus G73JW Laptop with Qualcomm Atheros AR9285 Wireless (as reported by Device Manager)

Thanks!

***Post moved by the moderator to the appropriate forum category.***

Windows for home | Previous Windows versions | Performance and system failures

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  1. Anonymous
    2014-04-20T21:37:12+00:00

    My G73JW DTR locked-up on start-up this evening.  I rebooted and it locked-up again -- this time I got the unhappy face blue screen telling me that there was a problem with my machine (machine_check_exception) and that Windows was collecting error information and would restart the PC when finished (it never restarted; the progress indicator remained at 0%).  So I had to resort to my fallback remedy of powering down the PC, plugging in the ethernet cable, and then powering it back up.  

    I honestly do not think there is a permanent fix for these G-series problems on Windows 8.x -- just periods of stability marred by the intermittent lock-up.

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  2. Anonymous
    2014-04-07T17:16:30+00:00

    I had the freezing issue on upgrading from Win8 to Win8.1 on my G73JW that so many has reported. It couldn't get past the 'Getting Started' part of the install. Looks like I fixed it by updating all my drivers.

    Here's a list of the drivers I updated in the order I installed. I first did a clean install of Win8 as it seemed stable. I then installed all the Win8.1 drivers I could find and then upgraded to v8.1.

    • Bluetooth: Qualcomm Atheros W81 v8.01.312
    • Chipset: Intel Inf Updater 9.3.1027
    • LAN: Qualcomm Atheros Lan Driver v2.1.0.21
    • WLAN: Qualcomm Atheros v10.0.0.274
    • Audio: Realtek R273
    • USB3: Fresco v3.5.73.0 (Note: v3.5.74.0 did not work)
    • Graphics: Nvidea Geforce 331.82
    • Touchpad: Synaptics v17.0.6.13 (Newer version failed to install. Found this older one. Bonus!: Supports the gestures needed by Win8)
    • RST: Intel RST v 12.9.0.1001

    I did have one failure but realized I installed the wrong Lan driver and had not installed RST. Once I installed these two all freezes disappeared, Win8.1 installed, and my system seems stable again. I did not worry about the model laptop I had but rather what hardware was in it in finding these drivers. Seems to work great.

    Thank you for sharing (especially the driver version numbers).  I noticed that many of your shared drive folders were empty.  With the driver version numbers you provided, we may be able to locate the drivers ourselves.  My freezing issues began happening on a working Windows 8 system.  I was able to update to Windows 8.1 without a problem, but the freezing issue began happening again a few days after the upgrade. I'm not sure if these drivers will help me, but they are worth trying.

    Just here to confirm that most of these drivers worked on the G73Jh model as well... minus of course the Nvidea drivers. I am using the latest Radeon drivers from the AMD site and no bluetooth. This seems to have resolved all freezing issues.

    I should also note that I replaced my Intel Centrino wifi card with a Broadcomm, but plan on placing an upgraded Centrino card with a Wifi/Bluetooth combo that IS Windows 8.1 compatible. I will post back when I get that working with the drivers.

    I also flashed my BIOS to the latest version on the ASUS website. All seems well now.

    This is just an update to my status...

    Upon installing my new Intel Centrino with Bluetooth, the freezing became a re-occuring thing. I browsed around a bit more online and found that the Windows 8.1 update caused a lot of driver issues in the G-series laptops, but starting with a fresh install of 8.1 resolved them (no driver updates). So, I downloaded a Windows 8.1 ISO (use a generic serial number found on Google if you have a Windows 8 key like myself) to get through. After installing... DO NOT TOUCH THE DRIVERS! Activate your Windows (change the key from generic to your own) and run a Windows update. There will be a driver for the Atheros NIC, HIDE the update. Now, from here, I installed the Audio and Touchpad driver found above, but nothing else. I found the latest Windows 8 drivers for my video card, and installed those. I used the default chipset that Windows found, and also the default WAN/ethernet drivers. I have since played online for about 8 hours with zero issues.

    Hope this helps!

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  3. Anonymous
    2014-04-03T23:55:21+00:00

    I had the freezing issue on upgrading from Win8 to Win8.1 on my G73JW that so many has reported. It couldn't get past the 'Getting Started' part of the install. Looks like I fixed it by updating all my drivers.

    Here's a list of the drivers I updated in the order I installed. I first did a clean install of Win8 as it seemed stable. I then installed all the Win8.1 drivers I could find and then upgraded to v8.1.

    • Bluetooth: Qualcomm Atheros W81 v8.01.312
    • Chipset: Intel Inf Updater 9.3.1027
    • LAN: Qualcomm Atheros Lan Driver v2.1.0.21
    • WLAN: Qualcomm Atheros v10.0.0.274
    • Audio: Realtek R273
    • USB3: Fresco v3.5.73.0 (Note: v3.5.74.0 did not work)
    • Graphics: Nvidea Geforce 331.82
    • Touchpad: Synaptics v17.0.6.13 (Newer version failed to install. Found this older one. Bonus!: Supports the gestures needed by Win8)
    • RST: Intel RST v 12.9.0.1001

    I did have one failure but realized I installed the wrong Lan driver and had not installed RST. Once I installed these two all freezes disappeared, Win8.1 installed, and my system seems stable again. I did not worry about the model laptop I had but rather what hardware was in it in finding these drivers. Seems to work great.

    Thank you for sharing (especially the driver version numbers).  I noticed that many of your shared drive folders were empty.  With the driver version numbers you provided, we may be able to locate the drivers ourselves.  My freezing issues began happening on a working Windows 8 system.  I was able to update to Windows 8.1 without a problem, but the freezing issue began happening again a few days after the upgrade. I'm not sure if these drivers will help me, but they are worth trying.

    Just here to confirm that most of these drivers worked on the G73Jh model as well... minus of course the Nvidea drivers. I am using the latest Radeon drivers from the AMD site and no bluetooth. This seems to have resolved all freezing issues.

    I should also note that I replaced my Intel Centrino wifi card with a Broadcomm, but plan on placing an upgraded Centrino card with a Wifi/Bluetooth combo that IS Windows 8.1 compatible. I will post back when I get that working with the drivers.

    I also flashed my BIOS to the latest version on the ASUS website. All seems well now.

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  4. Anonymous
    2014-04-01T19:36:42+00:00

    I haven't tried removing the battery (and I see you updated INF files below in a specific manner; may give that a shot) but I did solve my stability issues: I leave my USB devices unplugged aside from the wireless receiver to my mouse/keyboard.

    The only USB devices I would leave plugged in previously were a wired Xbox 360 controller and a smartcard reader. Not sure I feel like doing extensive testing and dealing with more BSODs to figure out which was the culprit, but as long as I remember to unplug all USB devices other than my mouse/keyboard before I shut the lid to place the laptop in hibernate then I don't have any BSODs after it wakes. The one night I accidentally left a USB headset plugged in my laptop woke from sleep during the night and crashed like usual.

    I still have the occasional times where I will find it has woken from sleep on its own (after disabling all wake events from hardware, software, services...anywhere I could find) but they are very infrequent and don't create a BSOD. So for me, I can tolerate my laptop working about 98% of the time now as long as I don't leave USB devices plugged in.

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  5. Anonymous
    2014-03-25T22:30:01+00:00

    Finally got this figured out and it's the intel chipset drivers!  I'm able to reboot with wifi / bluetooth and battery plugged in no problem.  No more hard drive lag either.

    Steps for full Chipset Install:

    1. Navigate to https://downloadcenter.intel.com/default.aspx
    2. Choose "Embedded Components" -> "Embedded Chipsets" -> "Mobile Intel HM55 Express Chipset"
    3. Download "INF Update Utility 9.2.0.1030" ZIP FORMAT!
    4. Extract all files from the INF Update Utility to C:\intel_auto (you'll need to create the folder)
    5. Open command prompt
    6. Navigate to C:\intel_auto (cd c:\intel_auto <enter>)
    7. Setup.exe -a <enter> (This copies the setup files to C:\Program Files (x86)\Intel\INFINST)
    8. Setup.exe -overall <enter> (This opens the intel installer and forces installation of the chipset drivers.  The screen will go blank / flash and then at the end, it'll ask you to reboot).

    DONE!

    OMG! THANK YOU!!, i followed your instructions step by step, all worked fine! random freezes are gone!!. I was frustrated and i was thinking in coming back to Windows 7 because everything i tried didn't work.

     Thanks for sharing the fix with us!

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