Crashes to black screen on ROG Ally X

[nvera]

Several people have reported this issue on Reddit; I've encountered it myself as well.

I created this thread on the ROGAllyX subreddit to try and gather info, no one else has added to it yet but it also has links to all the other threads I've seen about this matter: https://www.reddit.com/r/ROGAllyX/comments/1eoch1d/rog_ally_x_black_screen_crashes_has_it_happened/

Wondering if anyone can shed any more light on the cause and/or workarounds, or if an upcoming update is going to sort it.

[metasmiles]

Yeah, from what I've heard, a lot of people who tried the new BIOS (including me) are still having crashes, so the BIOS didn't solve the issue at all.

[Nathanh2205]

Is there anyone who tried it and it did work? I flashed to the new bios this morning will be testing after work 

[Nathanh2205]

Unfortunately same here bios didn’t work 😞

[Lil_Bagel]

For me at least, it seems to only happen, after the device has come out of sleep / suspend. On both Windows / Bazzite ( Linux ) it doesn't happen if I restart the device before launching a game

[Nathanh2205]

Could you please provide me with the beta bios? 

also could I ask. Is this most likely to be a fixable software/firmware issue, or a hardware issue?… 

[nvera]

Are there any further updates here?

It's now about 6 months since the Ally X released, and for people in many places, it's much easier to process a return if done before the one year mark. I myself, and I imagine many others, will be wanting to pursue that if ASUS are unwilling (or unable) to fix this issue - and would rather get it underway well before the time runs out if it's necessary.

The last I had heard (through the grapevine, as ASUS seem unwilling to openly address this matter directly) was that two versions of beta BIOS 310 had been released to testing, but neither version ended up fixing the issue.

The other question I'd want to ask is whether ASUS have looked into whether something on the hardware side might be at play here - in particular given the link to the Y button, whether the Y button may be physically shorting out a contact (perhaps only when the system is hot) or something like this?

I'd also wonder - is the outcome of this crash (ie: black screen, backlight on, fans and LEDs remain active) the expected response to any particular fail condition - such as the "case is open" sensor being (falsely) tripped?

[Anbby_ROG]

Regarding the black screen crash issue, we are continuing our efforts to analyze it. We have identified that some users experience random crashes when pressing the Y key. We are actively investigating and collecting more logs to analyze this issue. We kindly ask users who encounter this problem to record the exact time it occurs and generate a log file using the AsLogDumpTool. Please also provide the following detailed information for further analysis:

1. When did this issue first occur? Were there any changes to your Ally at the time (e.g., software installation, updates, or removal)?
2. How often does this issue occur, and how frequently?
3. What actions did you take to resolve the issue when it occurred? (e.g., connecting an external monitor or keyboard to recover, hard reboot recovery)
4. Do you recall which games you were playing when the issue occurred?
5. Are there any specific steps that reliably reproduce the issue? (e.g., pressing the Y key, playing without connecting a power adapter)
6. Have you tried using an Xbox controller while playing games on the Ally? If so, does the issue occur when using the Xbox controller?

Instructions for using AsLogDumpTool:
After extracting the tool, run X64\AsLogDumpTool2.exe. A log file in .wim format will be generated in the same folder.

Thank you for your cooperation!

[Joeystickz]

Look at my reply below and see if removing the secondary function on the Y button helps. I'm gonna do the same

[Joeystickz]

Nevermind, it still crashed even after setting vram to auto and disabling the second function of Y button. Although, it took much longer for it to happen this time. 

[Thejag9ba]

Exact same problem for me, reliably crashing to black screen with power light and fans on but backlight off. Happens when I press the Y button in game. Don't think it can be a hardware issue because this has never happened to me before with the device, and doesn't happen when using the device outwith playing games (though I'll admit I'm less likely to be pressing Y if not in a game, I still don't think it's a hardware issue). Is there a publically available link to BIOS 310? Getting fed up of my 800 quid console being unplayable.