G74SX BIOS questions. Noob here.

[swangger]

I have a silly question to ask because I'm getting my laptop tomorrow and I DO NOT want to mess it up.

So, what is BIOS? I saw a lot of people updated BIOS and their laptop became a brick. Should I update it if I have nothing wrong with the laptop?

Is there A LOT OF bloatware in the new laptop? or it's neglect-able to just uninstall instead of a clean install of windows?

What is the first few things I should do when I get the laptop? What should I check? Should I overclock and max out game settings to detect problems?

I bought it from Amazon, if there is a problem, who should I contact first? Amazon or ASUS?

I know it's a lot of questions. I am really excited and worried because it's probably the most expensive thing I've ever bought. So I really don't want to have any issues and waste my money. Thank you for your time!

[BrodyBoy]

BIOS = Basic Input Output System

It contains the initial boot-up instructions in a PC, before the computer even reads a disk and starts to load an OS. If you follow the directions for using the Easy Flash BIOS utility (built into Asus BIOSes themselves), it's a fairly safe procedure. I would recommend updating, but it's your call.

Yes, there's a lot of bloatware. You can uninstall any or all it if you like, or for a truly clean installation, do your own clean install.

Just make sure all the hardware works....touchpad, keyboard, display, I/O ports, etc. You can't overclock, and there's no point in doing that anyway.....if there are hardware issues, they will make themselves apparent soon enough.

If there is a hardware problem, return it to Amazon. They have a great return policy, so you can simply order a new one. There's no point in taking ownership of a defective unit and dealing with repairs, warranties, etc. Just send it back.

[TonyNRG]

1. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BIOS - it's about BIOS. If you get your notebook with 203 BIOS, you really don't need to update it. And even if you get it with older version... you better read all related topics to get all things clear. If you should attempt a BIOS Flash in the future, follow this guide http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?11080-BrodyBoy-simple-but-effective-.pdf-guide.-on-quot-Upd...
2. There is no bloatware in G74... I deleted just all preinstalled demo casual games. All the rest is needed more or less. But many of preinstalled software is more than needed to get your G74 works well
3. About better perfomance: http://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?12512-Bad-performance-on-G74SX&p=91091&viewfull=1#post91091


Good luck with your G74sx and wellcome in G-family 🙂

[BrodyBoy]

TonyNRG wrote:
2. There is no bloatware in G74

Seriously? These things are laden with bloat.....

[TonyNRG]

BrodyBoy wrote:
Seriously? These things are laden with bloat.....

Whay exactly? I don't see any bloatware in my G74. Only OS + syslem utilities in most.


ASUS Live Update
Power4Gear Hybrid
USB Charger Plus
Wireless Console 3
GameFast
WinFlash
e-Driver
AI recovery
Splendid
Virtual Camera
Smart logon

As I know, all of these utilities are safe to use. And most of them are important to be installed in G74 to get fully functional notebook.

It's my personal opinion.

[BrodyBoy]

TonyNRG wrote:
Whay exactly? I don't see any bloatware in my G74. Only OS + syslem utilities in most.

As shipped, they have a ton of junk. As I recall, the OEM installation has about 50 installed programs listed in Control Panel. After a clean install with only the necessary drivers, the same G74 will have about a dozen programs listed there.

The difference is all non-essential stuff.

EDIT: I thought I still had this somewhere....a screenshot of Control Panel with an OEM installation....and the junk crossed out. I think this qualifies as "a lot" of bloatware.....

[TonyNRG]

some of them even qualify as malware

which one exactly? tell me a software name please, if you have such kind of information. this is important question for me 🙂 - thanks!

BTW, I've ever wrote here that I'm using WinFlash etc. I just said that those utilities are not contain spyware, malware etc.

But I have installed:

ASUS Power4Gear Hybrid (usefull for me)
ASUS USB Charger Plus (usefull for me)
ATK Package (driver)
Wireless Console 3 (usefull for me)
Roxio CinePlayer (i like it)

[BrodyBoy]

TonyNRG wrote:
As I know, all of these utilities are safe to use. And most of them are important to be installed in G74 to get fully functional notebook.

It's my personal opinion.

No, I don't know that at all.....please don't attribute that opinion to me. Some of them are frequently implicated in the issues that many owners come here to report....some of them even qualify as malware, considering the issues they cause. They are all unnecessary...none are required for full functionaliuty of this or any other laptop.

(After your BIOS flash nightmare, you still have WinFlash installed? It's malware, it's unsafe. )

[TonyNRG]

Yeah, I forget about MS Office Starter, Nuance PDF reader and Trend Micro. SQL server is a very important software for many people. MS silverlight is like Adobe Flash - it's important thing to get many of internet pages work correct. Roxio CinePlayer - it's not trial software etc. I use it for watching 3D movies (pretty good for me). Bing and Goole toolbars are just toolbars - they are not dangerous at all. All the rest is good enough to use and feel yourself safe with that.

[fostert]

Out of the box my G74 had 90 processes running on it immediately after booting Windows, taking up nearly 2.5GB of RAM! A ridiculous amount of bloatware. That whole drive was reformatted within the week and Debian Linux went on there. Now the OS takes only 250 MB of RAM to run itself in, and not ten times that amount. Even a cleanly booted Windows 7 OS with nothing extra running takes 1.5 GB or so.

And yes, follow Brody's suggestion: remove Winflash. It will deal you nothing but trouble should you ever try a flash with it. I know you'll agree that once is enough to have been through that (trial by fire?). 🙂