Hello:
First time posting, but have been a reader off and on since I first bought my G73SW.
Recently, partly by curiosity, I discovered a fix for the problem reported by many people here and elsewhere with Asus (and sometimes other) laptop models. I just thought I'd share my experience, and couldn't find a really good thread to post this as a reply.
Symptom:
Asus G73 "hangs" at the "Asus logo" screen when something is plugged into the USB 3.0 port on the right side of the laptop, but boots normally if the device is plugged into a USB 2.0 port or not plugged in at all.
Additional Background:
USB 3.0 device could be a memory stick, a USB 3.0 hard drive, or a USB 3.0 hub, and is known to be functioning correctly on this or other systems.
When the device is plugged into the 3.0 port, the laptop hangs before the OS gets loaded. In other words, you never see the Windows "firefly screen" (Windows 7) or the "ball bearing circle screen" (Windows 8). Behavior will even happen if you are booting from a Linux live CD/DVD (if something is plugged into that USB 3.0 port) so it's not the fault of Windows.
Devices can be plugged into the USB 3.0 port after Windows is up, and they function normally. USB 3.0 devices can be plugged into any other USB port (2.0), and system boots, but you are stuck with USB 2.0 speeds.
Solution (what worked for me):
1. Boot the laptop with nothing plugged into the USB 3.0 port, and press F2 to enter the BIOS settings.
2. Disable "Legacy USB" setting in BIOS. Save and reboot. For this first reboot, I left the USB 3.0 device unplugged.
3. Once in Windows, test your system. USB 2.0 and 3.0 devices should work okay.
4. While leaving the USB 3.0 device plugged in, reboot the laptop.
5. Confirm that the laptop now boots successfully with the USB 3.0 device plugged into the USB 3.0 port.
Followup:
I do not know what qualifies as a "legacy USB" device, so I am a bit uneasy that I have chosen to disable these, whatever they may be. I can say that the typical devices such as trackball, USB sticks, USB 2.0 drives seem to work fine after changing this BIOS value, but more testing is needed.
Devices not yet tested:
DAW dongles
USB MIDI keyboards
USB MIDI drum controllers
USB Audio/MIDI interface
I will post additional information as I continue to test.
Peace!
My Current Addiction: Asus G73SW i7
12 GB RAM
Windows 10 Pro
3TB internal, 5 TB external via USB 3.0
^ I use this system as a mobile DAW, 3D graphic studio, and for other stuff.
