Thursday, March 25, 2010
Synaptic Driver Update Feature Must See!
A new Synaptic Driver is out
Version 15.0.10
-New added Feature: Chiral Rotate
Looks like Synaptics IS adding legacy support to their drivers.
Download 15.0.10 from Driver Station
Amazingly this driver unlocks all multitouch gestures on all our touchpad.
Now I officially have multitouch on my Acer Aspire 4530!
You guys seriously must update to this driver. One Word: Awesome!
New Features:
-3 Fingers Application Launch
-2 Fingers Scrolling
-Flick Function
This also means that all touchpad produced by Synaptics are actually multi-touch capable, it is just Feature Lock down...
Please note the amount of feature unlocked by this driver may vary according to the touchpad version you own.
To install:
Continue to Click Yes when you see install messages.
Restart the Computer.
Next:
Double Click:
Continue to Click Yes to All Messages.
After that restart.
To Access The Configuration Utility:
Monday, November 30, 2009
K10STAT AMD Griffin Processor UnderVolting Guide
Because if a lower voltage can sustain your clockspeed undervolting preserve battery life and reduce heat generated without affecting your CPU performance at all!!
0 performance handicap with less heat output and longer battery life!! (Your yield may vary)
If it is so great why manufacturers don't undervolt?
Because they create processors in bulk you can't expect them to test and undervolt every single processor!
So they simply take the a slightly higher approximate stable voltage and burn the same value into every chip of the same family!
No it won't, because it doesn't involve making it hotter.
In non-biological system usually heat destroys and cold preserves.
During testing, BSOD (Blue Screen of Death) is common but after a restart the Processor Voltage is restored to original value.
After finalising the stable voltages then you set the program to run every startup.
I strongly recommend testing ALL THE P-STATES before setting up the final values so your computer will not crash when you are doing your important work (or in the middle of gaming).
Microsoft seems to be encouraging running start-ups through Task Scheduler, not to mention Task Scheduler allows good control over program automated execution.
AMD Griffin Series Processor, ZM,RM,QL,SI and the new M3XX, M5XX, M6X0 Turion II Processor series.
For Core 2 Duo Processor you can use RMClock, if you are using 64bit Operating System you might need to google for 64bit libraries to replace some of the 32bit libraries. You can google it up.
For Core i3/5/7 users, I haven’t heard of any undervolting tool but I personally seen in the BIOS/EFI ACPI P-State Control is Unlockable, so BIOS/EFI modding is a possible solution.
Firstly download K10STAT from here.
I Extracted it to C:\Program Files\K10STAT (K10STAT is 64bit and 32bit capable as well)
Configure K10STAT
When you run K10STAT you should see the menu above.
You can set a maximium of 5 Profiles.
FID: The multiplier for the Processor
(FID doesn't work in AMD Mobile Processors because they are multiplier-locked)
DID: The P-State of the Processor
Note all Processors supported by K10STAT uses K10 Power Design
CPU-Voltage
That is what we are interested in.
To set the voltage for P0 simply select P0 and select the corresponding voltage and apply.
Remember: Min 0.75 V Max 1.2 V!
Caspian CPUs maybe able to run lower than 0.75V
For me I tested -0.05 is the Max Stable voltage for each default state any higher it BSOD!
Up%:
This is the amount of CPU usage load before the processor increase P-State to meet the minmium load requirements.
Currently it is set at 60% meaning it will switch from P2 to P1 when processor detect 60% CPU load and the same applies from switching from P1 to P0.
Down%:
It is basically the opposite of Up %
This is the amount of CPU usage load before the processor decrease P-State to meet the minimum load requirements.
Up (milliseconds):
It is the time the processor takes to switch from one P-State to the next higher P-State.
Down (milliseconds):
It is basically the opposite of Up.
It is the time the processor takes to switch from one P-State to the next lower P-State.
After you have set suitable values (-0.05 recommended on first try).
Use Windows Processor Power Management to test different levels.
Use 4 Windows as shown above, to monitor all the P-States so it is more convenient to assess the values and monitor the states.
First remember to enable K10STAT Clock Control
To test simply click on the Core of the P-State immediately the Processor will assume the P-State.
Test each P-State by running Intel Burn In (Google and Download) or any suitable CPU loading tool.
For me the voltage values that passed Intel Burn In test are 1.075V, 0.850V and 0.750V.
At 1.025V, it BSOD after 2 mins.
At 1.0372V-1.050V it produced the wrong result.
Test all P-States you have modified so it won’t crash whenever the CPU switches to any of them.
To pass LinPack, the result calculated by the CPU must be consistent.
After you have affirmed the stable voltage values then you may proceed to set it to start automatically.
Open Task Scheduler by accessing Start Menu\All Programs\Accessories\System Tools\Task Scheduler
Create a Task
Alternatively you can make it run as a SYSTEM task (as shown below)
If you want the K10STAT icon to appear in the systray run the program under your username.
If you run it as SYSTEM account the program will run too but it will not be visible.
Click "Change User or Group" then Enter "System" then choose "Check Names" then select OK.
or you can create it as a startup process as shown below. (RECOMMENDED because it will run before a logon is required)
**Please note a file called K10stat.dat containing the undervolt settings will be created in the C:\Windows\System32 folder because it is the default path for admin rights unless you changed the "Start In (Optional)" parameters, the setting just under the "Add Arguments (Optional)" parameters as shown below.
The program will load the settings from K10STAT.dat so make sure all the changes are overwritten to the file. When you launch K10STAT manually a new K10STAT.dat will be created in C:\Program Files\K10STAT which Task Scheduler WILL NOT LOAD.
It will only load the K10STAT.dat in C:\Windows\System32 unless you change the "Start In" parameters to "C:\Program Files\K10STAT".
If you do not specify “Start In” parameters, the file “K10stat.dat” will be created in C:\Windows\System32 (Default Administrator Path) as shown below.
The following arguments are available (Source:http://dsus4.blog126.fc2.com/blog-entry-3.html)
Command Line Option
-lp:#(1-5) - load profile#(1-5) and write to MSR.
-nw - Start K10stat with No Window.
-ClkCtrl:#(0-4) - Enable Clock Control by K10stat.
0: No ControlIf you set -ClkCtrl:2 you get better performance at the expense of more power consumption.
1: Control clock of each core.
2: Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is most loaded core).
3: Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is average of all cores).
4: Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is least loaded core).
Because Windows proceed on the assumption that cores are unganged by default.
AMD K10 Processors were designed originally to use unganged mode to conserve power.
-StayOnTray - use this option with -nw for Clock Control Mode.(Note after a sleep if the CPU registers are resetted, voltages will revert to default, hence you need -StayOnTray to ensure it is always running in the background)
e.g.Target:
"C:\Program Files\K10stat\K10STAT.exe" -lp:1 -ClkCtrl:2 -StayOnTray -nw
Finally you can Control your CPU using the K10STAT Systray if you enabled -StayOnTray manually as well.
-ClkCtrl:#(0-4) - Enable Clock Control by K10stat (Refer to above).
0:No Control
1:Control clock of each core.
UnGanged means each CPU Core #0 & #1 operates independently of each other so at any one time their frequency and DID could be different.(This is the original intent of the design of the Turion Chips as they are given different power planes.)
2:Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is most loaded core).
This means the CPU will raise/drop the DID of Core #0 & #1 together when it detects the one of higher Core has reached the criteria for a Frequency boost/Throttle Down.
3:Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is average of all cores).
This means the CPU will raise/drop the DID of Core #0 & #1 together when it detects the average of both core has reached the criteria for a Frequency boost/Throttle Down.
4:Control clock of all cores together (Criterion is least loaded core).
This means the CPU will raise/drop the DID of Core #0 & #1 together when it detects the one of lowest Core has reached the criteria for a Frequency boost/Throttle Down.
A new function called Lock-P-state is available in new versions of K10Stat.
It is another way you can lock the P-state for P-state testing again you should enable Clock Control before performing the P-State Testing.
Down Core refers to switching off 1 of the Cores either Core0 or Core1.
__________________________________________________________________
Friday, November 6, 2009
ACPI DSDT Investigation
When the temperature of the GPU hits 99 degrees the fans don't seemed to turn on to cool it.
Instead the GPU throttle down but without the active cooling the throttling doesn't help instead it stays around 95-99 cycling back and forth.
Therefore I investigated the ACPI configuration of the laptop.
Using Phoenix BIOS editor I extracted the AML file contain compiled ACPI instruction.
The AML file is actually the DSDT Table which Windows load from the BIOS
Using Microsoft ASL Compiler I decompiled the AML file to a notepad readable format.
After checking with ACPI specification PDF documentation I discovered a flaw in the coding.
According to the ACPI documentation as shown below
_PSV is supposed to be the temperature which it safe to do passive cooling meaning fan can turn off.However Acer programmed the _PSV value to be 0x63 (hex) which is actually 99 degrees in Decimal.
Which means when the laptop reaches 99 degrees it is safe to turn off the fan which led to this situation.
Therefore I modded the DSDT changed it to 45 degrees and overload the table to Windows Registry.
Now the fan no longer stop working when the temperature reaches high levels.
Here I share with you the patched DSDT (actually you can patch the BIOS but I prefer not to do this)
To use the DSDT install Microsoft ASL Compiler, v. 3.0.1 [646 KB]
Copy and paste the patched DSDT to "C:\Program Files\Microsoft ASL Compiler v3.0"
Then open a Command Prompt Windows with Admin Permission then type
cd "C:\Program Files\Microsoft ASL Compiler v3.0"You should see "Table Overloading Succeeded".
asl.exe /loadtable DSDT.AML
Reboot.
I modified another value.
It is the return value for the THRM.
I modified the else condition to a higher hex value so the else condition will assume higher temperature.
I relink the link above to the newer file.
The new output after I corrected the DSDT:

As usual I always tested the new BIOS with my Aspire 4530 before releasing it so no worries.
Please refer here for the modified BIOS for Aspire 4530
**Note important!
I have removed the optimized DSDT as many seems to have issues with it.
If your Windows report error please flash from DOS (Read Instructions) because DOS doesn't require ACPI so it should be possible.
(Includes Win7 SLIC, Undervolted GPU & Corrected DSDT code)I noticed things like Brightness Display during unplugging of Adapter and Battery is solved with this DSDT Code Correction.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Windows 7 Boot Optimization Error
When you run defrag.exe, you get the following
Microsoft Disk Defragmenter
Copyright (c) 2007 Microsoft Corp.
The parameter is incorrect. (0x80070057)
Description:
Locates and consolidates fragmented files on local volumes to
improve system performance.
Syntax:
defrag| /C | /E [/H] [/M | [/U] [/V]]
defrag| /C | /E /A [/H] [/M | [/U] [/V]]
defrag| /C | /E /X [/H] [/M | [/U] [/V]]
defrag/T [/H] [/U] [/V]
Parameters:
Value Description
/A Perform analysis on the specified volumes.
/C Perform the operation on all volumes.
/E Perform the operation on all volumes except those specified.
/H Run the operation at normal priority (default is low).
/M Run the operation on each volume in parallel in the background.
/T Track an operation already in progress on the specified volume.
/U Print the progress of the operation on the screen.
/V Print verbose output containing the fragmentation statistics.
/X Perform free space consolidation on the specified volumes.
Examples:
defrag C: /U /V
defrag C: D: /M
defrag C:\mountpoint /A /U
defrag /C /H /V
Notice there is no /B flag but it is there.
However on a fresh Windows 7 installation when you try to do this with Administrative Permission in a Command Prompt Window.
C:\Windows\system32>defrag C: /BYou get some message saying it cannot be done like the following:
Microsoft Disk Defragmenter
Copyright (c) 2007 Microsoft Corp.
Invoking boot optimization on (C:)...
Analysis: 100% complete.
Some registry entries were missing from the boot optimization section of the reg
istry. (0x89000017)
How to resolve this?
The issue is the idle tasks Windows is scheduled to run hasn't run once yet hence it cannot initialize boot optimization.
So to resolve simply open a Command Prompt Windows with Administrative Permission again and run the following commands to invoke the idle task.
C:\Windows\system32>Rundll32.exe advapi32.dll,ProcessIdleTasksAfter that the error message will be gone and you can run boot optimization manually.
Why doesn't this happen sometimes?
Because RunIdle task is scheduled to run eventually after sometime of idle usage
if you do boot defrag immmediately after installation,
RunIdle task hasn't got a chance to run at all so you have to invoke it manually
if you want to start the operation immediately.
Saturday, August 15, 2009
Checking Battery Capacity in Windows 7
Take a look at the following:
Open a Command Prompt Windows with Administrative Permission
Enter:
powercfg /Energy
It will create a report in
C:\Windows\system32\energy-report.html
There is one line like this
The amount of battery life left can be calculated byBattery:Battery Information
Battery ID 11121SANYOAS07A31 Manufacturer SANYO Serial Number 11121 Chemistry LION Long Term 1 Design Capacity 48840 Last Full Charge 41214
41214/48840*100Which equates to 84.38% meaning my laptop battery has only 84.38% of charge left (because I didn't take good care of it. There was a few times when the battery was almost fully drain)
So make sure you switch off the laptop or connect it to an AC outlet when battery life reaches 10% and do not expose it to high temperatures.
Alternatively you can download the new HWMonitor as it reports the charge capacity directly.
Sunday, August 9, 2009
Things To Do in Windows 7
Location:
Control Panel >> Advance System Settings >> System Protection >>Configure
Set the System Restore to use less Disk Space so it will not "eat up" additional Harddisk Space as time passes.
You can also use this to set/delete restore points.

2) Set Performance Visual Options
Location:
Control Panel >> Advance System Settings >> Advance >> Performance Options
Uncheck the Options as shown below while leaving the rest untouched:
Location:
Control Panel >> Program & Features >> Turn Windows Features On or Off
Uncheck unused Programs like "Tablet PC Components" and "Windows Media Centre"

4)Disable Unused Devices
Location:
Device Manager
Right Click and Disable rarely used Devices to reduce System Device Polling and conserve power.

5)Set Advance Power Options
Location:
Control Panel >> Power Options >> Edit Plan Settings
Customise Power Plan settings according to your preference

6)Defragment and Disk Clean Up
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Streaming Video Using VLC
There is a new solution. Simply go to adobe labs and install the new Flash Plugins 10.1 instead of 10.0.
The new plugin promises to offload video processing to the GPU reducing the CPU load.
Please remember to uninstall the old plugin before installing the new plugin.
If you installed it correctly and ran GPU-Z while watching youtube you should see this.

Here is a alternative solution for people having problems streaming youtube.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Optimize Windows Vista Boot
1) After download software like Firefox, after installation please delete the installer.
eg. Setup.exe
New Versions will come out and internet download speeds are so fast, so there is no point keeping it.
2) Do this weekly:
Start>> All Programs>> Accesories>> System Tools>> Disk Clean Up
CCleaner is a extra ware that does the same thing it uses System Resource hence I don't use this.
They are:
C:\Users\{Your User Name}\AppData\Local\Temp5) Here is a Windows Batch File that clears useless file recursively in all directories.
C:\Windows\Temp
C:\Windows\Prefetch (Delete the ReadyBoot Contents before ReadyBoot folder)
I have created a batch file to kill superfetch.
Download and run with Administrator permission here (Superfetch Killer)
Open in Notepad to see the script content.
To Run, Right Click "Run as Admin"
sdelete -c
Intel Pentium 4 HT 2.8GHZ 512KB L2 Cache (NorthWood)4GB DDR RAM 400MHZ250GB WD 16MB Buffer Cache875P Motherboard
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
How To Clear Up your Disk on Windows Xp and Vista
There are only a few place where the junk gather
- Take a Look at C:\
- You should only see the following 3 folders
- Documents and Settings
- Program Files
- WINDOWS
Driver files loaded by OEM
Lazy users who refuse to save it to their home directory respectively
Programs which do not install by default to Program Files Directory (and the installer did not bother to redirect the program there he/she just keep clicking NEXT NEXT NEXT FINISH)
They are all deletable except for the Programs which is better to reinstall via Control Panel into the correct Program Files directory to keep it neat
For Windows Xp you can clear up on the following folders
You may encounter file in use because the operating system is currently using the caches so it is locked
If you encounter this you can just skip that particular file
- C:\WINDOWS\Temp
Prefetch is a place where the system cache certain programs so it can run faster
The official stand is that it is a self managing folder where rarely used program will get cleaned up automatically however you can still clear it up once it a while
After you clear up the system will need to prefetch again however there is no harm or any sort done
Also you will notice the system boots faster immediately after you clear Prefetch because Prefetch is loaded on boot so when it is cleared up it boots faster
- C:\WINDOWS\Prefetch
- C:\Documents and Settings\User\Local Settings\Temp
It is called Disk Cleanup
It clears all the above mention folders except Prefetch.
@echo offclsTITLE Windows Vista System Junk Cleaner v1.0echo.echo Windows Vista System Junk Cleanerecho Version 1.1echo.echo (C) 2007 My Digital Life (www.mydigitallife.info)echo.echo This batch script is provided as is without warranty.pauseecho.echo.echo Start cleaning and deleting Vista system junk?echo (Press Ctrl-C and answer Y to terminate)pauseclsdel /f /s /q %systemdrive%\*.tmpdel /f /s /q %systemdrive%\*._mpdel /f /s /q %systemdrive%\*.logdel /f /s /q %systemdrive%\*.giddel /f /s /q %systemdrive%\*.chkdel /f /s /q %systemdrive%\*.olddel /f /s /q "%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\cookies\*.*"del /f /s /q "%userprofile%\Local Settings\Temporary Internet Files\*.*"del /f /s /q "%userprofile%\Local Settings\Temp\*.*"del /f /s /q "%appdata%\Microsoft\Windows\Recent\*.*"del /f /s /q %windir%\*.bakdel /f /s /q %windir%\prefetch\*.*del /f /s /q %windir%\SoftwareDistribution\Download\*.*rd /s /q "%userprofile%\Local Settings\Temp\" & md "%userprofile%\Local Settings\Temp\"rd /s /q %windir%\Temp & md %windir%\Tempclsecho.echo Windows Vista System Junk Cleanerecho Version 1.1echo.echo (C) 2007 My Digital Life (www.mydigitallife.info)echo.echo This batch script is provided as is without warranty.echo.echo.echo Vista system junk cleaning and deleting completed.echo.echo Press any key to exit.pause
Sunday, June 28, 2009
Crazy Stuff I Did To Lower The Temperature Of The Laptop
You have encounter high temperatures especially during gaming.
You contacted the Repair Centre.
They told you to update the BIOS (usually the fix include making the fan spin more often).
You have sent the laptop back and forth until you have given up.
Finally the warranty run out and you can only depend on yourself.
Below are the following mods you can do.
Note: Most steps require dismantling of the system it will help with expert supervision and googling and down loading of service manual to dismantle it.
- Throw away the thermal pad on the GPU and use Arctic Silver 5 instead
- Remove the original CPU thermal paste and use Arctic Silver 5 instead.
- Remove and throw away the "air filter" below the Laptop bottom cover to allow better air flow (I decided to do this after realizing this is the only part you can feel that air actually goes into the laptop, hence obstructing it restricts air flow hence remove it)
- Sand the surface of heatsink which comes into contact with the GPU or CPU chip, using FINE SILICON CARBIDE PAPER
- Sharpen the edges of the air vent casing (I got this inspiration by observing other Acer Aspire Laptop (Aspire 4935G) models, I noticed their vent size is gigantic compared to the vent size of this particular model hence it could be one of the gaming overheating factors. The new Acer Aspire 4736ZG Series Air Vents actually have even bigger holes than 4935G!)
Originally it has 16 dividers I cut out 8 of them so it looks like this.
Saturday, June 13, 2009
Tweak Firefox to return search in URL Bar
Tweak Firefox URL Bar to return search results
Most modern web browser such as Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari and Internet Explorer (IE) is able to handle invalid URL or link location that user to type into address bar or location bar. The most typical option is automatically treat input as a query string or term, and search for it using default search engine.
Firefox takes “auto-correction” feature in address location bar a step further by automatically redirect user to a web page that it assumes user is looking for, much like Google’s “I am feeling lucky” feature. In fact, Firefox is using Google search engine to find possibly related or matching website and then direct Firefox to open the lucky first link returned by the Google.
For user who prefer to see a list of matching websites or search results instead of auto redirect to a web page when entering keywords in the Firefox’s link location bar, it’s possible to change the Firefox behavior by modifying its configuration using steps below.
- Run Firefox.
- Enter about:config into the address bar.
- Locate keyword.url or type keyword.url into “Filter” text box to search for it.
- Double click on the line of “keyword.url”.
- By default, the string value for “keyword.url” is “about:neterror?e=query&u=”. To display search results instead, replace the string with one of the following search statements, depending on the search engine you prefer:
Google: http://www.google.com/search?q=
Yahoo!: http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=
Windows Live Search: http://search.live.com/results.aspx?q= - Click OK when done.
To revert to existing behavior where best matching site will be shown immediately on any typo error or keywords and terms been entered, just set the “keyword.url” value back to “about:neterror?e=query&u=” (without quotes).


































