Fixing Asus UX21e unexpected power off
May. 19th, 2012 07:21 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
mjg59Edit: Sigh, some further testing shows that it seems better, but not fixed. If you unplug the power while the CPU is over 80 degrees C, the machine will power off. I can't find any way of avoiding this - it seems to be handled at the embedded controller or SMM level, since as far as I can tell Linux isn't surviving long enough to even be aware that the event occurred.
Original entry:
The Asus UX21e (and maybe the UX31e?) has the irritating misfeature that it reloads the CPU thermal tables when you unplug the power. One consequence of this is that it'll automatically throttle itself much more aggressively on battery (reducing performance) but the more serious one is that the new critical power off temperature may then be lower than the temperature the CPU is currently operating at, resulting in the machine turning itself off. As far as I can tell from debugging, this is completely OS-independent - it still happens even if I stub out all the ACPI code for power supply events and there are reports of the same thing occurring on Windows. The good news is that it seems to be fixed in newer firmware versions. The even better news is that you can flash it without Windows. Just download the BIOS image from the Asus website, copy it onto a FAT formatted USB stick, insert that, go into the firmware (hit F2 on the splash screen) and start the flash program from there.
Original entry:
The Asus UX21e (and maybe the UX31e?) has the irritating misfeature that it reloads the CPU thermal tables when you unplug the power. One consequence of this is that it'll automatically throttle itself much more aggressively on battery (reducing performance) but the more serious one is that the new critical power off temperature may then be lower than the temperature the CPU is currently operating at, resulting in the machine turning itself off. As far as I can tell from debugging, this is completely OS-independent - it still happens even if I stub out all the ACPI code for power supply events and there are reports of the same thing occurring on Windows. The good news is that it seems to be fixed in newer firmware versions. The even better news is that you can flash it without Windows. Just download the BIOS image from the Asus website, copy it onto a FAT formatted USB stick, insert that, go into the firmware (hit F2 on the splash screen) and start the flash program from there.
Good news
Date: 2012-05-20 05:51 pm (UTC)Thanks
Date: 2012-05-20 06:50 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-20 09:37 pm (UTC)Also, random, but why the hell would the thermal cutoff temp change based upon the power source? *BOGGLE*
no subject
Date: 2012-05-20 10:05 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-20 11:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-05-20 11:24 pm (UTC)FAT, but never NTFS
Date: 2012-05-22 04:22 am (UTC)Same problems with Lenovo Thinkpad X120e I guess
Date: 2012-05-25 01:17 pm (UTC)I think I'm having the same problems with Lenovo Thinkpad X120e. After some stress and CPU heat the system goes bonkers with thermal shutdown. Needs to cool down an hour perhaps before everything works again. Pretty lame stuff. I took some vids about this:
First, the thermal shutdown occuring in Windows:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfhoUFQ1iSE
Second, live Linux (SystemRescueCD) dying in udev activation phase:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChJCQy5bS0o
Regards,
Mr. Janne Paalijarvi
same on UX31e
Date: 2013-02-07 03:05 am (UTC)Latest BIOS (214) for UX31E still doesn't fix the issue
Date: 2013-02-18 06:07 pm (UTC)Re: Latest BIOS (214) for UX31E still doesn't fix the issue
Date: 2013-03-07 08:34 pm (UTC)...but it still is acting up. Any help from anyone would be greatly appreciated.
Asus UX31e
Date: 2013-07-20 09:40 am (UTC)The sudden power off when connecting the AC happened on my
ux31e when I had windows 7(out of the box), and still happens now with ubuntu 12.4 LTS. I also checked this issue(and some wifi connectivity stuff) with ubuntu 13.4 with no luck.
help risk of brick after bios update
Date: 2013-10-27 02:18 pm (UTC)I suffered from many reboots ever since I upgradded to windows 8.1. I tried to flash Bios 214 by downloading it and running it in windows 8, files were in my "downloads" directory. It ran fine untill the 3rd step where it stuck at 99%, I couldn't move mouse cursor or anything, gave it 15 mins and finally turned it off...
Now of course the damn thing won't start again and get stuck after the Asus Spashscreen, then all I get is a blinking underscore on the first line of a black screen...
I can access Bios menu just fine by pressing F2 on Asus splashscreen. Now the trick is :
When I go to hte "start easy flash" menu it won't flash anything as he believes my 214 version is too old (since he belives he is running the 2144 version perfectly fine already.
What more can I do ?
I tried ibnserting my Wibndows 8 usb key to format everythibng but nothing happens at startup and I also belive this would not solve my whole BIOS situation right ?
potential fix - reconnecting battery
Date: 2014-01-30 07:16 pm (UTC)Re: potential fix - reconnecting battery
Date: 2014-04-12 07:32 am (UTC)I followed a tear-down guide and youtube video instructions (which included battery removal) and removed (for a few minutes) and reconnected the battery connection (that's the multi-coloured cable terminal connection (not a ribbon type) on the UX31E, which is best teased up from the board with a plastic tool). So far, I have not had this problem reoccur. I have even tested it after maxing out the CPU on a game to get the system nice and hot which seems to be one of the driving causes of this fault - i.e. a fail-safe shutdown of the CPU when changing power profiles. So, in my experience this solution does in fact resolve the fault - for now at least!
Re: potential fix - reconnecting battery
Date: 2015-05-17 03:34 pm (UTC)Thanks for all the hints and tips on here. Like other's, I've had issues on my Zenbook UX21E for years, while it was running Windows 7. I never upgraded the OS for years, other than the traditional MS updates. Under windows, the issue was confined to sudden shutdowns while pulling the AC power. (Honestly, I just thought it was a short in the power connector, so I would just shut the unit down before unplugging.)
However, last week I put Ubuntu 14.04 on this machine, and the behavior got worse. Not only would it shut down when the power was pulled, but also after about 20 minutes of use. I installed sensors and stuck it in a while-do loop, and forced the machine to work hard by running Fraqtive animations.
Sure enough, when the power was less than 75% AND the heat was 80C, the machine turned off.
After reading this thread, I updated the firmware - that helped with the sudden shutdown after pulling the AC, but not when the 75%/80C limit was hit while on battery. The machine would still unexpectedly power off.
So - I opened up the back, and disconnected the battery for 5 minutes. After reconnecting and powering back up - I ran the sensors and Fraqtive test...
....the machine stayed up until the battery ran dry, regardless of the CPU temperature.
So, best guess is that it was a combination of issues: the outdated firmware was responsible for the sudden shutdown when yanking out the AC (for all the reasons stated above), and the disconnect/reconnect of the battery clearly reset some sort of low battery reading that was inaccurate. (Whether it was the firmware in the battery or the firmware in the Zenbook that was issuing the false positive, I couldn't say.)
At any rate, I'm back, and the machine is quite healthy. So, thanks again to everyone.
Rob
Re: potential fix - reconnecting battery
Date: 2016-05-31 02:00 pm (UTC)Potential Fix -Run Linux Mint !!
Date: 2014-02-06 08:27 am (UTC)The problem is when running on battery power it shuts down sometime after it gets to about 65% or thereabouts.
However I have installed Linux Mint 16 (petra) (xfce desktop) and the problem doesn't seem to be happening with this distro.
So it might be worth trying a live usb and see if it's okay. Perhaps the problem will only be solved on a full HDD install though?
Anyway I'm pretty happy so far. Also Mint is real fast, and well built. I used to run Ubuntu but Mint has superceded them in the desktop distro stakes it seems.
power settings
Date: 2014-03-01 05:10 pm (UTC)Go to your power options->change plan settings for the right one when you are on battery (mine is Balanced right now, e.g.)->change advanced power settings, look at EVERYTHING. Under processor management, my "system cooling policy" on battery is TURNED OFF by default, genius! That means when my laptop overheats on battery, it will turn itself off...
Re: power settings
Date: 2018-04-25 12:16 pm (UTC)asus 21UX shut down on battery power
Date: 2014-05-12 07:34 am (UTC)Finally, I simply cleaned the inside of the laptop (fan and air intake areas) with a vacuum cleaner. A small bit of dust apparently can push just above critical temp levels when on battery (as suggested by some of the comments above). I reset all power options to original settings, and the Asus is now working without fault.
Was the problem solved (UX21)
Date: 2015-01-05 01:43 pm (UTC)I have a similar problem to what is described here: when disconnecting from main, the computer shuts off even though the battery is charged and working normally.
I saw a number of suggestions going from updating to BIOS 214 (I'm running BIOS 212) to fine tining the Power Management plan (setting the system cooling policy on "active" rather than "passive").
Have these suggestions been tested and what are the results ?
Re: Was the problem solved (UX21)
Date: 2015-01-13 06:13 pm (UTC)Re: Was the problem solved (UX21)
Date: 2015-01-14 10:07 pm (UTC)Best regards,
Re: Was the problem solved (UX21)
Date: 2018-08-06 04:53 am (UTC)Disabling VTd in BIOS seemed to solve my problem on Asus UX21e. I had good luck with removing the battery for 5 minutes initially and it worked for some two months before the symptoms of unexpected power shutdown started a full return. Now, I disabled VTd without removing battery and it is still working at 38.2%
Re: Was the problem solved (UX21)
Date: 2018-08-06 08:33 am (UTC)Unplug the battery
Date: 2015-01-13 06:12 pm (UTC)(Win 8.1)
Re: Unplug the battery
Date: 2015-01-14 10:09 pm (UTC)My UX31E is doing the same
Date: 2015-03-04 02:19 am (UTC)I was not very lucky with my power cable as during the last few years people sometimes have fallen over it!
I was wondering if it might be a problem in the power plug and was thinking of replacing it.
Any suggestions?
no subject
Date: 2015-07-04 09:45 am (UTC)Asus Zenbook UX31E running Ubuntu 15.04
Thanks guys!
J
A working solution for Linux systems
Date: 2015-09-09 05:26 pm (UTC)=========================================================================================
Finally, a reliable solution for unexpected shutdowns and hangs was discovered!
This seems to be working with any Asus laptop suffering from unexpected shutdowns and / or hangs while running on battery:
1. Add the following boot arguments _both_ to GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX_DEFAULT and GRUB_CMDLINE_LINUX in /etc/default/grub.cfg:
intel_pstate=disable pcie_aspm=force acpi_osi='Windows 2009' acpi_os_name='Windows 2009'
Don't forget to execute sudo update-grub afterwards!
2. Install the package tlp from ppa:linrunner/tlp an set at least the following values in /etc/default/tlp
CPU_SCALING_GOVERNOR_ON_BAT=ondemand
CPU_BOOST_ON_BAT=0
PCIE_ASPM_ON_BAT=powersave
RUNTIME_PM_ON_BAT=on
3. Shut down the device, carefully remove the bottom cover and detach the big battery (not the tiny CMOS battery) from the motherboard for five minutes. There are plenty of youtube videos showing how to safely disassemble the various Asus laptops. With certain power management settings on the OS side, the EC (Embedded Controller) goes crazy and thus needs resetting. The only way to reset it is to detach the battery for a few minutes.
4. From now on, shutdowns should be gone. Take care, however, not to _ever_ use any live USB stick or installation / recovery CDs based on Linux and using the intel_pstate driver and / or the default BIOS settings for ASPM. If you try to, you will merely reproduce the problem once again, and will subsequently have to disassemble your Zenbook once again. There are a few sad cases, like reinstalling Ubuntu itself, where you will _have_ to boot from a live USB utilizing the problematic intel_pstate driver. Only do so when running on AC, and please repeat Stage 3 (no matter how boring) of this manual once you are done.
P.S. Intel_pstate and the default ASPM bios settings eventually make the mobo's Embedded Controller go crazy and persist in this state until the battery is detached from the motherboard. That's basically how this problem is born.
=========================================================================================
Asus UX31e - battery unplug seems to solve the problem
Date: 2015-12-11 06:45 am (UTC)This one time, my computer shutdown in the middle of a presentation. I restarted, fired up powerpoint and it immediately shutdown. 2 more times in 5min. I finished the presentation without slides.
So, I scoured the web looking for info on my problem. The symptoms look something like this
- Random powerdowns, usually in the middle of watching a movie.
- Behaves well in a clean start (from a resting 'cool' computer). But after ~20min of use, some play in the power-cord (brief disconnection) is sufficient to kill the machine. This happens when i plug in the powerchord (after ~20min use on battery) or unplug the powerchord (after 20min of use), almost everytime.
- Machine sometimes gets stuck during a movie (running on battery, starting from near 100% charge), audio goes 'brrrrrrrr...' while video and controls freeze. On restart, machine would almost take me to the windows10 login screen, but freeze again (brrrrrr....). The only way out is to wait for a day or so, connect the power cord and try again. Crazily enough, this always worked.
My fix (or, i think its fixed. no problems for a day)
- did a clean install of windows10. got rid of all asus bloatware, and unfortunately some drivers that let me use the touchpad for scrolling, use the F11/12 keys for volume,... After this reinstall, i still had powerdowns when i unplugged the power cord.
- unhook the battery connector (inside the laptop), wait for a couple of minutes, and re-connect. I first saw this here, and thought... why not. Seems to work!
I did not do a bios upgrade (although, some automatic upgrade might have happened in the past), mainly because my up/down arrows on the keyboard don't work. I can remap the keyboard on windows and get by, but impossible to do anything meaningful with the bios!
Re: Asus UX31e - battery unplug seems to solve the problem
Date: 2016-02-27 01:09 am (UTC)Re: Asus UX31e - battery unplug seems to solve the problem
Date: 2016-03-23 01:00 pm (UTC)Had been struggled with this problem for a while.
Perfect solution.
Re: Asus UX31e - battery unplug seems to solve the problem
Date: 2016-03-30 04:07 pm (UTC)Here is a link explaining how to get to the BIOS after Windows 10 upgrade.
https://www.asus.com/support/faq/1013015/
(you may need to cut and paste the link)
Re: Asus UX31e - battery unplug seems to solve the problem
Date: 2016-12-07 10:20 pm (UTC)Today was tying to find the solution how to fix the described problem.
Read many different ways. Finally decided to try solution to disable VTd option to not dissembling my laptop - and it helped.
Many thanks!!!
Re: Asus UX31e - battery unplug seems to solve the problem
Date: 2018-08-06 04:51 am (UTC)No entry into bios
Date: 2016-04-16 06:19 am (UTC)I then came across this regarding Win8 fast startup at:
http://www.asus.com/support/FAQ/1008831/
It seems that windows goes into a sleep type mode when shutdown, unless you disable fast startup.
Will try these steps:
WinButton + X
Power Options
Click "Choose what the power buttons do"
Click "Change settings that are currently unavailable"
Uncheck "Turn on fast startup"
Save the configuration to disable [Fast Startup].
Hopefully will have some sucess.
Power settings, minimum cpu usage on battery
Date: 2016-06-27 02:06 pm (UTC)The above mentioned solution was the first one I found: to unplug the battery.
I tried, but unfortunately the problem persisted.
After that I found, on this page, the suggestion to go through advanced power settings.
Here I found something unusual: The minimum CPU usage on battery power was set to 100%!
I changed this to 5%, which is also the value for power cord (and also on various other laptops in use at my office), and already the laptop is much cooler and no longer cooling like crazy.
Probably this setting made the UX21E go into thermal shutdown.
Re: Power settings, minimum cpu usage on battery
Date: 2017-06-01 12:18 pm (UTC)what is interesting this was set to 100 onluy in the shitty Asus battery plan. Win10 plans are ok...
THANKS !!
Fixed Using Version 210 for UX21E plug unplug hang
Date: 2018-01-25 01:46 am (UTC)2012/02/24961.05 KBytes
BIOS 210
1.Update EC firmware
2.Update VBIOS
3.Fixed bug: When use WinFlash update BIOS ROM, USB device plug/unplug behavior may result in system hangs after reboot.