ASUS K52 - Sleepless in Sleep Battle...

[Crony]

[:earl45:1]

ASUS K52 tidbit on specs: Windows 7HP 64-bit... 7200RPM SATA HDD... 4GB RAM... Intel® Core™ i7 740M Processor... Radeon HD 6370M GPU...

I have an ASUS K52 that I have owned for about 17 months now. I love this laptop as it does everything I need it to, and it runs some decent graphics for games I don't mind taking mobile. I haven't built my own rig in 4-5 years so this baby is going to hold me another 12-15 months before I build my own rig and replace it. 97% school use, 2% personal use, 1% troubleshooting. And here lately, the troubleshooting is taking up the last 3% for personal time... and I am getting very angry. I need the community's help, please.

The PROBLEM:
I cannot get the sleep option when closing the lid to work. I have put it to sleep in Start menu, power management options, system settings, almost everything, except when the lid closes. I feel I have tried everything. I have Google'd the crap out of this issue, I have searched forums across the land, I have called and emailed ASUS and I have consulted with computer experts at work. To no avail. I have tried CMD, powercfg options, I have tried the black hole uninstall (by uninstalling and reinstalling Windows), I have gone into power settings and deleted all but the power setting I use and I have tried various registry tweaks (have reinstalled Windows since that fiasco just to play it safe).

I recently learned that my wife broke the screen and to keep me from wigging out about it, she had it repaired at the local computer shop. She had her phone on the keyboard while she was typing and my daughter ran up and slammed down the lid on the phone cracking the screen. I recently took the laptop to the computer store and they assure me they did not damage it and swear it cannot and is not a hardware issue, that the issue is software. What a bunch of BS. I have tried all of the software items I can think of... I seriously can't figure this out to any degree.

I am also unable to install the latest GPU driver from ASUS' website, I have to use the GPU driver from before that, it works fine. When I intall the latest one it will not recognize the drivers for any games or anything. The sleep issue is also present when using the previous driver, so I have ruled that out I think. I have uninstalled and reinstalled Windows 7. I have updated all drivers from ASUS' website to their latest release (minus the GPU as it does not work as stated above).

The CONCERN:
Hardware wise, where is the switch/field/plane of existence that the laptop utilizes to tell it, "HEY, I CLOSED THE LID!" I have called ASUStek and they inform me that they cannot reveal the hardware itemization of their systems and that I must go through Technical Support. Technical Support says it is software related, to reinstall. And to keep reinstalling until it is fixed. This is just stupid. I am getting nowhere.

And before you ask, "Why don't you just push the power/sleep button before closing the lid?" Well, because it has always worked when I closed the lid, so therefore, it should still work. I do not want my laptop broken. Which obviously it is. I have taken the bezel off to look for a switch, there is nothing but a camera and mic cable and the connector for the screen. I am at a loss here, please advise.

 

[cl-scott]

I've never personally taken apart one of those models, so I can only say that with other models from other vendors that I personally HAVE taken apart in the past... There's often a strategically placed magnet somewhere along the side of the display panel that then triggers a sensor in the base of the unit saying that the lid is closed.

When I worked as a repair tech (not for Asus) there were a couple of times where I was in a bit of a hurry, or someone distracted me with some other issue, and forgot to put those magnets back in. Couple of times the stupid magnet stuck to the metal repair bench on the edges or something and I didn't find it until the unit was already on its way back to the customer. Anyway, it's not inconceivable that this is the situation you're facing.

So I would take the unit back to the repair shop your wife used, and very politely ask them to just pull the display assembly apart again and make sure that everything is fine. Don't accuse them of anything, or they'll probably just take it in back, take a 10-20 minute break, and come back out saying there's nothing wrong. If you're polite about it, don't accuse them of screwing anything up, they might take it back, look at it, realize a the simple mistake they made, and offer to fix it.

 

[nbelote]

I have tons of these magnets stuck to a desk in my office, all of which came from before my time (my predecessor and I are both laptop gurus, though he seemed to have never put the magnets back in). I am still having trouble figuring out which laptops the magnets belong to.

 

[Crony]

Okay, where do I locate where the magnet was, or is? ASUS won't tell me, and my research into the issue on the web leads nowhere. Does anyone have a picture of an ASUS magnet, or an idea about where on the bezel/screen it should be located?

This is crazy, all of this is by a simple magnet? Is there a way I can test it with the lid open? Use a refrigerator magnet or something? How strong does it need to be?

Thanks guys, seriously... getting excited that I may find the resolve on this.

 

[cl-scott]

Okay, where do I locate where the magnet was, or is? ASUS won't tell me, and my research into the issue on the web leads nowhere. Does anyone have a picture of an ASUS magnet, or an idea about where on the bezel/screen it should be located?

This is crazy, all of this is by a simple magnet? Is there a way I can test it with the lid open? Use a refrigerator magnet or something? How strong does it need to be?

Thanks guys, seriously... getting excited that I may find the resolve on this.

Even if I could find some kind of a teardown internally, I wouldn't be able to share it with you. Typically you're going to need a bit more than a fridge magnet, but of course far less than one of those rare earth magnets that could crush your hand if it got caught in the middle. It also has to be located in the right spot to trigger a specific sensor, and that is all assuming my postulation is correct.

This is why I suggested simply taking it back to where it was worked on before, and just be as polite as you can when asking them to just see if they can figure out why it won't go into sleep mode when the lid is closed.

 

[Crony]

So I have talked with ASUS and they cannot tell me WHERE the magnet would go if I had one. They also can't tell me anything about the magnet, except that it may be in relation to one of the screws. I have looked into the screw zones, and neither of the screws are magnetic, and nothing is of concern for looking anything like a magnet. I took the LCD screen off, nothing back there. I called the repair shop, all they say is that ASUS is crazy that they've never heard of a magnet controlling the sleep of a computer, as there is not electrical field. UGH! The guy knows his stuff, but this is something new to him I assume. The truth is, nothing points me to WHAT the magnet looks like, WHERE the magnet was/should be or HOW to test this theory. WTF?! So basically I am screwed. I am not giving up, I will find my answer, and I obviously won't have ASUS to thank for it...