I don't think sticking it on the power brick is a good idea. You're far more likely to lose that than the laptop at which point unless you're a packrat and wrote it down somewhere else (99% of users won't) if you need to reinstall windows you're SoL.
For that matter, I thought MS licensing reqs required sticking it to the computers primary chassis; which the power brick is not.
Yeah, it is a little questionable, but considering OEM machines ship with restore partitions/DVDs that put an activated copy of windows on the hard drive, the COA is only there to make you feel warm and fuzzy. Even if you want to install a clean version of Windows 7, it's just as easy to use ABR to backup and restore the key on the machine.
ASUS notebook does not need Windows Product key for installations. The licence number is embedded in hardware itself and the product key is never typed during OS recovery. Losing the COA does not stop your from reinstalling OS at all.
I can't find the picture right now, but they talked about the heatsink in this and showed a comparison of the thermals in the "Fruit Brand" ultra-portable, had a good giggle at that.
I wish they would include the 2.5" drives instead of these tiny things. I understand they want to make it as slim as possible but couldnt they have built this with a proper drive?
In a word: no. A 2.5 inch drive is about as thick as the whole laptop. The format they're using is mSATA - it's also used in the MacBook Air and a couple of other laptops.
I was really hoping to snag my 256SSD out of my HP Envy and drop it in this to UX21E to replace the 128GB. I have a core i7 in a nice small package but no flippin' hdd space. UGH
Anyone know where I can get a 256GB SSD in the correct form factor? I can't seem to find those Sandisk U100 anywhere
It looks like a regular mSATA drive, so that's the format you need to be searching for (I personally can find a few, but none of them are SATA 6Gbps drives).
So they didn't put the COA sticker on the laptop because of the looks but they still slapped fugly Intel and MS Stickers on it? I hope they're easily removable.
I own the UX31E. I see in the BIOS and in the driver stack there is support for a TPM chip. When you opened this up did you see a spot for a TPM chip. I will buy one and sodder it on myself if its reachable.
This is the only Zenbook teardown I could find online, and since it said a torx T2 was used, I spent all day Friday trying to get one locally. The smallest size Home Depot and other hardware stores had was T4. I finally found someone who had a T3 and borrowed it from him. The T3 was too small; it just spun around in the screwhead and did nothing.
His next size up in the kit was a T5 and it worked fine on the Zenbook's screws. Due to the small amount of play with the T5, I'm guessing a T6 will work fine (but I don't have one to test with). T6 is the same size Macbook Pros used to use.
I'm glad I didn't just order a T2 online and wait for it to arrive, because it wouldn't have worked at all.
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DanNeely - Tuesday, October 18, 2011 - link
I don't think sticking it on the power brick is a good idea. You're far more likely to lose that than the laptop at which point unless you're a packrat and wrote it down somewhere else (99% of users won't) if you need to reinstall windows you're SoL.For that matter, I thought MS licensing reqs required sticking it to the computers primary chassis; which the power brick is not.
icrf - Tuesday, October 18, 2011 - link
On the HP laptops I've dealt with at work, it's under the battery, which seems a perfectly secure and reasonable place.cheinonen - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
Would probably be hard on these with no removable batteries, though. PSU is about the only place to put it and not ruin the look they're after.MonkeyPaw - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
Yeah, it is a little questionable, but considering OEM machines ship with restore partitions/DVDs that put an activated copy of windows on the hard drive, the COA is only there to make you feel warm and fuzzy. Even if you want to install a clean version of Windows 7, it's just as easy to use ABR to backup and restore the key on the machine.BaRReLL - Friday, October 21, 2011 - link
ASUS notebook does not need Windows Product key for installations. The licence number is embedded in hardware itself and the product key is never typed during OS recovery.Losing the COA does not stop your from reinstalling OS at all.
leexgx - Monday, February 6, 2012 - link
you need an Asus Windows 7 Disk for the no key rule to work (like dells Any dell XP, Vista or 7 disk will load on any dell pc)tipoo - Tuesday, October 18, 2011 - link
I can't find the picture right now, but they talked about the heatsink in this and showed a comparison of the thermals in the "Fruit Brand" ultra-portable, had a good giggle at that.arnavvdesai - Tuesday, October 18, 2011 - link
I wish they would include the 2.5" drives instead of these tiny things. I understand they want to make it as slim as possible but couldnt they have built this with a proper drive?r3loaded - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
In a word: no. A 2.5 inch drive is about as thick as the whole laptop. The format they're using is mSATA - it's also used in the MacBook Air and a couple of other laptops.donline - Tuesday, October 18, 2011 - link
I was really hoping to snag my 256SSD out of my HP Envy and drop it in this to UX21E to replace the 128GB. I have a core i7 in a nice small package but no flippin' hdd space. UGHAnyone know where I can get a 256GB SSD in the correct form factor? I can't seem to find those Sandisk U100 anywhere
donline - Tuesday, October 18, 2011 - link
Brand new the thing only has 82GB free. I can't do jack with that.r3loaded - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
It looks like a regular mSATA drive, so that's the format you need to be searching for (I personally can find a few, but none of them are SATA 6Gbps drives).donline - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
Thanks r3loaded. Can you tell me where I can find a 256GB mSata? I can't seem to find them anywhere.Panlion - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
It actually doesn't look like mSATA. mSTAT drive looks a little wider than this.sprockkets - Tuesday, October 18, 2011 - link
Rather they use torx anyhow - those philips screws get stripped so easily. Now if only someone could make a breakaway power cable...michael2k - Friday, October 21, 2011 - link
Apple does.chrone - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
dear Anand, what is the lcd panel? is it using an ips or just another tft panel?Zak - Wednesday, October 19, 2011 - link
So they didn't put the COA sticker on the laptop because of the looks but they still slapped fugly Intel and MS Stickers on it? I hope they're easily removable.RU482 - Thursday, October 20, 2011 - link
Is the WLAN card proprietary, or is this a new form factor?jcornel7 - Sunday, October 23, 2011 - link
I own the UX31E. I see in the BIOS and in the driver stack there is support for a TPM chip. When you opened this up did you see a spot for a TPM chip. I will buy one and sodder it on myself if its reachable.PeterAhlstrom - Monday, December 5, 2011 - link
This is the only Zenbook teardown I could find online, and since it said a torx T2 was used, I spent all day Friday trying to get one locally. The smallest size Home Depot and other hardware stores had was T4. I finally found someone who had a T3 and borrowed it from him. The T3 was too small; it just spun around in the screwhead and did nothing.His next size up in the kit was a T5 and it worked fine on the Zenbook's screws. Due to the small amount of play with the T5, I'm guessing a T6 will work fine (but I don't have one to test with). T6 is the same size Macbook Pros used to use.
I'm glad I didn't just order a T2 online and wait for it to arrive, because it wouldn't have worked at all.