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Empty Driver Downloads for ROG Strix Scar 17" 2021 G733QS

mimarsinan
Level 9
The following driver installers are always empty and extract a folder with no actual drivers (just a batch file and a readme file without anything else), regardless of whether the setup mode is installation or extraction only:

https://rog.asus.com/laptops/rog-strix/2021-rog-strix-scar-17-series/helpdesk_download

Broken assets:

Wireless radio control driver - Wirelessradiocontroldriver_ASUS_Z_V1.0.0.13_12972.exe - screenshot enclosed
AMD Chipset - AMD_Chipset_DriverOnly_ROG_AMD_J_V1.2.0.117_21762.exe - screenshot enclosed
ASUS NumberPad driver - PrecisionTouchPadNumberPad_ROG_ASUS_J_V12.0.0.36_21509.exe - screenshot enclosed

Some assets are also not available at all as downloads, please see the screenshot of MyAsus complaining about missing drivers (even after everything has been manually installed).

Finally, installing all drivers that are available at the above URL causes some problems with the Windows Device Manager - some devices will be broken after the process and cannot be fixed at all by Windows Update.

I have to do more research on this last issue to report it properly, so for now, it'd be great if we could start with the missing drivers, and take it from there. (I have already posted separately about the MyAsus issue).

Related Issues:

Armoury Crate Always Fails to Install: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?125567
MyAsus Failing to Download/Install Driver Updates: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?125568
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20 REPLIES 20

xeromist
Moderator
I'm not sure why you're having problem with extraction but I just checked AMD_Chipset_DriverOnly_ROG_AMD_J_V1.2.0.117_21762.exe from the link above and it has full contents inside. Try installing 7-zip file manager and using it to extract the contents to a folder. Then you can run the bat file or use device manager to update drivers using that location as the source.
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station…

xeromist wrote:
I'm not sure why you're having problem with extraction but I just checked AMD_Chipset_DriverOnly_ROG_AMD_J_V1.2.0.117_21762.exe from the link above and it has full contents inside. Try installing 7-zip file manager and using it to extract the contents to a folder. Then you can run the bat file or use device manager to update drivers using that location as the source.


Can you share a screenshot of your extracted folder? When you extract any executable with 7-Zip, unless it recognizes the archive type directly, it will actually deconstruct the resources found in the binary file. So you'll be mistaken thinking the extraction has succeeded when it in fact has not. The extracted files are unusable binary resources that are not drivers.

If your findings are any different, please attach screenshots of both the 7-Zip extracted folder and the folder that is produced by the Asus provided extraction process itself. While both don't need to be identical, at least one of the folders should contain the drivers.

Thank you so much @xeromist for replying!

Interesting update here. The files extract on a clean instance of the Asus system image. I have no idea why they fail to extract on my actual product OS image.

Asus, do you mind switching to a real installer? We use InstallAware at work. There's many others too, I'm sure, which would extract properly.

I have never seen an installer which fails to extract files on some systems while working on others. This is utter sacrilege.

I have no A/V (other than the customary Windows Defender) on my OS image. This is definitely a first!

mimarsinan wrote:
Can you share a screenshot of your extracted folder? When you extract any executable with 7-Zip, unless it recognizes the archive type directly, it will actually deconstruct the resources found in the binary file. So you'll be mistaken thinking the extraction has succeeded when it in fact has not. The extracted files are unusable binary resources that are not drivers.

If your findings are any different, please attach screenshots of both the 7-Zip extracted folder and the folder that is produced by the Asus provided extraction process itself. While both don't need to be identical, at least one of the folders should contain the drivers.

Thank you so much @xeromist for replying!


FWIW, I've done this exact procedure many times with driver installers in order to do a manual driver install via Device Manager. Whenever 7-zip was successful in actually extracting files I was able to use them. In many cases an exe cannot be extracted of course but when 7-zip recognizes the installer as just a wrapper it works. Basically I've never had it attempt to extract and produce garbage. It either works or doesn't.

It looks like you figured out how to make it work but I wanted to at least answer your question.
A bus station is where a bus stops. A train station is where a train stops. On my desk, I have a work station…

xeromist wrote:
FWIW, I've done this exact procedure many times with driver installers in order to do a manual driver install via Device Manager. Whenever 7-zip was successful in actually extracting files I was able to use them. In many cases an exe cannot be extracted of course but when 7-zip recognizes the installer as just a wrapper it works. Basically I've never had it attempt to extract and produce garbage. It either works or doesn't.

It looks like you figured out how to make it work but I wanted to at least answer your question.


Thanks again for taking the time to post an update.

Of course my question remains unanswered still - why is their installer extracting only two files on some Windows OS images and the payload on other OS images?

This is crazy. The underlying hardware is exactly the same. The OS image shouldn't matter. All other apps run file. This is a stable production image that only Asus, so far, seems to be having a problem with.

BTW the related issues fully remain unresolved too:

Armoury Crate Always Fails to Install: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?125567
MyAsus Failing to Download/Install Driver Updates: https://rog.asus.com/forum/showthread.php?125568

Asus really need to rework their software stack! I don't know what tools, compilers, libraries they're using - but they're failing.

The latest version of the MyASUS UWP app still cannot download or install updates. UWP apps are sandboxed, they're supposed to be divorced from the underlying OS to the fullest extent possible. The fact that Asus got even its own sandboxed app to fail on custom OS installs, underscores my point above about the issue not being the "fault" of my OS image.

Similarly just do an online search for Armoury Crate installation errors. You get TONS of hits. People are literally suffering. They are basically resorting to voodoo to get these critical system components to work. I still have no way to manually switch between my AMD on-die GPU and the nVIDIA dedicated GPU because that feature is hidden away in this "crate" app.

I'm trying to be helpful to Asus here. If their payload extraction isn't working robustly (in 2021! - getting extractions to randomly fail ought to be a major embarrassment to anyone) this could explain why they're unable to work properly when invoked from grouped installers such as the "crate" install, or the MyASUS app. For all I know, MyASUS is downloading but failing to extract the expected payload, ditto with the "crate" setup.

Of course the utter lack of transparency, logging, and replies from Asus doesn't make anything easier for *anyone*.

I was promised a turnaround time of 24-48 hours after sending in my now completed problem report form with lots of hardware information on what is clearly a software issue. Asus, do you have any updates regarding this thread? There's no response yet from anyone.

This is the reply I got from Asus:

"After collaborating with our support staff, we are now able to provide you with a recommendation on how to address your concern. Our team has suggested to please check with your local region for support as US regional notebooks come with the preloaded software and OS. If your notebook comes with no OS, you will need to contact your local region for the drivers. You can try our drivers but not sure if they are compatible with your region. I see where your device is zoned for EEMEA. I do apologize for any inconvenience that this has caused.

Please see link: https://rog.asus.com/supportonly/g733qs/helpdesk_download

Armoury Crate installer: https://dlcdnets.asus.com/pub/ASUS/GamingNB/AppforWin10/AarmouryCrate/ArmouryCrateInstallTool.zip"

This is a joke, right? Is there anybody senior here who may provide actually meaningful assistance? The self-extractor packages built by Asus fail to extract on a large variety of operating systems. This has nothing to do with zoning or anything else.

BigJohnny
Level 13
Your best bet is to find some in your region that has the eSupport folder located in C:\ All the drivers are there. You aren't the only one to have the same issue. The Update has never worked......ever!

A bit late for you but All my ASUS laptops the first thing I do is run updates then clone the drive to a new drive. I buy them with the smallest drive because the first thing Im going to do is clone it to a larger drive including the eSupport folder and factory reset partition and put the original in a drawer for same keeping. That way I always have a fall back and if I need to send it in I can just swap drives back as they will not even attempt a repair on anything thats changed from the factory, even something as simple as added memory or a drive. I also dont have to worry about the data on it if I have to send it in with the orignal drive that has nothing installed on it but updates.

BigJohnny wrote:
Your best bet is to find some in your region that has the eSupport folder located in C:\ All the drivers are there. You aren't the only one to have the same issue. The Update has never worked......ever!

A bit late for you but All my ASUS laptops the first thing I do is run updates then clone the drive to a new drive. I buy them with the smallest drive because the first thing Im going to do is clone it to a larger drive including the eSupport folder and factory reset partition and put the original in a drawer for same keeping. That way I always have a fall back and if I need to send it in I can just swap drives back as they will not even attempt a repair on anything thats changed from the factory, even something as simple as added memory or a drive. I also dont have to worry about the data on it if I have to send it in with the orignal drive that has nothing installed on it but updates.


I do the same, I cloned the OS image before applying my own production image. On the original OS image the drivers do extract successfully. Using these, I have been able to install most of the drivers - but some more complex packages still don't install. Specifically the abomination that they're calling Armoury Crate.

This is because you simply don't have an offline installer for it. Guess what happens when Asus uses an online installer when they cannot even get basic packages to self-extract properly on all Windows operating systems? Yes, the master installer fails!

For reasons unknown and to the literal inconvenience of the entire planet, the brilliant Asus software team have decided it is absolutely okay to dynamite the most basic and simple step in any software installation: Extraction of the payload.

I once again emphasize that as long as Asus is using and insisting on using a broken payload extraction process as I have documented here, it is simply going to be miraculous for anyone to successfully install their abominant packages like the Armoury Crate.

The Internet is going to continue to be littered with countless YouTube videos on how to install this and other abominations, none of which actually get to the core of the issue, which is why most of the videos don't and won't work for everyone.

I'll keep researching when I have time to see what exactly triggers the Asus extractors and if there's a way to work around it one way or the other. If I find a solution, you can rest assured I will be charging Asus handsomely for it.

This is their responsibility and they have no clue what they're doing.