How to fix ASUS notebook freezing & brightness issues after Windows 10 Upgrade?

Question

My ASUS G73JH gaming notebook was working properly with the original Windows 7. I upgraded it to Windows 10 and started experiencing a collection of problems:

• Inability to adjust screen brightness in the system configuration settings
• Keyboard backlight not working
• Random freezing, sometimes during startup and sometimes after login
• Sometimes get "MACHINE_CHECK_EXCEPTION" Blue Screen of Windows 10

I tried reinstalling Windows 10 from scratch using an ISO on a USB drive, and running Windows Update, but these actions don't fix the problems.

Note: This is a self-answered question intended to help others with some common problems of upgrading to Windows 10 on the ASUS notebook.

Answer 1

Note: This solution could work on other ASUS models, but it was only tested on G73JH.

There are two keys to fixing this.

1. Drivers

   The correct drivers for the notebook are bundled in a package you need to get from ASUS. Follow this upgrade sequence:

   • First, if the Windows 10 upgrade did not work using the automated process, install the ISO on an empty bootable USB drive.
   • After upgrading, let the laptop update everything from the Internet.
   • The Windows 7 drivers are not compatible with Windows 10, so do not reinstall any of the drivers from the original ATK package.
   • Install the latest Asus Windows 10 ATK package for laptop drivers.

2. Registry Patches

   The final step is recommended if you experience screen brightness issues.

   • Go to Registry Editor (regedit.exe)
   • Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4d36e968-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}\0000

   • Find:

     MD_EnableBrightnesslf2
KMD_EnableBrightnessInterface2

     Set both to 0.

   • Reboot.

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Credit for fixing the issues goes to notebookreview forum