1. First Time Setup
Windows Installation Info
The beginning of this section of the guide is meant for a brand new ALLY device out of the box that has not been configured at all
This assumes that you are using the stock image of Windows 11 that the ROG ALLY comes with
If you already have your Windows account set up, your MyASUS and Armoury Crate SE fully updated, you can skip to the BIOS Downgrade (Optional)
Out of Box Experience - Set up Local Account (Optional)
For those that prefer not to use a Microsoft Account with the ROG ALLY Out of the Box, once you boot into Windows First Time Setup menu, do the following:
1. Choose your Language and your country for the keyboard, then click the Accessibility icon on the bottom right (looks like an outline of a person) and toggle the On-Screen Keyboard
2. Once the keyboard is open, tap on Shift + Fn + F10 and a Command Prompt window will open, tap on it so it's focused
3. Type in oobe\bypassnroand press Enter and the ALLY should reboot
4. Once it's back in the Windows First Time Setup, proceed with the normal steps, but choose "I don't have internet" when prompted to connect to your Wireless Network
5. Proceed with the rest of the setup - if you set a password, you will be asked to set security questions and set up the Fingerprint(if you don't set a password, you can't set up Fingerprint)
6. After the Password/Fingerprint is all set up, you should be booted into Windows, go ahead and now connect to your Wireless Network
7. Once you get into Windows, if Armoury Crate pops up, just minimize it for now
Run Windows Updates
Pretty self-explanatory, once connected to Wireless Network, run Windows Update and fully install any necessary updates and once complete, reboot
Go ahead and also set your proper Time Zone for Windows
Update MyASUS Drivers
1. Launch the MyASUS app pinned to the taskbar
2. Log in - or Register if you have not yet - and click the checkbox to also register your device to your account and to remember you on the device
3. Once inside, click to Go to the Homepage, then click the through all of the spammy ad popups, it will ask to update, say yes, this will close the app
4. (Optional) Re-open it, then click the Battery Care section and toggle Battery Care on, this will charge your device to 80% and stop, prolonging your batteries life
5. Go to the Essentials button and under LiveUpdate select "Update All". Sometimes newer drivers are also released in the "Latest" tab
6. Once they all say "need restart to complete", close the app and reboot (it will prompt to not close because it's still "downloading", just do it anyways
7. After the reboot, re-launch MyASUS and go to Settings then turn off the 3 settings:
8. Now you can close the app
Update Armoury Crate Special Edition
1. Open Armoury Crate Special Edition app pinned to the taskbar(if not already open)
2. It may immediately prompt for an update, proceed with any updates it does prompt for
3. If it closes itself, just give it a few seconds, then re-open if it does not re-open automatically
4. Once it finishes the main update, go to the top right where it says "Contents" and then "Update"
5. Choose "Update All" and let it finish
(Optional/Risk) BIOS Downgrade for Quieter Fans
While a lower BIOS Firmware (319 recommended) can give you quieter fans, there are downsides such as:
When upgrading or downgrading a BIOS, there is always a small measure of risk you could brick your device, but it is highly unlikely if you have your device plugged in(it's never happened to me, but the possibility exists)
Plug your device in before proceeding:
1. First we need to make sure it doesn't auto-update itself. Open MyASUS and go to Settings and turn off Automatic Essential Update
2. Open File Explorer and browse to C:\Windows\Firmware and look for any folders with a file named like RC71L330 (or something similar) - if so, delete the folder
3. Download the BIOS version from https://rog.asus.com/us/gaming-handhelds/rog-ally/rog-ally-2023/helpdesk_bios/
4. Extract the BIOS files from the zip file you downloaded
5. Download ASUS WinFlash from a trusted location, here is a link provided by MajorGeeks - https://www.majorgeeks.com/files/details/asus_winflash.html
6. Extract the files, then run the Setup.exe and install somewhere (ex. C:\Apps\WinFlash)
7. Once installed, open a Command Prompt Window as Administrator and browse to the program location (ex. cd "C:\Apps\Winflash")
8. Type in WinFlash /nodate this will launch the application, browse to the BIOS file you want to install
9. Let the file completely flash, then you will be prompted to reboot to complete the BIOS flash process
10. You can verify the BIOS version by opening MyASUS and clicking on System Info then under Firmware you should see Version RC71LXXX where XXX is the BIOS version
Recommended BIOS Settings
1. With the ALLY turned off, power it on and when you see the ROG animated logo start pressing the Volume - button
2. Once in the BIOS Menu, use the Directional Pad and Press the Y Button for the Advanced menu
3. Use the D-Pad Right to go to the Advanced tab and go to the bottom and press A where it says Animation Post Logo Configuration
4. Change this to Disabled (so you no longer get boot up sound at the ROG Logo)
5. Press the B Button and go up to the UMA Frame Buffer Size adjust this to 5G or 6G if you are on BIOS 323, otherwise 4G or Auto if on older BIOS version
6. Next set the SVM Mode to disabled - this disabled Virtualization and gives gaming a slight performance boost
(Optional) Disable ASUS Update Services
To really, really make sure ASUS doesn't push any other updates unless you want them you can stop the ASUS Update Services (this doesn't include Windows Driver updates, you will find that on 3. Windows OS Tweaks)
Automatic to Disabled and click OKAutomatic to Disabled and click OKC:\Windows\Firmware and look for any folders with a file named like RC71L330 (or something similar) - if so, delete the folderProceed to 2. (Optional) Windows OS Debloat