Help with weird hangs in 8920G Vista HP64

Hello everybody! I need some help from you. I just bought a not-so-portable Acer 8920G in Argentina. It is a great laptop, but I'm running into random hangs all the time, with no easy explanation. The hangs are system-wide, all programs stop to function and the only thing I can do is move the mouse pointer around the screen. The alt-tab also works and I can switch between non-functioning programs, although nothing can be done to close them or to recover them.
One curious thing is that the task manager doesn't appear to work during this hangs, but after the system recovers, the TM appears on the screen normally.

Sometimes this hangs keep on going for many minutes, and disabling the Wi-Fi or pressing the power button, or plugging/unplugging something USB causes the system to get back to work as if nothing would happen. Very, very weird.

I haven't installed an AV, and I am sure it is not a Virus-related problem, since it began the very first day I bought the laptop, being behind a corporate firewall.

This is my first computer running Windows Vista Home Premium 64, so I can't tell if I am having an OS-caused problem. Besides, when I'm not having this problem, the system works perfectly, with no signs of something malfunctioning. Sometimes I can use the computer for a couple of hours straight without errors, specially if it already had a hang before.

Any thoughts on these weird issue you can share with me?

Thanks!!!!!!!

 

I forgot to say that leaving the computer alone when it hangs almost always ends up getting back to normal, like if it were a momentary hang. It appears to happen with internet-using apps, like browsers, Outlook, downloads and Google Earth.

Anybody?

 

Hmm, it's difficult to say....


You should check your CPU/GPU temps.

Also, you've said that the Task Manager isn't working when the laptops is in this "hang state" but it will be really useful if you can get it to work and check what application is causing this abnormal CPU usage(if this is the cause). Can you check the event viewer for eventual error logs?

 

The Task Manager can no be called when the systems hangs, and if it was already open, it is also hanged so is unusable. It is a system-wide hang, with only the mouse pointer working. If I wait a couple of minutes, the system returns to work normally.

Do you think that just browsing the web can heat up the system so bad up to the point of locking it? And how comes that it recovers automatically after a couple of minutes? Wouldn't a temperature problem lock the system for good until a hardware reset is done?

I am puzzled because the computer returns from the "hang state". Many lock ups in the past on other systems were because of temperature o PSUs or hardware, but they were permanent, needing a hw reset. This lock is only temporal and lacks blue screens or memory dumps, or complete freezes, or more usual symptoms.

What do you think?

 

Not really sure what might causing this..

I suggest you backup everything important and do a restore to factory default. This way we'll rule out possible hardware problem. If after restore the system hangs as usual I suggest you call the store or Acer and ask for replacement.

 

Hi, is the hard drive light illuminated when it hangs, have you checked for virus's or trojans, used adaware?
Chris

 

Hi Chris. The HDD light is stuck while the system is hanged. That lead me to check the System Viewer, where I found mentions of something going on with the SATA HDD. That, again, lead me to discover a common bug in the RAID controller my notebook has. Apparently, I might be having a RAID controller issue. I am now about to install a new Intel controllers and see what the result is.

I am sure virii or trojans have nothing to do with this, because last night I did a factory restore and within minutes of using the restored computer I was having the hangs again.

I will post the results of the RAID contreller drivers update.

Thanks Chris and ATG!

 

If you restored your laptop to factory default and you still have this hangs I suggest you call the store or Acer and ask for replacement.

You can try to install the latest SATA/RAID drivers from here, I'm sure yours are very old.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...strOSs=163&OSFullName=Windows Vista*&lang=eng

 

@ATG: I live in Argentina, where Acer is represented, but there are no replacement policies in the stores. I will try to solve the issue myself, as sending the computer to an authorized technician will take not less than a couple of weeks...

 

Check these SATA drivers, it's very possible that the hangs are coming from there. I edited my previous post to include a link to them, a multilanguage version is available.

 

I finally solved my problem, although not the way I thought I would. It was, as I discovered, a SATA RAID controller problem, but upgrading the drivers didn't help. I had to edit a registry key, and that was it.

Anyway, I am surprised to see such an expensive laptop getting out of quality control with a problem like this unnoticed.

More and more, the computer manufacturers are letting bad software and bad configurations ruin the consumer experience with their products (does Sony ring a bell?).

 

I surprised that Intel hasn't fixed that issue with the newer drivers(or maybe it's a new one?)...

Glad to see you've sorted it out.

 

Hello,

I have the same problem with my 8920 gemstone. I was one of the first machines on the market. Does anyone knows what registry key to be set to resolve the hanging problem ?

 

Hi, although mine doesn't have this problem...
Chris