V4000T and World Of Warcraft issues...please help

I posted this in the HP forum as well. Sorry if im not suppose to double post but I really need some help.

Ok, heres the deal. Ive had my V4000T for a couple weeks now.

After playing World Of Warcraft for about 30-45 minutes my laptop just restarts itself in the middle of the game. This happens all the time. I have read that a cooling pad is a must if the laptop is to be used for any sort of gaming, which I intend on getting. However, I did call HP and talked to them about this issue first.

The tech guy said that more than likely it is an issue with the game and not the laptop. He said my laptop probably doesnt meet the minimum hardware requirements for the game. After he mentioned this i remembered that when I was installing WOW i did get a message saying that my hardware did not meet the minimum requirements. It said I did not have the recommended processor. I figured I only got this message because I have a Pentium M and not a Pent III or Pent IV. I didnt think much of it though because I thought the Pentium M is pretty much an equivalent.

I asked the guy if the laptop was shutting down due to overheating, and he was saying no, because if it was overheating it would just shut down and I wouldnt be able to restart it for a few minutes. Does this sound right or is it possible to overheat after only having the laptop on for 45 min?

If anyone has any ideas or suggestions please please help. Thanks

- Compaq Presario V4000T CTO NB
- Microsoft(R) Windows(R) XP Home Edition with SP2
- Intel(R) Pentium(R) M Processor 740 (1.73 GHz)
- 15.4" WXGA BrightView Widescreen (1280x800)
- 128MB ATI MOBILITY(TM) RADEON(R) X700
- 1280MB DDR2 SDRAM (1x256MB + 1x1024MB)
- 80 GB 5400 RPM Hard Drive

 

Not the hardware. Could be a corrupt install, or corrupt driver.

 

I hate to say it, but I think that tech support guy doesn't know his head from his arse. The v4000t easily meets the minimum requirements of WoW; the Pentium M is much more powerful than a Pentium 4 at the same clock speed.

Unfortunately, the consensus on this forum is that the v4000t's cooling system is woefully inadequate for the x700. You are having heat problems; when the processor or the GPU hits a critical temperature, it either clocks down to save itself from self-destruction, or restarts the system. It's entirely possible for a system to overheat within 45 minutes if you're playing games. If you really want to find out, I recommend you download and run MobileMeter and chart your CPU temperatures, especially while playing WoW.

Instead of a cooling pad, some people have had some luck with the v4000t just using the 12-cell battery rather than the 6-cell, because the 12-cell raises the system up a little bit in the back and provides better airflow.

If you want a cooling pad, I recommend the Coolermaster Notepal. Its metal construction does a much better job of absorbing and dissipating heat than a plastic cooling pad.

 

I had the same problem with battlefront 2 on mine (well actually the computer locked up and I had to restart). I was able to fix it by updating my drivers (I used the ExtremeG mobile force ones from Tweaksrus that Chaz recomennded). They are for nvidia but i think they have ATI ones as well.

 

My first thought is a bad install. I have a hard time beleiving in it being the drivers because the V4000T needs a modified driver for the x700 in it. It ships with the latest one because that latest is from like november. Try re-installing it. When you uninstall manually wipe the residual folder (it never gets rid of the prog file folder) to insure a squeeky clean install

 

What type of surface are you playing games on. Once when I was playing Halo on my lap the game shut down. My computer was still running but the game wasn't running. Playing on the bed or your lap is not a good idea. I have cooler for my v4000t and I play BF2 no problem. Just get a cheap one off new egg. I also got the 12cell battery and this helps raise the back off the ground.
Tim

 

Thanks for all the quick replys everyone. I forgot to mention I am playing with the laptop on a desk using AC power.

I bought this laptop specifically to be able to play WOW in hotels while I am away from home on business. I didnt think it could be a hardware problem, because i did do a lot of research before I bought this thing and knew it was capable of playing WOW no problem.

Guess my next step is to look for a cooling pad.

Thanks for all the replies. Keep the suggestions coming if anyone has anything else.

 

Do you have the 6 cell or the 12 cell? Do you use NHC?
Tim

 

Tim,

I have the 6 cell battery. I didnt buy the 12 cell because I never really had any intent on running my laptop without it plugged in.

What is NHC?

 

sounds to me like it is overheating. if i am able to play WoW on a p3, 1ghz, 256mb ram and cable..then your v4000 will handle it very well.

could also try re-installing the drivers..defrag the hdd, check for spyware etc..could be something running in the background that might be locking the system.

NHC is notebook hardware control..it allows you to change your computer's settings for more/less battery life.

hope this helps,

pb,out.

 

Here is where you can get Notebook Hardware Control. I helps to control all your laptops settings. A must have program.

Try proping up your laptop to give it some breathing room and see if this helps.
Tim

 

Everyone has been giving excellent advice. I'd definitely hop on the band wagon and suggest a cooling pad first and foremost, and if you are still having problems, then there are some other things you can do.

Undervolting the processor with NHC is a good idea too, saves a bit of heat.

In the mean time while you are waiting for the cooling pad to arrive, what I would do is prop up the back of the notebook with a pencil under each rubber foot, helps get more ventiliation under the notebook. I know that trick from my ancient PIII Dell i5000. Long story.

 

Ok I have had a similar problem in one of the areas you mentioned. When I was in my car with my laptop I had it plugged in the cars ac oulet/cigarette lighter through and ac converter. I went to install the game Fable and it told me my processor did not meet the minimum requirements. I installed the game anyways and began to play and I noticed the performance wasnt good and about halfway into the game my laptop shut off. At the time my laptop was new> But what I found out was my adpater was lose and the notebook was runing of battery so it had clocked everything down. I also noticed plugged in my laptop was only running at 998 mhz also. I had it set to the MAXIMUM PERFORMANCE setting in power options!! how could this be!!? Well I did some research and one of the only settings that doesnt clock it down is the ALWAYS ON power setting. This might not be your problem but this subject can be very vague sometimes and is good to know. Also if i were you Id download a program to view your gpu temps. In a laptop cooling can often become and issue and its best to monitor the situation especially in your case where heat might be the enemy.

Viper out

 

NHC will help you out alot. You can set you laptops performance all the way with that program. I noticed a slow down when I didn't have it running.

Check you AC adapter. If it is loose that will cause your problem for sure. It happened to me once and I couldn't figure it out and then I realized my laptop was unpluged. lol
Tim

 

I own a v4000t and run a lot of high end games on it and it definately has heat issues. I have a cheapie plastic coolpad I got from Walmart which does help, but not enough. What i finally did was underclock my video card about 20%. This essentially fixed my overheating problem and didn't drastically effect it's gaming performance. I also lowered the graphics settings a bit in the games I played which also helped. I plan to buy a better coolpad soon and hope that will allow me to clock my video back up a bit. From memory, I think I have my x700 at 270mhz core and 280mhz memory. I'm surprised at how strongly the video board still performs underclocked that much.

 

Everyone, thanks for all the good advice. Chaz, I just tried the pencil trick. I could definitely feel the air blowing out as opposed to when I didnt have it propped up at the back, and thought it would help. Unfortunately my laptop just rebooted while I was in the middle of WoW PvP after about 45 min or so.

I sure hope this is only a heat issue and nothing more serious. I will be buying a cooling pad for sure this weekend. Hopefully that will take care of it.

Thanks.

 

How long is your fan on for before it shuts off? Did you check the temps in NHC while playing?
Tim

 

I had a simmilar problem with my desktop. My computer would just restart and the "blue screen of death" flashed, when playing HL2, CSS, or DODS. Turns out that the origional drivers that came with the card wern't good enough to run these games well. I went to the nvidia site and downloaded the latest drivers. No problems after that.

 

Well everyone, thanks so much for all the suggestions. I bought a cooling pad today and have come to the conclusion my laptop was having heating issues as most had suggested. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834999336
For the first time I was able to play WOW today without my computer rebooting. Played a good solid 3 hours.

Thanks everyone! I am much happier about my V4000T now.

 

Looks like you got the ideal cooling pad; the all-metal construction probably helps lower your temps a lot. Glad your system is operating decently now!

 

That is still really bad that it overheats and shuts down. It shouldn't do that! If I were you I would consider to slightly underclock / undervolt the CPU. And Perhaps slightly underclock the GPU. Then you might not need the cooling pad. Because if your on the go, and wan't to game... you shouldn't have to lug a cooling pad around with you.

 

I am happy that you got your laptop to work. Have fun gaming.
Tim

 

Agreed, that is indeed really odd. It shouldnt shut down and after all its a new notebook shouldnt be heating up so fast. I would call tech support and send it in, could be a bad connection somewhere or not enough thermal paste on the CPU.

Well atleast you got your cooling pad, working with your notebook, have fun.

 

I agree, it does suck that this does happen and that I have to carry around a cooling pad with me in order to use it. Whether or not there is a bad connection or not enough cooling paste on the CPU I dont know.

However, I wasnt too impressed with the times that I called HP tech support. The last guy told me that it wasnt overheating and that it either was a problem with the WOW software, or that my laptop didnt meet the requirement for the game. The tech support guys have the book and technical smarts. However, I dont think they have the everyday use knowledge regarding gaming and such like most people on here have.

Its working fine now so Im happy.