P-6860fx shuts down while on battery

Hello,

I just got a 6860 2 days ago and overall im pretty happy with it, I only have one problem, sometimes when im playing a game on battery the laptop shuts down instantly, and when I tried to turn it back on it wouldn't, so I thought the battery was just drained, however, when I plug my AC and turn it on, vista tells me theres about 40% left in the battery, and I unplug it again and open a game and play for about 15-20 mins... There was no way the battery couldve charge that fast in like 1-2 mins.

Whats going on here?

I also notice that vista tells me that my battery is low when it drops from 100% to 99%.....I consider 15% low...not 99

any help would be appreciated

other than that Im pretty happy with the laptop. excellent performance and price.

 

Some settings in the power section?I think that might be it or try recalibrating the battery.

 

Don't know about the rest of it, but the P-6860fx I bought Sunday does the same thing with the systray message - "Your Battery is Low (98%)..."

I tried to recalibrate my battery per the instructions (F2 to BIOS, Adv page, select Battery Auto Memory) but alas, that option isn't in my BIOS. That, and I have a faulty CD/DVD drive means I'm taking it back this evening for a replacement laptop.

I haven't tried to run a game yet, but I have run the battery down near 15% and it didn't shut itself down.

G/L

 

if that doesn't work since you got it 2 days ago you could go get it replaced

 

yeah I just saw the power settings, it was set to alert low battery at 99%...I just put it on 15% now...

However im still doubtful about the other issue, It seems odd that It would just shut down and not turn on at all, only after I plugged the AC it worked.

Im gonna try recalibrating the battery however I don't have that option in the bios

 

i knew i wasn't the only one with this problem here!!

and it did it at the store in front of them. this was the main reason why i switched to the 6860 from the 6831. and this one does it as well, but when i down the voltage it takes alot longer and sometimes it wont cut off at all.

now the geek tech mentioned something to me while i was there, but i wasn't sure if he knew what he was talking about....

he said that since this computer is using so much power that it can't handle it so it shuts off (8800m gts). (now thinking about mtnmike and his battery problems) because the battery gets very warm and then click. off goes the computer. need the power adapter to make it come back on. makes me wonder if this is why they started slowing down the cards with the new drivers.

 

hmm, well I just charged it to 90% and unplugged it and started playing and it played till hibernation......didnt shut down this time

 

going to really put that all to the test over the next few days... really need to understand why it does that.

i might want to show off my master piece out in public...only to find out that ooops.....my battery died after 15 minutes of game play...*LOL* and make a hasty exit to find a plug to plug it back in...rotfl!

it shut off on me playing cod4 and crysis
normal browsing...it was good.

 

I just ended a painful chat support session with gateway..... I told them my problem.

First he tells me that its shutting down because the games im trying to play (halo 2 and crysis) are not supported... I told him that was nonsense and blah blah blah and that they run perfectly and it only happens when on battery.

Then he tells me I need to recalibrate my battery, he tells me to find that option in the advanced mode of the bios which DOES NOT EXIST.

so then he tells me this

"the main reason is when playing this highend games the laptop video cards consumes more power and if the system does not have enought power it might shutdown even the battery is not drained."

And yes, thats his spelling lol.....probably someone in India... sigh

Then I asked him that why I had to plug the adapter so I cant turn it on and he told me it might also be a battery issue.

Im still on my 14 day window so I might exchange it for another one, but i dont want to get another one with the same issue since I dont exactly live in the usa...

 

makes allot of sense now.
that's what the best buy tech told me as well... about the video card taking so much power and that the system would shut off. this is my second one and it did it right out the box. but once i started messing with the voltage...it just about stopped altogether. so i stopped trying to find out.....think im going to start back on that now.

 

I was looking at the vista power options, have you tried turning off the power save mode for the PCI express link? mine was set to "maximum battery" when...........on battery....

I dont know but it might be something.

 

yep, i have my own power option profiles.

and it is def a voltage issue.....

 

i wonder if this might be a general issue, or we are just 2 unlucky persons, you being the one that got 2 with the same problem lol.

As far as I can see, no one else has reported this issue right?

BTW, i see that you upgraded your processor, dont you think that might be the problem?

 

ok i found a way to make it happen almost instantly!!!

Download atitool and orthos, on ati tools run scan for artifacts and on orthos run the stress test!

my laptop shuts down within one minute lol...

Can anyone else try this to see if it happens too?

EDIT:
nm...just ran it again for 20 mins and nothing happened lol... guess ill just have to play with the AC plugged in

 

we'll give that a try as well... it's shutting off as we speak trying to adjust settings and play crysis or cod4

 

When my system first comes on, I see in the lower right corner in green print Profile 5, what is that?

 

hahaha, you got me...what is that....profile 5 loading...did you save a profile in ntune??

 

Thats what I thought, but I am not useing ntune any more.

 

technically gateway brags about all support being in north america.

 

I haven't had that problem with my 172s fx.
My gpu is mildly overclocked to 660/1900. I've been playing CoD4, WWIIO, LoTRo "DX10" with only the battery and never had it shutdown.

 

I exchanged my p-6860fx that I bought Sunday (6/1) with a new one tonight. This one doesn't have the "Battery auto learning" thing in the BIOS either, like the manual, gateway website and tech support person in Chat said it should. But the CD/DVD drive does work on this one - the main reason I took the old one back.

The geek-squad guy tried to fix the CD/DVD problem, and couldn't. He tried the same thing the gameway tech person did -- something about removing the high & low filters for the drive in the registery. I didn't really understand but apparently this is a known issue to both the gateway tech person and the geeksquad guys. Turns out it wasn't my issue, but I thought it was interesting that as soon as I said cd drive problem, both Gateway and BestBuy jumped on the same cause - must have seen it before with this one.


Anyway, exchanged the laptop - no problems. Only had to wait almost an hour why they examined the one I bought on Sunday. Otherwise, all is well. I got a cd/dvd drive that works, so off to make a clean install of Vista. This is a nice PC... looking forward to "kicking the tires" with Call of Duty 4 or Bioshock when I get a fresh install set up.

 

660/1900? are you pulling our legs here?

(i made that mistake with mtnmike, so im going to ask first!..*LOL*)

i wonder if this is just a 6831/6860 issue...even though they are the same computer in just about everyway.....

yeah, they are telling stories... im going to use my bios editor to look at the bios and see if it can be enabled. lets us know how it plays on games while on battery as well.

 

Not at all. But, I wouldn't advise anyone to run these speeds UNLESS you know what you are doing.

I have totally disassembled my 172s fx to see about modding and it's overclocking potental. While the build is quite good for a standard gaming labtop,there is some flaws for fully overclocking it."which I am in the process to remedy"

Here's my reasons:
1. While they do use a above average thermal paste. "not the white goop" They don't use the appropriate amount on the gpu and cpu. "They use too much "Which is not surprising, Dell's, Sager,Alienware all do also. Remember you not trying to fill the Grand Canyon, only micro gaps.

2. While the heatsinks are solid copper. The surface is far from perfect. They need to be lapped to level the surface to help remove the micro gaps. But, you do have to be careful lapping the heatsinks because of the mounting system. I don't think there is enough tolerance for much lapping. I did however get mine to a mirror finish and it seats perfect. As soon as I get these new fans I'm hoping to come close to the 700/2000 mhz don't really know if I can on air cooling. But, going to give it a try anyhow.

3. The fans.They are great for standard use .But, for overclocking I prefer higher cfm ones. I am in the process of getting better blower fans and will update you on my success.

One good thing about these notebooks. They are using the 8800 GTS and not the GTX. The 8800 GTS has much more head room for overclocking than the GTX's are able to do. Infact it has so much head room.That it can easily surpass the 8800 GTX. " This is where the proper usage of thermal paste and heatsink finish becomes important."



Here's my website: http://www.exoticmodding.com/

 

you have my attention!

what is your 3dmark06 score with that? and how did you get the shaders 1900?

 

I haven't ran 3dmark yet. I have my notebook apart for upgrading the fans atm. I wanted to wait till It's finished then run it.
As for overclocking the GPU I just ran a overclocker program I have and kept messing it till it got unstable then backed it off alittle. My only concern is the fan cooling. I may try peltier's on the gpu just to see what happens.

I'm am however putting a step by step guide on how to do this and video. But, Beware .You do this at your own risk. I will not be held reliable for any explosions,small or large forest fires,deaths or power outages. But will be liable for XPS and Alienware owners crying.

Here's my x9000 stats:

CPU Arch : 1 CPU - 2 Cores - 2 Threads
CPU PSN : Intel Core2 Extreme CPU X9000 @ 2.80GHz (ES)
CPU EXT : MMX SSE SSE2 SSE3 SSSE3 SSE4.1 EM64T
CPUID : 6.7.6 / Extended : 6.17
CPU Cache : L1 : 2 x 32 / 2 x 32 KB - L2 : 6144 KB
Core : Penryn (45 nm) / Stepping : C0

Freq : 3345.18 MHz (238.94 * 14)

 

well if nobody else reports the shutdown problem while on battery i might end up exchanging it for another one.

 

Competition, johnkss.

 

how did you over clock the cpu?

 

yeah, huh. lol

wonder what happened to killeroverload? you see him around still?

 

Nope. I venture to guess either he overloaded his FX or he's busy playing with it.

 

You guys are trying to game with a 11vdc battery and a 8800 This is a "problem" with my 7900GS as well.

IMHO it does nothing but wreck and overheat your battery. We would have to check the under max load voltage while on battery. Golly, why would the battery be so hot you can not hold it

I would think that the manufactures would put a disclaimer for people with high powered GPUs that want to game while on battery, for what, 30 minutes if the battery does not explode?

 

yeah, i think he is busy with school. he had finals or something.

you are very right! i have been testing it with different clock speeds and under volting the cpu to 1.28 volts running 13x at 2.8 ghz speed and running gpu at 400/600 keeping the battery voltage at about an even 10.8. this seems to be working. and it's at a minimal frame loss. still about 30 to 50 frames at 1440x1050.

 

Well does it happen on your FX laptop?

 

Anyone else having this issue? I am trying to duplicate but so far mine didn't shut down

 

try running an intensive 3d app, like ati tools "scan for artifacts" option or crysis...or a 3dmark loop

 

Guys, let's think about this. IMHO and working with electronics for a living, I would suggest that the battery be used for low power usages. This includes surfing and watching movies and enough time during a power outage to shut down your game.

andrewe1, no I have not tried it nor will I due to the fact that I hate the expensive, explosion prone Lithium Ion batteries. In other words I'm cheap and don't want to break it

I have used my battery for all of the above while setting laptop to power saver mode to eek out max battery life. When gaming, to protect battery and keep CPU out of any power saving mode, I plug it in. Remember that each full cycle brings you closer to buying a new battery. Batteries are only warranted for 1 year, regardless of your lengh of warranty, as I have found out with my Dell.

If you think I'm wrong, no problem, LOL, I'm always getting slammed for not telling people what they want to hear.

Cheers

 

I understand what you are saying, still, if me and only another person are the only ones with this problem, out of everyone owning an FX laptop, then clearly something is wrong, regardless whether you should do it or not...

I got the best buy accidental protection program, which covers everything, however if something is really wrong i wanna know that I can exchange it for another one, if I wait I have to send it to repair.

 

I understand your concern. It's a PITA but as other have said, bring it back to BB. It is possible your battery is marginal so a second laptop will let you know.

If you do it let us know for any fence sitters.

 

i got 2 and they both did it

 

Ouch! You better keep that bad boy X9000 well fed or it may turn on you.

 

hahaha, nope...

it did it right out the box..but it took it a bit for it did do it

all stock everything.

 

Well, I found on mine. If I unplug the ac cord with my wireless or my evdo card on while gaming ,it dumps out also.
Also, while going from ac to dc my evdo signal drops about 8 dbi. So, I'm guessing the battery just doesn't have the guts to run everything.

 

well yeah but you are running and x9000 and an overclocked gpu... thats sucking even MORE power isn't it?

Did you have to plug it into the AC to turn it on too?

 

and how did you over clock the cpu?

 

No, it runs fine on battery even playing games. Only when i turn my wifi on does it crash.

 

Johnksss, I work for nvidia on building pc's for show and stuff.
Nvidia and Gateway sent me the other 172S FX for me to mess with for the worlds master modder contest this year. It has a special bios that I can overclock it.
Also, the system BIOS version for that machine is listed as R/D instead of 94.29.00 as the other one has.

 

ahhhh, well that is why. care to share a copy of he bios??? or better yet. i just need to download a copy of my bios. my settings are already in there. and can be changed with re flashing the bios.

 

I'm talking to them about releasing the bios for overclockers and about some upgrades.
I'll keep you posted .

 

Sweet, that is awesome.

 

sounds good to me. they can find me on futuremark with they're laptop beating out the hp dragon's of the world...

should show i mean business about over clocking.