P-7811FX hangs / lockups

I've had my new P-7811FX for 3 days and it keeps locking up. The screen will freeze and all the lights are still on. I have to hold down the power button to reboot. The lockups happen even if I'm not really doing anything on the computer. But if I play WoW, it locks up really fast, within a few minutes of playing. I ran a memory diag, but it didn't find any problems.

Anyone else having problems like this?

 

Did you get rid of Norton and the rest of the crapware? Or are you still all stock?

 

I removed Norton 360. All other crapware is still installed.

I just upgraded the Nvidia graphics driver to 177.89 (based on the instructions in the other thread). I'll see if things are better with this new driver. Thanks!

 

K. Well Norton is the only thing that would really cause that from the factory. And yes, definitely give the new driver a whirl.

 

I would recommend doing a fresh Vista installation. Try to see if it will solve the problem. Otherwise, do an exchange.

 

get avast instead of norton. or some other freeware. the great thing about freeware virus protection is most of them get the job done, and most of them don't use a whole lot of system resources. not that that's a big problem on this computer, but you will see a slight difference playing crysis with norton on, and playing it with norton off. If you were to play crysis for instance with a program like avast, it would be similar/equal to playing with no AV installed.

only thing bad I can say about avast is for some reason when I put eicar test virus file on my computer, it won't pick it up with a full sweep or even when I access it. it only picks it up if I right click the file and say "scan file with avast". still trying to figure out why... it's my first time using avast and everyone says its among the top 3 freeware AV programs.

 

Even with the latest Nvidia drivers and Norton 360 removed, my system keeps locking up. The lockups are random and sometimes I can play WoW or BF2142 for 30 minutes or longer before it locks up.

I'd like to take it back to Best Buy and exchange it for another unit as I really like it when it is working and it seems that other folks aren't having these problems with their P-7811FSx.

But I'm kind of worried that they are giong to give me a hard time about exchanging it if I can't reproduce the problem at Best Buy. Does anyone have any experience with this or pointers to share?

 

Just go in there explain to them whats happening and they may throw it on a bench and run something for 30 minutes till it does what your saying and exchange it for you. Otherwise you can try and trouble shoot the problem yourself and reinstall your OS, drivers, apps games, etc and still have the problem when all is said and done and still have to take it in .

 

Before reinstalling anything, why not attempt to find the reason of your lockup?

Start -> Right Click Computer -> Manage -> Event View -> System -> Filter Current Log -> Choose Critical for the event level, and if nothing specific is logged, also filter and check the error level.

If its hardware related, that log will alleviate requiring the Geek Squad to "confirm your issue" and allow an immediate exchange. Or you could find there is a software/driver issue causing the lockup.

 

is this always during gaming? try reinstalling nvidia drivers

 

plazmic - I checked the System log like you suggested and there are no log events at any level that show up during the lockups. After the reboot, an Error event appears that says "The previous system shutdown at XXXX on XXXX was unexpected".

Jakamo5 - The lockups don't always occur during gaming, but that is the quickest and most frequent way to reproduce. I first noticed the lockups when downloading patches for WoW (the first game that I installed). It has also locked up once while sitting idle with no activity. However, I wouldn't count on it locking up on its own outside of a game if I was trying to reproduce the problem.

I did upgrade the Nvidia drivers to the latest (177.89), but that hasn't helped.

 

well, if you can't find any error logs, sounds like step 2 is a fresh reformat of the laptop, step 3 is best buy

 

If your close to a bestbuy id say go to step 3 first let them deal with it instead of spending hours of your own time trying to trouble shoot. this machine is brand new and you should not be having the problems your having and its all well in good if your tech savvy that you can figure these things out on your own but not everyone is nor do they want to spend 20hours figuring stuff out that should work out of the box.

 

I'd go with step 3 and just return it and get a new one. Bottom line is it's not working as it should and you shouldn't have to muck around with it to get it to function properly this early on.

 

Yep, you want to have a machine that works well for awhile while under warranty before you start doing too much changing. Hate to give tech. reason to argue over warranty.

I don't know how easy it is to clean install the OS then restore to original if something is still wrong. If restore is easy then clean install is fine to try. Otherwise I wouldn't do it.

 

I exchanged the laptop for another unit today. So far (fingers crossed), the new one is working fine with no lockups!!! This is completely stock with all the crapware and no updated drivers.

At first, the Geek Squad tried to say that the games probably weren't certified for Vista 64. I pointed out that it locked up a couple times when I wasn't running anything. They ran a couple quick diagnostics and said they couldn't find anything wrong. I asked about doing a stress test and they said I would have to leave it with them for about 10 days since I didn't purchase the extended service plan. Then I asked about exchanging for another unit of the same model and the manager said it was my option since it was still within 14 days of purchase and I did not have to pay a restocking fee.

Anyway, I appreciate all the advice. I'll post an update after I've had a chance to test out more games. But it looks like I definitely had a defective unit.

 

I think at this point I would have "flew off the handle." Not compatible. I've played every game you've listed on x64. They were just giving you a bull**** excuse to save them selves the hastle of shipping it back to the factory for an exchange. Anyway, glad it worked out for you.

 

Not quite. There are many games that will cause driver related issues with Vista. EX: Games using Starforce anti-piracy protection... like Splinter Cell. That, and the fact that the Geek Squad doesn't actually handle the shipping, the inventory team does, and more so its customer services job to bring it back to the warehouse

 

Ok I can see that, but WoW runs fine on it and that's what would make me mad.

 

Well, whatever the motive, they were definitely trying to brush me off with some BS. I didn't mention the more "senior" Geek Squad guy that overheard us and said that notebooks in general have problems with games and that his notebook often locks up on games and "it's usually a resource issue". Fortunately, the manager agreed that it shouldn't have any problems running those games and let me exchange for a different unit without any hassle.

The new one is working perfectly. No problems after several hours of Obliviion, BF2142, and Counterstrike. This notebook really rocks!!!

 

great news enjoy it

 

I believe I may have found the resolution to the lockups and BSOD involving Vista on the 7811FX. I've found 3 webpages that reference the same problems which most of us are encountering. Not on the FX, but on Vista. If someone would be so kind as to go into their start button, type compmgmt and hit enter, then click event viewer, custom views, administrative events. Now, I've never had a vista comp show as many errors and such as this one does..seems to be a lot of internal software and hardware issues. Anyhow, after you expand the admin events.. does anyone else see a WMI error, that occured the same time your computer locked up? Event ID 10.. and details say something along the lines of - Event filter with query "SELECT * FROM __InstanceModificationEvent WITHIN 60 WHERE TargetInstance ISA "Win32_Processor" AND TargetInstance.LoadPercentage > 99" could not be reactivated in namespace "//./root/CIMV2" because of error 0x80041003. Events cannot be delivered through this filter until the problem is corrected.

Well.. I've found a couple of resolutions..and by the way, this is the error that everyone says is locking their computer when gaming, or just browsing the internet..some get BSOD, others just get a lockup without access to Task Manager.

Resolution 1) One person, and only one, says it was because of the RAM..the voltage and timings were slightly off and he was able to adjust those per the manufacturer...problem solved. Now, I can believe that is a possible solution with the 7811FX. Not sure if anyone has paid attention to the CPUZ shot of the RAM.. but the timings and such allow for one more stepping of the RAM to a higher speed. However, the MOBO and CPU aren't capable of reaching it on this computer. See pic for details..notice ram is CL8 and maxes @ 610MHz(x2=1220), where as the MOBO is 1066MHz, *maybe* the RAM is getting caught between a clock cycle and between frequencies sending errors and locking up the whole system. Has anyone tried replacing the RAM? Ok..this is theory. And I have a feeling it may be the issue.

Resolution 2) Another forum has a simple resolution.. and it seems to be more common than the RAM resolve.
Here is the fix. Open a command prompt as an admin and enter the following pressing the enter key after each line:

net stop winmgmt
DEL C:\Windows\System32\wbem\Repository\*.*

Now reboot and let the system idle for a few minutes. There will be a couple of WMI warnings in the event log, but thats alright for the moment. Reboot one more time and the error and warning will be resolved.
From: http://windowsforums.org/index.php?showtopic=392

Resolution 3) This is similar to 2..however a bit more in depth, and this is what I will attempt and post results. I can only do one method, obviously.. so good luck and hopefully this solves a lot of problems. Please let me know! And +rep if you're satisfied with results
http://www.msfn.org/board/Here-s-how-to-Fix-WMI-Event-ID-10-Ins-t114389.html
Please read post 1, and 3, as this is a two part process.

 

I'm having the exact same problem as the original poster, lockups at random times - not even while gaming, just after the screen saver runs for a couple hours. It's happened about 3 times in the 2 days I've owned the laptop. I can also get it to lockup after running COD4 for about 30 minutes (it's the only game I've installed on it).

This is on a clean install of Vista 64, grabbed all the most recent drivers posted here on the forums.

From what I can tell, it sounds like I just got a "bad apple" and the easiest solution is to simply return it to Best Buy.

Is Best Buy going to hassle me for formatting the hard drives and doing my own install of Vista? I'm looking for advice on the best way to deal with exchanging it at Best Buy.

Thanks in advance.

 

Just go into bestbuy explain whats going on dont even mention formatting or drivers etc basically just say hey my machine locks when when i do x and y and let them deal with it.

 

Apologies in advance for cluttering these forums with another question, but I wanted some confirmation before I went through the hassle of packing this laptop up and trying to return it to best buy.

I ran Prime95 for hours on end with no problems.

The Video Card Stability Test from Freestone group fails consistently after a few minutes.

I am running the 177.92 drivers from laptopvideo2go with the modded inf.

No problems in device manager, no errors anywhere else. Everything seems fine, just the lockups in COD4 after a few minutes and the consistent failed video stress test.

I don't think temperatures are too out of line, 87C for the GPU after a few minutes of video stress test.

For some reason I cannot seem to get the gateway recovery mangement from the 3 backup cds I created to install (gives an error about the cd while running setup) so getting the system back to it's original state for testing is a major problem for me.

Is it almost a certainty that I have some sort of defective piece of hardware (I am assuming video card related) and it is not a graphic driver issue? I had no difficulty installing these 177.92 drivers with modded inf when I did the clean install of Vista64. The 177.92 drivers with the modded inf are the correct drivers to be running, and these crashes are hardware related and a return to best buy is certainly in order at this point?

This is my first laptop, the drivers that came with it, the drivers on nvidia's site/gateway's site etc are a tad confusing for me, so I just wanted to be certain.

Any advice is most appreciated. Thanks again.

 

Swest, on a flat laminate table I ran Vista 64 with the freestone vid stress test and got max 84C. Elevating off the table 4 inches got me down to 72C. Totally suspending in the air got me 66C. All these tests were done with 177.92 drivers and 30 mins of run time. No artifacts, freezes or crashes. I think you my have a dud. Go exchange it...

 

Has anyone that was freezing attempted this and find that the issue was resolved for them?

I'm concerned that is less a hardware issue and just an issue with nVidia's 64bit drivers.

 

First time using Freestone Video Test
Original video driver 175.80
Max GPU temp. 70C, ACPI 50C, Core 42C
No Lockup
Undervolted to 9V across the board.

Not sure what this graphic means? My frames were around 400.

Here is 3d06


Vantage I know nothing about but here is a first run w/everything on high and 1920x1200.
Don't know about the score but I made it through without crashing.

 

When my second 7811 locked up the event viewer would show an application error and then some other tech mumbo jumbo. Now I know "application error" sounds like something device specific...but it happened when trying multiple games so that rules that out. Googling the error did not get me much except someone with a very very similar issue.

Their issue ended up being a defective gpu or something like that.

 

I wound up taking mine back to Best Buy. The Geek Squad guy was a little hesitant, tried telling me COD4 most likely wasn't compatible with Vista64, and that my drivers were probably incorrect, but ultimately approved the exchange for a new one.

After getting this one home, I left the factory installed drivers/and OS and removed a little of the bloatware (Norton/bigfix/etc).

I finished the Freestone stress test with numbers pretty much identical to those posted above, but it wound up locking up my system after about 8 minutes of it running in a loop. Are people able to run this test for hours on end with no lockups?

COD4 has been running for an hour now with no lockups (alt-tabbed some of the time).

I wish I had some other games to test this with, because that was why the geeks quad guy said he let me return it ultimately, because it is technically a gaming computer and the game wouldn't run so he made an exception. Any suggestions for game demos I could download to test this to make sure this one isn't another lemon?

EDIT: Complete lock up after actually playing COD4 for about 10 minutes. Prior to this I was kind of just letting it sit there during the tutorial. How the hell am I supposed to get best buy to reproduce this problem so that I can get a return?

 

Swest, what temps did you say you got for your 2nd laptop? I've seen others say that the laptop needs more airflow underneath. I myself have gotten up to 84C which I think is rather high. When I elevate the laptop slightly my temps drop at least 10C! Try playing COD4 with some space underneath your laptop and report back if you lock up. What's your ambient (room) temp
Freestone group vid card stress test hasn't locked up my computer... yet. [knock on wood]

 

devil may cry demo and crysis demo

 

if you want to give your gpu a real cooking use furmark

if it locks during the test, that is something you can easily reproduce for the geek squad.

 

fire268: thanks for the suggestions, the second laptop is running at about 85C when I run the video stress tests (furmark as well). Elevating it helps drop the temps about 5C. I use a dvd case under the battery to prop it up. Ambient room temp is probably about 73F. The HD temps got pretty **** high when I was installing Crysis last night, 60C.

Furmark has been running for 30 min now, temp is 80C, elevated the back with a dvd case for slight airflow.

COD4 played for a lot longer when I had it propped up, the problem I am having now is I simply don't have the time to dedicate to playing games to stress test the laptop right now, I just can't be in front of the laptop actually playing it for an hour at a time. If I could start a game demo in a loop or something that would be great, but the easiest way is using the video stress tests and according the head geek at the squad at best buy, the only reason I was allowed to return is the game wouldn't work.

Quite a frustrating experience with the laptop so far, especially knowing some are having zero issue and then there are defective ones out there and I might be stuck with one. The clock is ticking on best buy's return period, anything else I can do to prove with certainty that I got a second defective 7811-fx?

 

I hear ya, I too have the ticking clock. I bought mine on the 1st day of the sale (31st). After the 14 day return period is over, I'm probably going to try calling Gateway to see if I can buy an extended warranty.

If you are really concerned about this laptop, just return it and do a wait and see approach. Maybe Gateway will eventually release a BIOS update that'll have the fans kick in at a lower temp threshold.

I myself have the "ghosting" screen issue but it doesn't bother me that much. My machine hasn't locked up since Sunday (knock on wood) but I just might redo the thermal paste in about a week and see what happens.

 

I registered here just because of this thread. I'm having the same problem with this Best Buy laptop. However it's never froze on me outside of a game. I can play a game, demanding or not demanding, and it'll freeze after 5 minutes to an hour of playing.
I tried fix number 2 but it didn't work. I'm going to try a few more fixes and then maybe reinstall Vista and everything. If that crap doesn't work I'm going in for an exchange.

I'm going to try fix number 3 but it might be too in depth for me. aka the guy doesn't go into enough detail on how to get to those places. I'm a photoshop guy not a repair man.

 

Have you tried propping it up to see if it's a heat issue? Also, if you're tired of troubleshooting it, just return it for a replacement at BB.

 

When posting about your laptop "locking up" it would be helpful to know temps.

After it locks you have no way of checking temp so you will have to create some way of monitoring temps in real time while gaming.

focusfre4k has a guide for setting up RivaTuner here:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=295955
This will enable monitoring while gaming.

 

65 C max. Freezes as low at like 55 C once. It doesn't seem to be an overheating issue unless my GPU is deformed.

 

Thanks for info. I wasn't pointing at you CF but in general for posters. Just thinkin' it could be various causes with temps being one possibility. We may be chasing more than one rabbit.

 

Mine is the only rabbit that matters!

 

And I suppose you favor low taxes and national security ... I know about guys like you.

 

These lockup issues are really lame. Boo Gateway for making defective laptops.

I assume the lockup is games with a frozen screen and an infinite sound loop requiring a hard reboot?

I am pretty sure this is not a heat issue because I have had games freeze in like 20minutes (i.e. Quake 4) and the fan air wasn't even hot. I've also had times playing GRID with really hot air blowing out of the vent but the game ran fine for two hours before I simply stopped playing.

I also tried ATI tool artifact scan as well as memtest and no problems came up. Nonetheless I still got random freezing in all games I tested (GRID, Bioshock, Oblivion, Quake 4, World of Warcraft).

Atleast I got an easy refund and a free copy of GRID for my troubles...

 

I just got mine laptop couple of days ago. Seems to be ok .

Have you tried to remove one memory unit ( decrease memory to 2GB ) and try.

In my opinion some lockups might be as a fault of the memory.

In that scenario only replacement will make you happy.

 

When people report hangs\lockups, is it a hard lock where the screen just freezes and nothin but a hard shutdown (holding power button down) turns it off?

Twice I've tried running Furmark or rthdribl overnight, and at some point (going to double check the event logs to see how long) it just reboots and gives an error about windows shutting down unexpectedly. I'm going to look into this a bit more because I suspect it may be a driver related issue (in my experience if a computer overheats it either hard locks or shutsdown, not reboots). When it restarts, I believe it references an nvidia issue (again, going to double check this when I get home).

Has anyone posting about "hang ups" experienced this?

 

This is just something that I was playing with. I am playing Warhammer online. I get about 2-3 minutes of game time before I lock up. I have the new video drivers. I am not monitoring my temps. But I do fix computers for a living. so I did the elimination thing. I unplug things one at a time... once I have nothing USB plugged in I can play for hours. plug my mouse back in locks in seconds to minutes. I am going to try a new chipset driver. but for those locking try the things that are causing locks with out use of USB.

 

It's an ACPI Issue, I believe. And yes, the USB has been a common complaint for lockups. Have you upgraded to 9c.08.00 BIOS? It seems less frequent if you have. If you already have that BIOS, try and make sure you use a self powered USB Hub if you are pulling a lot of power from something such as a cooling pad. And if ya are using a cooling pad and it's not powered by AC adapter, you may have some issues.. I've found that the 2 USB ports beside the left speaker are the go-to guys. I've never had any issues using those.. And really, I havent had any issues with this rig whatsoever..the previous 5, yes..but they also had the 9c.05.00 BIOS. Just some input, take it for what its worth. And an updated chipset wouldnt hurt either.

 

So you've gone through 5 units as well... amazing! When I said the same thing folks reading my review refused to believe me.

 

Considering E-wrecked's five units as any indicator of the 7811 quality would be akin to judging motor cycle quality by tracking Evel Knievel's activity.

 

yawn! i have the same problem when come to gaming and i couldnt figure out how to fix this.

i ran futuremark test and running smooth. temp never reach above 55c

running adobe cs4 or other apps without a single problem but when come to play game it lock up.