The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Envy 14 - Random freezes, mouse unresponsive, buzzing sound from speakers

    Discussion in 'HP' started by addnon, Dec 30, 2011.

  1. addnon

    addnon Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    8/21 UPDATE:

    Problem is back. New RAM solved issue for a few months, but eventually freezing started again.

    --------------------------------------------

    I've been having this issue with my two month old HP Envy 14 for a few weeks. Sometimes when I'm playing games (Skyrim, Starcraft 2) or watching a movie on WMP the computer will just lock up. No mouse, no keyboard, and a strange buzzing noise. The only option is to restart. This is exactly what the buzzing sound is like: Weird Call of Duty 4 Freeze & "trrrrr" sound (hard freeze, no auto reboot) - YouTube

    The frequency of the freezes is very random. It's only happened about 3-4 times, but I have this problem on another desktop quite frequently so I'm not sure if its HP related.

    I'm running the computer on the ATI card when this happens. Here's a quick overview of my system:

    • Windows 7 x64
    • i5-2430
    • Radeon HD 6630
    • 6GB 1333MHz DDR3 RAM
    • 80GB SSD (OS)
    • 500GB Conventional HD (Games)

    Any ideas?
     
    addnon, Dec 30, 2011
    #1
  2. devsk

    devsk Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    11
    Messages:
    476
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Watch your temps! 99% sure that its the heat that triggering the lock up. 1% its a video driver issues because it happens during graphics intensive activities.
     
    devsk, Dec 31, 2011
    #2
  3. addnon

    addnon Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Just froze again and I was just using Chrome..no CPU intensive processes going on. I'm pretty sure its not a heat issue. Any ideas?
     
    addnon, Jan 4, 2012
    #3
  4. devsk

    devsk Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    11
    Messages:
    476
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    chrome can use graphics hardware acceleration for certain web pages. Very likely this is graphics driver issue. Check your drivers. Clean them out and reinstall afresh.
     
    devsk, Jan 4, 2012
    #4
  5. addnon

    addnon Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Pardon my ignorance but where can I find the drivers and is there a special method to follow?

    Sent from my HTC HD2 using Tapatalk
     
    addnon, Jan 26, 2012
    #5
  6. yknyong1

    yknyong1 Radiance with Radeon

    Reputations:
    1,191
    Messages:
    2,095
    Likes Received:
    8
    Trophy Points:
    56
    yknyong1, Jan 27, 2012
    #6
  7. pmaster500

    pmaster500 Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    33
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    mmhmmm I've had this problem for quite a while.
    I have a HP dv5 (the 14.5 inch one)
    with a pentium 1.8 and integrated graphics
    and it used to do the complete freeze then I had the motherboard replaced (bc of a diff issue though) and now its been 6 months and I think the problem is coming starting again, but this time it only freezes for about 1-2 seconds (same noise same no mouse/keyboard responce) but only for a few seconds then it continues. This mainly occurs when I play flash videos on chrome

    As for whats wrong, I've updated every driver, I and my cpu temps are always below 60 (usually 50ish) so I don't know.

    The sad thing is, even though my feelings towards HP are pretty negative, I'm still strongly considering the new envy 15 as my upgrade, because honestly apart from the samsung series 7, its the best Windows laptop you can get if you want both portability/style and performance.
     
    pmaster500, Jan 27, 2012
    #7
  8. addnon

    addnon Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    updated the video driver to no avail..how do I check ram?

    Sent from my HTC HD2 using Tapatalk
     
    addnon, Feb 11, 2012
    #8
  9. wetwillycf

    wetwillycf Notebook Consultant

    Reputations:
    94
    Messages:
    287
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    The next time it happens, check Event Viewer. Start menu, type Event Viewer in the box. In the center area, expand error and look for Display. If there's a number greater than zero in the Last hour column, check it out. Let me know if it says anything about the display driver stopping.
     
    wetwillycf, Feb 11, 2012
    #9
  10. addnon

    addnon Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Just happened again. It has happened 3 times today so it looks like the frequency is increasing. Twice it happened while playing Starcraft 2 and once while just browsing the internet.

    Here the event log...I don't see anything wrong with the display:
    http://i.imgur.com/3LEi1.jpg
     
    addnon, Feb 11, 2012
    #10
  11. addnon

    addnon Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Also, temperatures are well within normal operating range when this happens.
     
    addnon, Feb 11, 2012
    #11
  12. addnon

    addnon Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Just ran memtest for 5 passes and no errors. I did buy some new ram anyways because it was cheap...we'll see if that makes any difference.

    BTW would it even be worth it to contact HP about this issue? I feel that the apparent randomness of the problem would make it hard to replicate in a lab.

    Sent from my HTC HD2 using Tapatalk
     
    addnon, Feb 12, 2012
    #12
  13. SoMeAm

    SoMeAm Company Representative

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    110
    Likes Received:
    4
    Trophy Points:
    31
    Hi addnon,

    Since you mentioned your Envy 14 is only a few months old I would assume its in warranty. I would recommend contacting HP. If you need any assistance contacting HP please email me at [email protected] with your contact and product information. Please include in the subject line Attn: Veronica-NBR.

    "The views expressed in my contributions are my own and do not necessarily reflect the views and strategy of HP"
     
    SoMeAm, Feb 15, 2012
    #13
  14. addnon

    addnon Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Update: I replaced the RAM and all is well so far.

    Sent from my HTC HD2 using Tapatalk
     
    addnon, Apr 21, 2012
    #14
  15. metril

    metril Notebook Deity

    Reputations:
    420
    Messages:
    968
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    30
    Be sure to send the original RAM to HP. That way, they can continue to improve and take care of you by replacing the defective set.
     
    metril, Apr 23, 2012
    #15
  16. smoky3266

    smoky3266 Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    5
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    turn off cool sense.
     
    smoky3266, May 3, 2012
    #16
  17. addnon

    addnon Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    How do I go about doing this? Who would I send it to?

    Sent from my HTC HD2 using Tapatalk
     
    addnon, May 5, 2012
    #17
  18. addnon

    addnon Notebook Enthusiast

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    13
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Looks like the problem is back. I'm really stumped here. I have about two months before my warranty ends, how would I contact HP? I just want a new computer or refund at this point.
     
    addnon, Aug 21, 2012
    #18