Presario C712NR Hard Freezing. Running out of ideas.

On blackfriday I bought a C712NR Presairo notebook with Vista Home Premium for $350.. Since the first day I had it I've been experiencing strange freezing. All inputs become useless and it must be manually restarted. This usually happens about 3-4 times a day. For the most part it happens randomly, but usually only happens when I'm running less hardware intensive programs such as using Firefox, MSN/Live Messenger, Word etc. I bought a new 250GB Samsung HDD yesterday and did a fresh vista install, But It didn't help anything. I've ran Memtest to test my RAM, all is fine. I started monitoring the temperature of my CPU and HDD using Speedfan and have seen nothing wrong. I have updated all my drivers, installed all windows updates and disabled any hardware shutoff in power management. The only peripheral I use on the notebook is a new microsoft USB optical mouse. I'm running out of things to try. I still can't figure out if this is a Hardware issue(Hope Not) or a Software issue. Any help or ideas on things to try would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!
-Dan

 

Have you called HP support? You're well within the 1-year warranty and based on what you've posted it sure sounds like a hardware issue. With a fresh install, no errors on Memtest or Speedfan, updated drivers, etc., and such a repeatable problem, I'd think HP is your best bet now...

 

I haven't called HP yet. I'm still not convinced its a hardware issue.

 

Okay, that's fine - but why do you think that it might not be a hardware issue? I guess you could try reflashing the BIOS and see if that helped - but beyond that what other software do you have running that you haven't already disabled/reinstalled? I thought your original posting was pretty clear that even when you do a clean install of Vista and just have Vista running you're getting the lockup. Either way, best of luck. Maybe someone else here can help you think through what software would cause this problem; I have a Presario as well and just can't fathom what besides the hardware would cause the symptoms you mentioned.

 

Part of me thinks it could still be some driver issue. But more then likely its probably the motherboard.. I called HP and they are sending me out a pre-paid shipping box.

 

I went back to the HP website and went through the list of available drivers. I came across the " Intel SATA AHCI Controller Driver" which says " - Fixes issue where the notebook may stall during heavy Input/Output (I/O) activity, with a chance it may not recover, resulting in data integrity loss. This issue is more prevalent when performing I/Os to drives that are attached to Port Multipliers. - Fixes intermittent issue where the notebook may generate a "blue screen" error when resuming from Hibernation mode.". It sounds very similar to what my notebook is doing. And I'm also having issues with the notebook freezing when coming back from stand by or Hybernation.. But the driver is only for people with retail versions of Vista or XP. I'm wondering if maybe something is wrong with the driver I have that came on the HP vista disc. I went into device manager and found out I have an even newer version (7.8.0.1012) then the one on the HP site(7.6.0.1011). I have the option to Roll Back, But I don't know if I would be able to go back to 7.8.0.1012 if necessary. Any Ideas?

I'm beginning to notice some patterns to its freezing. Usually when it freezes in firefox, I'm either loading a page or scrolling through a page as its still loading. And in Live messenger, Its froze a couple times when I've received messages from multibal contacts in a matter of 1-3 seconds. Which both could cause a short and heavy spike in I/O Activity... Perhaps I'm in denial, But I'm still not convinced its a Software problem.

 

I got it back a couple hours ago from repair. They replaced my motherboard but within the first 10 mins of use, it froze. It must be a software issue of some kind. But I'm so out of ideas...

 

Have you solved your problem yet about the laptop freezing. I also got the same laptop (from Best Buy). For 2 months, it has been working fine but, about a week ago, it started randomly freezing (about once a day). Nothing new has been installed on the machine (other than routine Vista updates(, and no configuration changes have been made. Usually the machine has been left on unattended with some windows open. (Nothing more ambitious than Outlook and a Word document or two). I am reluctant to call HP because that is such a hassle. And a "clean install" (which I am sure they will suggest as an early attempt at a remedy) does not thrill me either. I also believe it is a software problem. Any ideas?

 

I was screwing around with things once again and actually did discover a solution. There is an option called "Minimum Power Consumption" under the advanced driver tab which by default is Enabled. Disabling it solved my freezing issues.

 

Thanks for the quick reply. I will change that setting, but that seems a rather unlikely place for solving the problem. Any thinking as to why that caused the freezing?

 

Thanks for the quick reply.

Worked for me.

Possibly the motherboard couldn't support the feature or has issues with it in some way.. Another issue I'm having with this notebook is the volume output being really quiet. Have you noticed this with yours also?

 

This "fix" did not work for me. Any other suggestions by anyone?

 

This sounds like a typical MB or controller issue...one or the other is bad. I am almost 100% positive it's a hardware problem.

The only thing that confuses me it that you were able to install the new OS without any errors which could also hint at a "bad" processor. Either way, I believe it's a hardware problem. Send it in. Take pictures of the inside/ouside before sending it in along with a quick video clip....I have heard that some lap tops sent in came back with gouges and scratches. HP covered it.

Also, they were able to turn my laptop around in a matter of 4-5 days.

 

If this is a SATA drive, try this;

While at boot splash screen. Press Esc or F10, goto '<Enter Setup>'.
When in BIOS look for a setting called: "SATA Native Support"
If enabled, disable it. If its disabled try enabling it...

All else fails Restore your BIOS settings to Default...

 

Try removing the WLAN card and going without it for a day or 2 if possible and see if you still encounter freezing..

They replaced my Motherboard and possibly my processor since I complained it was overheating. Once I got the notebook back I went to test it out and it still froze almost instantly. One thing I tried which I hadn't before was removing and Broadcom Wireless Network Card. And sure enough, with no WLAN in the notebook it worked great. Yet no matter what I tried, My case manager couldn't send me any other brand/model of network card and told me to buy one and HP would reimburse me. I eventually re-attached the WLAN chip and messed around with older/newer/other drivers and found this option which was enabled by Default with every broadcom driver. I Disabled it and now I can have the WLAN card installed and get no freezing. HP was just a waste of time.... Now I'm having issues where I get BSOD's when coming back from Sleep mode or Hybernation about 75% of the time. But perhaps thats just a Vista issue.

 

There are WIFI issues (common) with HP. I had that problem and they sent me an Intel based computer with many extras at no charge. Call the manager's hotline and work something out. Be firm but fair and they will work with you.

Insist on a new lap top....you'll get one. If you need help let me know.

 

I really think I've been more then fair with HP over the course of the few months I've had this notebook. And lately I've been noticing things like gaps between the screen hinges and bad optical drive noises which weren't present before the motherboard replacement. I do plan on working out some type of replacement deal with HP, But being a student Its a struggle finding the time when I could actually pull it off. I mentioned the idea to my case manager a few weeks back and he told me I'm going to be required to send in my notebook for another evaluation before it could even be considered. Did you have to do that? I was also told that since I got it on Black Friday, its going to be even tougher finding a replacement. Do you know if they replace based on purchasing price or just try to replace with a computer of similar hardware value?

Edit~~ What exactly is the "manager's hotline"? Is it the same as my Case Managers number, or is there someone actually "Above" him?

Thanks!
-Dan -/- Yensed

 

Yeah, unfortunately we/they(HP) have to do that... They need to make sure your not just claiming something wrong when it really isn't. HP keeps track and keeps pictures of every case they deal with.

they more or less give you what you paid for the laptop... which can be hard to find a model 'at-cost', if you paid so little for your laptop at the start, they will most likely give you a gift card for that value which you originally paid... so you can always get a better model, you'll just have to pay a little more then your original cost.