Overheating 6130

Anybody else encountered a severely overheating 6130H1-10 Averatec laptop? I know laptops overheat a lot, but this one is weird. I've only had it for a week, and it keeps turning itself off. Last night finally, smoke came out of it and the smell of something burning. Averatec support says that its just the laptop telling itself to shut down from being too hot. But.... I dont suppose it makes sense for it to turn itself off everytime it gets hot. So, I'm thinking of either returning it or having it repaired. I'd like to know if other Averatec owners have experienced this, and if I should replace my present laptop with still the same model.

 

No, that needs to be sent to Averatec for repairs.

 

If you have only had it for a week take it back to where you bought it from and exchange it.
-andrew

 

cool thanks. so this is a one shot defect then? i'm worried that this might be common sickness to averatec laptops.

 

When laptops start smoking - there's a problem, a BIG problem. Return it immediately!

redjr..

 

I've had my 6130hs since september and I haven't had any problems with it.
-andrew

 

Yeah, I've had mine since they shipped, and it's been flawless.

 

thats great then [ ]im sending the laptop back tomorrow and have them replace it with a new one. yeah, i do like how it was working and the amount of money i saved by getting it. I mean... a pentium 4 with 512mb ram, thats really good. Plus I love the wide screen [ ]Thanks for everyone's advice

 

Wow... hmmm I wonder now if this is something more common to averatec laptops than I thought. BEcause of course, I'm investing money on this thing, I want to know that it wouldnt die on me only a few years down the road. I'm using an IBM thinkpad right now, and its been years and it works as smoothly as it did since it was brand new.

Did you ask Averatec to repair or check what the problem was? Did they offer to fix it? This really concerns me then. Thanks for the post.

 

It's interesting that you're having this problem. I have an Averatec 3150HS; it was 2 years old last Aug. A few days ago, I had a complete system shutdown. The motherboard has gone out. I just replaced it Christmas eve with a Sony Vaio 35K.

I was just discussing with my husband the differences in the heat put out by each of these computers. The fan on the
Averatec only ran when I was performing processor intensive functions; the bottom of the computer was so hot, that I couldn't put it on my lap (it was this way from day one).

The Vaio fan runs continuously; the bottom is warm, but not hot. I hated it when that little Averatec went out! I went from a small, slim 4lb laptop to what seems to be a monster at 8lbs.

I wonder if anyone else has had problems with their Averatecs.

 

i have had my 6100 (6130-h1) for a while and have had no problems with it. I did however replace the factory thermal compound with ANTECS Formula 5 and have noticed an improvement. Is there any one who can tell me how if at all possiable i can check the temp of my processor in the bios or any other means other than sticking my hand next to the fan to see if it is hot. ;}or purchasing temp monitoring software Im cheap so if there is a way of doing this without spending $$$ I am all for it.
thanks

 

One thing, the 6130 is not a laptop, it is a notebook. Put this thing on your lap and you block the vents on the bottom of the machine. Then it really heats up. Until it burns out, that is.

 

Averatec specifically states that the bottom of the machine must NOT be obstructed from proper airflow and ventilation. That's also the reason the design included 1/4" stand-off rubber feet. To improve the ventilation characteristics of the machine it requires a hard, flat surface. With a normal P4 processor, it's expected to run warm.

redjr...

 

reply to pbfreak,

I have dug thru the BIOS and a number of software programs and have found NO way to mesure the proc temp...big bummer!

But if your concerned about the temp ( as we know heat= slow) I found a neat little lappy cooler for 20 bucks that ahd 2 fans and is only 1/3 the length of the base, so it sites ata a slight angle (read, better hand placement) and does a good job of cooling moving air around the base. I posted a link in here somewhere....ahhh, here it is...

http://www.hardwarecooling.com/product_info.php/cPath/33/products_id/514?s=1fdc784d8668c6124c35a151afde7b5d

Product Description

Spire PacificBreeze Notebook Cooler

When your notebook is running at maximum performance it can produce a good amount of heat. However, the PacificBreeze will help cool it down. The PacificBreeze serves as both a notebook stand, elevating the rear of your notebook slightly to make typing more comfortable and a notebook cooler, circulating cool air underneath your hot notebook.

The PacificBreeze utilizes a lightweight design consisting of two 70x70x25mm ball bearing DC fans with high density blue colored LED lights inside. Fan speed can be adjusted by a simple flick of a switch to push an ample airflow of 23.8 CFM. The PacificBreeze is powered by your laptop’s USB port (cable included) eliminating the need for batteries or being tied down to a wall outlet.
Features:

* 2 port USB 2.0 hub
* 2 ball bearing blue LED fans
* Rubber feet for secure and stable grip
* Reduces risk of heat damage to desks and laps

 

k, i've been getting the same problem just recently

i bought a new desk for my laptop and a 17" monitor and basicly this is wats been happenin':

since september when i bought it, i've never really had a problem, even with it shutting down especially when i've been playing Doom3, Half life 2, etc... but since i put it on my new desk (PERFECTLY FLAT surface) and connected my 17" Sony trinitron monitor and my Z-5300's, USB Logitech keyboard, USB Microsoft Intellimouse... it's started restarting for some strange reason. i was thinkin its the monitor draining the power because i'm running @ 1400x1050 resolution, but when i play games, its @ 800x600 MAX!

Can someone really explain this perdicament to me?

Also, to the person that put the thermal compound on, how'd u manage 2 do that? what did u take off? where's the CPU, where the left hand rests?

-Luis

P.S. too bad Averatec customer support is a POS, otherwise i would call them... have u noticed that they make u seem like a dumbass when u call? as if ur completely wrong... hm

 

cat,

It sounds like your pushing the ATI card toits limits. Do you/have you OC'ed that card...Omega drivers, per chance?

And, maybe, pushing the display into a larger monitor is taxing the video card as well.

You are playing the most video intensive games on a rather slim ATI card...with WAY weak cooling.

 

Don't count on it being a one shot defect... I wish it was.

Both my friend and I in late September bought Avereatec 6130HS laptops, from different stores no less, before coming to Germany. I got mine first and he was so impressed by it that he went out and got one himself.

These things worked like a charm until around end of Nov, early Dec, when we started complaining to eachother that they would suddenly shut off during a game after slowing down like crazy to an unplayable state, or while watching DVD's or encoded video like divx.

Since we are both poor students unable to go out and buy a new laptop on a whim (even though they're quite cheap in Germany), we decided to email Averatec to see what's going on, and nothing. We've emailed tons of times, both of us, and no response. Bastards.

So, I took matters into my own hands, and decided to take the bottom off. For others who are interested in doing this, you invalidate NO warranties of any kind, because there are no seals to break.

I played Red Alert 2 (very graphically intense game I might add ) until it shut off, then I quickly flipped over the unit to disassemble it (flip it over, back facing you, there's a plate on the left portion, remove all the black screws flush w/ the bottom and voila it comes off). If I had an egg I could have fried it on the CPU. I also pulled the heatsinks off the northbridge and GPU and they were just warm, nothing bad, however they don't have thermal compound between them and the heatsink, just some blue pad thing, but since they don't get hot, it doesn't matter, does it?

So we decided to replace the CPU thermal compound and got some CoolerMaster Premium thermal compound from Mediamarkt (because that's all they sell aside from sheer crap), and it seems to have made a difference. I was going to put it on the GPU and northbridge, but I doubt if I took the blue pad off it would actually make contact with the heatsink, and that would be worse. Anyways, I can now watch movies, play games, anything except leave the laptop on with the lid closed. It will 100% of the time shut off.

Also, if your laptop sits in the same place all the time, grab 4 empty plastic pop bottles and take the caps, flip'em upside down and stick them under the 4 corner feet to give it extra space underneath, but you have to stick some tape underneath otherwise it'll slide around. I do it and it's very stable.

I am not impressed with this laptop anymore. Oh that and my media reader never worked from day 1, but I thought that was due to me reinstalling XP Pro before even booting it up into Windows the first time.

Canuck in Deutschland

 

DamnageD,

every game i've been palying, has been the same one since i pretty much bought the laptop/games... and NEVER has it shut down, until i added my USB keyboard and the monitor (i would always play w/ the mouse tho)

i guess it doesn't like being pushed with the external monitor, and ubercam, ur idea sounds awesome... i'll take my digicam and take some step by step pictures for the people that dont really know wat 2 do, especially with ur coke bottle idea... nice touch.

I would highly recommend Arctic Silver 5 if any of u get a hold of it, its a much better compound then the CM.

if u can take pics of hte process of the CPU that would eb awesome uber.

-Luis

 

I've got some artic silve sitting in a box somewhere. Maybe i'll fire up the digi cam and slather up that pentium for all to see.

 

For the over heating problem, I've come across something while i was working that might be of some use to all of you.


I was taking inventory when i stumbled upon this: Kingwin Ultra Cool Notebook Cooler Pad w/ card reader and built in USB hub and card reader. I know a lot of people were complaining about not being able to use the card reader on the laptop, that can easily be fixed by installing the averatec drivers but when you do so, you'll be losing the ability to use a flash/thumb drive/key (Well i did atleast).

So with this, just plug it into the bottom of you laptop using the back USB ports, and u now have a total of 5 available USB ports and a card reader (the link: http://www.kingwin.com/pdut_detail.asp?CateID=41&ID=208 )

now there are 3 fans, 2 on the right, 1 on the left. I would HIGHLY suggest moving the bottom right fan over to the bottom left hand side, just for more circulation.

Just a thought for everyone on the cooling of this monstrosity, also some arctic silver would help too =)

-Luis

 

<blockquote id='quote'> quote:<hr height='1' noshade id='quote'>Originally posted by ubercam

 

I have replaced the stock CPU cooling paste with some Artic Silver, and would like to report that not only is the procedure a piece of cake, but very effective as well. I wasn't able to take any pictures, so i hope the instructions below may help:


1) Remove the back plate.
2) unscrew each of the 5 spring loaded screws in numeric order(you'll see them labeled 1-5) a little at a time until free.
3) gently lift out the cooling device. It may be a bit snug against the case sides, so be careful...it will come free.
4)Use rubbing alcohol and "Q-tips" to wet both mating surfaces and gently clean the white goop off.
5) After both surfaces are good and clean, apply a thin coating of your cooling paste, making sure it's evenly coating all the surfaces, you dont want to allow any air pockets!
6)Gently replace the cooler and tighten the spring loaded screws following the same pattern...do this a few turns at a time so you dont crush the proc...(trust me on this, i've broken them before).
7)Replace the back cover, and your done!

One thing I noticed when the cooler was off was a thin piece of alum foil covering about 1/4 of the air intake on the keyboard side. I carefully cut this free as well.

Once your all finished, you will notice a drop in the air temp blowing from the exaust vents. Since this mobo/proc dosent seem to have any temp indacators, this is the only proof that its doing its job. And remember, it can take a week or so of good use before the paste "sets".


cheers!!
DD[ ]

 

Thanks DamageD for the info,

I also found some pics and instructions from Artic Silver's Website:

http://www.arcticsilver.com/arctic_silver_instructions.htm

Im gonna give it a try soon! One question though, when you say use rubbing alcohol you mean Isopropyl Alcohol right and not Ethyl?

Thanks,
-Richard

 

sounds like a good deal; where to order the silva copound; I may have some left over from my Asus kit.
I have a second monitor hooked up as extended desktop and have been crunching digital images; working with huge tiffs and raw files and no problem sofar (except the dam graphics tablet driver; will have to reinstall that). I like the idea or that cooler base CATALYST; espacially as it has its own power supply. Cant find out where to buy them tho; does Kingwin sell tem direct?

 

Knightmare...

"you say use rubbing alcohol you mean Isopropyl Alcohol right and not Ethyl?"

I mean Iso...the ethyl is for drinking![ ]

 

I was just playing command and conquer generals zero hour and it does tend to get warm but not hot, I am using a antec cooling pad but after i played the game for about 2 hours it cooled right down.
-andrew

 

I have had my 6130HS-20 for about 5 months. It has worked beautifully until a month ago. Now it shuts down all the time.

For the first 4 months I had never had it shut down on me. I completed Wolfenstein 3D in 3 days as well as Quake III arena on normal mode, with and without

external monitor hooked up. During that non-stop period of gaming the hard drive area (bottom left) would get hot, but not way too uncomfortable.

Right now its like that even if I don't do anything.

I use freeware HDD Temperature (http://www.download.com/HDD-Temperature/3000-2086_4-10345217.html?tag=lst-0-1) to monitor the hard drive temperature. During

average processor use the temperature used to be 34C. During heavy processor use the temp would go up to 47, maybe 50C. Right now HDD temp ramps up to 59C

and that's when the laptop shuts down. (I use Argus http://www.download.com/Argus/3000-2094_4-10292765.html?tag=lst-0-1 to monitor CPU load - it is also

free).

I can't really do anything on this laptop. I have had it shut down even while typing emails. I am sending it back tomorrow to get it repaired.

By the way, I run WinXP Pro with standard averatec drivers and both the media reader and usb flash drives work well. The only thing is when I use a PCMCIA

flash card reader, the sound goes out while PCMCIA is activated.

The Averatec support sucks. I talked to two Indian techs. To each of them it took me about 20 minutes to spell my name and another 40 to explain the problem.

The third time I called I finally talked to somebody who speaks real English and had them read my file back. Both my name and the problem description were

wrong...

One of my friends has had problems with this model too. Out of the box, the screen would have black lines run through at random times. He got a replacement

and the battery on the replacement laptop would only charge to 50%.

Bottom line, this is a cheap laptop. But I am a college student and can't afford anything better. Otherwise it is a very likeable machine. Hard Drive though

is WAAAAYYYY to slow. So forget about graphics/video editing.

-Iggy

 

On download.com I found another free program called SpeedFan http://www.download.com/SpeedFan/3000-2094_4-10357312.html?tag=lst-0-1 which, while it can't monitor fan speed on the 6130, shows the HD temperature. Also it shows another temperature listed as the "APCI temperature" at 75C. Thats 167F! That is hard to believe and I don't know what it is specifically. Anyone have an idea on this?

 

i beilieve that ACPI has to do with power configurations. I think that might be the temperature that it would shut down at immediately.

 

Well there is something going wrong somewhere. Either the program is in error, or the reading is just pegged at the max. Because it has been at 75C all day and hasn't moved at all no matter what the load. Even after its been off cold!

I'll ask the author and see if he can shed any light on this. 75C! I don't have my tea much hotter than that.

The program works ok on the HD. The program keeps a graph. Doing a defrag raised the temperature of the HD from about 40 to about 50C. When done the temperature slowly went back to around 40C. I think where people have problems is when the idle HD temperature is way too high.

 

check the temperature readings from this utility
www.hdtune.com

 

sorry wrong. thats for hard drives.

 

I'm playing Knights of the old republic II The Sith Lords on my lap top and when i'm playing it it's barely warm.
ps. if there are any star wars fans out there and you like RPG's you will love this game as well as the first one.
-andrew

 

same here. im game a lot with my laptop (6130HS), games like Gothic, Madden 2005, and Star Wars knights of the Old Republic, and it does get a bit warm but nothing serious. this is gaming between 3-4 hours.

jedisolo, which laptop do you have and how does kotor2 run on it? cos i know kotor1 plays pretty smooth on 6130HS.

 

robocop,
I have the same laptop as you the 6130hs. Mine is the same way after 3 or 4 hours of playing it's barely warm. In KOTOR II you'll have to turn off the anit laising (spelling) and the other feature but keep the graphics at high or medium and it'll run pretty smooth, the load times are about 10 seconds. I think obsidian fixed the hardware mouse problem that KOTOR I had. I turned on the hardware mouse feature and the game hasn't crashed on me.
ps. How do you like KOTOR II so far, I think it's an awesome game.
-andrew

 

Hi,

I've had the 6130HS for about 3 months and had no heat problems so far. I am interested, however, in being able to use it on my lap. The notebook coolers I've seen have their fans on the bottom. Wouldn't this just replicate the problem I'm trying to solve? Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

what ever you do don't put it on your lap because you'll burn your self, it states in manual to put it on a flat surface. That's the trouble with having a desk top cpu in a notebook. If you put it on your lap you'll block the vents at the bottom and your computer will overheat.
-andrew

 

questra
kingwin laptop cooler at newegg with usb and card reader built in. The unit blows out the side vents, costs about 40$ In stock now.

 

You can use it on your lap, i do it all the time. All you have to do is keep your legs spread and have the edges of the laptop on the edge of your legs. Then the fan intakes won't be blocked and it will stay cool. But if you are a guy, the HD area still gets pretty hot, so you may not want it there for too long.

 

I read somewhere on yahoo news that guys who put laptops on there laps will have greater chance of having less sperm. So if you are old and fogie lol then i guess it's ok to put it on your lap.
-andrew

 

Thats why i said "if your a guy, you may not want to keep it there for too long", but there is still some air flow if your legs are apart.

 

warmer crotch means more chance of having girls. But less chance of meeting them if you have the laptop there too long[ )]

 

Ok... I posted earlier about my problems, but I have solved them all.

***
First off, I personally absolve myself from all responsibility if you, in the process of following my instructions below, render your notebook useless, burn your fingers, cut your hand off accidentally, or anything that may conceivably happen to you, anything you or anyone else owns, or anything around you. Enjoy!
***

Ingredients:
1 tube of CPU thermal paste
1 bottle of isopropyl alcohol
1 roll of paper towels
1 small Philips screwdriver
1 precision Philips screwdriver *or* paring knife
1 can of canned air *or* air compressor
15 minutes of your precious time

Shut down the laptop unplug all peripherals. Flip it over (back of the laptop facing you) and pop off the bottom plate using the small Philips. Using same small Philips, remove all the screws for the CPU heatsink (4 surrounding the CPU and one right against the back of the case). Unplug the fan cable for the CPU (immediately ahead of the CPU) and carefully pull it out between the capacitors and the metal tab. Carefully lift up the heatsink avoiding any board components. Also be careful as it may be very hot.

Using the rubbing alcohol and paper towels, remove all the existing thermal insulation (white stuff) that Averatec put on the CPU and heatsink at the factory. Make sure both CPU and heatsink are *perfectly clean*. Don't worry about the stuff that gets stuck in the little hole on the CPU, that's not important. See the fan that's inside the heatsink? Remove the 3 tiny screws with the precision Philips or the paring knife. I used a paring knife and it worked fine, just be careful. Highly recommended to use the Philips. Remove the fan from the hole. You'll notice you can't completely remove it because the cable is stuck, so just lay it down off to the side.

It's recommended that for this part you move away from your notebook or anything/anyone that is sensitive to dust. Using the canned air or air compressor, blow all the dust out of the heatsink, both sides. You may have to use a pair of needle nosed pliers, or a stick, or some tool of the sort to fully remove all the dust that may be stuck. Be careful not to bend the fins of the heatsink. Clean the blades of the fan as well while you're at it with air, or alcohol and paper towel.

Now, replace the fan and put the screws back in. Make sure the cable is the way it was before you pulled the fan out.

Using the instructions that came with your thermal grease, apply it to the heatsink. I personally found it much easier to do it this way, you may find it easier to do apply it to the CPU. My only thing is this, don't put too much or it won't work, but I'm hoping your instructions say that.

Once you're finished with that, carefully replace the heatsink. To do this, you have to stick the copper fins on the left side down into their outlet, then make sure you can get the back screw hole down past the metal tab that may be preventing it. Once you've done that just press it down onto the CPU. Replace one of the 4 spring-screws around the CPU, but don't tighten it all the way, then while using 1 hand to hold it down, replace the one diagonally opposite. If you don't do this, it'll flip up. Once you've done that, replace the rest of them as normal, and don't forget to make sure they're all snug, don't overtighten them. Reroute the fan cable between the tab and the capacitors on the left, and MAKE SURE to plug it back in!!! Disaster is imminent if you forget this step!

Now, replace the cover and screws, plug all your peripherals back in and the power too, and have a beer because you're done!

This solved 100% the problems with rebooting, major slowdowns in games, gross overheating, fan running loud constantly... basically everything! My friend and I love our laptops again!

I have my video card settings to High Quality for DirectX and medium quality 1024x768 resolution in Generals and it runs perfect, without a hitch. Also using the video card drivers off of Uniwill's website, slightly newer than the Averatec ones. The only thing that generates heat that isn't drawn away now is my hard drive and my 200mW PCMCIA wifi card, too bad they're right on top of one another... oh well, can't win them all.

Anyways hope that helps you guys, it definitely did for me! I expect you'll have to do this every so often just to keep it clean, but it's worth the 15 mins!

Cam

Canuck in Deutschland

 

Also for the person who suggested that the stock Averatec drivers make my media reader work again...

A while back, I had nothing better to do, so I reinstalled Windows. Since my friend has the exact same laptop, with Windows XP Pro SP2 (German) installed, and his media reader works just fine, I decided to give the Averatec Windows a shot, just to see.

So I started off w/ the recovery disks, just to test my theory that the problem wasn't driver related, so I get it all done, and pop in an SD card. It does the "good beep" and finds a PCMCIA ATAPI/IDE Adapter, just like it did when I had my previous installation of Windows, and then nothing else. No new disk drive comes up in Control Panel, nothing. I have tried other SD cards, all of which work in my external USB reader, and all don't work in the media reader. There is no further configuration I can find to fool around w/ this device. I've looked at it with the bottom of the laptop off, everything seemed fine, so I can't honestly tell you what's wrong, I have no idea.

So your suggestion that perhaps it is the drivers is untrue. I have tried the 1.0.6.0 drivers (from Averatec), 1.0.6.4 as well, no dice. The 1.0.6.4 drivers are not very easy to find either. If you're interested in finding the newer ones, a Fujitsu laptop uses this exact media reader although I don't recall which model.

Cam

Canuck in Deutschland

 

reinstalling the pcmcia drivers has fixed this problem in the past; have youn done that?

 

There could be a drive letter conflict, you should go to admin tools in the control panel>>computer management>> then on the left choose disc management. See if it possible shows up in the right top pane, and maybe change the drive letter on it. I had this problem once. I also just reinstalled windows from a full xp home disc, installed the pcmcia drivers off the restore disc, tested it with a memory stick, and it works fine. WIndows did its quick config, and i was able to access it.

 

Hey guys, we're kinda getting off topic here.

If we need to discuss the media reader issues I suggest opening a new post, not filling this one. There is good info thats being offered on the card reader issues, and I think it would benefit us more if that info was posted where someone would look for it.

Cheers...carry on

DD

 

I ran hdtune and it says my hd is running at 38 degrees celcius. I think it's because I installed more system ram in the beast. When i'm playing games it gets to about 46 degrees celcius.
-andrew

 

That is about what I notice. Around 40 when idle, around 50 when busy. I wonder what is too hot for this drive?

 

The 40gb is a travelstar (hitachi). The spec sheet claims it will operate up to 55c. Since spec sheets are usually very conservative, I say that 50c is safe.

http://www.hitachigst.com/hdd/support/80gn/80gn.htm