THE 6214W over heating thread

Im begining to think that this overheating issue isnt just an isolated case. There seem be more and more people with the problems

So in a effort to show zepto this isnt just my laptop thats shutting down randomly could everyone that has faced problems write in this thread

1. How long you've had the zepto?
2. Have you already had it repaired for overheating?
3. Circumstances e.g. playing games?
4. Average time it takes to shut down due to over heating e.g. 20 mins of playing games?
5. Where was the zepto purchased? e.g. UK - NUSystems

feel free to add anymore useful info.



I'll start:

1. 5 months
2. Yes, i sent it in after about 1 month of ownership
3. Playing games on the Source engine e.g. HL2, CS:S. As well as F.E.A.R
4. Ranges from 20-50 mins
5. UK - NUSystems

 

I am also a bit interested in this. Could we add where/from whom you bought your Zepto to that list?

 

1. Since August(ish)
2. No
3. Playing Battlefield 2142 and gfx card overheated, now the laptop cannot be used as I cant load into windows unless using safe mode and I also cannot use the laptops screen as it has become blank (can use an external device in safe mode but there are artifacts on the screen therefore must be the gfx card)
4. Cannot use it.
5. From the UK so brought from nusystems

And what's being done about it? Well I've sent 3 emails over a week ago, no replies. Called Zepto support in Denmark (I think) on Wednesday, was told I'd receive an email for shipping details but again no email. Which is great because I've got a deadline in a week and a half and not only will I not receive my laptop repaired in time for at least one day of cramming my notes together, I wont be able to do my work at uni because it doesn't look like they want to repair it. I'm beginning to think the gaming system I brought cannot be used for...gaming.

Sorry if I came across angry, I'm sure you can understand why

 

^^ that sounds like a driver issue to me... whenever i try to use ones that just dont work it will only boot into safemode

 

I wish it were that simple, but its the official driver from zepto, it works with an external device (although still with a corrupt image), and the driver is only used when actually in windows however the screen shows plain white with weird lines even when I just turn it on. Also, Zepto agreed that it sounds like a faulty gfx card.

 

1. It was my first 6214W (had it for 2 months in 2006)
2. No
3. Warcraft 3, world of warcraft
4. Happened once after playing a cpu/gpu demanding custom game of Warcraft 3 TFT. After about 2 hours
5. Sweden

 

1. How long you've had the zepto?

Since August 2006

2. Have you already had it repaired for overheating?

Yes, once so far, it improved the performance but did not sort the issue.

3. Circumstances e.g. playing games?

Playing Battlefield 2142, before the repair it wouldn't play it on any setting for more than 20 minutes. It will now play it on medium settings, but dynamic lighting/anti aliasing must be off, and textures must be low, else the same overheating problem exists.

4. Average time it takes to shut down due to over heating e.g. 20 mins of playing games?

Can depend, i assume mainly on how many people are playing the game, it will handle smaller games fine, but when too much happens at once (a frequent occurrence) the laptop will simply turn off.

5. Where was the zepto purchased? e.g. UK - NUSystems

From the zepto website ( www.zepto.com) However all issues i have are dealt with by NuSysyems, i never actually speak to Zepto employees.

 

Hi guys,

1. I have the zepto 6214W since July 2006

2. Haven't tried repairing

3. Playing battlefield 2 and all source games (CS:S, DOD:S)with all video settings on high

4. 20-30 mins playing BF2 on high, 30-60 mins playing BF2 on low, as for source games it shuts down after about an hour of gaming.

5. my zepto laptop was purchased from the official site www.zepto.dk, and I have spoken a lot with danish Zepto employees because of the video bios problems of the 6214W.


Does anyone know if zepto is doing anything to correct this issue?

 

1. I've had it since october 2006
2. No.
3. Playing F.E.A.R and Battlefield 2
4. Depends; about 45 mins - 1h30 mins
5. Purchased at Zepto Luxembourg

I found a way to prevent it from overheating !!

What you do is : you elevate the Z. I put a piece of wood or a book or something like that (about 3-6 cm high) under the rear end of the notebook, so that the floor of the notebook gets better ventilation and it works fine now.

I use an external llyama 19" and external keyboard and mouse when playing at home. However last week it DID shut down even with the elevated rear (after 2h of BF2) and I think it was because the lid was closed because when I opened it, the keyboard was pretty hot. Now I elevate the rear and keep the lid open and it works just fine.

 

Well, i think there's a reason why your Zepto overheated.. When you had the lid closed, it critically prevents your comp from inhaling cool air, you see the air intake is in the keyboard.

 

Yeah closing the lid while running a game will no doubtly cause the zepto to overheat and shutdown.

 

hmm..I gave the "elevating the rear end of the Z" fix a try but my zepto still shutdowned after about an hour of BF2, but I'm gonna try and let the computer rest a night and I will try it again in the morning when it's all cooled down.

do you have BF2 graphics on high?

 

For info, it used to shut down with the lid opened as well guys. (when i played on my Z away from my desk )

i think they're on high. Actually i haven't changed the settings since I ran it last with a X800XT on my desktop. (1280*1024)

btw I tried playing BF2 without my external screen and it doesn't work. i get a black screen like if it is starting the game, the dvd starts running and then woosh comes back to desktop without a message error or anything and no trace of bf2.exe in the task manager. Anyone have a clue why ?

 

This situation is completely unacceptable.

I've just bought the game S.T.A.L.K.E.R:Shadow of Chernobyl, which by the way has amazing graphics and runs with absolutely no lag on my 6214W, however after 15 minutes of gameplay the laptop overheated and shutdowned.

We all bought this computer because it was advertised as an amazing gaming rig, however I can now only play games that are about 2 or more years old, since the ones being released now cannot be played on our computers.

We really gotta do something about this...

 

I bought my Zepto in September and I did not notice any overheating issue.
But I had a problem with a key on my keyboard and one day I tried to fix it I accidently moved my keyboard of a few milimeters.
After this I see many problems of overheating....

To avoid a long time repair I decided to have a look in, after removing the keyboard, I did not remark something wrong with the cooling system. So I let my keyboard off and tried to make a shutdown. It was impossible (I have some saves in games exactly where I got heat warnings).

When remounting the keyboard, I see a screw more important than others passing through the fan support, this one should be really tighten, if not the air is not passing where it is supposed. I also took care of centering my keyboard and now my overheating issue completely disappeared.

Hope this experience could help someone in the same case,

 

See what resolution is the game doing.

@gueuze: nice description - i'd guess that is the intake air that doesnt come in to the zepto, so the problem of overheating

 

Interesting gueuze !
It's worth having a look ...however isn't your warranty void if you remove the keyboard ??

 

This is the point, the warranty, normally I think they could void it but if you do this manipulation very carefully they will not see you opened it.
There is no sticker or other system to check if you open it, the keyboard is fixed by 3 screws and one is behind the memory housing, the 2 others are marked with a small keyboard.

I see you are from Paris (me too), I let some posts on http://forum.hardware.fr/hfr/MiniPC...les/unique-portables-zepto-sujet_29700_11.htm about this, may be my explanation are better in French.

Sorry for my English, I am French

 

hmm...

I don't understand that much about computer interiors..

is there anyway you can make a newbie guide to fixing this issue, something with pictures would help.

And anonther thing Gueuze, are you playing any games in particular? I would like to know if you're playing more graphic demanding games, like Half-Life 2, Battlefield 2, FEAR...

 

MaD Ed, I am not sure if it is good idea to make a guide, it could incite many people to do it and I do not want to be responsible of all consequences...
Perhaps some people from Zepto who came here have enough experience to tell if this a real way to solve the problem.

I just gave my experience and how I "solved" my problem, this is may be not the unique reason of overheating and it could be completly different for others.
I done this because I had no problems before and suddenly my computer changed according to the "do it myself" I done on my keyboard.

Some persons are not satisfyied by the keyboard (irregularities) and I thought that some of them tried to arrange the keys like me and then had the overheating issue.

You do not have to touch the interiors in fact, just take care of how the keyboard is mounted. This part is supposed to let air coming inside and if it is not correctly positioned we can image problem...

I am used to play Company of Heroes and Supreme Commander, overheating warnings came after 15 minutes approximately.

 

ok I understand.

What do you mean "overheating warnings"?

I don't get any warnings at all, my computer just shuts down instantly, no messages, no nothing...

 

I was using the software Notebook Hardware Control and when you reach 90°C, the program displays a small message telling you that processor is overheating and the computer is starting the shutdown sequence.
You can stop the sequence and save you game, but if you continue to play you have a sudden shutdown as some users.

 

right ok, I don't have that kind of software so all I get is a sudden shutdown..

 

Exactly the same issues. Really quite fed up now, got it last july. Has been one issue after another and beginning to regret the choice.

1. How long you've had the zepto?
6 months

2. Have you already had it repaired for overheating?
no

3. Circumstances e.g. playing games?
happens when playing cs, dawn of war and battlefield 2

4. Average time it takes to shut down due to over heating e.g. 20 mins of playing games?
aroung 10-15 minutes

5. Where was the zepto purchased? e.g. UK - NUSystems
Uk site so nusystems, which itself was an absolute nightmare

has anyone had any joy getting one repaired? any successful results at all? because this is ridiculous now.

 

I completely agree man,

I am too starting to regret the choice, I first had a video bios problem, in which games like BF2 and Company of Heroes had major visual flaws, but zepto eventually fixed that.. However just as I was finaly starting to enjoy this computer, it starts shutting down out of the blue...

this sucks

 

Have you guys tried that spraying canned air into your keaboards? I doubt that dust could have blocked the air intakes..

 

Have you tried doing what I said a couple of posts before ??
Ever since I started doing that, I haven't had any overheating problems whatsoever...

 

Duduch's method (raising the laptop rear 3-5 cm.) has also kept my 6615 relatively cool.
So far I've only had 1 warning message from NHC when the CPU reached 80 C. after 2,5 hours of Stalker. No shutdowns so far.
Another cheap and easy way to cool your laptop is to put it on a marble slab.
Any slab about the size of your Znote and about 1 cm thick will do. Especially during summer, I think, it will be more usefull than any 'fanbox' blowing/sucking air to/from the Znote's bottom because of the cooling design; fans sucking air through the keyboard.

On the other hand, if your Znote overheats after 10-15 minutes of gameplay (and you don't live in the Sahara desert) you should have it repaired by Zepto.

Edit: Marble sucks, it doesn't dissipate heat. Building a custom cooler is a better idea than marble slabs.

 

1. Had the Zepto since August 2006
2. No. Have not had time or chance to send it in.
3. Playing games, specially Medieval: Total War, or Command and Conquer: Generals. t
4. Time ranges between 20 to 40 minutes. ALWAYS. (Raised the laptop in between 2 books, its 5 cm above the table)
5. purchased at www.netshop.no, Norway.


I have been annoyed to death with this issue. read through everything about more or less everything updated BIOSes, rolled back on all BIOSES, been annoyed. I ended up coping with the problem till recently since i was filled with school work. Now...with more free time, I WANT to play my games!!!

Of course i study in Holland, and travel very seldom back home to Norway...sigh.

 

Lads, i just reached 90 degrees with the GPU while playing HL2!

What's the limit for overheating and the laptop shutting itself down?

 

Well guys, I've tried the elevating the rear of the computer thing but it still keeps shuting down,altough it still buys me some more time, I can no play bf2 for about 2 hours, previously it shutdowned after about 20 mins of bf2..

However I'm gonna go study to danmark in about 3 months so I will probably bring this issue to the Zepto headquarters and demand a fix.

 

@Thorne, for the CPU max temp is 95°C (bios setting), for the GPU I read somwhere the max possible temp was 125°C so the bios should be set around 100°C (supposition).

 

Okay gueuze, thanks for the info. I'll push this laptop to it's limits before i'm deciding wether to keep it or not.

 

I'm pretty sure it will reach its limits when you use TV-out and the LCD at the same time (clone mode) playing a game at high quality.

 

Playing HL2 for a couple of hours raises the GPU's core temperature to ~95 degrees, but not higher.. A difficult situation.

Alas, the recent drivers i downloaded from Zepto's ftp suck major *ss. They have some kind of stripped version of Nvidia's control panel.. "#¤%"&& If i don't get them to work during this day, Zepto goes back to the shop. Not going to keep a lappie which causes such problems during first two weeks of ownership.

 

All recent nVidia drivers have this f***ed up control panel thing. You can hack it somehow (I did it a while ago, forgot how exactly), just google for it.

I've played like 500h CS:S on this book and it NEVER shut down because of too much heat, unless I tried to use the TV clone mode of the graphic card. Most of the few bluescreens I got where caused by faulty video drivers and I had no bluescreen since I installed the 97.92 nVidia drivers.

It's a good book - just too picky on drivers and with a terrible BIOS support crew.

 

I'll try to search for it when i have the time, though i managed to to what i wanted with the new ones.

Running NWN2 only caused ~80 degrees, so i guess FPS games raise the heat most. Alas, it didn't run too well, with 1024 x 768 and shadows on low & all other settings set to low, i got 20-30 fps

 

Yeah, i'm using that right now, works pretty fine. You mean you can actually play Stalker with your 6615W? I thought of purchasing that game, but eventually dropped it from my list since i thought that Go 7600 ain't enough for it..

I guess i'll be keeping Zepto now that i managed to resolve my main issue. (i couldn't setup scaling off while using non-native resolution in games) After all, i don't have so much time for gaming anymore.

But what's important now is that i can play Baldur's Gate 2!

 

I actually have some good news. I play wow a lot and I've never reached more than around 57 degrees celsius.

I haven't played any FPS games yet though

 

I used to get blue screens when gaming on my 6214w, which I think were caused by over heating; however after several bios updates (latest is z1.18) I have not had any blue screens, apart from one time a couple of months ago when I was gaming on my bed, which must of blocked the fans and the vents on the underside of the laptop!?!?

 

1. How long you've had the zepto?

4 months

2. Have you already had it repaired for overheating?

Nope. I need it in my daily work... No time for that

3. Circumstances e.g. playing games?

Only when playing games. I tried Heroes of Might and Magic V. I don't play games too often though, so it's sort of ok.

4. Average time it takes to shut down due to over heating e.g. 20 mins of playing games?

30-50min

5. Where was the zepto purchased? e.g. UK - NUSystems

Zepto DE (Germany)

I fixed the shutdown issue by using the following combination:
- reduce the game's maximum resolution to 1024x768
- underclocked the CPU
- used a laptop cooler (i can look up the name if important - imho they are all pretty similar in terms of performance)

The heating issue is a bit annoying, but I think there is no long term solution for the 6214W, except re-designing the case completely. Since I am not playing too much (a few days / year), its effects are not bothersome.

Btw, any other 6214-Linux users out there? I got another issue, and I just want to know if it's temperature related or not (although 40 C should not be a problem for the HDD).

Cheers.

 

has anyone had any significant or worthwhile redress to their overheating 6214w?

 

My 6314W started overheating at some point, then i bought canned air and blowed the dust out of it. No problems after doing that