M570TU: X9100 @ 3.5Ghz = system freeze

My Windows Vista frequently freezed and the problem seems to be that I overclocked in the BIOS my X9100 to 3.5Ghz. I have read that many people here who own the X9100 also run it @ 3.5Ghz and they don't mention any freezing. Assuming that it is on my machine only, what might be triggering this? Is it because the others are maybe using a laptop cooler or something?

 

Here you can see what the maximum temperature readings were during 15 minutes of playing Enemy Territory Quake Wars:




The funny thing is that so far everytime my system froze it was while I had Internet Explorer open and all other applications closed.

 

Every chip is not made equal. You just need to fine your chips stable clock.

 

You said Vista "froze". How often does it freeze. Are you getting a blue screen when it does?

 

No blue screen. It just freezes, I can no longer move my mouse, ctrl + alt + del does nothing. When I hit the start button on my keyboard nothing happens. Disabling wireless network with Fn + F11 does not work either. It is as if I was looking at a screen capture. I then have to power off my machine by pressing and holding the power button.

 

Do your fans spin up when this happens?

 

I can hit the button with the "A" next to the power button and that works. When the computer freezes I believe that the fans are not always running at full speed so maybe not a temperature issue?

 

My system likes to freeze when the power cable is unplugged. Locks up just like you describe, but the system fans spin up right after the lock up happens. If it keeps happening, try reinstalling vista. If it happens after that, contact your reseller and request them to look at it.

 

I know what the reseller is going to say, that it freezes because I overclocked. I have to say that with my X9100 running @ 3.5Ghz it was impossible for me to install Windows XP Professionial because I would get strange errors during the installation. In the beginnen I thought that it was my RAM but when I run my X9100 at stock speed I was able to install Windows XP withouth issues. So maybe a combination of my CPU with my RAM? Too bad that there aren't many options in the BIOS to play around with the clock speeds of the CPU and RAM and the voltage settings.

 

Is it me, or those CPU temps are a bit high?


ps: Is youre X9100 ES (Engineering Sample="Beta" chip for testing) or retail chip from official shop?

 

How can I tell withouth disassembly my notebook partly? This is what CPU-Z reads out:

 

The temp of my CPU is not that high is it? Maybe under stress it is but here is under light system load:

 

I know its Off Topic, but does the M570TU support the QX9300?

 

When I ordered mine in September I wanted the QX9300 but they told me that they were having stability problems. These are supposedly fixed in a BIOS update and from what I can see on the XXODD website it can be ordered now with the QX9300:

http://www.xxodd.nl/index.php?p=artikel&ID=337&e=2

So answer: Yes

 

Ok, does your system freeze when the power cable is plugged BACK in from battery?

I am having a HORRID time with this. Its happening constantly, and I am beginning to wonder if there is a hardware issue at play here. I have not gone to uninstall Vista, but this is the first I have heard of this from someone else, other than me.

 

Your CPU temps under low load are perfectly fine. Your chip is a retail chip, since it's a C0 stepping.

 

I have this same exact problem! I'm thinking its a mobo issue, but I've delayed calling XoticPC about it. I'm kinda hoping to get a 5797 mobo

 

I really hate to hijack a thread (and I don't have the X9100, but the T9600, sorry OP!) but as emike09 and Roach have been discussing my NP5796 VISTA x64 froze on battery plug AND unplug w/ fan's spinning up a whole bunch of times.

The solution? I had to downgrade to a clevo-specific video driver - I'm using Dox's 178.13. No 180.x worked for moi. Why this occurs, I have yet to figure out. But that fixed any and all freezing with power issues.

My two cents.

 

You shouldn't HAVE to select a Clevo specific video driver. There is a hardware issue at play here, and it shouldn't be crashing in the first place. I'll take your advice for the Clevo specific driver, however. For now, I think I'll spend my sick day Monday formatting my drive and reinstalling Vista x64.

I only have a 9800GT and its still doing this, so its obviously NOT graphics card dependent.

 

Hm. If it's a nvidia powermizer or downclocking issue with power change then it will occur with any of their cards. Least, I would think especially if we share the 9800 model.

Also, does any of this freezing occur in sleep mode? Mine didn't all the times I tried (with all drivers i tried out), hence why I figured it was software, not hardware.

Anyway, you might also want to try not downloading the updated Hotkey. I have a slight feeling my upgrading to the M2.0406 had something to do with it (as it's activated whenever the power changes to let you know about decreased screen brightness for example), but who knows. I never wanted to reinstall the whole OS. Good luck!

 

Meh, I just got in contact w/ Sager, they think it is probably a motherboard issue. I'll be the guinea pig and send in my laptop and see what they find out.

 

Sweet. Let me know what they say.

 

...so, any updates on this (@Roach in particular)? I've also just started to get the freezing problem when switching from mains to battery or vice versa. It's driving me crazy :'(

I am highly dubious that this is a hardware issue, since I can plug the mains adapter in and out to my heart's content in safe mode without producing so much as a hiccup.

I haven't upgraded to HotKey M2.0406 so that can't be the cause. Upgrading my 'Key Hot Utility' driver, whatever that is, just gives me a bunch of errors, so I got rid of that.

The idea that it might be down to graphics drivers sounds fishy too, although I did only recently switch to the 180.84 betas. Perhaps it's caused by some kind of powerstepping mess-up with the graphics card...? I also only recently switched to the updated 8.7.0.1007 chipset drivers.

I'm certainly reluctant to reinstall my OS when I'll be using the same configuration afterwards, so I would be just encountering this problem all over again if it's not a Vista issue (and it doesn't seem like it is).

Anyone got any ideas??

 

I'm working with Xotic on that right now. It is getting soo annoying! I'll let you know if they have any ideas.

I have the problem anytime the computer is on, whether it be in the BIOS or in an OS. So I don't think its software at all.

Do your fans spin up when it happens?

 

Yep, the fans spin up.

It's worrying to hear that it happens to you no matter what you're doing. On a normal start up, on rare occasions, it won't freeze until I unplug/replug it once or twice. Maybe this just means that Safe Mode is making me less susceptible to the problem, rather than fixing it entirely...?? I'll have a fiddle and see if I can reproduce the freeze on my own lappy in the BIOS, etc... if not it sounds almost like we have different problems D:

Which makes finding a solution all the more difficult... Gimme a shout if Justin@Xotic has any ideas, it would be much appreciated.

EDIT: I just rolled back my GeForce drivers to 178.13 and, as unlikely as it sounds, it seems to have fixed the problem in my case (apologies to the earlier poster for doubting...). Whether it's entirely gone away, or whether changing drivers has just made it much less likely to happen, I don't know. All I know is I just unplugged&replugged this thing a dozen times without a freeze, which I couldn't have done 10 minutes ago... I also know that I can't play GTA4 with these drivers, ARGH.

 

Try the new mobile forceware.

 

Just got my laptop back from Sager, here is what is going on...

1) Yes you have to use the 17x.xx Drivers. Best bet are the ones straight from Nvidia. Looks like these are the main culprit.

2) If your plug is falling out then it is too short. My power cord going into the laptop was too short and not engaging the locking point on the power point on the motherboard, hence why it was falling out all the time. Now it is locking in place and taking some force to remove. If this is occurring, contact sager and let them know...and they should get you a fresh brick with a longer cord.

3) Move to the .10-08 BIOS (what they installed on mine). This is what was on my RMA sheet, so I assume this also had something to do with it as well.

I'm also running Vista SP2, and that is running just dandy, FYI, so it wont hurt to install that to your Windoze Installation.

-Roach

 

Here's an update on my end. I've been running 178.13 ever since I first posted and I haven't had the problem once. I am also of the camp that I believe any of these non-clevo drivers out there above 178 don't seem to be working. *However* I also don't see a mass amount of 5796 owners complaining about the 180s, so I have no idea what is different in my system (and possibly yours).

This issue seems to have a fix, but I would really love to know what's so different in the Clevo drivers than in the nvidia or laptopvideo2go ones.

 

Is there a fix for this problem (not the power chord issue).

I've found that I can run firefox no problem but if I set it to the default browser Vista will lock up after a few minutes just like IE does.