M860TU problems - Troubleshooting thread

Does anybody hae issues with the inbuilt cam being very, very dark and not really letting in much light? Unless I am in a really bright room with lots of daylight or light directed on me, I don't really see anything. I don't think it's a software problem (Bisoncam)... I think it might be the camera itself. I've looked at the cam settings in the software but there's just stuff for gamma and brightness... which doesn't do much for the image other than to make the darkness "brighter". Any ideas?

 

hi cat
yep,same here. cam is very dark.
i suppose it would make a difference if i was in another part of the house with better lighting but hey ho,im not

 

Its the settings on the camera itself. If you were to use the camera in Windows Live Messenger, you can up the brightness, contrast, etc. and it looks much better.

 

Same here, camera is quality is really poor. I'm having at least a 2 seconds delay.

 

I know that the cams that ROCK were putting in the 17" Clevo chassis they were rebranding as the "Xtreme 770" had really good image quality and was able to let in light really well in even low light environments, so it seems a shame that the cam in this smaller Clevo chassis is a bit useless when using it with the standalone Bisoncam software.

 

Is this correct?



Shouldn't it be 2,5? I sometimes see 2,5 but most of the time its 1,5.

 

Don't worry about it. Google Speedstep.

 

Hey there guys, I was wondering if anyone had the same problem I'm experiencing...

My Sager NP8660 has been really awesome thus far, but I've been having a problem with my GPU overheating when I'm playing games...

My specs are

Intel Mobile Core 2 Duo T9400 P9500 (Both idling around 30-40)
GeForce 9800M GT (Idles around 50)
Hitachi HTS543232L9A 5400rpm 300gig (Idles around 50)

The problem is that when I try to run WoW for like 10 minutes the GPU will kick up to 80+ if I don't alt tab . If I stay tabbed in for more than 30 minutse my comp will just freeze.

When I tried to run 3DMark06 the temps weren't that bad but my friend and I noticed this slight burning smell emitting from the machine so I stopped after the first graphics test.

any help would be much appreciated

 

You might want to send it back for a checkup.

Burning smell + heat spikes = Very bad.

 

Hi Zenaku and welcome to the forum.
if you havnt already could you download FW Monitor Here and run it in the background while firstly idling for 30 minutes and secondly while gaming for 30 minutes. we would then be able to give you a better idea what to do.
sending it back does sound an option but some temps. results would help first.

 

Another issue I have found with the M860tu (albeit a small issue) is the uber-sensitive button on the side of the DVD RW drive. I only have to knock it slightly and the drawer opens! I wish it were less sensitive, as it often comes open whenever I have this laptop on my lap (very briefly) and it happens to touch my leg. Grrrr.

I know it's a bit of a chore, but is there any way to disable the button and have it open only when you select an option for it to open?

I'm wondering if the button on the Bluray RW drives are like this too? Anyone?

 

I find that its the opposite: I have to make sure my finger is on the button and press correctly :/ I believe you cannot disable the drive except if you pull the power from it since no software is related to the drive, its essentially hardware. I tried to disable the drive in device manager and it didn't work there.

 

Wanted to make sure that you guys know about the newest Intel Storage driver. My HDD is now idling at 48C and maxing at 55C.

Get it here.

 

I just installed it yesterday. I don't see any real difference. Idling at 52 now, as usual...maybe I bit lower...

 

Mine is the same - I can even nudge the DVD drive near the button and it opens sometimes. I'm pretty good at avoiding it now though...

Petrov.

 

Meanwhile, the button on my DVD drive (not bluray) refuses to open 2/3rds of the time, and I usually just select eject from explorer instead these days (like livesoft).

Yep, no random ejects here ever, I'm predicting. I'm assuming it's just the brand of DVD drive that various resellers use - Sager's (mine anyway) is an Optiarc branded one.

 

Hi, well im new here too,

I have the same problem, my temps are even worse, i can play fine for the 1st 5min then my fps start to drop, crysis for example I start with 25 fps and after about 5min i have 15, then 5min more im between 8-12fps and it stays like that, Games like Wow run fine tho, NFS MW has the same problem than Crysis.

Temps on the Attachment

Any thoughts?

-Onne

 

I think you should look inside the notebook and see if there's anything odd (one person had a piece of plastic blocking the fan... on the inside of the case, for example), and otherwise those gpu settings are way too high, even for crysis, in this system with this card.

The rest of the values are also on the high side (cpu looks ok), but much of it is residual heat from the GPU I bet. For the HDD make sure you're running SATA controller drivers (system, driver manager, check that chipset lists a SATA controller, i.e. your motherboard drivers are properly set up).

Also, get a cooler (Zalman NC2000 is great on this), as that will keep it running lower. Run at lower resolutions too, if you feel that you're pushing your system. I assume nothing's overclocked.

Just to give you an idea: gpu should max around the high 70s to low 80s playing crysis (and similar games, far cry, etc), cpus should max around 55-65 tops, HD should be below 55C.

I'm inclined to think that the gpu heatsink doesn't have thermal paste applied/applied properly, and the like.

 

As tarentum said, check for any obvious problems inside the chassis, then contact your reseller as those gfx card temps are not normal

 

Hi Onne and also welcome to the NBR forum.
wow! your first post and youve already set a record (i think) 93c-106c kin heck,youve almost got a nuclear reactor temp. there.
i think that is a tad warm and its only a GTS card as well.
im using a GT card so the temps. might be slightly different. anyone with a GTS card like to post their temps. up please to compare.

it defo looks like yours has got to go back for a check up (who did you buy it from).

 

Nuclear or nucular? I believe he should call the vendor to get it repaired. I don't think its normal that the GPU reaches 103 degree.

About the cooling of the M860TU, I believe that, even if the cooling system is good, what makes the laptop cool is that there's no caps on the speed of the fan. They just let it run at full speed so everything's cool. I'm comparing this to my 8800GT from BFG, who capped the fan speed at 30%, which made the card run really hot.

 

thanks fore the speling korekshun livesoft
i see you had to do a wikipedia search just in case

 

Downloaded that new storage driver update and i think my HDD is running even hotter now!!! Going back to the previous one

 

if its the one thats been on here for about 2 weeks then mine went up for one day after loading it but then went down slightly after that.

 

meh the older one is fine for me, stays between 48-55

 

Anyone gave it a shot at Bios 1.1.08? Any noticeable changes?
I still get the CPU whining... appart from that, didn't really have much time to notice any other changes.

 

Do you have the link? I tried to search on the forum but couldn't find it I'm willing to give it a try to stop the sleep/hibernation crashes although it seems to have stopped after I cleared the hybernation file and created a new one.

From my search on the forum, Sager doesn't give a BIOS fix to avoid people bricking their laptop except if they are sure it solves one of your problem. So if there's something wrong, you might want to contact the vendor for the BIOS, if everything's fine, I believe there wouldn't be any performance improvement with the BIOS update.

 

Well, for anyone wishing to try the new bios, here is the amalgamated 1.01.08 BIOS and 1.00.08 kbc/ec:

86tu0808.zip

Edit: run step1.bat then step2.bat to complete the 2 part process

 

I think they should def work on:
- Improving keyboard response and reducing latency time
- Getting rid of the whining CPU noise
- Improving on the fan control (it's always on, even when not needed...)
- Giving access to full 4GB (which I think they do with this BIOS, actually)

And this is the least they should give a shot at...

 

i cant see billy boy gates being happy with the last one milcs.
no one would buy 64bit anymore if you could use the full 4gb in 32bit.

i will have 3.1gb usage this time tomorrow as its on the shopping list for Andrew to sort out my bios and hard drive and turbo memory and and, cant think of anything else

 

What's the flash command? I tried 'update' at the C: prompt, but it gave me the 'bad command or file name message'.

 

run step1.bat then step2.bat to complete the 2 part process

 

there are two files to download there which one is the right one?

do i need to uninstall a previous driver before installing this and where can i do this?

 

Sorry, but I have to ask: am I doing this in Windows or DOS?

The 22955KB file is what I installed.

I don't know how to uninstall, but I don't think it's necessary.

 

I seem to get random fps drops, I already removed the battery but it didn't work.

It happens in PES 09 and Fallout 3...

 

Bios/kbc flashes must be done from dos. zfactor has a good guide on doing this which I have linked in my sig

 

hmm.... yeah, so the .08 BIOS probably just bricked my notebook. I got the usual successful update, press any button to restart or power off message, but after it attempted to reboot it just fell silent. Now when powered on, the lights come on and fan constantly revs on and off, but I have no display and it doesn't seem to make post.

I'm open to any troubleshooting suggestions.

 

was that after step1, or step2?

 

After step2.

 

So absolutely nothing comes up on screen?

Here is the 1.00.07 bios. Try to blind flash it if you can (put it on your bootable device, wait for enough time for it to boot to the device (hopefully it is still booting, just no image on screen) then type "update" and hope for the best

 

Thx for the respones, I called the vendor they didnt ask much after i mailed them my screenshot. They sent dhl to pick it up and i should have an answer this week.

 

nice one. keep us posted on the outcome.

 

Looks like you flashed the SBIOS first than the KBC/EC Firmware...

You MUST always flash first the newer Firmware and then flash the new SBIOS. Your newer SBIOS is not compatible with the older KBC/EC/Smart Fan Firmware so thats why it´s not booting.

Because the SBIOS it´s not compatible, the Smart Fan signals are not been received correctly and your system is failing the POST(the POST thinks that the CPU/GPU fans are off). The problem is that will be very dificult to enter any low level recuperation process because the SBIOS will possibly overwrite those comands and will shutdown/reboot the system automatically for protection reasons.

Try the blind flash as theriko said, and pray that will work.

God help you my friend...

 

Yeah I'm just going to be blaming this one on user error.

I already explained the situation to my vendor, and they've RMA'd it for me over the past weekend. Hopefully I get it back soon.

I shall not make the same mistake again.

 

Hi there...
So, I have to say that there is definately a problem with HDD overheating in the M860TU.

Why? Well, most of the times my HDD temp is around 45-50ºC and that's fine. Playing, browsing the internet and doing things that are not that demanding on the HDD will not drive your HDD to very high temperatures.

Now, lately I have been working on writing a big essay, with lots of figures and etc... and I have untapped what happens to my HDD when put to the sort of loads I did. So, I have been working with Word, Adobe Illustrator, Photoshop, etc... converting things, copying things, etc, etc... The type of work that is essential for my life (appart from gamming). On those situations, the HDD doesn't real hold itself very well...
In fact, during these past times, my HDD temperature has always been around the 60ºC mark and yesterday it hit 67ºC. Given I was typing on my laptop, it is obvious that the temperatures on the hand rest got unconfortable.

Anyway... here is a screen of the temp:


So, sort to say that... if you use this laptop for real life, in demanding applications that use RAM, CPU and HDD... your HDD will probably not hold very well for long (not to mention that at 67ºC your HDD will not work as well and as fast), and the high temperatures on the palm rest will become very annoying.

 

Strange, because my hard drive without a cooler never goes above 55. That 67 degrees might be a bad HDD and the life expectancy of it will decrease by a lot. One day you'd be writing your 7,000 word essay and then poof....gone....then you'd have to explain to your professor why you were writing on a gaming laptop.

 

So hi, its me again the 106°C / 222°F on the GPU guy ^^ . I told u i would report once i get my laptop back.

Well, they changed the GPU and improved the cooling system (not sure what they did) but now the top temp ive got is 71°C / 159°F on Half fanspeed, so i guess i could push it under the 65°C line under 100% fanspeed.

Since ive configured my pc all alone, windows, driver, etc installation i wanted to ask if there are some other useful Clevo tools for my M860TU.
So far i have installed the usual stuff (nvidia drivers, chipset drivers, hotkey, wlan, webcam, touchpad drivers)

I heared there are some HDD drivers which lower the temp on the HDD, ive been look at the thread and saw some links but i dont know which 1s to get.

I have also been looking on Clevos site for a Fan speed control tool but havent found it, any1 knows how i can manualy set the fan speed?

Many thanks

-Onne

 

No, it is not a defective HDD. Right ow it's at 48ºC. I'm not using it for much besides browsing the internet. Only when I used it for Word and Adobe CS, converting images, PDFs, etc... I got that temperature.

 

milcs,what are you trying to do to us.
hope the thesis is sorted at last.

so what needs to be done. as this is a gaming laptop then it keeps to a nice temperature when playing games BUT not when doing general work on it.

the only way i can see this being sorted is a bios update.

so when are you upto a road trip milcs?

 

After a 3-hours movie in silent mode, my hard drive was a 62. Maybe if you're doing demanding hard drive related tasks, its plausible that the temperature could rise. If you just type a Word document or do some internet browsing, I believe there shouldn't be any big problems.