Sager 9773-S random freeze to restart

Hello everyone,
I got my laptop 2 months back, the Sager 9773-S. However, just recently it has been acting up strangely. It would randomly just freeze, and after like 30-40 seconds, the laptop restarts. I can't seem to locate the problem.

Is anyone else getting this?

 

Flash my BIOS Mod. I've added an ME fix for this problem which some board revisions experience because of some hardware changes Clevo made over time.

 

If you are getting any kind of error messages, let us know, as that would give info on it. You could also try and make sure all the components on the inside are properly seated as well.

 

Sorry, I do not quite understand.

I don't seem to be receiving any error messages. My laptop would just freeze, and a 30 seconds later it would basically restart itself. There it no option or pop up asking to go into safety mode or anything.

I recently upgraded to Windows 10 2 weeks ago. I am not sure what would be the problem. It does seem to happen when I have 2 games up and running though. Every time it has crashed, I believe I was running 2 games... That seems awfully strange, is there some bug with Windows 10, or something related to the laptop? I had the Sager 9772 previously and I was able to run 2 games without any problems at all.

I also went to the sager website and downloaded the latest drivers for Windows 10 since my sound card did not work properly, but I believe the freeze happened previously before updating the drivers.

I will open the laptop when I get back home and check inside. Are there any procedures I should follow?

 

You could also check the Event Viewer in windows and it would give you a list of errors and crashes in there. If you check to make sure everything is seated, just unplug it from the power and remove the battery.

 

I think I found the error?

 

I got the same sudden shut down issue after upgrade to win10.
But after updated Realtek audio driver, no more

 

That is strange though, I updated everything from the sager website labeled Windows 10 when I searched up drivers.

 

i don't see the drivers in sager site are up to date. i always go to station-driver.com for the newest driver.

 

I've never heard of that site before. Is it really better to trust a different site over the official?

What should I aim to download from that site if I do?

 

well to determining what is good and what is not is based on your experiece. at least the realtek audio drivers post on their site are from realtek ftp server, and i already installed.

 

i also got this kernel error and randomly shutdown without bsod.
What i did, i run Bios from Prema, activate the hibernation from his bios and also activate hibernation in power option and plan settings.
No more kernel error anymore.

 

I have had this issue for quite some time now on my NP9380-S, I'd say for at least 2 months. I had it on 8.1, upgraded to Windows 10 and it did not fix the issue. I just performed a clean install of 10 last night and the issue still occurs. I can't seem to pin point the issue. Everyone I speak to says its a motherboard. I repair computers for a living and as much I use this thing and the stress I put it under the issue should get worse over time but its not, its all random. I have run two different motherboard test and I've tested all my hardware and no issues found. I feel like its a BIOS issue but I'm using the latest Prema version and I haven't seen anyone post about having issues with it.

I have the same symptoms you described plus this occasionally after I reboot from the hard freeze. My OS seems to load in slow motion. I have a video of it but I don't know how to get it uploaded on to here. Basically, the spinning Windows loading circle spins very slowly on boot, without any stuttering. Once in Windows, if I open any windows/programs or the start menu they all open and close slowly. Meaning, they fade in and out in slow motion. Its not like a stuttering slow motion you would see with a bad HDD or viruses, but a smooth fluid kind of slow motion. This issue happens far less than the hard freezes and only occurs after a hard freeze.

I have been trying to solve this issue for over a month and I'm about to send it to XoticPC/Sager for diagnostics and see if they can figure it out. I'm glad I've finally found someone else with a similar issue. I just really hope its not a bad motherboard, I can't afford $600 to replace it.

 

Before you do that, perhaps you may want to look into flashing Prema's BIOS assuming there is one for your laptop and see if that maybe fixes the problem? Also, you may want to try a different hard drive/SSD if at all possible.

 

I am currently using his 1.3.3 version which I believe is the latest. I actually didn't see the post about enabling hibernation in the BIOS and OS until after I submitted my comment so I am trying that first. I have tried different SSDs and HDDs, different interfaces as well and the same result was yielded each time. Since changing my settings, I haven't had a crash so far. I'm going to play around with it for a few days and will post back to confirm whether or not it fixes my issue. I just performed a cleaned install of Windows 10 so I've got to reinstall all my programs.

 

This right here solved the problem for me as well. I spent two months troubleshooting this issue thinking I had unstable memory. So glad I found this post, and your comment. You sir saved my life, thank you!

 

Nice!
But all Thanks go to Prema because without is Awesome nice bios mod, we would not enjoy our system

 

Sorry to ask, but does anyone have a guide for Prema's bios?

This is my first time, and I have no idea where to go.

 

https://biosmods.wordpress.com/flashing-guide/comment-page-5/#comments

 

Thank you very much Bullrun.

At the moment I am waiting for my comment to go through, but I was reading comments and found out that Rufus program used to aid in the flashing of the bios does not work with Windows 10. Does anyone know if there is anything I can do?

Also I have the NP 9773 so I would choose P77xZM-G?
On the xoticpc site it shows
Clevo P770ZM-G

I also downloaded the gtx980m vbios flash files too... Pretty sure I have to do that?

 

You did this? " (Remove old BIOS/HDD Passwords, disable UEFI and Intel Anti-Theft Technology)" DOS and UEFI is a no go.

 

W10 no longer contains the required DOS files. Either download them manually or choose freedods option in Rufus to create the bootable pen drive.

 

Sorry for a lack of response. Been increasingly busy with work.
I assume with HDD passwords it would be when logging into your user account? I thought its not possible as Windows 10 wants you to log in through a hotmail account.

Also how would you disable Intel Anti-Theft Technology and UEFI?

Update:
I read some different sites and it said that the Anti-Theft was some sort of subscription base program. I don't seem to have it since I had to completely reinstall Windows 10 not too long ago.

I also went to my system bios (F2) and I saw the UEFI, I disabled it... That would be it I assume?

 

Yes, that's the UEFI. The Anti-Theft may be in BIOS as well. The password would be there too, "Remove old BIOS/HDD Passwords", if you set one up. Not the Windows login.

A side-note: You do not need to go through hotmail or have a MicroSoft account. Windows wants you to do that but screw that. http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=faq-Windows-10&faq=2 or http://winaero.com/blog/how-to-install-windows-10-without-microsoft-account/

 

I looked around the bios options, I did not see anything related to Anti-Theft. Is there any specific place I should be looking in the bios options?

 

It'll default to disabled, so if you don't have a subscription then don't worry about it.
Go ahead and flash that thing already.

 

@Prema, question... Let's say I get the new GTX 980, whichever version that works in the Batman.. Do you think it would be possible to make the GSync work on the normal P771ZM by flashing the P771ZM BIOS? Or will it be a brick?

 

Most important for g-sync is to have the right screen as well as the g-sync version of the GPU, the rest can be taken care of.

 

Thank you Prema,
I went ahead and flashed the bios in. It looks really pretty!

As far as launching up. I re-enabled UEFI and started up. Nothing negative so far. Maybe a little lag spikes when typing into this message so far. I assume it would be just the website though...

Would it be recommended to flash the Nvidia 980m into the laptop as well?

 

I would recommend to also use the Mod vBIOS. Even if you don't plan to OC, as it'll get rid of any SLI micro-stutter and throttling even on stock clocks as well as make better use of your systems FAN profiles (stock vBIOS will throttle before allowing the FANs to spin higher).

 

Alright then.

So I just need to follow the same procedures as if I were flashing a bios?

Update: Nevermind, I read the readme. If my laptop only has 1 GTX980m should I just run ModMe.bat only? I assume ModMe2.bat is only for SLI?

Update 2: So I ran ModMe.bat and it went through. When I tried ModMe2.bat it just said invalid adapter or something. So I just restarted the laptop. It seems the model was updated.

Is there anything else I need to do?

 

Second .bat is only for SLI (second GPU).

ENJOY!

 

Thank you Prema!

Do these bios and vbios get upgraded frequently? I assume I will have to check in or something.

 

So in essence it is possible since I have the LG IPS screen version of P771ZM.. Well will keep in mind when getting the new GPU about it needing to be GSync version..

Thanks Prema, you are a legend And that is a massive understatement when describing you

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

 

Hey guys,

Just came to update:
It was working fine until now.
It froze and restarted sadly.

Apparently it just loses power.. or not enough power? Does anyone know what is causing this?

 

Does anyone know what the problem is?

Is it something wrong with the actual laptop?

 

It could just be the kernel hanging. Power is normally more the system just shutting off instantly. Does it happen in low power draw situations or with sli off?

 

How would I be able to tell? I do not have two cards so I don't think it would be SLI would it?

I have already done a clean install of Windows 10 a few times (through the reset Windows option), but the problem still persists.

 

Also quick question regarding drivers from sager. Particularly the WLAN one. I noticed both the BlueTooth and Lan have 2 folders.

Bluetooth having folders "7260" and "7265", while WLAN has "7260" and "7265" as well. There was another folder called APTX but it was empty when I extracted the 01WLAN... Which one would I choose to install?

I believe Sound Blaster X-Fi MB3 AP for Windows 10 64 BIT also had two folders, but I have no idea which one to install!

Update: I noticed there was Atheros Killer N1525 Wireless LAN + Bluetooth Drivers for Windows 10 64 BIT and Intel Wireless LAN & Bluetooth Drivers for Windows 10 64 BIT... Do I only need one of them?

My laptop has the Killer Wireless.

 

Is there any difference in the driver versions for the sound blaster? Maybe try the one that is the most recent driver if there is a difference.

The 7260 and 7265 are going to be intel wireless cards. You'll want to install the Atheros 1525 and bluetooth drive, since you have the killer wireless card. The Intel one would be if you had one of the other options.

 

Yes, I went ahead and installed the Altheros one.

By chance would you happen to know why my laptop just ends up freezing?

It only seems to happen when I play games. Everything would just freeze, I can't do anything. After a bit it would just black out restart. I believe during the freeze, my fans would pick up in speed...
Could this be a result of bad hardware?

 

Could be a faulty GPU.. I would RMA now seriously...

 

Sorry to hear you are having issues, After all the fixes you've done if it's still freezing frequently it would probably be best to look into the RMA process. Please let us know if we can help.

 

Is there anyway to test this? I have already used Memtest86 to check I suppose memory... and CPU? It showed no errors.

Well its very random actually. I have already reinstalled Windows 10 at least 4-5 times now. And since I am now out in Japan I am worried how much it would cost to send it out, and not to mention how long it would take to get back to me... I need to use it for school purposes as well. How long would it take?

I also read I would have to pay shipping both ways (which is very painful to read on the xotic website)...

I saw there was a new sager release on xotic.
http://www.xoticpc.com/sager-np9778s-clevo-p770dm-p-8638.html

Is the skylake CPU better than the 4790k for laptops?

I will admit... It is unsettling how many errors this laptop gets in a matter of moments after a fresh install of Windows 10.

 

Looking at the shipping prices when I customized a 9778-S. It would be 300-500 dollars alone to have it shipped here to Japan!

That would be 600-1000 in total...

I would hate to have to buy a new laptop not even 5 months in, but it seems like a better choice.

I never brought the laptop box with me (too big). This is really troublesome!

What can I do.. Or what would be the better option?

 

Update:
I just tried a stress test for GPU, Tom is right. It blacked out and the LEDs for the cap, num, and scr lock were blinking. I had to hold the power button to force shut down.

I ordered this from xoticpc, so what can I do?
I'm looking at an expensive shipping tag to get it to xotic then have to pay to get it back to me.

I assume it would be better to buy a new laptop, but what would I do with this one?

 

If the shipping cost is that high, you may want to look at getting a replacement GPU. I would, definitely, find out the cost of shipping first. Also, if just a GPU could be shipped and yours shipped back. You have some options. Even if you decide on a new laptop, I would try hold that one if you plan any travel to the US while you still have a warranty.

 

I talked with Alex and it is indeed possible to get a replacement GPU, just there will be a hold payment until I can get the older GPU back to them.

I am working with them to get it, but this is my first time replacing a GPU myself.. I hope it isn't too hard.

I am interested in the latest Sager that will appear with an actual GTX 980, so if I did plan to hold out, it would be for that laptop.

 

It isn't too hard.. Seems the problem is most likely the GPU as I read through the thread.. My top tip would be to ground yourself.. You don't want to kill the GPU with electrostatic... Also get some good thermal pads and paste for your new GPU.. See if Alex can provide some IC Diamond..

Sent from my LG-H811 using Tapatalk

 

I was asking to see if they could provide IC Diamond as I had that part of the xotic order. It's my first time hearing about thermal pads, but isn't thermal compound better (ex:IC Diamond)?