Sager NP5165 beeping and powering off without warning

My Sager NP5165 ran into a problem today where it started emitting loud beeps through my headphones for roughly a minute, and then turned itself off without any error messages or other warning besides the beeping. I thought it was odd since to my knowledge (which is admittedly very limited) POST beep codes usually go through the computer speaker, not headphones. I looked up AMI POST codes just in case (since the machine has an AMI bios) and they have no entry for long, continuous beeping. I didn't count the number of beeps but I'm fairly sure there were more than 12, which is the highest number of beeps for any documented AMI POST code that I could find. If it occurs again I'll definitely count to make sure. If it helps/matters, the problem occurred while the computer wasn't under any heavy stress, just watching a few streams and browsing the internet.

In any case, I was wondering if anyone had encountered this on their own machines, if they knew what the problem was, and/or if they found a solution. And in the meantime, should I try to avoid using the machine or anything?

 

The beeps coming through the speakers are normal. These models run through the integrated speakers. Off the top of my head, you should check that:

1) Your battery wasn't dead. They may have been low battery beeps.
2) You weren't overheating (which would have an auto shutdown if it was serious).

 

It wasn't the battery; I'm plugged in. Overheating is a maybe? I'm doubtful because the computer wasn't under any stress, and I've done a lot more intensive stuff (gaming etc.) on a lot hotter days without issue. I'll start monitoring temps from now on though.

Anyhow, an update: it just happened again. This time I had a game (Heroes of Newerth) open as well as Firefox. The moment I heard the beeping I exited out of every open program. The beeping stopped immediately, and the computer didn't shut itself off afterward. I don't know much about the subject but this makes me think it might be related to my RAM? (Purely a guess; I don't know what I'm talking about). Seems like if it were overheating, the computer would take a bit of time to cool down even after I shut down all running programs, so that shouldn't be the issue.

Again I'm pretty ignorant on the issue so if anyone more knowledgeable can throw some info my way I'd be very grateful.

 

I'd say try running a few tools to check it out.

Memtest86+ ( Memtest86+ - Advanced Memory Diagnostic Tool) - check your memory
HWMonitor ( CPUID - System & hardware benchmark, monitoring, reporting) - watch your temps.

You could also run a Windows disk check as well to be sure it's not a hard drive issue.

 

Thanks for the tips. I'll try those when I get some time tonight.

 

Launch HWMonitor, start a game, then alt-tab out after 5-10 minutes, or as soon as the beeping starts, whichever happens first.

Report the temps.

 

Played some games on single-player but the beeping didn't happen. The temperature started at 57 (57 min 60 max) and ended at 63 (83 max). Not sure what regular temperatures are like but 83 seems quite high?

 

What were the temps for the CPU and GPU individually? If 83c was just the GPU, that's not an unusual temp for load. If that was your CPU, it's a little warm. It depends on what it was in relation to.

Where are you getting the beeping? Only when browsing, not when under load?

 

Uhh call me stupid, but where do I find the GPU temp specifically in HWMonitor? I see temperatures for CPU cores but not the GPU?

And so far I've gotten it four times: Three times playing games (once StarCraft 2, two times Heroes of Newerth) and one time just browsing/streaming, no intensive loads going. I've also played the previously listed games a number of times without issue.

 

Here, I'll just screenshot it instead:



This is the current temperature and stuff but I haven't reset the numbers so the highs from the gaming session should still be there.

 

You need to close Hwmonitor, then open a game/application that uses the 555m graphics, then open HWmonitor again. This time it will be updated with the temperature of the 555m.

 

Oh I see. I'll try that. Thanks!


edit: Here we go. Started up a game, within five minutes the beeping started again. Closed all running apps (the game, browser, and a video player), and the beeping stopped immediately after the last one (browser; firefox, if it matters) was closed. Here are the temps:



GPU temps seem relatively low, so it doesn't look like that should be the issue.

Also, it looks like the memtest tool requires me to remove my RAM so that there's only one stick in at a time, is that correct? I'll have to find some time to figure out how to use the tool and how to take apart the laptop before I can use it, then =\. Never fiddled around with the insides of a laptop before; hopefully it's not much more difficult than a desktop.

 

Your CPU temps are abnormally high in that result, especially compared to the GPU which is typically much higher. I'm guessing at this point, it's an overheating CPU or bad memory that's causing the problem (and I'm leaning towards the former). I'd possibly consider repasting the CPU to see if that helps, or contacting your retailer.

 

Mmm I'll shoot them an e-mail, thanks for the help.