Weird 8662 shutdown

I got my new NP8662 on Thursday (specs in sig), and I've been nothing but satisfied with it. However, about an hour ago, while browsing the web on AC power, the laptop randomly shut off without any warning. When I tried to turn it back on, I got a really loud, obnoxious beeping. I tried again a few minutes later and it booted up fine. But just now it did it again, this time on battery power with an almost full battery.

I don't think it's an overheating problem, since my temps are really good - except my HDD, which runs between 50-57C. I dunno if that would cause it or not. I've been using it tonight out in the living room, which isn't nearly as air conditioned as my room where my desk is (I like it frigid =p), so the temps might be a little higher than normal. But it just doesn't seem like they're in the dangerous levels though - I might be wrong.

Anyway, has anyone else had this problem? Should I get up with Xotic about it? Really don't want to send this in for repairs after three days, but if it has to be done, it has to be done.

 

you werent using it on your lap or couch (or any other soft surfaces) right?

if you were, then thats why.

never block the bottom vents/fan of the notebook, or the other parts will overheat and force the system to shutdown if there is no sufficient cool down.

 

I was using it on the couch, but I have a Targus Heat Defense pad that I've been using from my old laptop until I get an actual cooler for this one. Most of the time it's on my desk, but sometimes I'll use it while watching TV on my bed with the pad, and it hasn't done this before - but like I said, it's frigid in there.

So that may really be the problem - it doesn't really feel hot (nowhere near as hot as my old laptop got, which actually got so hot that it hurt to touch the bottom of it), and my temps don't seem to be too high. I'm planning on getting a cooler soon, so that should take care of it, right?

 

feeling it wont tell you the internal temps.

you must be vigilant and monitor the temps:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=81852

and those pads are pretty useless (and dangerous) for gaming notebooks.
.... because they protect you or the surface from the heat.... and neglecting the notebook needs to intake airflow from the bottom.

I repeat.... those pads DO NOT help the notebook at all.

so.... DO NOT use any of those things on the bottom of the notebook.

you are better off getting a hard-flat piece of wood (like a shelf) or a dinner platter.

 

For reassurance... here is the products description:

the rest of the description is pretty dated and is very innacurate for current notebooks, since over 99% of them intake air from the bottom.

it might be useful for notebooks that have passive cooling or ones that do not have vents/fans on the bottom (like .MacBook Pro's)

 

I'm using Hardware Monitor to monitor my temps, so it's not just feeling it. But thanks for that advice about the pad - I guess I should get a cooler soon. Was looking at the Coolermaster Infinite or the Zalman NC1500 - thoughts, or any other suggestions?

EDIT: I think my old laptop's air intake was from the back, since air was coming out of the bottom vents and the pad actually reduced temps until it "congealed". But this is obviously a different laptop

 

The Zalman NC1000/1500/2000 are good.

and the Cooler Master Infinite is nice since you can use it on your lap

and if you want be comfortability when wantin to use it on your lap, get an inexpensive "lapdesk"

here is one at Barnes & Noble for ~$15:
http://gifts.barnesandnoble.com/Home-gift/Black-Laptop-Lapdesk/e/9780641830785/?itm=5

its just a hard surface (with two things to prop up the back of a notebook) and a cheap pillow attached to the bottom.... but it works better than the targus pad.

 

Did the beeps come in any sort of a pattern, and were they long beeps, short beeps, or a combination? The beeps were most likely BIOS beep codes alerting you either to something that changed or an error that was flagged on POST. It could have been heat-related, but it could also have been something else.

Also, have you checked in your event viewer to see if anything got logged that relates to the shutdown? If it was due to a hardware or software error that wasn't instantaneous, then something should have been logged in the event logs shortly before the shutdown.

 

Gophn I've never owned either of these but I just looked them both up... what about the Zalman prevents it from being placed on your lap vs the Cooler Master? Seems you could use either.

 

you can still use the Zalman's on your lap, its just that this cooler (as well as many others) intakes air from the bottom... so if you use it on your lap, you are blocking intake of air from you cooler.

the Cooler Master Infinite is different since it intakes air from the back... so the bottom is clear and can be used on your lap.

 

How are you supposed to keep the bottom fan from getting blocked? The laptop has to sit on a surface after all.
That brings up another question: the notebook cooler fans vent the air out from the direction opposite to the bottom fan. wouldn't it make the whole cooling process inefficient?

 

you are to only use it on clean, hard, flat surface

as for airflow, its a positive airflow.... intakes from bottom, exhausts on the back.

thats the basic airflow for 99% of current notebooks.

 

Oh I thought the air came out from the bottom fan. what was I thinking??

 

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It's doing it again, and this time it's on my glass desk in a cool room. It just randomly turns completely off, and when I reboot it starts going off with that horribly loud beeping about ten times. I manage to get back into Windows, but it shuts down after a few minutes, and this last time I tried it, it booted into Windows, then turned off as soon as it got to my desktop.

I saw a similar issue on the Xotic forums, and it seems like a driver conflict may be causing that problem. Could it be a driver issue in Win7 or something (although I'm not sure that would cause bootup issues)? I'm planning on going back and installing Vista anyway, but I don't know if that would help. Anyone have any other ideas I could try before I get in touch with Xotic and maybe have to send it back?

 

That horridly loud beeping is a Bios post error. Bios .. stands for basic input output system POST stands for power on self test, and the type of beeping it does, tells you exactly what the error is, kind of like Morse code. Write down the exact tones it makes. Long or short, and how many repetitions.

I'm pretty sure the 8662 has a Phoenix Bios.

1-1-3 Your computer can't read the configuration info stored in the CMOS. Replace the motherboard.
1-1-4 Your BIOS needs to be replaced.
1-2-1 You have a bad timer chip on the motherboard. You need a new motherboard.
1-2-2 The motherboard is bad.
1-2-3 The motherboard is bad.
1-3-1 You'll need to replace the motherboard.
1-3-3 You'll need to replace the motherboard.
1-3-4 The motherboard is bad.
1-4-1 The motherboard is bad.
1-4-2 Some of your memory is bad.
2-_-_ Any combo of beeps after two means that some of your memory is bad, and unless you want to get real technical, you should probably have the guys in the lab coats test the memory for you. Take it to the shop.
3-1-_ One of the chips on your motherboard is broken. You'll likely need to get another board.
3-2-4 One of the chips on your motherboard that checks the keyboard is broken. You'll likely need to get another board.
3-3-4 Your computer can't find the video card. Is it there? If so, try swapping it with another one and see if it works.
3-4-_ Your video card isn't working. You'll need to replace it.
4-2-1 There's a bad chip on the motherboard. You need to buy another board.
4-2-2 First check the keyboard for problems. If nothing, you have a bad motherboard.
4-2-3 Same as 4-2-2.
4-2-4 One of the cards is bad. Try yanking out the cards one by one to isolate the culprit. Replace the bad one. The last possibility is to buy another motherboard.
4-3-1 Replace the motherboard.
4-3-2 See 4-3-1
4-3-3 See 4-3-1
4-3-4 Time of day clock failure. Try running the setup program that comes with the computer. Check the date and time. If that doesn't work, replace the battery. If that doesn't work, replace the power supply. You may have to replace the motherboard, but that is rare.
4-4-1 Your serial ports are acting up. Reseat, or replace, the I/O card. If the I/O is on the motherboard itself, disable them with a jumper (consult your manual to know which one) and then add an I/O card.
4-4-2 See 4-4-1, but this time is your Parallel port that's acting up.
4-4-3 You math coprocessor is having problems. Run a test program to double-check it. If it is indeed bad, disable it, or replace it.
Low 1-1-2 Your motherboard is having problems
Low 1-1-3 This is an Extended CMOS RAM problem, check your motherboard battery, and motherboard.

Old info, but may be usefull. Honestly though, I would start by checking the ram, with memtest.

 

That's the thing - I looked up the error codes for the Phoenix bios, and it doesn't seem to match either of them. It's just ten or so straight beeps - sometimes there's a shorter one, but not every time, and there are no pauses.

 

Load up memtest real quick, and see what happens. http://www.memtest.org/

 

No errors from memtest, but it hasn't cut off on its own for a few hours now. *cross fingers*

Honestly, I think I'm going to install Vista just on the offchance it's a driver issue or something.

Any other suggestions that I can try?

 

So yeah, it wasn't Win7. It just started beeping when I tried to turn it on, and it's been off for nearly an hour - so it's not heat either. The strange thing is that it didn't shut down on its own that time, but it still beeped on startup. Guess it's time to get up with Xotic unless you guys have any other ideas.

 

just contact your vendor about it, they should be able to give you quick help.

 

I got in touch with Xotic about it, and they said it was overheating. But last night the air conditioning was on and the room was cool (actually it was pretty cold), and it started beeping like crazy while I was using it. It didn't shut down on its own, but now every time I try to use it, it starts beeping after a few minutes.

I updated my support ticket, but I haven't heard back from them, so...we'll see. I really don't want to have to send it in for repair/replacement and be without it for a week or two (or more), especially this soon after getting it.

EDIT: I'm using the Sager right now (I've been using my old Dell), and it beeped a ton when I first turned it on and got into Windows - five beeps each, with about 10-15 seconds between each set of five. It stopped after maybe 3-4 minutes of that, and seems to be running fine now, but I'm sure it'll start doing it again later. I DID notice though that the Caps and Num Lock indicator lights on the laptop flash each time it beeps. Never noticed that before, although it could have happened and I just wasn't paying attention. I'm using an external keyboard and mouse, and it hasn't beeped since I unplugged the USB cable and plugged it back in...but I really doubt that could be the problem, could it? Unless the drivers are causing a conflict - maybe I should install the manufacturer's CD instead of using Vista's native drivers for it.

I searched and saw that some other Sager owners in the past have had this problem - could it be a driver conflict or something? All the drivers were installed off the driver disc that ships with the laptop, except the graphics driver which is the latest one from nVidia.

 

hardware conflicts can definitely cause beeps... and those keyboard LEDs flashing are strange.

the keyboard cable could be loose... or some other hardware might need to be re-seated.

you can try to re-seat everything (remove the battery and unplug the AC power first)

 

It just shut down again for the first time in a while. No beeps or anything - haven't tried turning it back on again, but I'm sure it will start beeping when I turn it on again, and it might even shut down again.

I looked inside and everything seemed to be in place, but I could try reseating stuff. Besides the RAM, what else should/can I reseat?

Getting really frustrated with it though, and I haven't heard back from Xotic yet (and probably won't until Monday since it's the weekend).

 

Here is what I would reseat:
- keyboard
- RAM
- HDD
- optical drive
- miniPCIe cards (wifi card, tv tuner)
- turbo memory card
- bluetooth module
- videocard module
- and CPU if you are up to it (I doubt this is the problem though)

 

Tried reseating stuff, it didn't help. It's beeping right now...although I have earphones plugged in and sitting off to the side so it's not so loud since it's coming through them. It's just constantly beeping without stopping, but it hasn't shut down.

I haven't reseated the keyboard or the graphics card since the user manual didn't show how to do it, but the USB keyboard/mouse set isn't plugged in, so it's not that. And the LEDs are still flashing with each beep.

I just muted the laptop and the beeps don't happen when it's muted. That's really weird - I would have thought BIOS/motherboard beeps would come through even if it was muted?

 

the keyboard is easy.

try to remove and re-seat the keyboard.

its quite simple to do.

here is the removal of the keyboard:



videocard is easy.

remove the screws and the heatsink, slip out the videocard (with its heatsink assembly.

you can get the Service Manual from theriko's sig.

 

Thanks Gophn. I read somewhere that video drivers could cause it to happen as well, so I uninstalled the drivers I was using and went back to the manufacturer ones. It just started beeping again, and now right when I'm sitting here typing this on my old laptop it turned off. I'll try the keyboard and then the video card reseating.

I'll grab the service manual as well. I noticed though that if I push down a little on the right side of the palm rest, it stops beeping, but when I stop pushing it starts beeping again.

 

the right side... thats CPU, chipset, bluetooth and wifi

but do the re-seating of the keyboard and videocard.

I would send it in if that does not work... since it could be a hardware issue if you notice the beeping going away if you put pressure to the system in certain spots.

 

Isn't the RAM on the right side too? I dunno if that's a possibility, but I know it's under the CPU...even though memtest came out clear.
And I reseated the keyboard...let's see if that works. No beeping yet.

Things I've reseated so far: HDD, RAM, optical drive, keyboard. I'll download the service manual if I need to reseat anything else.

 

do the wifi card, bluetooth module, and the turbo memory as well.

 

That's next on the agenda if it starts beeping again since I don't feel like opening it up again right now.. Don't have turbo memory though, so that's one less thing to worry about checking.

 

Hi guys, my first post here. I may just be one of the people Rondo was talking about when he said he saw posts about this exact problem on Xotic's forums. Anyway, so far nothing's been helping to solve the beeping problem. I also have a brand new NP8662, and I just reinstalled Vista myself. No different drivers from those provided, either.

There were a couple days when it didn't beep. That was when Justin from Xotic suggested I remove the battery, restart, and see how that goes. It seemed to solve everything; the crashes, the beeping, and it looked like the battery was the culprit the whole time.

Just a few minutes ago, the beeping started again while I was running only on AC, without the battery attached. It may very well be a motherboard problem.

If anybody is interested, I've recorded the beeping using Windows Recorder. It is, as Rondo described, very very loud and obnoxious. I suggest lowering your speaker volume to less than 50% if you want to listen to it. I'm not sure, but I think the fact I was able to record it after Vista loaded means it's not any beeping resulting from BIOS or POST error detection. It persists from power on, to Vista loading, to logon, up until the computer turns off.

Here is the download link for those interested: http://www.box.net/shared/evb949g6lb

 

Welcome to the NBR forums

thats a good suggestion.

Rondo, try to run the system on AC power only (leave the battery out).

 

I tried that after seeing Ryvaeus' thread on Xotic's forums, but it still beeped. I also saw threads about this after searching right here on NBR (LEDs flashing and everything) but I never saw a solution or even a cause.

However! I haven't heard any beeping at all since I reseated the hardware (stopped after the keyboard, never did the wifi/Bluetooth/CPU/GPU), and it's been running fine last night and today, so maybe it's finally resolved. *knock on wood*

 

Hmm... I'll try reseating as well. I've only done the RAM as initially I thought that was the problem, but I'll do the keyboard now. Hope it works!

And thanks for the welcome. I appreciate it.