Ember's laptop overheating

Ember's laptop recently locked up. When she rebooted, the screen image was split into 6 identical screens. Weird. And scary.

I was able to get the video to display properly the first time by pulling the battery and booting the computer on external power. But the system reverted to its weird "compound eye" thing shortly after.

After a few hours of work on her laptop, I managed to get it up and running with the latest BIOS (the previous version installed was from 2007; the new version is from 2011), latest video card drivers, and Speedfan.

Here are her laptop's Speedfan results:



For comparison, here are my laptop's Speedfan results:



Speedfan doesn't detect fans in either system. Maybe I'm just not looking in the right place?

The problem machine is a laptop that is no longer under warranty, so I have to proceed with extreme caution. I plan on backing up Ember's data before opening up the laptop case, but I'm hoping against reason that there may be a software fix for all this.

Help! My plea is not entirely selfless; if we have to buy Ember a new laptop, it delays my building a desktop gaming rig (again). So a free fix is best, but cheap is good, too!

Thirty seconds and a can of compressed air helped bring the temperature down:



But the GPU still heats up to around 50C-58C even while idling and the system remains very unstable. When I load up a program or two, the screen will grow slightly dark for a second, then go black. The system appears to be locked (the Caps Lock light doesn't even light up when I press the key) and I have to hold the power button to shut off the machine. When I boot it back up a few seconds later, the screen image is split into 6 identical images.

I changed the power settings in Windows 7 on her laptop from Balanced to Power Saver, but that doesn't seem to have much effect.

I'm going to look at some other options, but most of the information I've found is at least 2 years old.

My wife's laptop has a nVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS, which, if my research via Google is any indication, is known for overheating issues.

I dunno but whenever you use it prop it up and be sure the vents are clear. Is there animal hair in the fans... are the fans still turning?

Tek7 said:

Thirty seconds and a can of compressed air helped bring the temperature down:

But the GPU still heats up to around 50C-58C even while idling and the system remains very unstable. When I load up a program or two, the screen will grow slightly dark for a second, then go black. The system appears to be locked (the Caps Lock light doesn't even light up when I press the key) and I have to hold the power button to shut off the machine. When I boot it back up a few seconds later, the screen image is split into 6 identical images.

I changed the power settings in Windows 7 on her laptop from Balanced to Power Saver, but that doesn't seem to have much effect.

I'm going to look at some other options, but most of the information I've found is at least 2 years old.

My wife's laptop has a nVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS, which, if my research via Google is any indication, is known for overheating issues.

Click to expand...

those Nvidia chips are subject to what's called bumpgate or internal failures due to bad design. Once you start having issues with your video it's done.
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1036374/what-nvidia
There's been a class action settlement..but i don't know if you are going to be able to get anything.
http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1550848

either way..there's nothing you can do but replace the motherbaord/laptop as the graphics chip has died due to normal thermal stresses. The gpu never relaly got overheated..normal operation kills these chips due to bad design deep inside the chips themselves by Nvidia. Google nvidia bumpgate for the full skinny.
http://semiaccurate.com/2009/08/21/nvidia-finally-understands-bumpgate/
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1050052/nvidia-chips-underfill
http://www.theinquirer.net/inquirer/news/1016846/nvidia-changes-desktop-g86-reason

I've called HP and nVIDIA. The nVIDIA support rep gave me the phone number for the class action settlement, but it rang to a recording that said the settlement is over.

So no satisfaction so far.

Going to call HP a second time and ask to speak with a supervisor.

No go.

I guess it's the norm for laptops to sputter and die within 3-4 years. It's true: They just don't make 'em like they used to.

If I ever buy another laptop (I may not, depending on how long my current laptop lasts and how far tablets have come by then), I'll probably just get a cheap one and spend most of my computer funds on desktop machines.

/sigh

I guess it's about time for me to start a new thread asking for laptop recommendations.

Well, I hate admitting defeat (maybe "hate" isn't a strong enough word), but all the evidence suggests there's no happy ending for this story. HP and nVIDIA reps were polite but ultimately useless.

It's just so frustrating when one component out of so many goes bad and makes an entire system unusable. The hard drive, RAM, processor, mainboard, and audio board still work just fine. It's only the video card that went bad.

It's not like the hard drive or RAM died; those would be easy to replace. And it's not like the GPU in a desktop computer; it might be costly to replace, but at least it's only one component.

nVIDIA building faulty hardware and neither HP nor nVIDIA owning up to it means that my wife now has an $1100 paperweight after 4 years since the purchase date. I know that "they don't build them like they used to," but for a laptop to effectively die that soon after purchase feels like a punch in the gut.

I'll be looking more closely at HP's and nVIDIA's competitors when it comes time to purchase new hardware, both for my future desktop (if and when I ever manage to buy the parts and build it) and for future laptops. This experience has soured me on nVIDIA and I'm not too happy with HP, either.

My advice for those shopping for laptops: Don't look at buying a laptop as a purchase. Think of it as a rental for however long you have a warranty. Maybe then you won't be as disappointed when shoddy hardware brings the system to a screeching halt.

</rant>

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Acer makes good laptops. My mom's is going on 5 years now with no problems (other than the problems she's inflicted onto it) and a friend of mine has an Acer that's going on 7 years... still working flawlessly.

Anyway. With this I'm putting another tally mark in my "Reasons to not buy Nvidia" column.

4 years is fantastic for a laptop, especially for an HP. Many companies IT departments do a 3 year refresh due to so many issues happening after the 3 year mark.

I have an HP which is a hand me down from my son, he had it for 2 years before giving it to me, and I have at least 3 on it. My biggest problem is a tired battery (my fault), and the cat took off and lost the f4 key.

Our back tech work bench now has close to 50 HP Pavillion laptops on it. All dead. Not joking. We made a graveyard of them.

Odale said:

I've said it before and I'll say it again - Acer makes good laptops. My mom's is going on 5 years now with no problems (other than the problems she's inflicted onto it) and a friend of mine has an Acer that's going on 7 years... still working flawlessly.

Anyway. With this I'm putting another tally mark in my "Reasons to not buy Nvidia" column.

Click to expand...

You got lucky a few times is all, because Acer makes the shoddiest laptops, according to IT professionals. They have been dead last on multiple reports from 2010-2012. They are undeniably the worst. Just google Acer reliability.

This would confirm my personal experience with them as well.

mine is a Compaq Presario C551NR.
*holds out tin cup* Anyone have a spare f4 key for said computer?

ewoksrule said:

4 years is fantastic for a laptop, especially for an HP. Many companies IT departments do a 3 year refresh due to so many issues happening after the 3 year mark.

Click to expand...

I know that's the norm in a corporate environment, but my wife and I take very good care of our electronics and expect to get lengthy use out of hardware in return. And most of the time we do.

With so many issues with the nVIDIA GeForce 8400M GS, I was hoping that HP or nVIDIA would take responsibility for building and selling shoddy hardware, but I suppose that's not feasible for companies of that size.

ewoksrule said:

You got lucky a few times is all, because Acer makes the shoddiest laptops, according to IT professionals. They have been dead last on multiple reports from 2010-2012. They are undeniably the worst. Just google Acer reliability.

Click to expand...

Then what brand would you recommend?

First off, laptops are not reliable anymore , period.

Second, Square trade did very extensive research and found that Asus and Toshiba beat all other major brands (including Apple) in reliability. With 3 year malfunction rates under 16%

Acer and HP were the worst at 23 and 25%

Not sure why Samsung did not get included in the tests but I would rank them up at the top from my experience. I have mostly been recommending them and I get nothing but praise back when following up. Lenovo is great as well.

Just wondering but who actually needs a laptop you, Ember or both? Just thinking you could give Ember your laptop and buy a desktop setup if she was the one who needed mobility but if you both need mobility never mind.

My Mom has had a Toshiba for a few years now. No problems so far but we've used an external fan attachment from the get-go.

2012 rescuecom rated
Lenovo 1
Toshiba 2
Samsung 3
Apple 4



Acer 9

Odale said:

I guess it depends on who you ask.

Click to expand...

That article was a mistype? They must have meant Asus instead of Acer because just about every other article refers to them as the leading the top. I went to Consumer Reports and this is what I saw there.

Laptop reliability has been mostly undistinguished. Apple had the best technical support, while Acer/Gateway/eMachines had the worst.

Click to expand...

It went on to label the Acer as the worst in other categories as well, like the over 24% malfunction stat.