HP freezing

E

evan.redmond

New Member
Hello, I know very little about computers, I have an HP paviliandv600 and it seems like if it is left on for more than an hour, it freezes so I can not shut it down properly. I use it for music production with ableton live, downloads and schoolwork. Any solution would be appreciated.
 
Have you checked the hp support site for any BIOS upgrades or any other needed upgrades, for your model HP laptop?
 
I just went to the support site and typed in my model and O.S. but when i tried to download the bios thing it said "this bios is not for your HP" or something, wouldnt let me.
 
When it freezes, have you tried the keyboard to navigate rather than using mouse (like Alt+Tab to change windows or the Win key to bring up the Start menu). That will show if it's the mouse freezing.

From your words it sounds like it will freeze even when doing nothing.

The running time you describe seems too long for temperature issues which usually occur earlier. However, how is the CPU temperature? If you do not know how to measure, open the case and look to see if the CPU heatsink is bunged up.

You can check CPU temperature with any utility that came with the motherboard/PC or use something like Speedfan.
 
for the bios, find the product key, go to the web site, type it in. select your computer, go to the download section, you'll find all of your sofware for that computer, but make sure this (IS) your computer. it might have a few different bios downloads, just look for the youngest one. NO product key? search for the computer manually.

for the freezing. sacan for viruses, avg free is the best. also windows defender, and also windows update. ccleaner for unused files and broken file paths, and defrag.
aslo what nanobyte said about the heat sink.

if any of this doesn't work. do a system restore, this will not affect any of your personal files of any kind. you might have to reinstall some programs, but that depends on how far back you restore your computer and when the programs were installed.

hope you get some where. best of luck.
 
Hey thanks for all the help guys, so I insalled an important up date that took like an hour, I think that will help I will use some of the other methods if the problem continues.
 
So i have scanned with AVG, my CORE 0 (CPU i think) temperature is 39 now, it was 46 yesterday, did disk clean up, installed many important updates with windows update that took a few hours, and it is running great. I just have one question,

how bad is it for my HP laptop if I just kill the power in the middle of a defrag?

the last few times i tried to defrag it started, but ended up freezing and i had to kill it, i just want to know how bad it is to do that before i try again a few more times.
 
evan.redmond said:
how bad is it for my HP laptop if I just kill the power in the middle of a defrag?
Click to expand...
Any decent defragger should be OK. I don't know details but I assume that every time something is moved, it is first copied to the new location. Once there the MFT is changed to reflect the new location and the old data is free space. If power goes off and the MFT is not changed, the old location stands and the old data is used on restart. The copied data at the unreferenced location just becomes free space.

Every time you move a file normally, the same process should occur. If the power goes off, the old location will apply on restart.
 
This laptop has been running fast, the screen looks great, its quiet etc, but

today I logged off after the laptop had been used for about one and a half

hours, and when I tried to log back on it froze on the welcome screen and I

had to kill it again. My questions now are these,


If I do a system restore, how far back should I restore it too?


Are the BIOS upgrades from the suppot site really necessary? I have the

laptop completely up to date with windows update and defender.
 
I was hoping someone else would answer but apparently not.

Updating the BIOS entails some risk. You have to weigh that risk against benefits. No benefit, don't update. I would not bother if the laptop is a few years old. You may need to update the BIOS if you incorporate a technology that was not around when you bought the laptop.

The point at which you got the last freeze is also the point at which drivers are loaded, among other things. You could try running in Safe Mode for a time to see if the reduced number of drivers in service gets rid of the problem. I'm no expert on resolving driver issues. I never update mine unless some new app or hardware requires it. I've never updated my video or audio drivers, nor any other consciously.

If you are going to try System Restore, you need to go back far enough for a good known working state. All system changes since the chosen point will be lost so it's not a penalty-free solution. Make sure you can re-install any apps that get uninstalled. Back up any vital data whether or not you think it is safe.

Edit: I did not check to see if it's been suggested but you should check your HDD with a utility like freeware HD Tune 2.55 to ensure it's working within specs. It will run up to Vista, I don't know about Win7. The Health tab summarizes the performance and you can also do an Error Scan (tab of that name).
 
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went to HDD link and downloaded, i think it says i need to pay to fix the problems

restored to about two weeks ago, didn't seem like it made a huge difference, but again, this laptop is running great its only a minor problem where if it is left on for a few hours and i log off, it freezez up when signing back on.

My origonal plan was to find a way to have exceptional battery life, but i would like to solve its other problems first.

I pretty much have done everything that has been recommended except fixing the HDD link problems, and defrag(it still freezez before the defrag finishes). I conclude that this laptop is just getting old(3-4years) and isnt made to be left on for so many hours without freezing up, but am still open to more ideas.
 
evan.redmond said:
went to HDD link and downloaded, i think it says i need to pay to fix the problems
Click to expand...
Then you did not download the software I quoted. I was careful to include the rev 2.55 which is only valid for the free version. If you downloaded the Pro version, what error and remedy did it quote? Try the free version or skip to next para!

If defragging is a problem, the HDD may have errors that need fixing or is running hot. HD Tune will show you the temperature at the top of the dialog. You can run the Windows scan/repair from the Properties of the drive.
 
suggestion

There's a company in Chicago who offers awesome customer service to people who don't even buy from them -- or so I experienced anyway. Go to techtradepartners.com and enter the fields in customer service - give the issue and you'll get the answer, I am sure.
 
Ok I got the free version of the HD tune, and tried to do an error scan. It got
about 70 % of the scan done, and then once again froze up, I had to kill it. It kept giving me this temperature notification at the bottum corner of my screen as I was doing the error scan.

So the laptop cant finish defrags or these HD tune error scans(yet), and

sometimes if left on for too long just freezes up.

I think ill try this error scan once more, if it dose not work again I will go the that tech help site just mentioned.
 
evan.redmond said:
I think ill try this error scan once more, if it dose not work again I will go the that tech help site just mentioned.
Click to expand...
Beware of ads from new users. That's professional repair, not some help service.

Did the temperature refer to the HDD? What was the temperature at the centre top of the dialog showing (if anything)? It sounds like the HDD is defective and that is causing over-temperature. Make sure the fan cooling is working OK and that there is open space around the laptop to promote cooling.

What does HD Tune say in the Health tab? Any warnings there?

Another tack could be to try the Windows scan and repair. If it hangs up, it may have already resolved some errors. Try it a few times, allowing the unit to cool each time, and hope errors are repaired as you go.

You could try using a better defrag utility. You did not say what you have. With something like free Auslogics you can defrag part of the HDD, folder by folder if necessary. A long shot.

May need a new drive.
 
The temperature did refer to the HDD, I forget the temperature but I want to say like 48 or 58.(right now its 37).

No warnings in health tab.

I will look into windows scan and repair,

I'm on spring break until monday so if I can not solve the problem myself by then I will just go to VIP comp. Im thinking about just opening up my laptop and clearing dust out at this point lol
 
evan.redmond said:
The temperature did refer to the HDD, I forget the temperature but I want to say like 48 or 58.(right now its 37).....Im thinking about just opening up my laptop and clearing dust out at this point lol
Click to expand...
37 is OK, the 58 is high though not by much.

You should have cleared out the dust already. You reported that your CPU was running at OK temps so I did not push the cleaning mentioned earlier.

BTW whatever software you are defragging with, you can still do it in 2 parts. Defrag say halfway then stop defragging, allow the laptop to cool and defrag again. It should skip the first half.
 
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