Computer freezes all the time - please help

[Flame Of Liberty]

So I bought a new notebook, HP550, 4GB Ram, Vista Home Basic and the damn thing keeps feezing when I wake it up from sleeping mode or from "screensaver mode." There is a 50/50 chance of that happening, sometimes the screen (browser usualy) goes very pale (its like looking at the screen through a white sheet of paper). The only programs running are Firefox, utorrent and Eset smart security.

Help would be sooo appreciated cause I am going crazy here. Thanks.

PS I should add that it never freezes when I am working on it.

[PsYcNeT]

Some hardware hates sleep mode. It's an unfortunate truth that I've encountered a disappointing amount of times, but normally on desktops. I've never seen a laptop have that problem, as usually their motherboards are proprietary...does it have an Intel intergrated GFX chip? or is a third-party video card?

[Rathji]

My laptop used to hate sleep mode, it suddenly stopped hating it so much but that might be due to me hibernating as default close action instead. Also, I only put the monitor to sleep, but never put HDD to sleep when it is plugged in, so I avoid the sleep after 20 mins, or whatever the default is

[Flame Of Liberty]

The only third party component is 2GB Ram. It has Intel 965 express chipset family (if that was the question, i am not sure

The sleep mode is troubling but I have never seen a comp get to screensaver mode, you come back, move a mouse and the thing freezes up. Crazy. Maybe the problem has something to do with virtual memory? I have no idea.

[photon]

If it's brand new, HP should be able to give you support on that. Update all the drivers and BIOS and stuff from HP, and try not using uTorrent, some networks cards can't deal with torrents very well, I've had one or two different network cards that would freeze up after running torents for a while.

[OBCT]

How long have you had your computer?

What version of ESET are you running? I've noticed some reports of slowed system performance with the newest (Beta) version ... not sure if that's relevant in your case.

My first instinct is that some kind of spyware/adware/malware has found it's way onto your system. You could try CCleaner, Spybot Search & Destroy, Lavasoft Ad-Aware, or a similar program to detect and remove unwanted junk from your system.

I also wonder what you have running in the background. Sometimes certain programs (often unnecessarily) run during start-up and just sit in the background taking up resources without you knowing. This usually isn't a problem with 4GB of RAM, but you never know. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to get to the task manager. Click on the "Processes" tab. Look for entries with higher-than-expected CPU and/or Memory usage. Those could be your culprit(s).

To view and/or remove programs from startup, follow the steps outlined in this article. (Scroll about half-way down the page to Option 2; either Method 1 or Method 2).

There could also be a software or hardware driver conflict, but I would exhaust the above options first.

[JustAnotherGuy]

I have a new laptop that has always done that. I blame Vista. I had to turn off the feature of going into sleep mode when I closed the laptop. Before if I forgot and closed the lid it would take about 15 minutes for it to figure out what the heck it was trying to do.

Some day I will look into it but now I just deal with it. If I forget the laptop is on and go back a couple days it takes forever to 'recover'.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by JustAnotherGuy

I have a new laptop that has always done that. I blame Vista. I had to turn off the feature of going into sleep mode when I closed the laptop. Before if I forgot and closed the lid it would take about 15 minutes for it to figure out what the heck it was trying to do.

Some day I will look into it but now I just deal with it. If I forget the laptop is on and go back a couple days it takes forever to 'recover'.

Do you have problems with the screensaver mode too? The probability of freezing is higher when I wake it up from screensaver (about 50% i would say) mode than from sleep mode (closed laptop).

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by OBCT

How long have you had your computer?

What version of ESET are you running? I've noticed some reports of slowed system performance with the newest (Beta) version ... not sure if that's relevant in your case.

My first instinct is that some kind of spyware/adware/malware has found it's way onto your system. You could try CCleaner, Spybot Search & Destroy, Lavasoft Ad-Aware, or a similar program to detect and remove unwanted junk from your system.

I also wonder what you have running in the background. Sometimes certain programs (often unnecessarily) run during start-up and just sit in the background taking up resources without you knowing. This usually isn't a problem with 4GB of RAM, but you never know. Press Ctrl + Shift + Esc to get to the task manager. Click on the "Processes" tab. Look for entries with higher-than-expected CPU and/or Memory usage. Those could be your culprit(s).

To view and/or remove programs from startup, follow the steps outlined in this article. (Scroll about half-way down the page to Option 2; either Method 1 or Method 2).

There could also be a software or hardware driver conflict, but I would exhaust the above options first.

The system is clean, no spyware/malware/crap. Memory usage is about 40% (firefox being the biggest...user?), processor usage abou 5%.

The screensaver thing bugs me. The comp doesn't freeze when I am using it.

[OBCT]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

The system is clean, no spyware/malware/crap. Memory usage is about 40% (firefox being the biggest...user?), processor usage abou 5%.

The screensaver thing bugs me. The comp doesn't freeze when I am using it.

I see. No, doesn't sound like malware, a memory leak or unwanted startup programs.

You're using a standard Windows screensaver, and about half the time the laptop freezes after re-engaging itself post-screensaver. Odd.

It could be worth digging on HP's website (or google) to find out what updates might be available for your specific laptop (ie. motherboard/video card/etc drivers).

After some reading of my own, it sounds like you are definitely not alone in this. Lots of people have experienced similar problems with standby/hibernation/screensaver lock-ups. Proposed solutions run the gamut from: replace your CMOS battery, update your BIOS firmware, update your video card drivers, etc, to turn off all energy saver features because they simply don't work (hibernate, standby, sleep), etc.

Have you tried some trial by error? Disable the screensaver with sleep still enabled. What happens? Disable sleep with the screensaver still enabled. Any difference? Disable both the screensaver and sleep (maybe try with monitor auto shut-off on and off as well). Better/worse/same?

Hope you figure it out.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by OBCT

I see. No, doesn't sound like malware, a memory leak or unwanted startup programs.

You're using a standard Windows screensaver, and about half the time the laptop freezes after re-engaging itself post-screensaver. Odd.

It could be worth digging on HP's website (or google) to find out what updates might be available for your specific laptop (ie. motherboard/video card/etc drivers).

After some reading of my own, it sounds like you are definitely not alone in this. Lots of people have experienced similar problems with standby/hibernation/screensaver lock-ups. Proposed solutions run the gamut from: replace your CMOS battery, update your BIOS firmware, update your video card drivers, etc, to turn off all energy saver features because they simply don't work (hibernate, standby, sleep), etc.

Have you tried some trial by error? Disable the screensaver with sleep still enabled. What happens? Disable sleep with the screensaver still enabled. Any difference? Disable both the screensaver and sleep (maybe try with monitor auto shut-off on and off as well). Better/worse/same?

Hope you figure it out.

Thanks man, I will try this.

[You Need a Thneed]

... bring the computer back inside. It's cold out there!

[Traditional_Ale]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

So I bought a new notebook, HP550, 4GB Ram, Vista Home Basic and the damn thing keeps feezing when I wake it up from sleeping mode or from "screensaver mode." There is a 50/50 chance of that happening, sometimes the screen (browser usualy) goes very pale (its like looking at the screen through a white sheet of paper). The only programs running are Firefox, utorrent and Eset smart security.

Help would be sooo appreciated cause I am going crazy here. Thanks.

PS I should add that it never freezes when I am working on it.

I bolded the part thats broken. Vista Home Basic.

Get an XP sticker/product key and I can get you running smooth and fast in about three hours. Very fair price too. PM if you like.

[jeremywilhelm]

Stop going to goatse.xc and it will probably work better.

[rbochan]

Sounds like a video driver issue. Check for updated drivers.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Originally Posted by OBCT

It could be worth digging on HP's website (or google) to find out what updates might be available for your specific laptop (ie. motherboard/video card/etc drivers).

Originally Posted by rbochan

Sounds like a video driver issue. Check for updated drivers.

...and I think we have a winner

So far, I was using Vista video drivers and the notebook didn't seem to like them. I went to HP site and downloaded manufacturer's video drivers. Seems to be working fine now.

Thanks guys.

[JustAnotherGuy]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

...and I think we have a winner

So far, I was using Vista video drivers and the notebook didn't seem to like them. I went to HP site and downloaded manufacturer's video drivers. Seems to be working fine now.

Thanks guys.

Cool. Good to know for when I start using that laptop again. Thanks for asking the question here and then posting the solution.

[Flame Of Liberty]

Well I spoke too soon, and spent last couple of weeks trying to fix this annoying problem.

I downloaded the last HP chipset driver from here but it did not fix the problem.

So I went to intel website, ran the auto diagnostic test that came up with this result:

Product Detected Intel® GME/GLE 965

So I click the link, download Intel driver.


However, when I try to install it, it says the driver is not for my computer

Is there any way to force-feed computer this driver?



Another question - when I run a diagnostic software (Everest ultimate edition) it shows 2 display adapters:

Intel GLE960/GME965 Chipset - Integrated Graphics 0
Intel GLE960/GME965 Chipset - Integrated Graphics 1

Is that normal? I am guessing not but how do I get rid of one?

Funnily enough it detects a different chipset name than intel... Windows device manager detects it simply as mobile intel 965 express chipset family.

[Cliche]

Originally Posted by Flame Of Liberty

However, when I try to install it, it says the driver is not for my computer

Is there any way to force-feed computer this driver?



Another question - when I run a diagnostic software (Everest ultimate edition) it shows 2 display adapters:

Intel GLE960/GME965 Chipset - Integrated Graphics 0
Intel GLE960/GME965 Chipset - Integrated Graphics 1

Is that normal? I am guessing not but how do I get rid of one?

Funnily enough it detects a different chipset name than intel... Windows device manager detects it simply as mobile intel 965 express chipset family.

It would be normal for it to show 2 adapters, as one of them is driving the external display port on your laptop.