dv9005user

Follow-up: I've run exactly 3 weeks today with my repaired DV9005 without any problems. I'm not in a "worry" mode any more. Just enjoying the machine. Time will tell.

Tim O

bhahar84

Glad to hear you still manage to use the computer without any problems at all until now

Hope there will be no more problem on the computer after this

autigerman1984

I don't want to rain on your parade, but here is my tail of woe. I am another one who leaves his notebook on 24/7 and have had trouble with the HP locking up. My 6 year old Sony Vaio has never had heat related lock up problems and it too is left on 24/7.

I got my HP dv9429us in August. I have had problems with dual monitors and the extended desktop, sound skipping, popping, etc., as well as my computer locking up. After about 6 calls to tech support they finally threw in the towel and shipped me a box so I could return it for repairs.

I shipped my computer back in February (I think) and had it back at the end of the week (shipped on Monday returned on Friday). I can't complain about the turnaround time. The repair sheet indicates a/the system board and heat sink were replaced. As soon as I got it back I had the same video and locking up problems. A month later I returned the computer back to HP. This time it took about 10 days to get my computer back. The solution this time was to replace the motherboard.

I get my computer back and the computer is still locking up (and I'm still having the video problems). I called them back and they agree to look at it a THIRD time. I have been watching the temperature with a program called Speedfan and the processor (in Power Mode) is running around 140 degrees with instances as high as 165. I use the xb3000 expansion base, so the exhaust vents aren't blocked. I have put the notebook on a cooler and the temp has dropped some but I am still having lockup problems, though not as frequently.

I got an email a couple of weeks ago from HP about the extended warranty and this just seems to confirm that there is an overheating issue. The email states to update the bios to F.3D and this changes the algorithm so the cooling fan will run all the time, even when the computer is at idle. Well, between the cooling pad and the bios update (my computer is actually on F.3E, so I'm a step beyon what the email recommends (I guess one of the returns updated the bios for me)) my computer should be running cooler but it is still locking up.

I will be returning my computer for a THIRD time in another couple of weeks (can't live without it). The last time I talked to 3rd level support they indicated that after getting my computer they would consider what options are available, so maybe they will swap my computer (AMD-based) for an Intel-based one or else buy the computer back from me.

I need this resolved soon because I have to buy my younger son a laptop and right now the HP line is not looking good.

autigerman1984

I don't want to rain on your parade, but here is my tail of woe. I am another one who leaves his notebook on 24/7 and have had trouble with the HP locking up. My 6 year old Sony Vaio has never had heat related lock up problems and it too is left on 24/7.

I got my HP dv9429us in August. I have had problems with dual monitors and the extended desktop, sound skipping, popping, etc., as well as my computer locking up. After about 6 calls to tech support they finally threw in the towel and shipped me a box so I could return it for repairs.

I shipped my computer back in February (I think) and had it back at the end of the week (shipped on Monday returned on Friday). I can't complain about the turnaround time. The repair sheet indicates a/the system board and heat sink were replaced. As soon as I got it back I had the same video and locking up problems. A month later I returned the computer back to HP. This time it took about 10 days to get my computer back. The solution this time was to replace the motherboard.

I get my computer back and the computer is still locking up (and I'm still having the video problems). I called them back and they agree to look at it a THIRD time. I have been watching the temperature with a program called Speedfan and the processor (in Power Mode) is running around 140 degrees with instances as high as 165. I use the xb3000 expansion base, so the exhaust vents aren't blocked. I have put the notebook on a cooler and the temp has dropped some but I am still having lockup problems, though not as frequently.

I got an email a couple of weeks ago from HP about the extended warranty and this just seems to confirm that there is an overheating issue. The email states to update the bios to F.3D and this changes the algorithm so the cooling fan will run all the time, even when the computer is at idle. Well, between the cooling pad and the bios update (my computer is actually on F.3E, so I'm a step beyon what the email recommends (I guess one of the returns updated the bios for me)) my computer should be running cooler but it is still locking up.

I will be returning my computer for a THIRD time in another couple of weeks (can't live without it). The last time I talked to 3rd level support they indicated that after getting my computer they would consider what options are available, so maybe they will swap my computer (AMD-based) for an Intel-based one or else buy the computer back from me.

I have about decided the video issues are Vista related and there is probably nothing HP can do about this. It will be up to MS to get their act together and straighen it out. How can they have it right in XP and screw it up in VISTA?

I need this resolved soon because I have to buy my younger son a laptop and right now the HP line is not looking good.

dv9005user

A couple days after I received my repaired DV9005 (still working fine, knock on wood) I was chatting with an Apple computer salesman in our local mall. He told me the nForce NF430 chip in my computer is called the "Southbridge" chip and it interfaces pretty much all the peripherals to the system bus (disk controllers, USB controllers, sound boards, WiFi circuits, etc). In Intel-based computers there is also a "Northbridge" chip that interfaces the Intel processor to the bus. In AMD systems the AMD processor has its own "Northbridge" logic built into the processor so it doesn't have a separate "Northbridge" chip. Why am I telling you this? I don't know. Just because its interesting, I suppose! However, it clearly seems to be the "Southbridge" chip (i.e. the NF430) that is overheating since that's the one with extra heat sink goop in my replaced mother board. I don't believe the temperature of the AMD processor is a problem. A couple weeks ago I was wandering through Radio Shack and found their infrared non-contact thermometer on sale for $20 (it used to be $50 and I resisted at that price) so I bought it. About a week ago I took off the cover on the bottom of my DV9005 where you add additional memory and also expose the NF430 chip. I let the machine hang over the edge of my desk about four inches so I could periodically sense the temperature of the exposed surface of this NF430 chip. It read 144 degrees after the machine had been on for an hour but not particularly stressed. I was expecting something closer to 200 degrees (or even more, if you can believe the reports of solder remelting as a problem). I haven't used any software that reads temperature sensors built into the machine. I can hardly believe the industry is building stuff so close to meltdown that these sensors are even necessary! Anyway, a malfunctioning NF430 chip, I guess, can bring the machine to a stop by locking up the bus or, at very least, disabling the I/O of any peripheral. However, as I read your post I felt that some of your problems have got to be software. I'm running XP, having purchased my machine just one week before Vista came out. When my machine was locking up not a single thread of execution would run, as evidenced by the frozen screen saver, or the lack of time advance on the system clock in the lower-right screen corner, or the total absence of hard drive activity light. The blue LEDs for playing CDs and DVDs still gave their little "chirp" but I have convinced myself that sound is emitted by hardware without a single instruction being executed anywhere. Somehow I feel the next laptop I buy will have to pass a "heat-touch" test by my fingers first! I refuse to buy one of those cool pads. That's acknowledging the poor design of these things. Hey, I just thought of a great idea, if you're "geekish". Boot up a LiveCD with Linux on it (I suggest MEPIS7.0) and see if your machine locks up or otherwise refuses to play sound smoothly. That'll get Vista out of the equation. That's what I did to convince myself my lockups (which still occured under Linux) were truly hardware related.

Best of luck.

Tim O

dv9005user

Last Monday my computer room was about 82 degrees (it faces south and gets a lot of sun) and my WiFi connection was popping up with the information "speech balloon" above the system tray saying "Wireless Network Connection 2 is now connected" a number of times. I used my infrared Radio Shack thermometer to find the NF430 chip was about 160 degrees Fahrenheit. Today my computer room is about 72 degrees but I've been getting the "Wireless Network Connection 2 is now connected" message every minute for the past ten minutes. I have a bad feeling about this. I suspect rain is about to fall on my parade. The utterly frustrating thing about this is that I haven't seen any communication from HP that indicates they know how to eliminate this foolishness. I have bought a lot of things from HP over the years (a dual-trace oscilloscope-$1000, calculator-$400, CD burner-$400, printer-$450) and never minded paying the price because I knew HP didn't sell junk. I guess Carly Fiorina (sp?) must have wreaked her havoc of "trim it down just shy of when it breaks" and now we're seeing the fruit of that thinking. All good things come to an end, as they say.

TriggerFinger

hi dv9005user,

i think this matches your case...

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/g...en&lc=en&cc=us

i hope this helps.

dv9005user

Yes, it does. My machine has already been repaired based on that extended warranty. I guess I'm still paranoid about the robustness of the repair. My home WiFi runs on a Westell 327 modem/router that I have in my basement while I work on the main level of my house. My daughter sometimes complains that her Nintendo Wii has trouble getting access to the WiFi from her room on the second floor so I know the signal is not overly strong. Nevertheless, if I lose the signal momentarily while my machine is running hotter than normal it causes me to raise my eyebrows. Since I posted four days ago the dropping WiFi issue has seemingly settled down to only a few per day instead of a constant barrage.

dv9005user

Well, here it is over a month since my last post. My DV9005 is still working OK. Yes, I still get a lot of WiFi warnings about re-establishing a connection but I really think it's my weak Westell WiFi router stashed down in my basement. At no time has the device itself been lost to Windows.

dv9005user

It's been 3-1/2 months since my last report. My DV9005 has been running fine. It runs every day for about 15 hours and has gone through the summer heat. The Taiwan NF430 chip and some heat paste was the solution for me. I still get those WiFi warnings about re-establishing a connection but they don't bother me anymore. It's gotta be my weak WiFi signal. Just want you to know the HP fix has worked for my machine. Keep the faith!