HP nx7400 freezes

KRimminal · 07-16-2008, 07:45 PM

Hey guys !

I've been having some problems with my HP nx7400 that is really spooking me out. The problems started a month ago, but because of school I haven't been able to act on it and had to learn to live with it (if this can be called living).

So... A previously perfectly-working system started to freeze up in the most awkward of moments:

- First I blamed the power cable, but I ruled that out when I switched cable
- I then blamed heating of the CPU but it freezes even at 49 C
- It never freezes while it's on battery power
- It freezes when I plug it in (about 50 % of the times I manage to plug it in without having it freeze up)
- If I manage to make it work w/ it plugged in, I'm deadly afraid to move it because "physical activity" seems to set it off. Again, most duplications of results (90% of the times it's plugged in) happen if I move the lid (which makes me suspect faulty wiring !?)
- Other 10%, it will just randomly freeze up after a couple of hours of media (music - movies -- didn't experience any freezes when I just reading a .pdf / writing a document)
- I have ran memtest / an hdd diagnostic tool, which both came up empty.
- I have also tried to boot off a linux CD but it also froze in the same conditions.

Googling didn't help.
If anyone is familiar with anything like this ...
Thanks loads !
Cheers !

**TriggerFinger** · 07-16-2008, 07:59 PM

Hmmm looks like you covered almost everything. I think you may have a problem with your video chip or motherboard. Just make sure this is not overheating or RAM issue (aaahh yes you tested the RAM).

By the way, did you notice if this happens when there is a slight movement of the laptop?

Run Linux live CD again but this time, remove the hard drive physically from your laptop.

~~Systems_Analyst~~ · 07-16-2008, 10:03 PM

I agree with triggerfinger, it could be a motherboard problem. Do you have any warranty on the laptop if I may ask?

KRimminal · 07-17-2008, 04:27 AM

I really don't wanna jynx it but I think dumb luck strikes again.
At about 5 am I realized that the computer had remained plugged in the same socket all this month. Just to exhaust every possible angle, I said I might as well try using the socket across the room. So I took the laptop, put it on my bed (network cable attached) and tried plugging it in. Of course, it froze.
By now, my brain was getting crazy ideas from no sleep and I realize that in every post that i googled, everybody kept saying how many things were plugged in / unplugged from their computer when it froze. So i unplugged the only thing other than the AC that was in: the network cable :|
Plugged the AC, and it didn't freeze. I didn't believe it at first so i tried moving it around, closing the lid, nothing happened. System was working fine.
Granted, I now remember one solitary instance when I unplugged the network cable to untangle it and computer froze when i put it back in (I'm tired of typing "plug"), but being that it only happened that one time, I just wrote it off as an accidental shaking of that laptop that led to freezing.
So now I switched sides of the cable and switched the port and I'm happily writing to you from bed, with the laptop on my lap, something I haven't been able to do in a long while.

Don't get me wrong, I'm really counting my blessings here, but, do you guys have any idea why the faulty cable / port could have manifested itself in such a weird way !?

Luckily for me this thing got rezolved (well, I'm hoping nothing bad happens, it's still a bit early to tell, but for now it really seems to be "cured") because warranty expired ~ 1 year ago ;)

Thanks for suggestions guys !

**TriggerFinger** · 07-17-2008, 07:13 AM

hey that is good... i really hope you got it ironed out. although it does sound not so very convincing as the symptoms seem not to point to the said 'cause'.

just in case you still want to pursue, to continue playing around with the cable and the LAN port of the laptop. try the plugging/unplugging again, the switching sides or perhaps using another cable.

KRimminal · 07-17-2008, 07:37 AM

Well, going to 12 hours without any problem. Moved the laptop around the house, plugged, unplugged the AC, all ok for now.
I'm gonna try playing with the network cable again, maybe i can find the faulty port and get my computer to freeze again (yeah, that's something you don't hear every day :P)

07-16-2008, 07:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
KRimminal Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 3 OS: xp sp2	HP nx7400 freezes Hey guys ! I've been having some problems with my HP nx7400 that is really spooking me out. The problems started a month ago, but because of school I haven't been able to act on it and had to learn to live with it (if this can be called living). So... A previously perfectly-working system started to freeze up in the most awkward of moments: - First I blamed the power cable, but I ruled that out when I switched cable - I then blamed heating of the CPU but it freezes even at 49 C - It never freezes while it's on battery power - It freezes when I plug it in (about 50 % of the times I manage to plug it in without having it freeze up) - If I manage to make it work w/ it plugged in, I'm deadly afraid to move it because "physical activity" seems to set it off. Again, most duplications of results (90% of the times it's plugged in) happen if I move the lid (which makes me suspect faulty wiring !?) - Other 10%, it will just randomly freeze up after a couple of hours of media (music - movies -- didn't experience any freezes when I just reading a .pdf / writing a document) - I have ran memtest / an hdd diagnostic tool, which both came up empty. - I have also tried to boot off a linux CD but it also froze in the same conditions. Googling didn't help. If anyone is familiar with anything like this ... Thanks loads ! Cheers !

07-16-2008, 07:59 PM	#2 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,791 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: HP nx7400 freezes Hmmm looks like you covered almost everything. I think you may have a problem with your video chip or motherboard. Just make sure this is not overheating or RAM issue (aaahh yes you tested the RAM). By the way, did you notice if this happens when there is a slight movement of the laptop? Run Linux live CD again but this time, remove the hard drive physically from your laptop. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

07-16-2008, 10:03 PM	#3 (permalink)
~~Systems_Analyst~~ Troubled Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 40 OS: Windows XP Professional	Re: HP nx7400 freezes I agree with triggerfinger, it could be a motherboard problem. Do you have any warranty on the laptop if I may ask?

07-17-2008, 04:27 AM	#4 (permalink)
KRimminal Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 3 OS: xp sp2	Re: HP nx7400 freezes I really don't wanna jynx it but I think dumb luck strikes again. At about 5 am I realized that the computer had remained plugged in the same socket all this month. Just to exhaust every possible angle, I said I might as well try using the socket across the room. So I took the laptop, put it on my bed (network cable attached) and tried plugging it in. Of course, it froze. By now, my brain was getting crazy ideas from no sleep and I realize that in every post that i googled, everybody kept saying how many things were plugged in / unplugged from their computer when it froze. So i unplugged the only thing other than the AC that was in: the network cable :\| Plugged the AC, and it didn't freeze. I didn't believe it at first so i tried moving it around, closing the lid, nothing happened. System was working fine. Granted, I now remember one solitary instance when I unplugged the network cable to untangle it and computer froze when i put it back in (I'm tired of typing "plug"), but being that it only happened that one time, I just wrote it off as an accidental shaking of that laptop that led to freezing. So now I switched sides of the cable and switched the port and I'm happily writing to you from bed, with the laptop on my lap, something I haven't been able to do in a long while. Don't get me wrong, I'm really counting my blessings here, but, do you guys have any idea why the faulty cable / port could have manifested itself in such a weird way !? Luckily for me this thing got rezolved (well, I'm hoping nothing bad happens, it's still a bit early to tell, but for now it really seems to be "cured") because warranty expired ~ 1 year ago ;) Thanks for suggestions guys ! Last edited by KRimminal; 07-17-2008 at 04:43 AM.

07-17-2008, 07:13 AM	#5 (permalink)
TriggerFinger Moderator Hardware Team Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: USA Posts: 11,791 OS: Vista SP1, XP SP3, PCLinuxOS2007	Re: HP nx7400 freezes hey that is good... i really hope you got it ironed out. although it does sound not so very convincing as the symptoms seem not to point to the said 'cause'. just in case you still want to pursue, to continue playing around with the cable and the LAN port of the laptop. try the plugging/unplugging again, the switching sides or perhaps using another cable. __________________ DBAN - Memtest86+ - BartPE - Linux LiveCD - ImgBurn - HDD Diags - Disk Copy HOW TO BURN AN ISO FILE

07-17-2008, 07:37 AM	#6 (permalink)
KRimminal Registered User Join Date: Jul 2008 Posts: 3 OS: xp sp2	Re: HP nx7400 freezes Well, going to 12 hours without any problem. Moved the laptop around the house, plugged, unplugged the AC, all ok for now. I'm gonna try playing with the network cable again, maybe i can find the faulty port and get my computer to freeze again (yeah, that's something you don't hear every day :P)