[marikhal]

My specs are as follows (built to spec from a MSI 1039 barebone by Cyberpower):
AMD Turion 64 MT-40 2.2GHz
ATI Mobility X1600
2x1GB Sticks of Corsair Value PC3200
100GB 7200RPM HD
Windows XP Pro SP2

I received the laptop a couple months back, and had problems out the box. I had the infamous hang on Windows load problem - to solve this, I would have to shut it down, pull the battery, put the battery back in, and it would be fine.

I downloaded MobileMeter a while back, and my idle temps would vary.
Sometimes, it would be sitting at 70C at idle, sometimes lower, sometimes higher. The room I'm in gets hot, and I'm thinking I overheated the CPU permanently, and now my CPU won't function correctly anymore (I've gotten over 80C while gaming before).

For the last week or so, my computer keeps resetting when I'm playing games (primarily World of Warcraft and Defcon). It pushed me to crack open the computer and apply new thermal compound to the CPU and GPU. It dropped the idle temps to about 60C (well, I'm browsing right now, but that's what it's sitting at).

I've tried many things, including reformatting the computer. Using original OEM drivers (didn't work), the newest drivers (still having problems), and pulling a memory stick (swapped both, still resets). I even pulled out my Audigy sound card, to see if any of those would solve it. The computer still resets when I try to game - just a black screen and a reboot about 5 minutes into the game.

I check my Event Viewer, but I get nothing. No errors relating to lock-ups or freezes. I don't know what to do. I'm hoping someone on here knows how I can remedy my problem. I'm going to call the Cyberpower tech support guys tomorrow and see if they can help (I doubt it, they don't offer much help, imo).

Can anyone help me?



Edit: Oh, I do get this error every so often, but I don't think it applies to the random restarting problem. It never happens around the times where my laptop will restart.

"\Device\ACPIEC: The embedded controller (EC) hardware didn't respond within the timeout period. This may indicate an error in the EC hardware or firmware, or possibly a poorly designed BIOS which accesses the EC in an unsafe manner. The EC driver will retry the failed transaction if possible.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp."

 

[marikhal]

Hmm, it used to reset.

Now it just turns off.


Edit: I'm thinking this is a GPU or Motherboard problem.

 

[Nitrus]

The last error is deifnately motherboard related. I would suggest opening the case and looking for any damage to the chipset on the motherboard, CPU or GPU, (scorch marks etc.)

Move the computer to a colder enviroment, try getting the temp right down to 30C and then try basic daily tasks, browsing.

Make sure your Graphics card can match your games requirements.

After you have had a looked and tested in a cooler enviroment post back with any infromation or observations.

 

[marikhal]

The last error is deifnately motherboard related. I would suggest opening the case and looking for any damage to the chipset on the motherboard, CPU or GPU, (scorch marks etc.)

Move the computer to a colder enviroment, try getting the temp right down to 30C and then try basic daily tasks, browsing.

Make sure your Graphics card can match your games requirements.

After you have had a looked and tested in a cooler enviroment post back with any infromation or observations.

I can tell you that I can browse without any problems at all.
Never has it once rebooted on me while I was just browsing/using IMing programs, etc (I'm using the laptop right now, as I type this message).

I don't think it'll be possible to have my laptop operate at 30C. I'd have to be in a freezer or something for that to even be remotely possible.

It only resets under programs that require 3d processing. I think my GPU is kaput. I tried running 3dMark 2001SE, and it died on the 5th test. My graphics card meets the requirements for World of Warcraft (I get around 25-60 fps playing WoW) and Defcon (definitely, Defcon doesn't take much 3d processing at all).

This problem has only come up recently (I used to run World of Warcraft and Defcon for hours on-end), so I think it's probably due to my negligence in running it under load where the ambient temperatures were too hot for my laptop to efficiently dissipate heat.



I'll open her up and take a look at the motherboard for any damage.

 

[Nitrus]

Good idea.

I have my computer running at just under 35C and no problems at all, you should REALLY try and reduce the core temperature of your PC.

 

[WebKing]

Hmm, You are quite right, sometimes we think nothing will happen and our negligence costs us heavily. I have been through this problem. Now I take a good care of my PC specially while playing games.

Now if you are opening it, make sure if the CPU fan is working well, bus is not disturbing it. ATB

 

[TheMatt]

Idle temps of 60 are still too high. Your load temps shouldn't be going over 70 degrees. I would look into a cooling pad like this one. You can also remove the bottom panel over the CPU and GPU and put it on the cooling pad and that will help the cooling a lot more. My idle temps now are around 35 to 40 degrees with this setup.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834999336
There is a chance that damage could have occred, but the shutting down was to prevent that. An overheating CPU can cause a lot of problems, so that could be it.

 

[marikhal]

Idle temps of 60 are still too high. Your load temps shouldn't be going over 70 degrees. I would look into a cooling pad like this one. You can also remove the bottom panel over the CPU and GPU and put it on the cooling pad and that will help the cooling a lot more. My idle temps now are around 35 to 40 degrees with this setup.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16834999336
There is a chance that damage could have occred, but the shutting down was to prevent that. An overheating CPU can cause a lot of problems, so that could be it.

I turned on MobileMeter the second I booted up, and the temps were at 50C.

It has been rising steadily since I turned it on, and now it's sitting at 58C.

This is really unnerving, because this laptop had heat issues out the box. I'll get a laptop cooler, but I don't believe it'll drop my temps by that much. I think my GPU may be overheating, or it's permanently damaged.

Whenever I turn a game on (World of Warcraft, in this case), the fans spin up faster (it's very noticeable). The load temps only reach 63C while I'm gaming, so I'm not breaking the 70C threshold. I wish I could see what my GPU temps were, and go from there. I'm pretty dead-set on the GPU being toast.

 

[marikhal]

Interesting. I don't think my CPU was overheating at all. Maybe just the GPU.

I just ran Everest, and the sensor is reading 38C on the CPU atm. My HD is actually hotter than the CPU atm. Anyone know why MobileMeter or Everest is reading wrong?


Edit: Found another interesting tidbit about my GPU in Everest. The Video Debug gives the information as follows:

"Debug - Video BIOS

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


C000:0000 U..o...................0.....IBMV.............. 761295520......
C000:0040 ??..............03/07/06,14:04:25.(..8...K.........\..b....q....
C000:0080 XXX-A65001-001......M56P.PCI_EXPRESS.DDR3...MSI-1039-M56P ATOMBI
C000:00C0 OS 9.12.1.12_CL249402 .....YOU
C000:0100 HAVE NOT CONNECTED THE POWER CABLE TO YOUR VIDEO CARD.PLEASE RE
C000:0140 FER TO THE 'GETTING STARTED GUIDE' FOR PROPER HARDWARE INSTALLAT
C000:0180 ION....(C) 1988-2005, ATI Technologies Inc. .ATOMBIOSBK-ATI VER0
C000:01C0 09.012.001.012.016214.BR16214d.BIN.249402 . . .co
C000:0200 nfig.h....$...ATOM......U...f.....b...0...p.....PCIR...q........
C000:0240 .......ATI ATOMBIOS.*..........................................
C000:0280 ...fPfQfRfSfUfVfW........f........f.2... ...!....8/../.....f....
C000:02C0 ..*..4.t.f.\.f.L.;.u...f.^.f.N..........SfPV....>....f=....r.f..
C000:0300 ...f-.P...*..4.t.f.D..^fX[.....f......9..g.....V..y..... ....w..
C000:0340 6i.}i.*..4.t..LP.......f.....&....fP...... .-...fXt.. f.....`!f_
C000:0380 f^f]f[fZfYfX......U......F.f3..F....F..R......EZ....]..>)..u...'
C000:03C0 [email protected]|.dr..~.....wv........>l "

 

[TheMatt]

38 degrees sounds more like it would be the hard disk temp. Download SpeedFan and doublecheck. I think you will need to look into a cooling pad.

 

[marikhal]

38 degrees sounds more like it would be the hard disk temp. Download SpeedFan and doublecheck. I think you will need to look into a cooling pad.

Here are my conclusions:




Speedfan reads as follows:

HD: 47C
Temp1: 38C
Core: 52C



MobileMeter reads as follows:
CPU: 62C
HD: 47C



Everest reads as follows:
CPU: 37C
HD: 47C


Hmm. I think MobileMeter reads incorrectly for my laptop. Don't know why, but it does.



Edit: I'm willing to bet I can prime all night long. I'm absolutely sure it's the GPU, but I don't know what can be done about it (they had a placeholder that's definitely not made for dissipating heat between the metal contact on the heatsink and the actual GPU when I opened her up - I removed it, cleaned the area, and applied new AS5 onto the GPU).

Edit: Looks like Speedfan's core reading is the correct reading for the CPU temp, but why are Everest and MobileMeter so different? MobileMeter, gives me 68-69C under load. Speedfan gives me 61-63C under load, and Everest stays at 37, 38. Do you think the sensor Everest reads from is a different temp? Maybe mobo temp?

 

[TheMatt]

If your load CPU temps aren't going above 70 degrees, then your laptop isn't shutting down because of the CPU. I would check with RivaTuner and see if you can get a GPU temp.

 

[marikhal]

If your load CPU temps aren't going above 70 degrees, then your laptop isn't shutting down because of the CPU. I would check with RivaTuner and see if you can get a GPU temp.

Tried using RivaTuner, but there's nothing to select.
Anyone think the following message holds some substance? I could crack the laptop open and get to where the GPU is plugged in (if it even is... I wouldn't know):

C000:0000 U..o...................0.....IBMV.............. 761295520......
C000:0040 ??..............03/07/06,14:04:25.(..8...K.........\..b....q....
C000:0080 XXX-A65001-001......M56P.PCI_EXPRESS.DDR3...MSI-1039-M56P ATOMBI
C000:00C0 OS 9.12.1.12_CL249402 .....YOU
C000:0100 HAVE NOT CONNECTED THE POWER CABLE TO YOUR VIDEO CARD.PLEASE RE
C000:0140 FER TO THE 'GETTING STARTED GUIDE' FOR PROPER HARDWARE INSTALLAT
C000:0180 ION....(C) 1988-2005, ATI Technologies Inc. .ATOMBIOSBK-ATI VER0
C000:01C0 09.012.001.012.016214.BR16214d.BIN.249402 . . .co
C000:0200 nfig.h....$...ATOM......U...f.....b...0...p.....PCIR...q........
C000:0240 .......ATI ATOMBIOS.*..........................................
C000:0280 ...fPfQfRfSfUfVfW........f........f.2... ...!....8/../.....f....
C000:02C0 ..*..4.t.f.\.f.L.;.u...f.^.f.N..........SfPV....>....f=....r.f..
C000:0300 ...f-.P...*..4.t.f.D..^fX[.....f......9..g.....V..y..... ....w..
C000:0340 6i.}i.*..4.t..LP.......f.....&....fP...... .-...fXt.. f.....`!f_
C000:0380 f^f]f[fZfYfX......U......F.f3..F....F..R......EZ....]..>)..u...'
C000:03C0 [email protected]|.dr..~.....wv........>l "