Lap Top Issues :(

firedrake · Feb 20, 2011

I have an Acer Aspire.
It's about two and a half years old.

About 18 months ago it started having issues. It would freeze up and the only way to move on was to turn it off, leave it a few minutes and then turn it back on again. I was living in AZ at the time and the main problem was (a) I used to smoke in the house and (b) insane amounts of dust. Nicotine residue stuck to the fan, the dust stuck to the residue = overheating.

since we moved to the UK, we don't smoke in the house and dust isn't really an issue. Now, in the past few days, it's been 'freezing' at least once a day. Does anyone have any ideas how I can sort this?

RJK · Feb 20, 2011

I had a laptop that ran hot. I bought 2 gum erasers (1X1X2), broke them in half and used them as feet for the computer. The extra one inch space underneath allowed much more air get inside and the exhaust air felt much cooler. You may want to try that.

firedrake · Feb 20, 2011

RJK said:
I had a laptop that ran hot. I bought 2 gum erasers (1X1X2), broke them in half and used them as feet for the computer. The extra one inch space underneath allowed much more air get inside and the exhaust air felt much cooler. You may want to try that.

Ah, brilliant idea. I shall do that.
I vacuumed it today and, touch wood, it's running ok, not feeling hot. But what you suggested will definitely help.

alleycat · Feb 20, 2011

RJK said:
I had a laptop that ran hot. I bought 2 gum erasers (1X1X2), broke them in half and used them as feet for the computer. The extra one inch space underneath allowed much more air get inside and the exhaust air felt much cooler. You may want to try that.

There should be some kind of international award for people who come up with "why the hell didn't I think of that" solutions.

I once made an emergency plumbing reward at the office I worked at using bubble gum and drafting tape. I'm not kidding.

kuwisdelu · Feb 20, 2011

Additionally, get something that will monitor the temperature of your computer's innards, to help diagnose if that's the problem. I'm not familiar with Windows software, but a quick Google brought up something like this. You should worry if you routinely see temperatures above 70 or 80C in every-day use (and you're not running heavy stuff, like encoding video or something).

RJK's suggestion is a good one. Anything that will encourage air flow will help if heat is the problem. They also sell laptop cooling pads, which might be worth the investment if the laptop runs well otherwise.

firedrake · Feb 21, 2011

I'm beginning to think that's it's not an overheating issue.

It just crapped out again and it didn't feel hot, as it has done in the past.

I wonder if something is running in the background that's causing it to do this.

alleycat · Feb 21, 2011

What operating system are you using?

firedrake · Feb 21, 2011

alleycat said:
What operating system are you using?

Vista

alleycat · Feb 21, 2011

I thought it might have been XP. Microsoft updates run slow on it now. Vista updates might be slow too since they've come out with Seven.

Have you checked what's using CPU time and memory in Task Manager?

firedrake · Feb 21, 2011

alleycat said:
I thought it might have been XP. Microsoft updates run slow on it now. Vista updates might be slow too since they've come out with Seven.

Have you checked what's using CPU time and memory in Task Manager?

CPU usage is hovering between 1% and 4%

Physical Memory is 40%

Processes 70

alleycat · Feb 21, 2011

That's a lot of processes.

If you click the Mem Usage tab at the top, what are the three or four processes that are using the most memory?

Have you ever checked what you have in Startup? Using either MS Config, or startup configuration software?

BTW, I don't use Vista, so I'm just a little blind about what things are where.

Torgo · Feb 21, 2011

firedrake said:
Ah, brilliant idea. I shall do that.
I vacuumed it today and, touch wood, it's running ok, not feeling hot. But what you suggested will definitely help.

I recommend not vacuuming it, as you run the risk of dislodging more than dust. I have known people suck chips off the motherboard...

firedrake · Feb 21, 2011

alleycat said:
That's a lot of processes.

If you click the Mem Usage tab at the top, what are the three or four processes that are using the most memory?

Have you ever checked what you have in Startup? Using either MS Config, or startup configuration software?

BTW, I don't use Vista, so I'm just a little blind about what things are where.

Chrome is showing up twice, using 33,112k and 41,040k
Explorer (which I don't even use)

I'm all at sea with the behind the scenes stuff.

Torgo · Feb 21, 2011

firedrake said:
Chrome is showing up twice, using 33,112k and 41,040k
Explorer (which I don't even use)

I'm all at sea with the behind the scenes stuff.

Explorer is not Internet Explorer - it's the program that basically runs the windows and taskbar and all that malarkey that makes your desktop work. That should always be running.

firedrake · Feb 21, 2011

I've just looked at Performance Info and Tools

It's telling me that something called NVIDIA MCP networking function driver is affecting performance.

I have no idea what this is and whether I need it or not.

Thanks, Torgo. I am a total eejit at this.

alleycat · Feb 21, 2011

Leave Explorer alone.

I have software like Process Explorer and Startup Delayer when makes configuring startup and services easier.

You could go to Start > Run > type in: msconfig > and then look at the Services and Startup tab. You might be able to tell if there are things running that you don't need. Don't do anything just yet, just take a look and see if you can tell what's running.

raburrell · Feb 21, 2011

NVidia is your video card (graphics) driver, Sue - I'm not sure about that particular laptop, but I do know mine had problems coming back to an NVidia driver at some point. Upgrading to Win 7 was the permanent fix, but I can't remember if I had something that worked on Vista too - will have a look when I get a chance later. Might want to google your laptop model + "NVidia driver problem"

kuwisdelu · Feb 21, 2011

raburrell said:
Might want to google your laptop model + "NVidia driver problem"

This could be the issue.

Nvidia put out some faulty GPU's a couple years ago that often caused overheating.

http://cybernetnews.com/nvidia-admits-to-faulty-notebook-gpus-mcps/

http://forum.notebookreview.com/acer/475291-acer-aspire-7520-trouble-wont-turn.html

Shadow_Ferret · Feb 21, 2011

I know you now said it's probably not an overheating issue, but my laptop would run so hot it would actually shut down in the middle of what I was doing.

I went and got one of those USB fan stands and haven't had a problem since.

firedrake · Feb 21, 2011

What would happen if I removed NVidia from the lap top? Would it be a disaster? Do I need it? I don't play games on the lap top at all, apart from things like scrabble

Torgo · Feb 21, 2011

Actually I think the nVidia driver in question is a probably a motherboard driver rather than a graphics driver, and I wouldn't recommend messing with it. But I would suggest trying to update your drivers if possible. Have you been to Windows Update recently to look at optional / hardware driver updates?

firedrake · Feb 21, 2011

Torgo said:
Actually I think the nVidia driver in question is a probably a motherboard driver rather than a graphics driver, and I wouldn't recommend messing with it. But I would suggest trying to update your drivers if possible. Have you been to Windows Update recently to look at optional / hardware driver updates?

No I haven't, but that's a good idea. So I should look for an NVidia update?

kuwisdelu · Feb 21, 2011

firedrake said:
What would happen if I removed NVidia from the lap top? Would it be a disaster? Do I need it? I don't play games on the lap top at all, apart from things like scrabble

You still need a graphics card. You can replace it, but you still need one.

firedrake said:
No I haven't, but that's a good idea. So I should look for an NVidia update?

It would definitely be worth a shot.

ejket · Feb 21, 2011

NVidia makes motherboard chipsets, and the MCP network driver is for the onboard NIC. It's not safe to mess with stuff on this level if you don't know what you're doing, so I'd stop guessing around in msconfig before you bork your OS completely.

I don't know what the problem is, but if the laptop overheated before, it could be damaged now. This could make it unreliable even if it messes up while not feeling hot. I'd get someone to look at it who knows how to diagnose laptop problems, or if it's old, replace it.

thothguard51 · Feb 21, 2011

Lap Top Issues

Nevermind...I thought someone had a question about lap dance issues. I could have answered that one...

Lap Top Issues :(

practical experience, FTW

Sheriff Bullwinkle the Poet says:

practical experience, FTW

Still around

Revolutionize the World

practical experience, FTW

Still around

practical experience, FTW

Still around

practical experience, FTW

Still around

Formerly Phantom of Krankor.

practical experience, FTW

Formerly Phantom of Krankor.

practical experience, FTW

Still around

Treguna Makoidees Trecorum SadisDee

Revolutionize the World

Court Jester

practical experience, FTW

Formerly Phantom of Krankor.

practical experience, FTW

Revolutionize the World

Noobus Perpetuus

A Gentleman of a refined age...