Laptop freezing/sticking intermittently?

Hi folks.

As per the thread title, the laptop keeps freezing up for a second.

I am quite familiar with the ins and outs of pc/laptop maintenance & repair, but this has got me stumped....

First off it doesn't do it in BIOS, but it does it in windows (various editions) Ubuntu (both installed and from a Live CD).

I've tried different (known to be good) harddrives & memory and different chargers, although it does it when running on battery power alone.


When i first opened it up ther was way too much thermal paste on the CPU/Heatsink, and i do mena too much!
(ther must have been enough to do 20 chips easy)

Anyhow i regreased it (arctic silver) although it was not and is not overheating at all.



Spec's...

HP Compaq NX6110
1.6Ghz Intel Pentium M
(tried various RAM)
(tried various and no HDD)



So, any ideas anyone?



*edit to clarify the problem*

When i say it freezes up, what i mean is it becomes completely unresponsive to mouse or keyboard actions, sometimes for a second, sometimes for maybe 5 or 6 seconds.

It ddoes it randomly even when stone cold or been on for hours, although like i said, it does not do it in the BIOS at all.

The only thing i havnt tries that i think could help is Flashing the BIOS, however im not prepared to do that on a laptop that is having hardware issues cos' as some will know if a BIOS flash goes wrong you have a pretty looking paper weight instead of a laptop afterwards!


If you need to know anything else just ask, thanks.

 

Greetings, askew...

Couple of quickies:

Does the laptop have a VGA connector? If so, you might try hooking up a monitor, just to rule out display problems (I know - display hardware symptoms should show up while in BIOS, but I'm grabbin' at straws, here)...

For that matter, I'll ask the obvious - does the machine hang in Safe Mode?

And the standards: RAM seated firmly, cables seated, fans clear, etc...

I agree with the BIOS flash trepidation: I've done it a few times, but always as a very last resort...

 

It still happens in safemode and when displaying through an external monitor.

All cables and bits 'n' bobs have been checked and or reseated/replaced.


Thanks for the response.

 

Flashing your BIOS is not that big of a deal. Just download the latest update from your manufacturer and go from there.

 

Hi motc7.

Usually i would agree with you, Flashing a BIOS these days is no big deal...

However, with this unusual problem the laptop is having i am reluctant to do it, as im afraid it would freeze during the Flash and "brick" the laptop.


*****

Update: Im not sure but it seems like if i bend or press the laptop on or around the left "palmrest" area it cause the freezing to start or stop.

I say im not sure because it is not constantly repeatable, but it seems to work too frequently to be a coincidence!


This is making me think of few possible causes...

*Bad solder joint somewhere.
*Cracked Board
*Power is earthing out on the laptop chassis




What do you guys/gals think?

 

I agree with your last statement
Laptops that make funny things happen when pressing next to the mousepad, or areas on the palm rest invariably have a problem like you said, even the cable going into/from the mousepad can cause this sort of problem.
I have seen some that will only start up when presing in these areas.
Sounds like its worth stripping to check.:cry

 

Update:

I have found the "sweet spot" so to speak...

If i pick the laptop up with one hand by the front left corner, that seems to do it every time.

Sometimes it takes a bit of effort to tweak the lappy but i have made it freeze and unfreeze over 20 times in a row now.

BUT, it does not do it when in the BIOS? (that confuses me)


So, Any ideas as to where i should start looking, cos as of now my next step is to crack it open and get my desk mounted Magnifying glass out and start examining every track, joint & lead, which if im honest is a job i despise


****

Couple more bits of info related to the problem:


Even though it freezes all the time, it has never crashed or even gave an error when installing anything, it just carries on afterwards as if it never happened.

It obviously affected the install of windows 7 i tried as it took about 8hrs to complete :O although it wizzed through XP, Vista and Ubuntu. (the 7 disc is 100% good btw)

 

Where you are holding it when it freezes, is that the same area where the hard drive resides in the casing?

 

I believe that area is above the card/pci slot, and that the cable to the modem may conect there- also it is just below the processor- I just watched a rather hamfisted video of one being stripped, as I have not got one on hand, and I would check those areas- recheck processor- did you check that the little screw was turned fully to hold the processor in place?:boxing

 

Best thing to do is crack the machine open remove the motherboard and carefully inspect all solder joints (especially around components that dissipate heat) as you have suggested doing, unfortunately this lead free solder isn't to wonderful.
It's also possible one of the BGA chips needs re flowing.

 

Hey thanks for the replies everyone.


Quick update:


Ive got it open & took the mobo out of the plastics and got it running while it was in pieces (even managed to get the track-pad connected) and it was running perfect, i tried bending and twisting the board and fiddled with every connection i could, but nothing maeks it freeze (it has been running for about 8hrs now and hasnt skipped a beat.

So im thinking it must be something touching the metal on teh case, and
Im going to try recovering al the connections with thick tape and put it back together and see if that sorts it.


Will let you know how it goes later/possibly tomorrow.


Cheers, Bob.

 

Good job, askew...

Thank goodness you didn't have to flash: paperweights, boat anchors, door jambs, skeet targets - and the list goes on...

rolleyes

 

:|

Well i put it back together and it seemed ok for a couple of hours then it went back to normal/freezing.


Im gonna get it open again and do what i should have done the first time and inspect all the joints & connections thouroughly (<-- spelt right??)


I' ll take a few pic's and post them when i start and hopefully somone can give me a hint as to where to look (im sure all these syptoms would mean something to the right person)


Once again thanks for the advice folks, it is really appreciated.


Bob