Elite e9150t Feezes/Locks up

[MrHDTV]

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NeroGato wrote:

I own a HP Pavillion Elite  e9150t which I recieved in July or August I can't remember right for some reason. I has definitely had problems with locking up, freezing, and crashing. Most of the time, there is scrambling around the mouse and the computer either goes BSOD or it fades to black and the monitor loses connection to it. I am having a real problem with this and if someone could tll me how to fix it I would appreciate it A LOT.

Edit: I have tried HP support numerous times and been given the same bad advice and same unmotivated customer care that I have begun to expect (unfortunately from HP. I would love it for HP to redeem themselves with a nice reply which brings a fix to my computer. 

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There are unfortunately no good answers to your question.  The complete answer is that there is no way to fix your computer, unless HP figures something out AND tells us about it as well.  Since they have not been telling us anything, I would not hold your breath for that option.

The possible workaround for now is to reboot your machine shortly after starting it up from cold.  In other words, if it's cold, start it up for a few minutes, then reboot.  If you don't, it will hang or crash.  If you do, your odds of getting work done will improve dramatically (even if not be guaranteed).  Some have even found that just going into and out of the BIOS is good enough.  That probably provides the motherboard enough time to warm up and start coming within specs or something.

The best answer is to return your machine if you are still within the 21 day trial period.  I know that unfortunately doesn't apply to you, but it may for others reading these messages.  If you do swap, that will start another 21-day period during which you can test the new machine to see if it happens to work reliably (there are a few out there that do).  If you get another lemon, you have to decide whether to try again or to bail out for some other system vendor.  I'm on my third e9180t and am stuck with this decision.  I don't trust that a 4th machine will work, since I haven't heard anything back from HP, no matter how hard I've tried to get answers.  But I hate to swap to a Dell, when they are more expensive, and don't offer quite as good options (e.g., Lightscribe, easy backup, etc.).

If you're past the 21-day period, then document your problems and send the machine in for repair.  HP may also be able to send a tech out to your house to look at the system, but I don't know how often they offer that option.  Be sure to document your problems and ask to escalate your case if first-level support doesn't help.  These machines suffer from a hardware problem (or problems), not software, so reinstalling the factory image, cleaning out temp directories, etc., is simply a waste of time.

HP, if you are listening at all, can you give me at least some information?  I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt, and bending over backwards to try to let you fix the problems you shipped to me.  But I'm getting stonewalled instead of thanked.

[zaq123]

I recently got my 9180t as a replacement for a bad m9350f which did not give me BSOD. Instead it just froze solid . After three repairs They agreed to replace my system. (The m9350f  also had lockup problems as google can attest.) I got the 9180t (Yes I paid the difference but best bang for the buck since I had to get an HP)   Anyways my 9180t ran for 10 days before I got my first BSOD (timing error on the second processor) HP agreed to do an exchange.  I am waiting now for the new system but the old one only locked up once.

My motherboard is REV A05 . After my experience with the m9350f, also with a Pegatron board, I think Pegatron just uses inferior parts. The i7 is a very demanding chip so the cheap pegatrons probably affected them more.

Anybody know of a mATX MB that has two PCI express X1 slots ? I want to replace the MB and forget about HP but I need the two slots for the tuner and the wireless card which both use  pci e x1.

[GaryJ51]

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zaq123 wrote:

I recently got my 9180t as a replacement for a bad m9350f which did not give me BSOD. Instead it just froze solid . After three repairs They agreed to replace my system. (The m9350f  also had lockup problems as google can attest.) I got the 9180t (Yes I paid the difference but best bang for the buck since I had to get an HP)   Anyways my 9180t ran for 10 days before I got my first BSOD (timing error on the second processor) HP agreed to do an exchange.  I am waiting now for the new system but the old one only locked up once.

My motherboard is REV A05 . After my experience with the m9350f, also with a Pegatron board, I think Pegatron just uses inferior parts. The i7 is a very demanding chip so the cheap pegatrons probably affected them more.

Anybody know of a mATX MB that has two PCI express X1 slots ? I want to replace the MB and forget about HP but I need the two slots for the tuner and the wireless card which both use  pci e x1.

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http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=Property&Subcategory=280&Description=&Type=&N=...

I like the EVGA.

[zaq123]

Those only have one PCI express x1 slot

[GaryJ51]

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zaq123 wrote:
Those only have one PCI express x1 slot

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They're the only boards that will fit in the stock case.

[Al-e9180f]

The EVGA and the Asus Rampage Gene II

I am about ready to re-try the e9180f with the truckee MB, as soon as i buy another I7 920 processor... 

Since i bought the Asus mobo and a bigger cpu cooling fan to overclocked the processor, i found i needed : better memory so i bought 6 gb of  corsair 1600mhz, a nVidia 285 GTX, a stronger power supply and finally a taller and roomier case so all and all, i just need another processor and hard drive to have 2 NEW Pc  

My wife thinks i'm nuts......

Message Edited by Al-e9180f on 10-07-2009 08:38 AM

[rsm2000e]

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Deneb wrote:
Why effectively no word from HP? The freezes and BSODs with Elite i7 systems have been reported in these forums since April, 2009 with the m9650f and m9600t. That's plenty of time to figure it out. This has just led to a lot of criticism and speculation. So HP should do itself a favor and say something.

Here are speculations (all of them maybe wrong) that have crossed my mind:
1. HP hasn't the foggiest idea about what the problem is
2. HP knows what the problem is and is trying to figure out how to control the damage
3. The problem hasn't reached the attention of anyone who can do something about it
4. Only a small percentage of Pegatron i7 systems report the problem so it's not important to them
5. Everyone at HP is on vacation or furlough
6. All the messages in this thread are coming from Austin, TX

To HP's credit, they have allowed this very critical thread to continue with only a few deletions.

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This was hysterical.  Personally, I think #6 is the reason.

[PineCreekNit]

HP did finally issue a recall on laptops such as my dv6253cl after a number of months, probably 6-9 months after first problems were identified. Laptops were shipped back and motherboards were replaced. Wireless Connections stopped working (probably due to Windows Vista fixes) but fault was HP or their supplier.

[GaryJ51]

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Al-e9180f wrote:

The EVGA and the Asus Rampage Gene II

I am about ready to re-try the e9180f with the truckee MB, as soon as i buy another I7 920 processor... 

Since i bought the Asus mobo and a bigger cpu cooling fan to overclocked the processor, i found i needed : better memory so i bought 6 gb of  corsair 1600mhz, a nVidia 285 GTX, a stronger power supply and finally a taller and roomier case so all and all, i just need another processor and hard drive to have 2 NEW Pc  

My wife thinks i'm nuts......

Message Edited by Al-e9180f on 10-07-2009 08:38 AM

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She's probably right, but I'll probably end up doing the same thing, at which point your wife and mine will have something in common

Message Edited by GaryJ51 on 10-07-2009 09:28 AM

[rsm2000e]

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GaryJ51 wrote:

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rthowl wrote:

The real problem is, is that they are not doing anything in the mean time. Hopefully they are working on a solution and mean to rectify the problem but not a single HP employee has stopped in this thread (which is on their support website!) and said "we are currently looking for a solution and will make sure that all of our customers will have working, reliable systems. Please remain patient."

Unfortunately they can only ignore there consumers for so long before they will look into legislative matters which will only go to harm HPs more than it already is.

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They are obviously not publicly acknowledging the problem, with the exception of one employee who mysteriously dissappeared for a week.  You have to look at this from their perspective.  As large as this thread is, there are perhaps 50 participants.  When you look at the size and range of products that HP sells, this has yet to rise to the crisis stage.  Although the press has provided some coverage, it has been pretty much a footnote, despite great effort by affected users to raise the visibility of the problem.  Therefore, HP considers it a manageable issue by allowing affected users to utilize the support process.  As frustrating as the whole thing is, let's face it, we're all here because these systems represented what we all thought was going to be the best bang for the buck.

That said, computers are now commodity items.  It is a very competitive market that motivates the manufacturers to produce the most power at the cheapest price point.  To get to that configuration that enables a mfgr. to capture market share, they look for vendors that can rpovide them with conponents at the cheapest price.  In this instance, the process has produced a flawed product.  There's no point being angry or upset, this is business.  Don't feel like they don't like us, or their trying to ignore us, they are simply choosing to deal with the issue in a way that makes the most sense to them from a business perspective.

To their credit, the support system is not ignoring us.  If that were true, I wouldn't be waiting for my next replacement system.  Continue to document your problem through the support system so that when/if the problem does get resolved, your still covered by the warranty.  the clock resets when you receive a replacement system.

Be patient, they have to fix it eventually or they'll have to stop selling them.

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Well said, Gary.  I think you have clarified this entire situation and hit the nail squarely on the head.  HP is not alone in this issue.  I can remember a group of DELL PC's that we had at my workplace some years back where a certain mid-level batch of computers we purchased all had bad motherboards.  In that instance DELL support advised us of the problem and promptly send out new motherboards which solved the issue.  They even took care of a system that was out of warranty, which is unusual, even for Dell.  I admire the fact that you are perseveriing and must agree that I am also sorely tempted to keep trying HP and wait out the eventual fix.  That's because I love those little HP extras, like the aesthetics, the nice display (best one I've ever seen), Lightscribe, and the portable media backup bays.  Those are all VERY nice features and very appealing.  They are why I bought HP in the first place.

However, being a commodity, by definition it is a good or service whose wide availability typically leads to smaller profit margins and diminishes the importance of factors (as brand name) other than price. (Source Mirriam-Webster Online).  You rightly point out that the razor thin margins and competive marketplace force the PC makers to use the least-expensive components possible.  Given their huge buying power, this is the reason most of us can never build our own at the same price-point we can buy ready-made from HP, Dell, Lenovo, or whomever.  This puts us at the mercy of the low bidder phenomenon.  Sometimes the low bidder has cut one too many corners in the build process, and the percentage of DOA parts or suspect unstable parts goes outside of the acceptable percentage window.  What's especially nettlesome in this case is the issue is not instantly apparent, but one that appears over time, and usually only if a certain sequence of events does or does not occur.  This means that many bad boxes are returned to consumers because someone at the repair end simply didn't have the amount of TIME needed to duplicate the problem, or else they did something on their side that caused the problem NOT TO APPEAR (maybe a reboot or they went into the bios).  Something that might take a long long time to duplicate is really tough for a tech to spot.

To HP's credit they promptly replace bad boxes, which is costing them money.

For my part, reliability is crucial.  If my PC isn't 100% reliable or very nearly so, it is useless to me, as I simply can't afford to lose my work if I can prevent doing so.  That's why I have RAID 1 mirror arrays, backup UPS power, and nightly backups.  I'm doing my part to protect my work product, and I depend on the machine itself to 'be all it can be'.

You're right when you put this into perspective in terms of numbers of affected users.  From a purely statistical viewpoint, this is a tempest in a teapot.  It is  far from an epidemic, it is a very minor issue to a 3000-lb gorilla like HP.  Let's face it, they are a MAJOR big-dog PC maker, on a par with GM, Ford, Chrysler or Honda in terms of worldwide sales of their own product.

Thus users who still are confronting serious problems must wait for HP to follow their usual protocols and troubleshoot the problem, then develop a fix or workaround.  It may be a bios revision, a new motherboard, or some other solution.  I think you give excellent advice and offer a reasoned approach.  For those who lack the patience of Ghandi (sadly, that includes myself), we are stuck buying a less-desireable system, be it a step-down lessor HP model or be it a system from another manufacturer.  The few bold souls that are replacing their motherboards on their own with other non-HP boards... well that might have been me some years back.  I don't have the heart to play engineer any more.

A sick PC is much like a person.  The illness is VERY important and critical to YOU.  To the technical world confronting treatment, you're just one of millions.  They win some they lose some, some patients die, others are born.  It's a process.  What's nice is that if you're within their return window, you have another opportunity to revisit your choices and decide if you want to keep the same doctor or try another hospital (manufacturer).  It's all about choices.  Those who are outside of the return window need to take heart in the hope that a fix -should- be forthcoming at a future time.

Thanks for your incisive comments Gary.