Pavilion Media Center m8200n black screen and freezing

[LovethisPC]

I've had this for about two years and a month or so ago started having problems with it suddenly shutting down.  Power light still on but making a shrill noise and has to be manually shut off from there.   Recently I've had one heck of time getting it booted up again.  I've now done 3 TOTAL recoverys.  They work for awhile and then no more.  I thought it was related to a NVIDIA problem as when I reinstalled updates from HP, it immediately shut down after the NVIDIA updates were done.   Restored again and it ran beautifully until I watched a video in email and then it started again.   I've now done the 3rd total recovery and also a complete hardware diagnostic which tells me all is ok.  No problem with anything showing up.   I'm at a loss for where to go from here.  I've just done the recovery again and will only be putting in the updates from HP up until the NVIDIA ones and also most of the Windows ones that don't have to do with NVIDIA as they haven't seemed to cause any problems yet.  I also have automatic updates turned off now so I can control what is actually downloaded and installed.  Hope that's enough info for one of you to lead me in a good direction.   Thanks for any advice you might have.  Oh I've also taken off the side of the CPC and have been observing the fans and they seem to look ok as well as the tests coming back ok.

[RasterBlaster]

1) Shrill noises are usually very bad. Good move having the cover off. If it happens again while you are using the PC quickly try to isolate where the noise comes from before quickly powering it off. One thing to be conscience of, is that if you are using the PC with the cover off, it is easier for things (like cats or kids) to get in there and move cables into fans or partially disconnect cables, etc.. If a cable touches a fan, you will most likely get another shrill noise.

2) As far as updates go, I would make sure you get virus and spyware updates every day - set that to automatic. I would get all the important Windows Updates every day (except IE8)... yes I know there have been a few that caused more than a few people grief, but there are way too many vulnerabilities in Windows that MS is patching and this is more important. For the HP Update... check your product's Customer Care Web site about once a week or so.

Not sure what else to tell you... it sounds like the PC has an intermittent problem. Once you can isolate where the noise is coming, then you can replace the part.

[Sk8Luver]

I've been having a similar experience.  No shrill noises though.  Just likes to shut down or go to blue screen, but cannot isolate any reeason. Started when the computer was less than 2 years old (around last July).  Have done recovery and factory restore, but doesn't last long.  I find it happens more often when I stream video, but I to installed the updates for NVIDIA and the monitor.  To make things worse, tried to install Windows &.  Would not install.  Tried to do a factory restore and it crashed and does nothing now.  Recovery disc I made when I bought it does not work, says it is not recognized.  Any help?  Otherwise it is the scrp heap and a Dell.

[ke8yn]

I've had a similar experience with a machine also about 2 years old.  Was running Vista 32 bit Home Premium when it started. Configured with 6gb RAM and 2 500 gb hard drives.  I run Norton 360 3.0 and update both Windows and Norton every night (automatically.)  Here's my recollection:

1. Video stopped working.  Since my LCD monitor accepts both analog and digital inputs, I got a digital video card.

2. System started locking up.  Opened case and used compressed air to blow out any dust.  Couldn't get it to boot.  Norton recovery disk would not work.  I had to remove the 2nd hard drive and use Iolo PC Mechanic to boot the main drive.  Did low level format.  Completely reloaded Vista.

3. Replaced 2nd hard drive with 1.0 Terabyte drive.  System still locked up but could be restarted by coldbooting.

4. Upgraded to Windows 7 Home Premium 64 bit.  Tried to find all the drivers.  HP Support had Vista 64 bit drivers, but they would not load.  Got a message that my system didn't meet the requirements.  Not sure why.

5.  System locked up hard again.  Reloaded Windows 7 64 bit after disconnecting 1.0 TB drive.  Had to remove drive and connect via USB interface to reload my backup.  Formatted the 1.0 TB drive and reinstalled successfully.

6.  As of today, still locks up from time to time.  Have also had several instances of the BSD with the crash dump message.

My only plan at this point is to open up the case and reseat everything not solder down and remove any additional dust.  I think the drivers are part of the problem.  My memory (such as it is) is that when I did the last reload, the computer liked the Vista 64 drivers just fine.  I don't know what changed this time.

Odd that everyone with this problem starts to see it at the 2 year mark.

Thanks to anyone who can help!

[LovethisPC]

I've given up on mine and bought a new one.  The old one is sitting downstairs waiting for me to continue to mess around with it.  I'm going to eventually try to install an additional video card.  I talked to one tech and he suggested their might be something wrong with the motherboard and I could bypass that by obtaiing a separate video card for around $30 or so.  Thought it might be worth a try at that price if I can even it get started again - LOL!  On some COLD WINTER day when I have nothing else to do, I may attempt it.   Till then I'm computer burned out and will enjoy my new one with no problems!  Good luck with your search for an answer.  I'll keep checking back occasionally to see if anyone finds one.  It does seem strange, as you said, that it seems to hit at about 2 years of age.

[skillgrove71]

Have you checked your memory cards had same type noise found out it was a bad memory card!

[tech83703]

seriously people. ok first and foremost nvidia doesn't make a windows 7 driver for either the nforce 430 chipset  big problem there for starters and secondly  if you have motherboard issues you can band aid the problem by adding the video card the tech told you about but in the end you still have a bad motherboard.  

[pkravets]

I have EXACTLY the same problem and have gone through the same diagnostic routine with HP Support and its still did not resolve the problem.  I removed RAM, disconnected HD, Reloaded the OS, tried Windows7.  Nothing helped.  Same results.  Just like you, I have placed this PC in my garage, and its collecting dust there.  I have bought a Dell.  However, reading through some HP threads last year, quite a lot of ppl complaining of the same issues with the same m8200n system.  Even new out of the box.  The thread was quite long.  People tried different things, swapped HDs, RAM, same result.  Reboots and random lockups. 

One thing that caught my eye was some ppl saying that the 100W power supply that these systems come with is unsufficient.  The recomendation was to get a new power supply 250W. 

So thats my plan.  Thats what I will do, It only costs $35, almost nothing.

http://www.911forpcs.com/3beatposu.html

And if you think about it, nothing points to an obvious fault with the hardware, cause all components seem to be working right.

It could be a power supply or motherboard.  But I am willing to swap the cheapest part first and see.

[LovethisPC]

If you do this and it works, please let me know.   Mine is still sitting downstairs waiting for me to try a new video card and I just haven't had the time to mess with it.

[Sparrowscry]

I am workinging on an  hp m8200n, Vista Home Premieum, 2 gig ram, 3.0 Ghz amd 64 x 2 dual core 6000.

Issues, was running fine for about 2 years, then began a problem of random crashes, blue screens, and black screens.

I wasn't able to do a restore because data on the original Hard drive was desired to be retained. 

Installed a 1 Terabyte drive and reoaded Windows with a clean install.  Updated everything, reinstalled programs, running trend micro for defense.   Every couple days, the system is still crashing.

Note on Power supply replacement...this system has a 300w lite on source and still experiences random crashing.

I have tried to run the Window Experience test and recieve a memory dump crash everytime.

I was thinking of putting a graphics card in to bypass the onboard graphics, but its still won't explain why these crashes haven't been an occurrence for the first couple of years owning the pc, even if a replacement card solves the issue.