HP G42 Brand New...Oh and constant lockups! [ Edited ]

[cmmagalis]

So I recently bought a HP G42 notebook from Best Buy and ever since the first startup there have been constant lockups periodically.  When they occur, which is every 10 minutes or so, they freeze the screen( usually an interent browser which goes traslucently white) the mouse still moves around and switches depedning on what it's hovering on. It always goes back to normal after 30 seconds to 1 minute though.  Extremely frustrating problem for such a new peice of junk!

I assume this is some kind of hardware problem since it's begin happening since the beginning?

[DavidPK]

Hi,

From the Start Menu, open All Programs, open Accessories, right click the Command Prompt and select 'Run as Administrator'.  In to the prompt type the following command and hit enter.

sfc /scannow                 ( note that there is a space between sfc and the / )

Let the process complete, then type exit and hit enter.

Next, click the Start Menu, click Computer, left click Local Disc C once to highlight it, right click Local Disc C and select Properties.  Click the Tools tab and then click the button to 'Check the Drive for Errors'.  In the following window make sure both boxes are ticked and then click Start.  Part of this process will require a restart to check the drive.

When this has completed, shutdown the notebook.

Then tap away at f10 as soon as you press the power button to enter the bios menu.  Under the Advanced or Diagnostic tab you should find the facility to run tests on the Hard Drive and Memory.  Run both tests and post back with the results.

Regards,

DP-K

[cmmagalis]

I ran every test and nothing irrgeular came up, so what else could it be?

[DavidPK]

Hi,

Can you post back with the following.

1.  The full Model No. or Part No. of your notebook.

2.  The operating system you are using.

3.  Have you created your Recovery Discs?

Regards,

DP-K

[AndrewBerl]

Hi DavidPK,

I am having the EXACT same issue as the poster, brand new G42-303DX purchased from Best Buy with lockups every 10 minutes or so, sometimes mroe frequently. Very frustrating for a brand new computer. I ran all the suggested tests with all problem-free results. Here are the answers to your most recent questions, perhaps you can help me.

1. Full Model and Part Number: HP G42-303DX with AMD Turion II P540 Dual-Core 2.4 ghz processer.

2. Operating System: Windows 7 Home Premium 64-bit.

3. I have not created recovery dics, only system restore points.

I've tried everything I know how to help with this issue. I've adjusted programs initiated at start-up, I've cleaned out temporary files and recycle bin and other extraneous files, I've updated BIOS, adjusted settings on Norton Security. I really cannot figure this out. What's weirder is often it locks up while I'm video chatting with Gmail and while the image on the screen and the browser are both frozen, I can hear the person in video chat and she can video of me, not frozen on her end. I hope you can help!

[DavidPK]

Hi,

Have you run through the System File Check, Chkdsk and the bios test on the memory and hard drive described in my first post on this thread?  If you did, were there any errors reported?

Also, you could try disabling all start-up items and then re-enabling one at a time as detailed below.

Start the notebook and let Windows fully load.  Hold down the Windows key and press R.  In to the Run box type msconfig and hit enter.  In the following window, click the Start up tab, remove the tick next to each start up item and then click Apply to make the change.  Reboot the notebook and see if it now runs normally.  If it does, re-enable one start up item at a time, click Apply and reboot to check if it still runs ok ( probably best to start by re-enabling your security software first ).  Keep doing this until you encounter the problem and you will know the last program you set to start is causing the freezing issue.

Regards,

DP-K

[AndrewBerl]

Hi Again,

Yes. I ran all the tests suggested in this thread and there were no errors reported. I then disabled all start-up items, restarted, and even with everything disabled my machine still runs with constant lock-ups, usually while browsing the internet. I have tried different browsers thinking maybe that was the issue. The problem exists despite the browser.

This is extremely frustrating. Lock-ups while doing simple tasks that result in Firefox freezing with a (Not Responding) status for 60-90 seconds. What else can I do?

[LOR345]

I have had the samw problem since Chistmas when i got the computer brand new as a gift. I thought at first maybe it just needed to be broken in so a used it for about a day and it just acted the same way. I did not want to tell my parents as it was a gift and i did not want them to think they had given me a bad gift. Now though i wish i had told because after all this time i still can't find a fix and it just recently got even worse to the point where the only way i can use it is safe mode.( It works well in safe mode but there is no sound so its useless.) I hopw there is a fix. 

[Paudyis]

I got my HP G42 laptop from BestBuy in Springfield, VA in June, same exact problem, the lackouts are far too conveniently occuring and the system otherwise runs fine, I bet best Buy have deliberately placed a big in the laptop to give their geek squad an excuse to rip their customers off, I am highly dissatisfied

[trento]

I also am having the same problem with my G42.  I've run the diagnostics on the hard drive and memory myself... no problems.  I formatted and reinstalled the OS... the problem came right back.  I took the computer back to Best Buy where they did a stress test on the computer... they couldn't reproduce the problem.  I've also changed out the memory with sticks from another computer that works correctly, no problem.  

I narrowed the possible problems down to about three things, I believe:

1.  Corruption in the registry that is installed there from the disc image provided

2.  Possible problem with the ATI 4250 driver

3.  Conflict caused by Kaspersky Antivirus.

I've pretty much eliminated the last two possibilities:  I have another G42 for work with the exact same display driver, no problems.  I've also witnessed the freezing without Kaspersky being installed.  

My next step, I believe, is to order a system restore disk from HP.  I feel like maybe there is a curruption in my System Restore disk image, and a Restore disc from HP hopefully won't have this problem.  Does this seem like a good step to some of you more experienced people out there?

Just curious, to those of you who are having this problem.  What antivirus are y'all running?