tx2500 problems

[lenon89]

i got this computer 2 years an 2 weeks ago. A couple of months ago, after I would have been using the computer for a couple of minutes the screen would go black. The backlight would still be on and i could hear that the hard drive was still spinning. Sometimes the screen would turn back on but the wireless would stop working until the computer was restarted. Now the computer is doing it much more often and earlier in use. Also the screen will rarely turns back on. It is now freezing during boot up too. The computer has been rendered almost completely useless considering i can not turn it on but 1 out of 50 tries and after it does turn on it will cease working about 5 minutes in. I have run system repair several times but to no avail. a system restore also did not work. The computer has been scanned many times by several different anti virus softwares and anti malware ones but there is no virus. i can not find any possible problem besides faulty hardware. The computer has always run hot whether or not i used a cool pad and it did not matter how cold the room that it was in was.

[dr_dna]

I also have the tx2500 and I have the exact same problem as you. Screen flickers or randomly goes blank, and there is nothing I can do except a hard reboot. Sometimes I have to reboot 5 or 6 times before it will work properly again. Most of the time when it flickers the wireless card stops working too. The problem is getting more and more frequent and I know its only a matter of time before my laptop is completely useless. 

I have contacted HP support but they want to charge me around $400 to replace the motherboard, which is ridiculous.  They are playing us dumb by saying its not a known or common problem.

Lets prove them wrong. 

I hope other owners of the Tx2000/tx2500 can please post here so that HP will offer a recall for this model. 

[bypass04]

yeah, i'm having the same problem too...the tablet keeps getting a memory crash and the screen goes pixellated or just goes straight to a blue screen with memory dump.  this have been happening for a week now...and nothing new was installed..not even a windows upade.  hp, if you are reading this, please contact me...i paid so much for this laptop and now it's a paperweight.

[ChrisIchikawa]

Exactly! It's all because of overheating (OH from now on)! I have that problem right now, too. Same model, tx2500, and almost as old (1 year 10 or 11 months). Still facing it occasionally, but with heat management, I suffer OH less often.

Here's why: Your tx2500's fan is making far more heat than it is making cold, and unfortunately, your computer is tricked into thinking that it needs to work the fan harder to cool, which only makes it hotter and hotter until, zip! Your computer blacks out. It's actually better this way, too, because it's an emergency shutdown (ES from now on). If it weren't for that,you'd have a computer beyond repair by now!

The temporary solution:

These are not steps. They're a list of different ways to help you manage this problem.

1. Yes, have a cooling pad at all times. I know it doesn't totally help cool off the heat and you'd still be at a risk of ES, but it does keep heat marginally under control. 

 1A. If you have an air conditioner, use it, too. Point the cold air towards the fan of your computer.

2. In case you OH and then ES, leave your computer off for about 10 minutes and let it cool off on its own. Apparently, there's an internal timer there before it'll really turn on when you slide the power switch on. Otherwise, you're just forcing it to work.

  2A. Try your best to also cut the computer some slack: don't let it work too hard.

  2B. Set the battery power plan to HP Recommended or Power Saver (I assume you use Windows Vista)

  2C. If you're not picky, disable all those fancy Windows Aero desktop styles and change to Windows Classic.

The best solution: Get the fan repaired!

Luckily, I've been told by a couple of friends that it's just a problem with the cooling system, specifically the thermal glue that keeps the fan and the rest of the hardware together. You can take a look at the paste layer inside the battery slot when you're not using the computer. It's a white layer that looks like foam. If the thermal glue's way too dry and solid, then your fan needs fixing. Some websites suggest it's just a dirty fan which needs cleaning -- it can be the case, but I won't go to detail about that. You can try by solving these yourself, but I won't guarantee any good results if you're no expert at that.

[JohnathonNola]

Sad day but add me to the growing list... No the armageddon of the Hp legacy on Products and service. My model is the Pavilion Tx 2000. Even though according to windows im shown to be a Tx2500. Ive had my laptop 2 years now roughly and Tuesday Dec 2010 I sadly was exposed to the growing defective list of up to now honored Hp customer base. My problems started b4 then however i was experiencing hung up boots which would require me to do hard shutdowns and reboots. This was going on for about three weeks. During this time i ran numerous self checks defrags antivirus/malware scans to no avail of determining the problem. Then this week i had my first (Self inflicted mass shutdown) I freaked... This laptop was my first laptop that i worked hard to buy and have enjoyed the fruit of the labor it took to acquire. Im not rich and have bills like most others. I cant afford fancy items nor do i dwell on the fact i cant. This was my one time i could go and reward myself in life with something to enjoy in my spare time. Anyhow enough about me back to the topic at hand. With the problems i was facing I went to the web... My heat skipped a beat or two when i came across these forums. I know enough about computers and laptops hardware wise so i went and bought some tools and went to work on cleaning my laptops Fan and heat sinks and refreshing the GpU and CpUs compounds and removing every scrap of dust there was to bee seen or brushed and or blown away. Reassembled and had fingers crossed. For 1 night i was a happy man again. Then today back to the black screen after running a short period of time and a few random complete shutdowns outta no where. With my new found discouragement, i called my local Best Buy as my lifetime close friend is the Gm of that location and pretty crafty in It tech and electronics as this is pretty much all he has done Via the military etc. (Bare with me i know this is becoming a novel...) When i asked over the phone for my friend Steve i was told he was dealing with a destraut customer over a business laptop that suddenly crashed after a warranty had expired. Finally Steve picks up and says hello. I said Steve i need help my laptop is on the fritz i think i know what the problem is i need a solution. H asked what the problem was, He stopped me dead sentence with a agonizing question Is it a Hp? I replied slowly yes... He then asked what model. I paused and said a busted one. He said seriously what model i said the Tx series he said I need to put you back on hold. I thought maybe he was coming back with a solution. Instead it was a price on a new model of a un mentioned manufacture that he promised would live up to my needs and not  give me problems. I replied Steve you know i cant afford a new laptop. He said i know Merry Christmas. Because short of forking out serious money your Hp is now and forever will be a Paperweight . The entire msg behind this if an Hp reps ever read it... Its pretty apparent at this point you have a serious growing problem with your products. Heres my solution... You refuse to honor replacement or at the very minimum a recall on all of the consumers that have purchased your product.... Ask your self this if you can do something as simple as that, how will you fix the growing number of people like me that refuse to ever purchase a (H)eadache (P)roduct ever again.

[Rdesai]

I'm not only having problems with the display but also with the laptop heating beyond normal. The other day when I picked up the laptop it burned my hand and had to put some ice on it. One of the my major concerns is the notebook causing a fire. Has anyone else noticed this issue, and why is the display always loose?

Thanks

[cruehead20]

I have the same problem.  Screen goes black and stays there.  I bought mine as a refurb from Costco.  I won't do that again.

[dr_dna]

@cruehead20

buing refurb isn't the problem. dont buy any HP pavilion or tx series laptop in the future. they all suffer from this same overheating problem. 

i can't believe I paid $1,200 for such a crappy laptop. i for one, am never purchasing HP again unless they offer a recall or refund of this model. what a ripoff. 

[Neilsao]

Hi, I also have the tx2500, I paid so much for this laptop like everybody in here, I am an electronic engineer and I've been looking for information what can help me to resolve this problem, I called to HP to know is there any extra warranty because is the same problem with a lot of models and they told me it does not apply to the extra warranty. I would like to explain everybody what is the real problem since my point of view.

When we talk about electronics and overheating we are talking about a heatsink, what is it? its the piece of  copper or aluminium to let heat transfer, there are 2 important embedded circuits that get really hot: the cpu and the graphics, the heatsink can be different per each model, it can be made of cooper just for the cpu and made of aluminum for the graphics but is only 1 piece that mix both. The best way to ensure the best heat transfer is to attached the heatsink with the cpu and the graphics. What is going on with the heatsink of A LOT OF HP MODELS? It seems to be a bad design of the heatsink, it has not the high that it needs to attached the graphics that's why everybody can see a piece like a sponge that transfer the heat between the graphics and the heatsink. It seems to be that the heat is disordering the graphics from the board.

I am sure a lot of people could watch on youtube some experiments of disappointment costumers who try to fix this problem using a penny to let the heat transfer but it has not sense because the penny is made of  97.5% zinc and just 2.5% copper but anyway it can helps to keep the graphics soldered in the right place, its also important the heat transfer paste but its other story.

I bought my first laptop dv5000 series on 2005 and it still working, now this new series tx2500 that I bought on 2008 is dead, I am a big customer of HP, I have printers, desktop, laptops, external HD but I am thinking seriously to change my dealer because I feel like someone betrayed me.

I expect them to be responsible of their design. If anybody has any news about it please let me know.