Zbook 17 G6 randomly crashing

[pevsonic]

Also... HP support are about to replace my motherboard (again) despite me pointing out that it's not an issue limited to my one machine....! After two and a half months Im astounded that that's the best idea they can come up with, and that despite asking me to explain how to replicate at their end, they've refused to even try and do so...?!?!  

[Stoyanov]

To see the "Processor Performance Boost Mode" option you need to install registry update from the following link:
http://www.geeks3d.com/dl/show/10060

Also works for Windows 64-bit.

After downloading the registry update you need to Unzip the archive, right-click on the reg file and merge.
To see the "Processor performance boost mode", open the Advanced setting panel of the Power Options:

Control Panel > Power Options > Change Plan Settings > Change Advanced Power Settings ->Processor performance boost mode.

The other way to stop Turbo Boost Mode is described in the link below, but apply it to Battery:
https://www.geeks3d.com/20170213/how-to-disable-intel-turbo-boost-technology-on-a-notebook/#_22

This way, you don't have to install anything.

To set the "max processor state", open the Advanced setting panel of the Power Options:

Control Panel > Power Options > Change Plan Settings > Change Advanced Power Settings:

And if you are using a Linux operating system, you can stop "Turbo Boost" from the BIOS.

However, it might be a good idea to test whether stopping "Turbo Boost" affects the stability of your system. This way, you can guide HP support to understand where to look for the problem.

[pevsonic]

Thanks but I already knew all of that - I'd actually already tested turbo boost settings (as well as intel DTPF settings etc) and reported it to HP Support over a month ago but they still are refusing to follow up on it at all, despite them asking me for that level of detail in the first place. It's hugely frustrating...

I also can't disable it in the BIOS as like I said it cripples the performance of the machine. Despite them doing nothing useful so far, HP Support still keep asking me to re-install the machine (fourth windows re-install at their request) so I can't use it as a main development machine while they're wanting me to do that kind of thing. In fact they're asking if I can send it to them potentially as apparently (I quote) "HP don't have any of these machines ourselves to test on so we'd need yours"  ... I've had to keep my old machine rather than selling it on specifically for this reason 😞 

They're genuinely the most hopeless support organisation Ive ever had to work with and that's really saying something... I'd be fired if it took me three months to investigate something like this!

[Stoyanov]

I'm really sorry! You have been through a lot of hardships. I don't want to be in your place. I will not be surprised if, because of this problem, HP is forced to download the entire G6 series.

Really, are there any other owners of the HP ZBOOK 17 G6 with the same problem or are we just alone?

[pevsonic]

Im not sure - someone I was chatting to on reddit reproduced it as well on another zbook but a bit surprised it's not a bigger thing to be honest. I know it's less of an issue on windows because windows already throttles the CPU hard on battery power which masks the problem (try doing a performance test on both mains and battery and compare results) and some recent HP updates appear to throttle this still further. 

What really surprises me is how the support system HP has in place appears to be unfit for purpose. It seems that all their operatives are trained to do is follow scripts, reinstall windows and drivers and replace hardware components. Faced with a real problem, they don't seem to know what to do. And the fact that it's now taken three months and they haven't even replicated it themselves and they're now replacing the same components again is a sign that something is really wrong there...! Not to mention that they won't let anyone other than their L1 agents talk to a customer so a simple question becomes a conversation between three people with a 48 hour turnaround... Oh, and they rarely communicate within the timeframes they state themselves. 

I've already asked for a refund but despite the fact I reported it as DOA in under their 30 day limit, they're refusing to refund. The only reason I didnt before the 30 day limit is beacuse they specifically asked them to give them "a little more time" to fix it instead of refunding. It's especially annoying as I really don't want to return it - partly because I've already wasted days of effort troubleshooting for them (over 9 hours on the phone so far) and partly because the machine really is the best fit for my needs and partly because there's a shortage of i9/Xeon CPU's so I can't even order an alternative from Lenovo without many months of lead time... Sadly though I genuinely have no faith that they're capable of investigating this effectively, let alone fixing it... 

[Stoyanov]

Otherwise, is your machine stable with the AC Power adapter?

In my case, the problem only occurs when I'm on battery.

I find it interesting in terms of the difference in processors.

[pevsonic]

Ive had it shut down on other occasions from memory (it was three months ago!) but to be honest as soon as I started talking to HP support I had to swap to using another machine as I need to have a main development machine that is 100% stable as I spend a fair bit of time working with clients at their sites and can't be sat there having my machine rebooting it would be awfully embarassing!   Sadly since then it's been sat in it's box unable to be used apart from when I take it out to do something at the request of HP support (normally just reinstalling windows yet again)... 

[pevsonic]

I think buying the G6 was an extraordinarily expensive mistake for me... Shame as my G3 was rock solid...

[Stoyanov]

My machine does not restart, but shuts down directly (dies instantly when logging on to Windows or under heavy load). It is as if the battery does not withstand peak loads (Turbo Boost).

[pevsonic]

Sorry, yes, that's the behaviour - immediate power off, maybe 15 seconds of inability to do anything then the caps lock led lighting for a couple of seconds then after that it will allow you to use the power button to turn it on again and let it cold boot.