ENVY Desktop - TE01-1175xt Randomly Freezes, Restarts

[JP145]

After reading the saga, I need to find a way to return the computer for a full refund.  I agree that this experience is moving me back to Dell products.

[whenfreezestop]

I have bought my hp envy desktop TE-01 in November. And it keeps freezing in total random just after about 2 days it arrived. I updated BIOS and all available drivers from HP and Intel, and even reset the desktop, only to no avail. I also test memory, disks with the HP diagnostic tools but the tests for a few hours in total found nothing.

After reading dozens of similar HP new computer random freezing issues, It comes to my mind that as far as I know, the motherboard is HP's and other components are not, so I believe this issue might be caused by the HP manufactured motherboard or BIOS, in this case of the motherboard issue returning the desktop might be the only solution(but I am not sure yet) since other components such as CPU, HDD are widely tested to be good by many users in various PC manufacturers in the market

I hope the issue is caused by the BIOS, then it can be fixable with a new BIOS. I need my computer everyday. I want to return and get refund(if possible) or a new other model with no such issues, but I can't go without a computer. So, I'm going to use the computer turning off and restarting the PC whenever it freeze up. (A new computer should not freeze up, but that's what I have bought)

[jvince81]

Good luck, friend. HP continues to make this process an absolute nightmare. The customer service rep who was managing my refund process (the one calling me back asking me repetitive, deceptive questions) apparently prompted a second refund process via the email she had me send and that second process was not aligned to the original one that she was working on. However, I'm at a point now where they're sending me a packing slip to send this defective machine back to them and I can't wait to be rid of it. This is the =worst customer experience I've ever had with any company.

[jvince81]

I am in a similar position where I need to use my desktop/laptop daily for work purposes. Unfortunately, I went through the BIOS update process with HP tech support (who were wonderful to work with, by the way), but that didn't help solve the problem. In fact, I think the BIOS update actually led to more frequent freezing on this defective machine.

My suggestion is to start working through HP's grueling process. It'll be about 5+ hours on the phone with tech support running through every fix and update that you've already done including the BIOS update and reinstalling a clean copy of Windows. However, it's not going to help. But you need to go through that process in order for the tech support team to reach the end of their script where they offer to send you a box to send the machine in for repair. Once you get to that point, you can begin requesting a total refund and the tech team will transfer you to the customer service team (in my case, we had an awkward stop with the sales team for a few minutes until I landed with the customer service team). Then the real fun begins when the customer service team tries to trick you into saying that you've modified the machine, that you've installed hardware that isn't there, that you've done some type of alteration - they're going to try to get you in a position where they can say that the warranty is no longer in effect because you broke something. They're deceptive and insulting, so stay calm and be prepared for it.

And you'll have to repeat yourself two or three times over two or three phone calls with the customer service team until they send you a packing slip to send in the defective machine. It's not an easy process and you'll absolutely despise HP by the time it's over, but I'm assuming that you spent a lot on your machine and you expected it to work without any problems, so you deserve your money back. Good luck!

[lktruong]

That's just awful. Dealing with customer service is not fun.  You reminded me that I need to go to the Costco website to provide my product review and warn others about this defective product. When is HP going to provide fix?

[Bradly_O]

"...I've been considering letting HP completely replace this defective desktop with another new one under the thought that I couldn't get two lemons in a row, right?"

That is what I thought when I exchanged my first  TE01-1175xt for a second one.  Between the 2 computers now I have been on the phone or chat way more hours than I want to admit.  Both systems have the same behavior of just random freezes that require a full power reset.  One thing that I have noticed with the 2nd computer in the Windows Event Viewer are a bunch of PCI error events (WHEA-Logger, Event ID: 17).  My suspicion is that there is something that is running on the hairy edge of signal tolerances and is a systemic issue with these systems.  

I am in the same boat with you trying to get it returned and refunded before I go buy Dell.  Best of luck to you, your computer's behavior is not unique.

[jvince81]

And this reminds me that I wanted to post what HP emailed me this morning, which is that they are censoring my review of their defective machine on their website. Luckily, I have the entire thing saved and will post it on other websites so that the truth gets out there.

This entire episode made me lose all faith in HP. By the way, I'm typing this on my brand new CyberPowerPC that I bought from the local Walmart. It was about the same price (within $50) and while the secondary hard drive is only half the size (1TB instead of the defective HP machine's 2TBs), I've been using the CyberPowerPC for about 6 hours so far today and it hasn't crashed once. The entire machine is updated - the latest version of Windows, all of my software (Office, QuickBooks, and Adobe, among others), and all of my files have been transferred. Not one blip. The fans are a bit louder than I expected, but that's a small price to pay for a powerful machine that works!

[lktruong]

New Desktop Freezing/Locking up - HP Support Community - 7903144

Just updating.  HP agent responded to me regarding this PC problem.  He gave some procedures but it appears that I've tried all the steps except one.  I have not tried refreshing OS. I am still observing to see how my PC acting up. I've also uninstalled Google Chrome to see if the problem is still occurring.  I have not using my computer much or long enough to observe the problem.  Please remember to kindly update this thread if you find a solution to help those of us who are stuck with these lemons.

[whenfreezestop]

Once I reset my OS and rebooted -so the PC didn't have Chrome and any other softwares except HP's and Microsoft's already installed when I bought the PC-  but then my PC freezed up after about less than 5 minutes after the rebooting. At the time, I realized that the issue of the PC is not about software I installed. I believe the issue is about the hardware or BIOS. The only change I made but I couldn't cancel is the BIOS, which can't go back to old version once it has been updated.

I hope this helps.

[Bradly_O]

During one of the reinstalls of the OS (I did a complete format of the partition and reinstalled from a USB Drive) my system locked up at the very first prompt to select your region during the Windows install.  Granted I had left the room once the installation process started for dinner, but when I came back it was frozen like the tundra in Green Bay in January.  There sure appears to be a HW, BIOS, or maybe a quality issue with these systems.  I am 0 for 2 with this same behavior out of this configuration.  I wished it worked just as well as the specs looked on paper.