Accidental power switch - causes overheating. No time out for power on password

[The_Rev]

Hi. About every two or three weeks I find my laptop in my bag very very hot. I consider the cause to be a design flaw, and want advice.

What seems to happen is that somehow the power button on the side of the latop is being knocked, and turns the machine on. It then presents the screen to enter my power on password (which I have set for security reasons). This screen stays on until either a password is entered or the machine overheats to the extent that it shuts down.

On my previous machine (a Dell XPS 12), there were two differences:

- it was harder to turn on the machine accidentally as the switch was slightly recessed rather than protruding and needed to be slid rather than pressed
- if the hard drive password (equivalent of the power on password) wasn't entered within a short period, the machine would just switch off

Is there a setting somewhere in the BIOS that forces the machine to turn off if the password is not entered in a given period?

If this happens very rarely I can cope with it, but to be overheating the device so frequently is of great concern.

Thanks for any advice!!

[DavidSMP]

@The_Rev,

Thank you for posting your query in the HP community. A good day to you. I have reviewed the post and will be glad to assist you. Excellent description and a good presentation of the issue.Kudos to you for that. I see you've posted for the first time and let's try to make it a memorable experience for you

• Does the notebook overheat when used normally?
• DId you try updating the bios and chipset drivers and check again?

Let's try these steps:

• Run all the latest Windows updates and ensure that they are installed correctly.
• Then update the bios and chipset drivers from this link: http://hp.com/drivers  and follow the on-screen instructions.

Later from this link: https://support.hp.com/in-en/document/c01657439 (HP Notebook PCs - Reducing Heat Inside the Laptop to Prevent Overheating) follow all the relevant steps especially all instructions from these sections 

• Power switching to reduce heat (HP Spectre PCs)
• HP Spectre 13 - instructions for turning on Cool Control:

This should fix the issue.

Good luck and keep me posted about the developments. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue and give the post a Kudos for my efforts to help. Thank you and have a great week ahead. 🙂

[The_Rev]

Hi @DavidSMP. 

Thanks for taking the time to reply. However it doesn't fix it.

Confirming that I have the latest BIOS (installed from SP90119), and it doesn't overheat under normal use.

I've already set the power settings to Balanced in the BIOS. I haven't turned on cool control but don't see that it will solve the problem as:

- it's a problem before Windows loads

- it's not a problem with cooling, it's a problem that the password entry screen doesn't have a timeout built in

This is the screen that stays on ... I guess it's the screen as much as anything that is causing the overheating (since there is no screen timeout in the same way there is no power time out).

Any further advice appreciated!

The Power On Password screen is still on ... balanced power settings, 75 minutes after machine turned on (battery power only)

[DavidSMP · Accepted solution]

@The_Rev,

Thank you for the update and it is great to have you back. Your efforts and patience are amply appreciated.

Please do this.disable the power on password temporarily. THen load bios defaults by following these steps:

• Keep tapping the Esc key gently several times ass soon as you power on the computer.
• It takes you to the startup menu.
• Then press the F10 key to go the bios.
• Then press the F9  key to load setup defaults and select yes and push “enter.”
• Then press F10 to save changes and exit and check again by loading to windows if the computer overheats when it accidentally powers on.
• Leave it under observation for a few hours and check again.
• If it does not overheat, then if the computer turns on in the bag, then there is no cause for concern.

Good luck and keep me posted about the developments. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue and give the post a Kudos for my efforts to help. Thank you and have a great week ahead. 🙂

[The_Rev]

Thanks!

Before I do revert to the default settings, what do you expect the default behaviour to be if I do hit the power button accidentally, and the screen comes on?

🙂

[DavidSMP]

@The_Rev,

Thanks for the quick response. I am only trying to isolate the issue correctly here. That is the entire exercise. If the power-on password is disabled and the computer functions normally when powered on and boots to windows, then you should not unduly get perturbed by it.

However, if the computer still overheats, after disabling the password and loading bios defaults, then the issue is definitely hardware related and the computer needs to be repaired. You need to leave it under observation for a few hours and check again after loading bios defaults and disabling the password.

Good luck and keep me posted about the developments. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue and give the post a Kudos for my efforts to help. Thank you and have a great week ahead. 🙂

[The_Rev]

Ahh got it!! I hope the following helps to isolate the issue.

1. I disabled the Power On password, and switched the laptop on (batteries only). As expected it loaded the Windows 10 log in screen, and then after a few minutes the screen turned off and a few minutes later the machine went to sleep.  This behaviour is exactly what I would expect. Nothing got hot, and there was no battery drain.

2. With the Power On password enabled again, when I switch the laptop on, the screen turns on and stays on until the machine heats up and closes down because of high temperatures, and also drains the battery.

Thanks for all your responses.

TheRev

[DavidSMP]

@The_Rev,

Thanks for the update. It is wonderful to hear from you again. So it boils down to this  THe computer works fine as it should within Windows because of the power plans and the power tweaks incorporated. The power-on password is the bios password which is outside of the operating system and the Windows power options and power management tweaks will not work here.

So disabling the power-on password is the route to go as you experienced no problems with it. Anyway nobody can get into the computer without your Windows login password.

If this helps, to simply say thanks, please click the "Thumbs Up" button to give me a Kudos to appreciate my efforts to help. If this helps, please mark this as “Accepted Solution” as it will help several others with the same issue to get it resolved without hassles.

Take care and have a blessed year ahead and stay healthy 🙂

 Cheers!

[The_Rev]

Thanks. It is more secure with the power on password set. So I maintain that HP should have incorporated a time out in the BIOS.

But I see your point that if the experience with using the password is broken, don't use it!!

[DavidSMP]

@The_Rev,

Thanks for the reply. This is by design. You need to disable the power-on password for it to work correctly Otherwise it may harm the computer in the long run. I am being honest here by keeping your best interest in mind.

Take care and have a blessed week ahead.