Laptop randomly crashes on battery

[S_rao]

My HP Spectre laptop randomly crashes when I use it on battery. There is no blue screen, no warning, the screen goes blank, and the laptop turns off. After that, the power button remains unresponsive until the laptop is plugged in to charge. 

It's not sleeping/hibernating because all applications quit as well. This does not happen while on battery, however. 

For some context, this laptop had blue screen issues when I first got it, and the motherboard was replaced to fix those issues. After getting it back from repair, this problem has been happening. 

Event viewer shows "The speed of processor X in group 0 is being limited by system firmware. The processor has been in this reduced performance state for 71 seconds since the last report." right before crashing. 

CPU temperatures hovers around 60 to 70 C while browsing the web and watching videos, I don't do anything else.

How can I fix this?

[Garp_senchau]

@S_rao, Welcome to HP Support Community,

Thank you for posting your query; I’m here to help by guiding you through steps to resolve this issue

It seems like your HP Spectre x360 is encountering a significant issue with power management, likely related to the system firmware, and possibly exacerbated by the repair involving the motherboard replacement. The specific message you're seeing in Event Viewer about the CPU being limited by system firmware points to a possible issue with thermal throttling, power management, or firmware settings.

Here are some steps you can follow to troubleshoot and potentially fix this issue:

Update BIOS and Firmware

Since the error message suggests that the processor is being limited by system firmware, the first thing you should do is ensure that your BIOS and firmware are up to date. 

Refer to this guide to update the BIOS: HP Consumer Notebook PCs - Updating the BIOS (Basic Input Output System) (Windows) | HP® Support

Update Drivers

Go to Device Manager (right-click the Start button > Device Manager).

Expand the Processors and Batteries categories.

Right-click on each entry and select "Update driver."

Alternatively, download the HP Smart assistant, as it will automatically install/update the best drivers for your unit.

Check Power Settings

Go to Control Panel > Power Options and ensure you are using the recommended power plan.

Click Change plan settings for your selected plan and then Change advanced power settings.

In the advanced settings, check the processor power management options (like Minimum processor state and Maximum processor state) to ensure they're not set too aggressively low.

Battery Settings:

Go to Settings > System > Power & Battery > Additional power settings.

Ensure that the laptop is set to not perform any aggressive power-saving measures when running on battery.

Perform a Battery Health Check

It’s worth checking the health of your laptop battery, especially since it seems to be crashing when running on battery power.

Open HP Support Assistant

Check the Battery section for any issues related to battery health. If the battery shows signs of degradation, it may need to be replaced.

Check for Thermal Issues

Although your CPU temperatures are within normal ranges (60-70°C), sometimes thermal throttling or cooling issues can cause instability. To test this:

Make sure the laptop’s cooling vents are not blocked by dust or debris.

Reinstall Windows (if needed)

If none of the above resolves the issue, it’s possible that some system files were corrupted during the motherboard replacement or as a result of driver conflicts. A clean reinstall of Windows 11 might help.

Before proceeding, make sure to back up your important data.

You can reset or reinstall Windows by going to Settings > System > Recovery > Reset this PC.

Reference: HP PCs - Using Microsoft System Restore | HP® Support, HP PCs - Software recovery options (Windows 11 and Windows 10) | HP® Support

I hope this helps.

Please feel free to reply here if you have any questions or if you need further clarification on any of the steps. 

Take care and have a good day. 

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Regards,