HP Probook 4320s - Frequent crash / freezing randomly

You're welcome. Look forward to finding out how the system responds with those changes made.

Time to report back:- I got almost a full days use from the machine with no crashes. Then decided to watch dvd with Win Media Player, and within 3-4 minutes it had crashed and needed top be restarted with the power button.

I reloaded & tried to watch it again, and got probably about 15 minutes in, and then the same.

Anyfurther advice much appreciated!

Thank you.

May still be an application or service conflict: Troubleshoot Application Conflicts by Performing a Clean Startup

Just ried the clean startup as per instructions. Put a dvd in an let it play while I was doing other things, and hey presto, within 25 minutes it has just crashed...

It's so frustrating as the laptop is less than 12 months old and came installed with Win 7 - if I was still in the UK I would just send it back to the company that it was purchased from, no such luck in Africa!!

Thanks again for helping, it feels like you're my only hope to get a working laptop again!

Any suggestions on what I should try next would be greatly received.

I left it to it's own devices, not restarting it with the power button, and it came back to life after about 5 minutes. I then tried putting the Orange mobile Modem in and accessing the internet, within 2-3 minutes it had crashed again.

I removed the modem and left it, it has just come back to life after another 5 minutes or so.

This is really driving me crackers, the amount of time that this is consuming...

As I am typing (on a different laptop, of course...) it has just crashed again while doing nothing but playing a dvd.

Can you describe exactly what it does when it crashes? This seems like very strange behavior...

Also, please upload the .evtx file and LocaleMetaData folder compressed into .zip folder. Now that there is a clean startup, the problem may be more evident.

When it crashes everything just stops. It happens a lot whilst watching dvd's (originals, no copies/pirates etc). When the film stops, it will keep one scene of the film on screen, and constantly loop about 2 seconds of audio, 'I'll get you... I'll get you... I'll get you' etc, for as long as the laptop is left untouched.

Nothing else works, not start menu, not other programs that are open. I usuall try CTRL ALT DLT, which brings up a black screen and the cursor.

Sometimes, pressing escape will take me back to the frozen screen, but still unable to do anything. Sometimes pressing escape will just take the cursor away and do nothing else.

Sometimes, it will resurrect itself if left (as per above posts), sometimes it will stay 'crashed' until turned off with the power button.

Latest zip file should be attached...

Code:

Microsoft Antimalware Real-Time Protection feature has encountered an error and failed.
 	Feature: Behavior Monitoring
 	Error Code: 0x80004005
 	Error description: Unspecified error 
 	Reason: The filter driver requires an up-to-date engine in order to function. You must install the latest definition updates in order to enable real-time protection.

Did you disable Microsoft Security Essentials when you did the clean startup? If so, see if enabling it helps. It seems to be complaining a bit.


Have you tried blowing the dust out of the system? Dust accumulates pretty fast in some environments, and should be blown out at least once every six months in all environments (I do mine once every three months).

To remove dust, follow the subsequent general procedure. If you have a desktop bought from Dell, HP, Sony, Lenovo, etc. make sure removing the desktop casing will not void your warranty first. Call the company if you are still under warranty and ask if it is okay to remove the casing and blow dust out. The procedure described is fine for laptops; just make sure no stickers are on panels saying if you remove the panel it will void the warranty.

1. Shut down and turn off your computer.
2. Unplug all power supplies to the computer (AC Power then battery for laptops, AC power for desktops)
3. Hold down the power button for 30 seconds to close the circuit and ensure all power drains from components.
4. Remove the casing for a desktop, or remove any screwed on panels and disc drives for laptops.
5. Blow out the dust inside by using a can of compressed air or a low pressure compressor. You will want to put the computer on a desk or table so you can maintain the can in an upright position if using a can of air. Blow into all crevices on the motherboard, heat sinks, cards, modules, etc. for a desktop. Blow into vents, opened panels, disc drive areas, USB ports, and the keyboard if it is a laptop. You may also want to blow inside the disc drive by replacing the drive to the laptop, starting the computer, opening the drive, and then turning off the computer and removing all power as described above including the 30 second power button step. For a desktop, you may also want to blow inside the disc drive by starting the computer, opening the drive, and then turning off the computer and removing all power as described above including the 30 second power button step.
6. Replace casing for the desktop. Replace panels and disc drive (if you have not already done so) for the laptop.
7. Plug power supplies in. AC adapter for the desktop. Battery and then AC Adapter for the laptop.
8. Start the computer and see if performance is better.

Yes, it was disbaled when I did the clean start up. I turned it back on just before I tried to access the internet.

Thanks for the advice about the dust. Do you really think it could be something as simple as that? Especially as the problem has been happening after just a few weeks of owning it?

One other option that I had was installing Vista, I have a copy of it that I own with me on dvd. It's incredibly frustrating as I'd like to be able to use Windows 7, especially as I have bought it, but I just need the lap top to be functioning.

In your experience, do you think that would work? (I think I'd have to download all of the Vista drivers, which again would take ages with the internet connection here, which I wouldn't want to do unless I was confident that it would work)

Thanks again for your help

I did not realize your problem went that far back. That is unfortunate. When you said it happened soon after leaving, I did not realize that the laptop was basically new when it started. There are two simple things to try that have not yet been done, and then we will move on to hardware tests.

1. Go into your BIOS and load default settings to clear the CMOS memory.
2. Save Settings and exit the BIOS.
3. Shut down and turn off the computer.
4. Unplug the computer from the wall or surge protector (then remove the battery if it is a laptop).
5. Hold down the power button for 30 seconds. This closes the circuit and ensures all power from components is drained to clear the software connections between the BIOS and hardware and clear any corruption in the temporary memory.
6. (If it is a laptop, plug the battery back into the laptop and then) Plug the computer back into the wall.
7. Turn it on to reinitialize the software connections between the BIOS and hardware, and post back your results.