Compaq Pressario CQ62 notebook screen keeps freezing

[Guildedwings]

*UPDATE*
After doing research it turns out that my notebook PC has some kind of "hard hang" issue in which my laptop becomes unresponsive. 7/24/13

*Update*
So apparently the only time my notebook DOESN'T freeze is when my laptop gets hot, but when my laptop isn't getting warm that's when it starts to become unresponsive/crash. 7/31/13

I've owned a Compaq Pressario CQ62-225NR notebook for almost 3 years now and I've haven't had any problems with the laptop until now. While I was on vacation in Rhode Island the laptop would freeze/crash about 5-20 minuets in use and I immediately thought it was bad memory. When the laptop does crash/freeze I'm not able to move the mouse cursor nor does the lights on the caps lock,num lock, or scroll lock respond when I press their key. When I got back from Rhode Island I opened up the laptop's RAM slot, took out the memory, re-seated the memory, and started up my laptop. Same thing happened, so this time I tried to re-arrange the memory and even use other memory from my other laptops and still kept on crashing. I took the original RAM for the laptop, put it back in, and ran a memory diagnostics.

After finishing the memory diagnostics it showed that there was nothing wrong with the Laptop memory whatsoever. I then re-booted my laptop and used some of the HP diagnostics that you can use when you hit esc during boot-up and ran a full diagnostic on the laptop. The diagnostics showed that everything was working properly and I then immediately thought that I had a bad version of Windows so I backed-up my files and did a system restore. Even with the system restore my laptop still kept on crashing/freezing so I then did a complete re-installation of Windows 7. I was surprised that the notebook didn't freezing during the installation but after I completed the installation and after I began using windows it still kept on crashing.

At this point it was starting to get intimidating so I thought that I probably have some kind of hard drive failure so I took out the hard drive and used a different hard drive with Windows 7 on it. Yet again, the laptop crashed. I then concluded that it wasn't a software issue since the laptop would even freeze/crash when I use Linux ubuntu/kubuntu/fedora/puppy/ and various other linux distributions. Since I used a different hard drive no software could be causing my laptop to crash/freeze and it had to be some kind of hardware issue not involving the memory or hard drive. At that point I tried reseting the bios back to it's default settings "even though I RARELY go to the bios" since I thought I might of went into the bios one day and set a setting that could be causing it to crash. After setting the bios to default, the laptop still kept on crashing/freezing during windows.

At that point I was down to my last option which was going to the Hewlett Packard website to scan my laptop for missing updates/drivers which could be causing my laptop to crash. After having it scan my laptop I was only missing 1 important bios update and a couple of new driver updates but even after installing though the notebook still keeps on crashing/freezing. I then went to the device manager to see if there were any updates on my laptop hardware such as sound/audio drivers and various others. I was able to update some but most were already up to date.

I'm really not sure what to do at this point, I've tried almost every solution possible with the people who have the same exact problem that I have but none seem to work. I'm not looking forward to bring my notebook PC to a computer repair shop so I'm on my last stand for this issue and posting this here on the forum. Please help thanks

EDIT: Also just to add if this helps, my laptop battery needs to be replace since sometimes on startup it mentions "Low battery capacity battery needs to be replaced.

 

[indianacarnie]

Does it always freeze/crash at the same approximate time? I mean like..... after running 5 minutes say? Or is it completely random? I'm "looking" at the graphics card myself. I'm sure its probably integrated in your machine which is not good news. I may be wrong though!

Welcome to the forums by the way!

 

[Guildedwings]

@indianacarnie

Well to answer your question it's really all at random. Sometimes my laptop freezes/crashes 20 minuets in, sometimes 10 minuets in, sometimes even 7 seconds after I log-in. Also aren't most laptops have their graphics card integrated on the motherboard? Could the graphics card be the problem? Thanks for the welcome by the way.

 

[gregrocker]

I would wipe the HD with Diskpart Clean Command from the installer's Command line, then get a perfect Clean Reinstall - Factory OEM Windows 7/

Since you've narrowed the problem to the install make sure to follow the steps closely as they pertain to drivers. Put your wireless driver in the backup so you can get online if itss not provided to do all rounds of Important and Optional Updates, after enabling Automatically deliver drivers via Windows Update (Step 3). When prompted for reboots go right back to Check for Updates until they are all installed. Only then should you import any missing drivers in Device Manager from the HP Support Downloads webpage.

Make sure to run for awhile after every step and every Program install to see if anything changes so you can pinpoint the cause. You'll have System Restore points from the Updates to fall back if the problem begins.

If the freezing continues right away so you can't pinpoint the cause then go over your install closely using Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7.

 

[Guildedwings]

@gregrocker

Thanks for the reply! Although I have done yet another clean reboo, got many of my HP essentials/driver updates, Windows 7 updates, etc. I'm still getting crashes/screen freezes at random points when I use my laptop. After doing research I believe the problem is that my laptop has a "hard hang" issue in which my notebook becomes unresponsive.

 

[Guildedwings]

Can anyone out there please help me? I've so far tried everything from the last 2 reply's but nothing seems to work? Problem is still not solved. Thanks!

 

[gregrocker]

I gave you a very specific set of steps to follow one at a time to do a diagnostic install to determine exactly when the freezing starts. You weren't to do anything except get online to run all rounds of Windows Updates with reboots until they were exhausted.

Only then were you to check Device Manager to see if any drivers needed to be imported from the OEM Support Downloads webpage.

Only then were you to start installing Programs starting with your browser, one at a time with enough time between each to see if it freezes.

The way you describe doing this is not as I sequenced it. If you didn't do it in the order I gave you exactly then I would do it over. Because you should be able to tell us exactly at what step the freezing starts happening otherwise.

 

[Guildedwings]

I gave you a very specific set of steps to follow one at a time to do a diagnostic install to determine exactly when the freezing starts. You weren't to do anything except get online to run all rounds of Windows Updates with reboots until they were exhausted.

Only then were you to check Device Manager to see if any drivers needed to be imported from the OEM Support Downloads webpage.

Only then were you to start installing Programs starting with your browser, one at a time with enough time between each to see if it freezes.

The way you describe doing this is not as I sequenced it. If you didn't do it in the order I gave you exactly then I would do it over. Because you should be able to tell us exactly at what step the freezing starts happening otherwise.

I have done what you have suggested in your reply IN ORDER. Yes I have completely wiped out my hard drive with the Diskpart command in cmd in the windows 7 installation cd. Yes I have done a complete reinstall of Windows 7. Yes I have updated my devices in Device Manager. Yes I have allowed Device Drivers and Information to be Installed in devices and printers. And lastly I have gone through many of the troubleshooting steps for windows 7 and still my laptop is unresponsive. All I'm asking "or meant to ask" from my previous post was if any other people here on the forum have any other solutions. I respect the fact that you have responded to my post and help me with my issue.

 

[DocBrown]

Could it be an overheating problem ? Many laptops have tiny exhaust fans to dissapate the heat from the tight narrow space of a laptop. Could the fan be dead ? Could the exhaust port be clogged with dust or dirt ?

 

[gregrocker]

It seems that you're skipping doing the Important and Optional Windows Updates which are to be done first. At least you mentioned the Device Manager first instead.

How soon and often does the freezing start after the reinstall?

Can you run a Linux Live CD to see if the freezing happens then too. This would confirm the problem is with hardware.

Did you complete the steps to check for overheating, test RAM and HD in Troubleshooting Steps for Windows 7?

 

[Guildedwings]

@gregrocker

Like I have said before. "I then concluded that it wasn't a software issue since the laptop would even freeze/crash when I use Linux ubuntu/kubuntu/fedora/puppy/ and various other Linux distributions.". Since it has crashed in my other Linux distributions yes it is a hardware issue. After the re-install of windows 7 it didn't freeze after using it for a half an hour. Once a half an hour went by I started doing the important Windows updates including the optional ones. After the updates that was when my computer started crashing. I should also mention that my laptop has become unresponsive when I re-installed Windows 7 before. As for the RAM and Hard drive. yes I have ran HP diagnostics on both of them when I press esc during boot-up and I have also done a memory test in the bios as well. As for overheating, I used to have an overheating problem before until I cleaned out my fan with a compressed air duster for computers but at the time my laptop was still freezing/crashing. Also ever since my laptop hasn't been getting hot to the point when it does overheat and if it ever does when I go to boot up it would even say that my laptop has shut down due to overheating. But rarely sometimes it would say that my battery is under low capacity and needs to be replaced.

 

[gregrocker]

If the overheating continues and can be pinpointed as a cause then I would consider repasting the processor. Chances are there may be a video for doing this for your model or product line via Google.

Until then check all cables and connections, run the full booted RAM Test with Memtest86+ for 5-6 passes or overnight, test your HD with the maker's HD Diagnostic extended CD scan followed by a full Disk Check.

Stress test your CPU - Stress Test with Prime95 - Windows 7 Forums.

See if the problem continues after removing the battery.

Have you had any crashes so you can have the crash minidump file analyzed in our Crashes forum which often pinpoints the cause: Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) Posting Instructions - Windows 7 Forums

 

[Guildedwings]

So apparently the only time my notebook DOESN'T freeze is when my laptop gets hot, but when my laptop isn't getting warm that's when it starts to become unresponsive/crash. It's been a while since I made this post and I want to see if anybody else out there has a solution to my problem. From now on whenever I would like to use my laptop I would have to run Prime95 since that's the only time when my PC doesn't crash.

 

[danmc]

Possible Alternative Solution

The issue you described is sometimes also caused by a monitor problem on the CQ62 and similar models. Basically the monitor stops responding and the screen appears to have crashed because it is basically a "frozen" image of a previous moment on the screen (i.e. the screen has not refreshed and is unresponsive). When this is the case, usually you can press on the monitor screen on an area an inch or two above the hinges and the screen will return to normal. Sometimes this same problem leads to a white screen until the screen is pressed/pushed on in the same way described above. Another test of this situation is when you attach an external monitor to your laptop. The external monitor should work normally while the laptop monitor is still malfunctioning. I know this is posted much after original post, but I hope it helps someone. I don't know of a permanent fix other than possibly monitor or monitor cable repair.