Hard freeze on VAIO

[Gipfeli]

i didn't know i had to boot it from DOS... so yeah, the iso on the DVD i burnt it onto worked... it says everything passed, however, it also told me to press ESC to exit, while i think it was still running... but it also said the test was completed... i'll run it again tonight...

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/2453623/IMG00007-20100206-1424.jpg

i had been hoping there'd be an error, but there isn't

 

[Gipfeli]

am i allowed to bump? i haven't read the stickies yet for this forum...

 

[Gipfeli]

bump

i've realised that his ONLY happens when i'm actually using the laptop... i leave the laptop on to play music and downloads for days and it doesn't happen...
usually freezes while i'm moving the cursor (i think)... it definitely has never happened while the laptop was idle...i'm baffled...

 

[Jonathan_King]

How many passes did you run?

 

[Gipfeli]

Hey Jonathan,

I did 7 passes over night and i haven't received a single error. How many am I supposed to run to get acceptable results? Also, there are configuration settings in memtest, would I need to do anything in there? It just happened again 5 minutes ago... this is very strange... I hope swapping the HDD will fix this?

 

[Jonathan_King]

5 passes is usually plenty for that amount of RAM.

I see nobody has recommended a system files check yet. Open an elevated command prompt and enter sfc /scannow.

That will scan for bad system files and attempt repairs.

 

[Gipfeli]

hi again!

OK, i just ran sfc /scannow in the elevated cmd...

First time I tried to copy the log, but I accidentally closed it. There was one error that was concerning my Windows 7 theme. I patched 3-4 dll files in order to get a custom basic theme, since i am unable to run an aero theme... i first didn't know what the error was... I only noticed it upon restart, which is when I saw the original basic theme restored again...

I doubt that the modified dll files make my laptop freeze? i ran it the 2nd time after the repair and nothing...

 

[karlsnooks]

Extremly likely that you have a heat problem.

Be sure that you are truly putting the laptop on your lap. In other words, check where the air vents are and do not block them.

In a perfectly quite room, can you hear the fan? If not, you are off to the repair shop.

Turn on the air-conditioner in a room and get the temp really cold. Now run your laptop. If there are no freezes or the time to the first freeze is much longer then you have a heat problem.

Contact the mfg of your laptop and inquire if there have been heat-related problems with your model.

 

[Jonathan_King]

To test for a heat problem, download SpeedFan and look at the temperatures.

 

[Gipfeli]

Extremly likely that you have a heat problem.

Be sure that you are truly putting the laptop on your lap. In other words, check where the air vents are and do not block them.

In a perfectly quite room, can you hear the fan? If not, you are off to the repair shop.

Turn on the air-conditioner in a room and get the temp really cold. Now run your laptop. If there are no freezes or the time to the first freeze is much longer then you have a heat problem.

Contact the mfg of your laptop and inquire if there have been heat-related problems with your model.

i think this makes sense since the laptop starts heating when the laptop is on my lap... and freezing only happens when i'm using the laptop... there's only 1 sidevent present in the back, and a few on the bottom... the fan is working fine, i'm sure of that... i hear it blowing whenever there's high demands, as in CPU = 100% or HD resolution videos which it can't display anyway...

i'll check on sony's website and hopefully i find someone with my model... it's an old model, but i'm just not giving up on it... i'm too used with the hardware on this one...

thanks!

To test for a heat problem, download SpeedFan and look at the temperatures.

yes, i just downloaded it and ran it...

HD0: 37 C
Temp1: 67 C

looks like I can't manually turn on the fan then... that's stupid...

oh btw, the laptop usually gets MUCH hotter than this when i leave it on my bed without the ventilator on the bottom and it would still work... this happens a lot of times when i forget to put it on colder surfaces... i'm sure the laptop has worked before when it was melting hot... :devil::devil::devil::devil::devil:

 

[karlsnooks]

Ah yes, the old laptop on the bed problem. Get yourself something like one of those trays for putting food on when you're served breakfast in bed ( you're wife does do that for you right) and put your laptop on the tray.

karl'

 

[Gipfeli]

haha yeah... not yet married, but the wife will one day bring anything that i desire on that tray... probably one of the best inventions ever...
but now i'm a bit baffled, because at times, the laptop does get much hotter than during the point it freezes... shouldn't it always freeze when it's REALLY hot? i also remember my cousin's alienware had ventilation problems, but the way it would die by immediate shutdown, as if someone pulled the plug on it... i didn't know the temperature would cause hard freezes...

are the temperatures i provided no good?

 

[bacman]

Sony coded bioses are CRAP, they show nothing and also give no options.
Sony does not release any code whatsoever.

try memtes86 on to check your ram, there used to be some "general" motherboard info programs that can get info from your boar (voltages, temperatures, etc) dont know if they work with sony stuff but worth a try.

when your vaio freezes touch it and try to feel if any part of it seems too hot.

 

[Gipfeli]

Sony coded bioses are CRAP, they show nothing and also give no options.
Sony does not release any code whatsoever.

try memtes86 on to check your ram, there used to be some "general" motherboard info programs that can get info from your boar (voltages, temperatures, etc) dont know if they work with sony stuff but worth a try.

when your vaio freezes touch it and try to feel if any part of it seems too hot.

i've realised that sony would encode/decrypt information from us in some sort... i ran memtest86 earlier as suggested, but all i remember from it was passes vs errors...
what parameters would i have to read? i dont remember temperature and voltages being displayed but i do remember some configurations that i could tweak.. however, i don't know anything about that program...
thanks...

 

[FZ21Z]

HD0: 37 C
Temp1: 67 C

If that's your normal running temperature, and you say it runs hotter than that, I'd get it opened up and cleaned out, as I suspect as others have that that is your issue.

 

[bacman]

about memtest86, im not proficient or anything but when you boot memtest86 it starts testing imedialtly, all I usualy do is wait for a complete run (usualy takes 30 mins) and check if it has NO ERRORS. 1 single ram error is fatal to the entire system.

As the program itself goes, it has a status area (top part of the screen) where you can see the amount of ram, type, speed, current test, current pass etc...
and the bottom part where it lists the errors.

RAM maping is completely random, as such the error can occur anywhere, anytime while you use your computer.

this type of errors ALLWAYS qualifies for warranty (given you're still within the warranty period).

Anyways a good tip is, whenever buying a new pc, new ram, (or eve old) allways run a memory scan just for the sake of it...

Side note: Even if you do find a ram error it might not be the only problem so the thing to do is replace the bad ram (if you got more than 1 module remove 1 and rerun memtest untill you find the offender ) and take that possibility out of the way.

but from all that has been said here the problem must lie withing bad ram or overheating system.

 

[bacman]

HD0: 37 C
Temp1: 67 C

If that's your normal running temperature, and you say it runs hotter than that, I'd get it opened up and cleaned out, as I suspect as others have that that is your issue.

Yep, be especialy carefull with the cpu fan as those things are fragile... use a very soft dry brush.

another thing is thay the fan may be broken, you may need to replace it (do you hear it working lately?)

 

[FZ21Z]

Just found this for you - Cleaning dust from overheating vaio (VGN FS315E)

The attachment is taken from the site, and looks pretty similar as to what I took out of mine after a couple of years use. Notice the rectangle shaped bulk of the dust, well that looks like what I removed from mine, which blocked the whole main vent, and being as dense as it is it's no wonder why they get so hot.

There are few other guides but that is the best free one I could find, and it looks a hell of a lot easier taking yours apart than it did mine. If you don't have the confidence to do it, take it to a shop, and tell them all you need is it cleaning out.

 

[Gipfeli]

HD0: 37 C
Temp1: 67 C

If that's your normal running temperature, and you say it runs hotter than that, I'd get it opened up and cleaned out, as I suspect as others have that that is your issue.

well, that's the normal running temperature when i put it on the desk... but i'm saying that it used to run much hotter because I accidentally forgot that I had the laptop on the bed and it would overheat, however, still run fine and not freeze at all... that's why I was a bit confused about why it wouldn't freeze if it overheats...

about memtest86, im not proficient or anything but when you boot memtest86 it starts testing imedialtly, all I usualy do is wait for a complete run (usualy takes 30 mins) and check if it has NO ERRORS. 1 single ram error is fatal to the entire system.

As the program itself goes, it has a status area (top part of the screen) where you can see the amount of ram, type, speed, current test, current pass etc...
and the bottom part where it lists the errors.

RAM maping is completely random, as such the error can occur anywhere, anytime while you use your computer.

this type of errors ALLWAYS qualifies for warranty (given you're still within the warranty period).

Anyways a good tip is, whenever buying a new pc, new ram, (or eve old) allways run a memory scan just for the sake of it...

Side note: Even if you do find a ram error it might not be the only problem so the thing to do is replace the bad ram (if you got more than 1 module remove 1 and rerun memtest untill you find the offender ) and take that possibility out of the way.

but from all that has been said here the problem must lie withing bad ram or overheating system.

i've ran 7 trials the other times and have returned 7 passes, no errors whatsoever... somebody told me 7 passes is enough for the amount of ram I have, so i dont think it the ram... plus, my laptop's outta warranty... got this thing since either 2006 or 2007... it's Vista compatible, but I never ran that OS... not sure if it would've acted the same...

HD0: 37 C
Temp1: 67 C

If that's your normal running temperature, and you say it runs hotter than that, I'd get it opened up and cleaned out, as I suspect as others have that that is your issue.

Yep, be especialy carefull with the cpu fan as those things are fragile... use a very soft dry brush.

another thing is thay the fan may be broken, you may need to replace it (do you hear it working lately?)

I'll do that tonight and see how much mud I can get out of this thing... it's becoming heavier from day to another

Just found this for you - Cleaning dust from overheating vaio (VGN FS315E)

The attachment is taken from the site, and looks pretty similar as to what I took out of mine after a couple of years use. Notice the rectangle shaped bulk of the dust, well that looks like what I removed from mine, which blocked the whole main vent, and being as dense as it is it's no wonder why they get so hot.

There are few other guides but that is the best free one I could find, and it looks a hell of a lot easier taking yours apart than it did mine. If you don't have the confidence to do it, take it to a shop, and tell them all you need is it cleaning out.

thanks mate... will give that a try... although I once found a DIY for my specific model.. hope it's still somewhere out there...

thanks all for the help... will be cleaning this badboy out... maybe take some pictures if it's any interesting...

 

[Gipfeli]

OK, well... i opened this what i used to call badass and cleaned out whatever i could... the fan had nothing but a thin layer of microdust and there was no dust clogging between the air vents... I managed to get about 6-7 dustballs out (the size of saltcorns) but that's about it... i expected to get so much more out of this thing since I've had this thing running in fairly dusty area, but virtually nothing was in there!

What now?!?