Laptop problems, Slow and malfunctioning

Kshro · Sep 18, 2013

Hello,
I've been having some problems with my Asus laptop lately, I'll try to explain the problems as detailed as possible:

Specs:
Asus n71jq
Windows® 7 Home Premium
Intel Core i7 720QM
1,6GHz
Radeon Mobility HD5730
4GB RAM
DDR3 (SODIMM)
(Not sure if there's anything else I should list here)

So here are the problems:
-It takes forever to start up and get ready for use (Literally 10 minutes)
-It shuts down every now and then (Not cause of the heat)
-At certain websites it freezes up for approx. 1-2min (likeWallbase , and by loading this forum)
-I can barely run games on lowest settings on fullscreen cause of the lag it produces, however I should be able to play them without problems.
-Sometimes it randomly stops random USB ports from working

Today when I tried to start up, it wouldn't even turn on, I had to remove my battery in order to even be able to turn it on.

I've reinstalled windows 7 recently and cleaned the fan, I think it's a hardware failure however I have no idea how to find out what it is.

A few months ago I sent it to Asus for repairs, all they did was clean the fan and they installed a new copy of windows on it. Which didn't solve anything and took them a month (Which is the reason I'd rather not do that again + warranty doesn't cover it anymore)

Any help would be appreciated.

Regards,
Kshro

dextermat · Sep 18, 2013

Hi,

-Sometimes it randomly stops random USB ports from working

Sounds like a mobo failure You have to explain that to them and send it back to repairs.

-I can barely run games on lowest settings on fullscreen cause of the lag it produces, however I should be able to play them without problems.

What games you try to play ?

Kshro · Sep 18, 2013

dextermat :

Thanks for your reply,

I honestly couldn't care less about the USB port, i have a bunch of others which work just fine (Misstyped, sorry, there's only 1 port that keeps stopping for some reason)

I'm trying to play games like Skyrim, Fallout New Vegas, Payday2 etc. I know for sure that I've been able to play Skyrim without a problem before all this started happening

Deus Gladiorum · Sep 18, 2013

Kshro :

Hm, quite a predicament. Well, get ready for a potential slew of testing.

Are you positive the issue isn't overheating? The best way to test this if you haven't done so already is by using Hardware Monitor:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

Check the temps of all your parts and post it as an image (or list them) here.

If it turns out that there really isn't an overheating issue, than perhaps you have a failing hard drive or memory stick. I'm alerted to this mostly because of the start up times and freezing. First thing to test is your memory with Memtest86. Make sure you have a USB or a blank DVD (or a floppy) to install this on, as it won't run from your hard drive. For memtest, the number of passes you should allow it to test for is really up to your discretion and many people say they go for testing at intervals of 72 hours at a time. However, since the potential issue is just a completely disfunctional memory stick, it should detect any problems immediately, so for this I'd recommend you test for around 1-2 hours (or perhaps 1 pass).
http://www.memtest86.com/download.htm

If that doesn't work then we need to check your HDD. I've never personally done any HDD diagnostics, but from what I've heard HDD Scan is pretty reliable. Just use the SMART test to test the health of it, and perhaps do a benchmark with it as well to ensure performance is alright.
http://hddscan.com/

And finally, if all that still fails, then we might be looking at a dead CPU. The best way to test this, at least in my opinion, is Prime95. Prime95, like MemTest86, just hammers away at your CPU to see if it's stable. Since we're potentially dealing with a dysfunctional CPU, and not one that's merely unstable, you can also expect to use Prime95 for around 1-2 hours. If any "workers" fail within that time, then that might be the issue. If your PC BSOD's during that time, then it's definitely the issue. When you begin the tests, just select "Small FFTs" at the prompt.
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/

I'm pretty positive that during all this, you should find the issue. It's all free. But, if after all that testing nothing's failed, then you're probably looking at a defective motherboard.

Kshro · Sep 18, 2013

Deus Gladiorum :

Kshro :

Hm, quite a predicament. Well, get ready for a potential slew of testing.

Are you positive the issue isn't overheating? The best way to test this if you haven't done so already is by using Hardware Monitor:
http://www.cpuid.com/softwares/hwmonitor.html

Check the temps of all your parts and post it as an image (or list them) here.

If it turns out that there really isn't an overheating issue, than perhaps you have a failing hard drive or memory stick. I'm alerted to this mostly because of the start up times and freezing. First thing to test is your memory with Memtest86. Make sure you have a USB or a blank DVD (or a floppy) to install this on, as it won't run from your hard drive. For memtest, the number of passes you should allow it to test for is really up to your discretion and many people say they go for testing at intervals of 72 hours at a time. However, since the potential issue is just a completely disfunctional memory stick, it should detect any problems immediately, so for this I'd recommend you test for around 1-2 hours (or perhaps 1 pass).
http://www.memtest86.com/download.htm

If that doesn't work then we need to check your HDD. I've never personally done any HDD diagnostics, but from what I've heard HDD Scan is pretty reliable. Just use the SMART test to test the health of it, and perhaps do a benchmark with it as well to ensure performance is alright.
http://hddscan.com/

And finally, if all that still fails, then we might be looking at a dead CPU. The best way to test this, at least in my opinion, is Prime95. Prime95, like MemTest86, just hammers away at your CPU to see if it's stable. Since we're potentially dealing with a dysfunctional CPU, and not one that's merely unstable, you can also expect to use Prime95 for around 1-2 hours. If any "workers" fail within that time, then that might be the issue. If your PC BSOD's during that time, then it's definitely the issue. When you begin the tests, just select "Small FFTs" at the prompt.
http://www.mersenne.org/freesoft/

I'm pretty positive that during all this, you should find the issue. It's all free. But, if after all that testing nothing's failed, then you're probably looking at a defective motherboard.

Hi, thanks for your reply
Apparently it is actually overheating a bit, after shutting down most applications, leaving only chrome and hwmonitor running, the temps remained around 70 degrees celsius as you can see here: http://db.tt/xsNigpzF
I've cleaned the fan literally a month or 2 ago so I doubt that's the problem here

Going to run the other tests now, I'll post updates in here

No results on memtest86, After 1 pass there were no errors.

Next up: HDD scan

Alright HDD scan actually showed up something: http://db.tt/efMXVcaB

I'm not sure what to do with this, any suggestions?

Kshro · Sep 18, 2013

Bump

So there's this potential overheating problem and the error that HDD scan gave me (Previous post)

Running the CPU stress test with Prime95 right now, it's been going for a while and my laptop's already up at 95 degrees celsius

Edit: I just remembered I had a blue screen like a few weeks ago, maybe it'll come in handy?
______________________________________________

Code:

Problem signature:
  Problem Event Name:	BlueScreen
  OS Version:	6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
  Locale ID:	1033

Additional information about the problem:
  BCCode:	116
  BCP1:	FFFFFA800B7C44E0
  BCP2:	FFFFF88009121CF0
  BCP3:	0000000000000000
  BCP4:	0000000000000002
  OS Version:	6_1_7600
  Service Pack:	0_0
  Product:	768_1

Files that help describe the problem:
  C:\Windows\Minidump\080913-561728-01.dmp
  C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-915991-0.sysdata.xml

______________________________________________
Are those files of any use? Should I post them?
ps: cpu is up to 99 degrees celsius, Prime95 has been running for 90 minutes now.

Starting to think this is going to cost me a lot of money

Edit: Prime95 didn't do anything either

Deus Gladiorum · Sep 18, 2013

Kshro :

Bump

So there's this potential overheating problem and the error that HDD scan gave me (Previous post)

Running the CPU stress test with Prime95 right now, it's been going for a while and my laptop's already up at 95 degrees celsius

Edit: I just remembered I had a blue screen like a few weeks ago, maybe it'll come in handy?
______________________________________________

Code:

Problem signature:
  Problem Event Name:	BlueScreen
  OS Version:	6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
  Locale ID:	1033

Additional information about the problem:
  BCCode:	116
  BCP1:	FFFFFA800B7C44E0
  BCP2:	FFFFF88009121CF0
  BCP3:	0000000000000000
  BCP4:	0000000000000002
  OS Version:	6_1_7600
  Service Pack:	0_0
  Product:	768_1

Files that help describe the problem:
  C:\Windows\Minidump\080913-561728-01.dmp
  C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-915991-0.sysdata.xml

______________________________________________
Are those files of any use? Should I post them?
ps: cpu is up to 99 degrees celsius, Prime95 has been running for 90 minutes now.

Starting to think this is going to cost me a lot of money

Edit: Prime95 didn't do anything either

Damn, I hate it when I don't receive an email notification regarding a reply -_-

Anyway, woah, at idle your temps are in the 70's? It's quite possible that that's the problem, and that could most certainly account for at least one of the symptoms (shutting down on its own). How old is it exactly? Because if it's close to or more than a year old, you might have some dried thermal paste that needs to be replaced. The cost of replacing thermal paste is as much as a $8 tube of it and some 99% isopropyl alcohol and lint-free coffee filters for cleaning. It's not expensive to do at all. The problem is the difficulty involved. For a desktop, it's an easy process because of how desktops are built around customization. For a laptop, you might luck out and have a laptop that has an accessible CPU Heatsink just by taking off a panel on the bottom... or you may have to disassemble the whole thing completely in order to reach the Heat Sink. For the record, as intimidating as it is, I've been faced with that latter laptop in the past and had to make a complete disassembly to apply the thermal paste, and it was only my first time ripping apart a laptop before (with the expectation of putting it back together anyway). For me, it was a 2-3 hour job, but I got it done and it was in completely functional order when I pieced it back together. However, it's perfectly understandable if you find the task a little too daunting, in which case you can find someone to do it for you perhaps in the sub-$50 range depending on who you go to and how you know them. Even if this isn't the direct problem for everything, it'll certainly help to keep those temps low.

As for the HDD, I looked up the error. First thing I must do is apologize. As I said, testing HDD's isn't something I had experience with, but I did a little more research. Sorry, but what you'll actually want to download is HD Tune. It's a more accurate version of HDD Scan, even if you just get the trial.
http://www.hdtune.com/download.html
Install it, go to the "health" tab, and see if the same warning is present for Interface CRC Error count. If you do see a status listed other than "ok", then pay attention to the numbers listed under "data". Take note of the numeric value of "data" for "Interface CRC Error Count", minimize HD Tune (but do not quit it) and then do some random tasks on your computer. For example, access a few images from random files you find in your picture library. Then, go back to HD Tune, click the "update" button (assuming it hasn't updated by itself) and check the numeric value again. If the value has increased, read on as we've confirmed that your problem is related to your Hard Drive's ability to transmit data to the motherboard. If it has not increased, then your HDD is probably fine and you only have to focus on the temperature problem mentioned above.

If the number has increased, it basically means there's problems with your Hard Drive communicating with the motherboard, and consequently your computer as a whole. The apparent most common problem for this is a faulty SATA cable (the cable that connects your HDD to your motherboard), though the other issue might be the motherboard's SATA controller (the piece of the motherboard that regulates devices attached via a SATA interface). If your SATA cable is easily replaceable and you have another one in the house then replace the cable and run the test again. If the same results appear, then the motherboard's SATA controller might be going haywire. If you can't replace the SATA cable, then at the very least make sure it's firmly in place and run the test again. Post here what you find from these results.

Kshro · Sep 19, 2013

Deus Gladiorum :

Kshro :

Bump

So there's this potential overheating problem and the error that HDD scan gave me (Previous post)

Running the CPU stress test with Prime95 right now, it's been going for a while and my laptop's already up at 95 degrees celsius

Edit: I just remembered I had a blue screen like a few weeks ago, maybe it'll come in handy?
______________________________________________

Code:

Problem signature:
  Problem Event Name:	BlueScreen
  OS Version:	6.1.7600.2.0.0.768.3
  Locale ID:	1033

Additional information about the problem:
  BCCode:	116
  BCP1:	FFFFFA800B7C44E0
  BCP2:	FFFFF88009121CF0
  BCP3:	0000000000000000
  BCP4:	0000000000000002
  OS Version:	6_1_7600
  Service Pack:	0_0
  Product:	768_1

Files that help describe the problem:
  C:\Windows\Minidump\080913-561728-01.dmp
  C:\Users\John\AppData\Local\Temp\WER-915991-0.sysdata.xml

______________________________________________
Are those files of any use? Should I post them?
ps: cpu is up to 99 degrees celsius, Prime95 has been running for 90 minutes now.

Starting to think this is going to cost me a lot of money

Edit: Prime95 didn't do anything either

Damn, I hate it when I don't receive an email notification regarding a reply -_-

Anyway, woah, at idle your temps are in the 70's? It's quite possible that that's the problem, and that could most certainly account for at least one of the symptoms (shutting down on its own). How old is it exactly? Because if it's close to or more than a year old, you might have some dried thermal paste that needs to be replaced. The cost of replacing thermal paste is as much as a $8 tube of it and some 99% isopropyl alcohol and lint-free coffee filters for cleaning. It's not expensive to do at all. The problem is the difficulty involved. For a desktop, it's an easy process because of how desktops are built around customization. For a laptop, you might luck out and have a laptop that has an accessible CPU Heatsink just by taking off a panel on the bottom... or you may have to disassemble the whole thing completely in order to reach the Heat Sink. For the record, as intimidating as it is, I've been faced with that latter laptop in the past and had to make a complete disassembly to apply the thermal paste, and it was only my first time ripping apart a laptop before (with the expectation of putting it back together anyway). For me, it was a 2-3 hour job, but I got it done and it was in completely functional order when I pieced it back together. However, it's perfectly understandable if you find the task a little too daunting, in which case you can find someone to do it for you perhaps in the sub-$50 range depending on who you go to and how you know them. Even if this isn't the direct problem for everything, it'll certainly help to keep those temps low.

As for the HDD, I looked up the error. First thing I must do is apologize. As I said, testing HDD's isn't something I had experience with, but I did a little more research. Sorry, but what you'll actually want to download is HD Tune. It's a more accurate version of HDD Scan, even if you just get the trial.
http://www.hdtune.com/download.html
Install it, go to the "health" tab, and see if the same warning is present for Interface CRC Error count. If you do see a status listed other than "ok", then pay attention to the numbers listed under "data". Take note of the numeric value of "data" for "Interface CRC Error Count", minimize HD Tune (but do not quit it) and then do some random tasks on your computer. For example, access a few images from random files you find in your picture library. Then, go back to HD Tune, click the "update" button (assuming it hasn't updated by itself) and check the numeric value again. If the value has increased, read on as we've confirmed that your problem is related to your Hard Drive's ability to transmit data to the motherboard. If it has not increased, then your HDD is probably fine and you only have to focus on the temperature problem mentioned above.

If the number has increased, it basically means there's problems with your Hard Drive communicating with the motherboard, and consequently your computer as a whole. The apparent most common problem for this is a faulty SATA cable (the cable that connects your HDD to your motherboard), though the other issue might be the motherboard's SATA controller (the piece of the motherboard that regulates devices attached via a SATA interface). If your SATA cable is easily replaceable and you have another one in the house then replace the cable and run the test again. If the same results appear, then the motherboard's SATA controller might be going haywire. If you can't replace the SATA cable, then at the very least make sure it's firmly in place and run the test again. Post here what you find from these results.

HDTune did indeed list that error, though the number under Data stays at 1, no matter what I do.
I'll go and buy some thermal paste and open up my laptop (Did it before to clean the fan, I have remove every single part to get to it)
I'll also check whether the SATA is properly connected while I'm at it, though I doubt that doing these 2 things will solve the problem?

Anyways, thanks again for your reply, I'll report back as soon as i replaced the thermal paste

Edit: Ordered the paste online, should have it in a day or 2

ps: I'm still 100% sure that the shutdowns weren't caused by the heat, they just randomly happened while watching a youtube video for example (Haven't had a random shutdown in a while though)

Kshro · Sep 19, 2013

Davidchase :

I've ran chkdsk a few weeks ago, didn't turn up with anything

Running sfc.exe right now, updating this post in a second

Edit: No results

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