Laptop Shuts Down Frequently after new CPU upgrade (Need HELP ASAP) [SOLVED]

JayKamat · Sep 13, 2015

Well I have been using an Acer E1-531 Laptop provided by my college
Specs being:-
Processor : Intel Celeron B820 @1.7GHz
RAM : 2GB
OS : Windows 7 Professional (32-bit)

And i just wanted to see whether I could upgrade the laptop to enhance the performance so I could do more with it as it was very laggy. So I just did some research and decided to upgrade as follows:
Processor : Intel i5-2540M @2.6GHz (TurboBoost to 3.3GHz)
RAM : 16GB
OS : Windows 10 (64-bit)

As of now I have just received the new i5 processor that I had ordered and decided to replace it with my previous processor.
Everything went fine after the upgrade. My laptop automatically installed the new drivers for the CPU and it started running normally. But after sometime it just shutdown and this problem started recurring. Everytime when I used the laptop for a about 20-30min Idle or Working the laptop would just shut down.

I did some more research and came to learn that the chipset could be a problem. I really need someone to explain me what I have done wrong AND what I could still do to make it work (at all costs). As I have bought the new processor and don't want it to go to waste.

What I thought of : (May be Dumb)
1) Upgrading the laptop with all the components altogether so that the laptop performance overall is increased.

RektSkrubz · Sep 13, 2015

overheat

JayKamat · Sep 13, 2015

RektSkrubz :

I did feel it was overheating. I used the HWiNFO32 Program to check the temps and it did end up with red signatures. But when I checked in with the local computer repair shop he checked the laptop when it used to shut down and said overheat is not the problem. At that point I was really confused.

If overheat is the problem. Could I tweak some fan settings or something else to make sure the laptop doesn't shut down?

MarkW · Sep 13, 2015

Laptops are often designed very close to the edge when it comes to heat. Heat is the number one killer of processors. And anytime you have something that is so lacking in cooling abilities as most laptops are, and increase the heat production by putting a 4 core CPU in to replace a 2 core CPU, you are very, very likely to create problems.

And that is exactly what I think is going on.

If you want a computer that can handle a stronger CPU, build a desktop machine. They have full sized fans that can blow 20 times the air a laptop fan can push. And with that airflow and CPU coolers with their own fans, you can run a far more powerful CPU than even what you just bought, and a much more powerful GPU, and not overheat things.

JayKamat · Sep 13, 2015

MarkW :

Yeh that I know. But wanted to know if I could by any chance make modifications to my current laptop to make the above upgrade work.

Solandri · Sep 13, 2015

MarkW :

It's a mobile i5, which is a dual core. Not a quad core like a desktop i5.

Both CPUs have a 35 Watt TDP. TDP is Intel's recommendation for a cooling solution. So that's their way of saying both CPUs should work with the same cooling.

I agree the symptoms kinda sound like an overheating problem. But if it were overheating, you'd expect it to shutdown quicker when doing stuff than when idle. OP claims it's about the same time either way. Can you try measuring the CPU temps? Are you sure you didn't remove or knock off any thermal pads from other chips? Maybe it's not the CPU but something else that's overheating (20-30 min is a long time - the CPU should hit its steady state temp in less than a minute).

Normally I'd say make sure you have the latest BIOS. But in this case the new CPU is actually older than the original, so both should work with the same BIOS. Have you tried resetting the BIOS to default values?

JayKamat · Sep 13, 2015

Solandri :

Idk how to go about the BIOS solution.

And yes as you said according to the table in the following link

http://www.cpu-upgrade.com/CPUs/Intel/Mobile_Celeron_Dual-Core/B820.html

Both the processors should be compatible with the system working with it. This was the main reason I decided to upgrade my laptop in the first place. I am thinking of re-doing everything and placing the new processor back in. but just wanted to be sure that I am not doing anything wrong.

Also as you were saying wanted to know if any software changes could help me to make this upgrade work.

William Henrickson · Sep 13, 2015

If that computer line ever had a similar processor offered for more money, it'll be just fine being used in this laptop.

Check your thermal compound job since you swapped the CPU, too much and it'll run too hot, I hope you used some at all! I remember having an AMD laptop that was too hot, grinded smooth a copper penny to work as a spacer instead of that silly thermal pad, and it worked wonders!

JayKamat · Sep 13, 2015

William Henrickson :

I think I might have used alot of thermal paste and did not remove the previous thermal paste. Would that have been one of the cause?

William Henrickson · Sep 13, 2015

YESSSSSS! 92% alcohol the chip/metal clean, keep the pad, if there is one, as clean as possible, don't wipe anything off it or disturb it, perhaps if you have enough goo on it you can use just whats on there. it just fills gaps, you dont want it to BE THE GAP.

JayKamat · Sep 13, 2015

William Henrickson :

Nope. Redid the whole process and still laptop goes on a shut down frenzy. The only good thing is that now the temperature signatures on HWiNFO are normal (45C-60C). The laptop shuts down after a period of almost 30mins. Need fix ASAP :/

Finkledbody · Sep 13, 2015

JayKamat :

Well that's a scary statement. If this is a borrowed computer, in what world does it make sense to upgrade it at all cost? If you're seriously suggesting that you want a good laptop at all costs, then go buy a good laptop and save all the money and hassles of upgrading a old laptop that you don't even own.

I would put it back to stock, return the CPU for a refund and buy a decent laptop. Then put the upgraded ram you purchased into the newly bought laptop.

Anything else is a silly waste of time, money, and resources.

JayKamat · Sep 13, 2015

Finkledbody :

Well i didn't mean that way.
Well this laptop is given to us by our college and yes we received it for 16$ :'D
So my money definitely isn't getting wasted here; anyway just wanted to take the risks and experiment out and I am eventually ending up learning more about laptops internals and other stuff. So i guess it isn't a waste of time either

Anyway back to the problem. I just realized I did a very big mistake. The laptop has a HM70 Chipset which does not support i3,i5,i7 and that is the reason the laptop shuts down randomly after 30min (exact). There's no overheating issue. So just wanted to know whether there is any way to hack my way through to unlock this HM70 Chipset to make the i5 work. Consider it educational purpose only. Other than that in those 30mins the laptop works fine.

William Henrickson · Sep 13, 2015

It's a cheap cut-down PCH meant for low frequency. "Pentium and Celeron Branded Processors" it said on the product page. Blacklisted.

jaguarskx · Sep 13, 2015

You can't really hack the chipset to support other CPU models.

The HM70 is not really designed to support Intel CPUs with high clockspeeds. However, since you can use the laptop for a short period time, it is theoretically possible to run the Core i5 CPU in the laptop by disabling Turbo Boost which prevents the CPU from going above 2.6GHz. This can be done by going into your Advanced Power Options and set the Max Processor State to 99%.

Note the 99% trick to disable Turbo Boost will only work with Windows 7. For Windows 8, I would need to lower it to 68% to disable Turbo Boost for my i5-4200u. Not sure if that percentage will work for all Intel CPUs or if it varies depending on the actual max clockspeed of the CPU. As for Windows 10, I have no idea what % will disable Turbo Boost.

If the laptop continues to crash, then experiment with the Max Processor Performance % to lower the CPU's clockspeed. The % is not linear meaning setting it to 50% could result in the same clockspeed as 60% which is why you need to experiment.

JayKamat · Sep 13, 2015

Well after doing alot of research and thanks to this community that I finally closed in on a solution.
The intel i5-2540M was working fine with normal temperature signatures on the HM70 chipset mobo although Intel says it doesn't support it. The problem being that the laptop used to shut down after a period of 30min approx. Reason was the random shut down is still unknown to me but it occurred to me that if the laptop was put to sleep state and then woken up again the "illuminati timer" would reset and the laptop would be good to work for another 30mins. So I just wrote a simple script which would put the laptop under sleep and used the Windows Task Scheduler to repeat the script after a duration of 28mins

. The only disadvantage being the laptop would go to sleep after every 28mins, apart from that for me it seemed a pretty good trade-off between Performance and Comfort.

This thread may be locked but I suggest not to so that I may share any other issues that I may encounter in the long run. Also would like to report the final performance of the system overall once I get all the mentioned upgrades done. As of now I have just upgraded the CPU. The RAM and the 64-bit OS is yet to come

William Henrickson · Sep 13, 2015

"illuminati timer" Best quote on Tom's ever.

JayKamat · Sep 25, 2015

William Henrickson :

:lol:

Leo_10 · Feb 13, 2016

JayKamat :

Hi! I actually did (nearly) the same upgrade recently. If you wouldn't mind, could you share with me how you managed to write the script that prevents the illuminati timer from passing in? I also would love to know if you found a way of disabling the illuminati timer altogether in the meantime because I do happen to have the same problem.

Thank you!!

Wagner-Schmitzer

Moddjo · Sep 19, 2016

I have same prob as well

Laptop Shuts Down Frequently after new CPU upgrade (Need HELP ASAP) [SOLVED]

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