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Solved Laptop crashing and restarting

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mtblillie

PCHF Member
Apr 7, 2019
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#1
Hi everyone. So I have had this PC for a couple years, and lately I have been having a problem where my laptop keeps Freezing/crashing. If I leave it alone, it will just restart, without ever having a BSOD. Some days it doesn't happen at all, and other days it will happen multiple times. I have tried using the system's internal trouble shooting and maintenance programs to see if it will help, but it does not. Google searches have also proved fruitless. I am at a point where I don't know what else to do, and would really appreciate some help.

Here are my specs:
Processor: Intel(R) Celeron(R) 2957U @ 1.40GHz 1.40GHz
Installed RAM: 4.00GB
System Type 64bit OS, x64 based processor
OS: Windows 10 home
Version 1809
OS Build: 17763.379

Thank you to anyone who can offer help!
 
#3
You know what, I can't believe that never occurred to me. I hear it kick on, but not very often. Let me do some checking and I will post if that was the issue.

Thank You!
 
#4
So I downloaded and set up SpeedFan. It isn't giving me any data on the fan itself but is reading temp right at 50C. As I was using the laptop and watching the SpeedFan temp the CPU usage shot to 100% and the temp went to 51C and then everything crashed again. I am guessing the fan is not working. Buying a replacement fan is cheap but taking apart the laptop to replace the fan is quite a task. Any suggestions?
 
#5
Hello mtblillie,

Couple of questions if I may;

What is the brand and model name or number of the notebook.

Does the issue happen when using the notebook powered just by the battery and likewise does the issue happen if you remove the battery and power the notebook using the AC adaptor.
 
#6
Dell inspiron 15 3000 series. So far the issue occurs whether on battery power, or while the battery is charging. But I have not tried without the battery on AC only. I can try that tonight.
 
#7
mtblillie said:
As I was using the laptop and watching the SpeedFan temp the CPU usage shot to 100% and the temp went to 51C and then everything crashed again.
Click to expand...

By crashed, do you mean that the notebook shutdown, it is important that we know exactly as software crashes and hardware shuts down.

It depends on what CPU is in the notebook but 51°C is not overly hot for a notebook and the clue here could be the CPU usage spiking to 100%, this can be caused by a power spike or short circuit.

We will need to wait on the update after you have tried using the AC adaptor and no main battery, can you also listen out for the internal cooling fan running and place your hand by the exhaust vent on the notebook case to see if you can feel any warm air being expelled.
 
#8
When it "crashes" it simply freezes and becomes unusable. If I let it sit, it eventually restarts on its own. There have been instances where I have closed the notebook to go do something else, and when I return find that it has restarted.

I will check those things tonight when I have a chance and will get back with you. Thanks for the help!
 
#9
If the notebook will stay running, please see the below as well;

Download then run Speccy (free) and post the resultant url for us, details here, this will provide us with information about your computer hardware + any software that you have installed that may explain the present issue/s.

To publish a Speccy profile to the Web:

In Speccy, click File, and then click Publish Snapshot.

In the Publish Snapshot dialog box, click Yes to enable Speccy to proceed.

Speccy publishes the profile and displays a second Publish Snapshot. You can open the URL in your default browser, copy it to the clipboard, or close the dialog box.

You are welcome btw :)
 
#10
I was able to get the laptop to boot up without the battery, but I haven't been running it long enough to know yet if it will crash. I will put it through some paces that often makes it crash. In the mean time, here is the link you asked for:

http://speccy.piriform.com/results/jqyVR2a4J5OZGVLp48jJiHg

Also, the fan seems to not be turning on during bootup, in fact it hasn't come on yet since I have been working with it tonight.
 
#11
After about an hour and a half, the computer froze and a few minutes later restarted on its own. Temp stayed around 55C most of the time, and CPU usage spiked to 100% a couple times, usually while using file explorer. Unfortunately I didn't see what the readout was when it froze and restarted.
 
#12
phillpower2 said:
can you also listen out for the internal cooling fan running and place your hand by the exhaust vent on the notebook case to see if you can feel any warm air being expelled.
Click to expand...
You can get notebook type computers that have no internal cooling fan but are instead passively cooled by a heatsink, I doubt that this is the case with your notebook and any fan present must be working else the computer would shut down in a matter of seconds to protect the CPU from frying.

Did you check to see if you could feel any warm air being expelled?

Nothing at all unusual in your Speccy report but I would suggest the following;

Power Profile
Active power scheme: Dell Check the Windows Power Plan to see if you can change this setting to Balanced.
Hibernation: Enabled This is a less than useless setting that is known to cause problems, disable it "how to" below.
Turn Off Monitor after: (On AC Power): 10 min While troubleshooting this, change all of the settings highlighted in blue to "never" (if availble).
Turn Off Monitor after: (On Battery Power): 5 min
Turn Off Hard Disk after: (On AC Power): 20 min
Turn Off Hard Disk after: (On Battery Power): 10 min
Suspend after: (On AC Power): 30 min
Suspend after: (On Battery Power): 15 min


To disable Hibernation:

  1. The first step is to run the command prompt as administrator. In Windows 10, you can do this by right clicking on the start menu and clicking "Command Prompt (Admin)"
  2. Type in "powercfg.exe /h off" without the quotes and press enter. If you typed it in correctly, the cursor will simply start at a new line asking for new input
  3. Now just exit out of command prompt
Rather than overburden you with information we will wait on your next update for now.
 
#13
Thank you, I will make these changes and get back to you. I did not feel any warm air coming out, either. I did buy a cooling plate to put under the laptop, which I will get at the end of the week. Not a great solution, but it may help me diagnose the overheating and offer a temporary solution if that is the issue.
 
#14
mtblillie said:
I did not feel any warm air coming out, either.
Click to expand...
The warm air being expelled may not be constant mtblillie and the cooling fan not always audible but both could be down to the quality of the notebook, example, I am still using an eleven year old Sony Vaio notebook to reply to you and unless you make a concerted effort to listen you cannot hear the cooling fan and nothing has ever gotten hot :)
 
#15
I changed the power setting to balanced, and ensured the time out settings matched what you had posted.

Unfortunately when I tried to run the command I got an error: "Unable to perform the operation. An unexpected error (0x65b) has occured: Function failed during execution."
1.png
It is entirely possible I didn't do it right, I always seem to have hell with command prompt.
 
#18
mtblillie said:
It didn't really give me that option.
Click to expand...
Not sure what you mean I`m afraid.

To open the command prompt as administrator option, type CMD in the Cortana search field, then right click on the top Command Prompt tab and then the run as admin option, see if my screenshot helps any.
 

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#19
OK, I opened command prompt using this method and was able to run as administrator. When I entered the command it seemed to accept it, but didn't give me any indication that it did or did not work. Also, my cooler came in. If the laptop's fan kicks on while the laptop is running I can't tell. There seems to be no change in air flow around the vent and I don't hear it run, unless I mistaking the fan for hard disk spinning. I will test out the cooling pad and see if it helps.

Thanks again for helping me out with this!
 
#20
Easy way of checking to see if Hibernation is disabled would be to run Speccy again, check the power settings and it should say Hibernation is disabled.

How has the computer been running since you made the suggested changes.
 
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