Re-Open Issue with Laptop. Was resolved, but back to poor performance. Did something reinstall?

[Malnutrition]

Was also able to run Kaspersky There were no detections

That is all that matters there, there will always be other errors with this tool, those are trivial IMO.

I ran payroll - no issue. Worked at light speed! Monitored with QuickCPU - clocked at Max 3.98GHz, Avg CPU Utilization 5.6%. Awesome!

Perfect we are indeed on track to this being solved.

Unfortunately, now the power adapter won't hold a charge, so this pin must actually be broken from being bent. Now when I plug it in the laptop bogs back to 400MHz and then the laptop loses its charge and the Clocking goes right back up but the battery won't charge.

This where we stop and wait on you to get a new charger.

Is this something that makes sense to you at all? I will order another adapter for sure, but it keeps bogging down the laptop when plugged in. Thoughts on that one?

I am no hardware expert, but I watch these guys in the forum who deal with hardware on a daily, a bad power supply can cause a whole host of issues, like I say lets put everything else on hold until you get a new power supply. Then we will take it from there. My thoughts are that it is not getting constant power possibly just arcing which would explain why it somewhat works and why there are issues at the same time.

 

[Peccant]

Sounds good. Power adapter ordered. Will be back in touch.

 

[Malnutrition]

Please update the thread once you have the new charger. A lot of people abandon threads when their issues are solved. I’ve spent a lot of time on this, and I’d like to know the outcome.

 

[Peccant]

Absolutely, will do.

 

[Peccant]

@Malnutrition Just as an update so you know this is still ongoing:

1) New 45W power adapter was delivered. Computer recognizes being plugged in, the little lighting symbol over the battery shows it charging for about 5 seconds and then it drops, however, the computer still recognizes that it's plugged in because the computer clocks down to 0.40gHz.

2) Some damage on the power jack, so I ordered another one, in case that was the issue. That also arrived. I've installed it. Same issue.

3) Ran a diagnostic from the F2 startup menu on the power components and it says that it cannot run the test because the power from the adapter is insufficient. So I borrowed a 65W HP Adapter from a buddy of mine. Same issue. Still not enough power.

4) Now, you told me to throw away the old charger, because we don't want a short circuit, and I agree. However, I needed to continue using the computer for work and I go through a full battery charge, twice daily, so I could not throw out the charger as it's the only way to recharge the laptop. Why, you ask, does that charger still work, but the others don't? Interesting answer (for me at least, with no knowledge of power adapters). It would seem that, because the original adapter has a bent pin, the pin never actually is accepted into the jack in the correct spot.

So as I far as I can tell, here is the remaining issue:
1) no matter what, when there is a charger attached (whether the laptop allows the battery to take the charge or not) the laptop clocks down to 0.40gHz.
2) If the pin inside the charger is straight and makes contact where it should with the jack, the computer will not allow the battery to charge, BUT the laptop still clocks down to 0.40 gHz.
2a) an adapter without a pin (the bent pin) will allow the battery to charge, but the laptop still clocks at 0.40gHz.
3) If running on battery alone, no adapter anywhere near the jack, the laptop runs like a perfect laptop. Faster than any I've ever had. Clocks up to 4.00 gHz when it overclocks.
4) 45W and 65W adapters have the same reaction from the laptop.

I realize you're not a hardware expert, but I wanted to give you an update out of respect for all the work you've put in to date!
My next steps are limited. I'm considering updating the BIOS but I'm not 100% sure on how to safely do that one yet. I don't want to order a higher wattage power adapter because of cost, especially if that's not the issue. It is possible though that a higher watt adapter will do the trick. If I knew more about what the center pin does in the adapter I may be able to better troubleshoot.

 

[Malnutrition]

Since this is not a malware issue, I will move the thread to laptop support, and tag a some help for you. Thanks for the update, at least we got the computer running the best it possibly can thru all of this.

@PeterOz @Bruce @Pyro @Bastet

 

[Bruce]

how old is this laptop?
sounds like the power circuit inside the laptop where the adapter is may be faulty, especially if the power jack pin is bent.

I think we can rule out the charger as you have tried a few, and 45 and 65watt models at that.

 

[Peccant]

how old is this laptop?
sounds like the power circuit inside the laptop where the adapter is may be faulty, especially if the power jack pin is bent.

I think we can rule out the charger as you have tried a few, and 45 and 65watt models at that.

I bought the laptop in October 2020. It basically hasn’t been used until my old Lenovo T430s died recently. I replaced the power Jack itself recently. Based on my internet searching, this clocking down issue when plugged in seems to be pretty common with HP laptops, but I cannot find anyone with an answer.

 

[Bruce]

more out of curiosity than anything else....
what happens with the battery removed and the charger plugged in?

 

[Pyro]

Have you tried setting the power settings to high performance/maximum performance?

Laptops can be a bit finicky about these things, it might help.

 

[Bastet]

I would also ask whether the laptop runs well without the battery but plugged & whether the power options is set to High/Max performance.

 

[Peccant]

more out of curiosity than anything else....
what happens with the battery removed and the charger plugged in?

Nothing. Computer doesn't respond without the battery (it's a battery that needs the back cover removed to get at, as well).

 

[Peccant]

I would also ask whether the laptop runs well without the battery but plugged & whether the power options is set to High/Max performance.

Yes, power settings were set to high/max performance, and Malnutrition also had me use QuickCPU to create a new power setting to supersede those settings and unlock all the cores. Laptop did not respond without the battery (which is behind the back panel of the laptop).

 

[Peccant]

Yes, power settings were set to high/max performance, and Malnutrition also had me use QuickCPU to create a new power setting to supersede those settings and unlock all the cores.

Here is the other thread where Malnutrition had me run a bunch of diagnostics and fixes, for your reference (this was before we opened this new thread which has a long series of additional diagnostics and fixes as well): https://pchelpforum.net/t/slow-hp-p...r-upgraded-to-32gb-ram-updated-drivers.82262/

 

[Malnutrition]

(it's a battery that needs the back cover removed to get at, as well).

So is the plug located on the back cover? Perhaps you can just replace that part. I do not think a bios update is going to help. Your best bet is to take it to a repair shop. It’s definitely hardware problem.

 

[Bruce]

@Peccant - any news?

 

[Peccant]

No luck. I had someone look at it - they hadn’t seen the issue before and couldn’t help. I signed up for Hp tech service post-warranty plan and they only had the idea to swap the adapter - which I’ve done with several adapters. I’m hobbling along with the charger with a bent pin - it still works to charge. The “in good shape” chargers with the pin in tact still cause the laptop to clock down. I’m seeing lots of forums with similar issues on HP laptops BUT none of the fixes are working. The latest self-fix I attempted was updating some random patch from the HP Support app which apparently helped someone else. I did update the BIOS - no luck, as expected.

I’m at a bit of a loss - I don’t have a lot of shops in my little area in Nova Scotia to get alternate opinions (plus I can’t go without the laptop for any period of time as it’s my work laptop).

I’m not an expert but given the hardware fixes and symptoms with various pieces, I have such a hard time believing it’s hardware. And any fix I’ve seen online that works is never hardware related - BUT that said, none of those fixes have helped my specific laptop.

 

[Bruce]

without having to re-read all the previous posts - have you nuke the PC from space - that is, backup it up and reinstall Windows?

 

[Peccant]

I have not reinstalled windows. I could try that. I backup using a Seagate Backup Tool. Is that good enough of a tool that once I reinstall I’ll have my stuff?

 

[Bruce]

I'm scared of recommending a backup tool that I or you have not used.
yes, it should be fine, but different backup tools do things differently.

to dumb it down, all you need for a down-and-dirty backup, is to copy/paste these folders; Desktop, Downloads, Documents, Music, Pictures, Videos.
if you have email software, like Outlook, and use an IMAP account, that's all kept in the cloud and will re-sync once you set the email account up again.
if you use a POP3 email account, and want to keep old emails, you'll have to find the folder it keeps all the Inbox/Sent Items/Deleted Items etc emails in.

you may also want to go into your browser and export your bookmarks and copy them to your backup locations as well.

and of course include any files/folders that you know you have squirreled away for save keeping that may not be in the normal locations, like financial records, password files, porn stash, that sort of stuff.