Personal computing discussed

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ravens_fan
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laptop freezes+bsod (but only when games are played)

Fri Jul 06, 2012 7:15 pm

\In the last few weeks my laptop started freezing whenever I play games. Not sure if the games matter but they're aion and league of legends. Anyhow I ignored the freezes as they were few and wide spread but now I've started getting the bsod about every other day as long as more frequent freezes. This hasn't always happened so I'm assuming there's a way to get back to the functioning days. It's pretty random sometimes not happening at all and sometimes after only a few minutes of gameplay.
Intel(R) Core i7 CPU Q 749 q.73 GHz
4 GP RAM
Windows 7 64 bit
can provide any other information i likely missed.
 
DancinJack
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Re: laptop freezes+bsod (but only when games are played)

Fri Jul 06, 2012 7:34 pm

Find some software to monitor temperatures. That sounds, at least to me, to be the cause here.
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ravens_fan
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Re: laptop freezes+bsod (but only when games are played)

Fri Jul 06, 2012 7:41 pm

a friend suggested this. I did and the temp hovered around 65-70 C. not sure how acceptable that is
 
MastaVR6
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Re: laptop freezes+bsod (but only when games are played)

Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:17 pm

Good temps are 30-40, 50-60 are hot, over that is probably due to poor cooling. Dust, malfunctioning fans, and poor thermal transfer media (usually paste or tape) could be the reason. Intel's site would be a good reference to locate the normal operating temps for your chip.

*Edit - absurdity mentioned the most likely reason and easiest fix, I listed issues in order of severity. My bad.
Last edited by MastaVR6 on Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:28 pm, edited 1 time in total.
 
absurdity
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Re: laptop freezes+bsod (but only when games are played)

Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:24 pm

Laptop CPU coolers (in my experience) have a habit of getting clogged with hair and dust, and I'd guess yours has just progressed to the point you're at. Some canned air might do the trick.
 
ravens_fan
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Re: laptop freezes+bsod (but only when games are played)

Fri Jul 06, 2012 8:57 pm

guess it's time to try and figure out where and how to get to my laptop coolers. thanks, will try
 
UberGerbil
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Re: laptop freezes+bsod (but only when games are played)

Fri Jul 06, 2012 9:56 pm

Just blasting canned air into the inlet and exhaust vents can sometimes make a big difference (if you have a vacuum with a crevice tool, put that at the opposite vent while you're doing it). Of course nothing beats opening it up and cleaning it properly (depending on the make you may be able to find a maintenance manual on the mfr's website), especially if you live with cats or dogs or long-haired humans.

Note that if it has gotten really cooked, you may be now be in a situation where this will keep happening until the heatsink is removed and reattached with fresh TIM, but that's a non-trivial job.

You could also try investing in one of those laptop cooler stands -- or do what my friend did and sit it on a bag of frozen peas (keeping some more in the freezer so you can rotate through them).
 
ravens_fan
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Re: laptop freezes+bsod (but only when games are played)

Sat Jul 07, 2012 12:55 am

blasted it with compressed air and pulled out a pretty big chunk of dust. celebrated but then it froze again mid league game. time to invest in peas? :(
 
MastaVR6
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Re: laptop freezes+bsod (but only when games are played)

Sat Jul 07, 2012 2:52 am

If you're up to it, I would disassemble an removable covers, (maybe go further using a model specific manual, youtube, or DIY guide) and use canned air to remove any dust bunny bits inside the laptop especially around the cooling apparatus. how much have the temps improved?
 
absurdity
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Re: laptop freezes+bsod (but only when games are played)

Sat Jul 07, 2012 8:15 am

MastaVR6 wrote:
If you're up to it, I would disassemble an removable covers, (maybe go further using a model specific manual, youtube, or DIY guide) and use canned air to remove any dust bunny bits inside the laptop especially around the cooling apparatus.


Even if you're a seasoned tech, I'd recommend trying to track down a manufacturer's guide as mentioned. Every laptop model is unique, and it can be a great help. For Dells, you can find them on their support site (support.dell.com), not sure about other OEMs.
 
ravens_fan
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Re: laptop freezes+bsod (but only when games are played)

Sat Jul 07, 2012 12:34 pm

MastaVR6 wrote:
If you're up to it, I would disassemble an removable covers, (maybe go further using a model specific manual, youtube, or DIY guide) and use canned air to remove any dust bunny bits inside the laptop especially around the cooling apparatus. how much have the temps improved?

I went on youtube and did this with one of the fans ( the screw on the other fan was being stubborn) and that got a fair amount of dust out. Temperatures are down to around 50-60 now. but this was before and it froze and bsod.

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