Laptop Hardware Problem ?

[aviwil]

A week and a half ago I bought an HP Pavillion dv6526ea notebook with Vista Home Premium . There seems to be a hardware problem - I have some experience with such things - but I just don't seem to be able to pin it down . Tried different diagnostics - they don't reveal anything special . One thing which every so often happens - I'll be typing in on the keyboard , and the input will just stop being received , and not displayed on screen . Another indication - I can do some program install - and it the progress bar will just suddenly halt an dmaybe after 10 secs continue - this is not just because the system is doing some installation tasks . These were things which might have happenned on PC's 10 years ago , when bus bandwidth problems may have been around - but today I don't see such a thing happenning . I've turned off all automatic updating , as I thought these might have been causing it . I've uninstalled almost all installed apps .
Any ideas would be greatly appreciated .
Thanks .

 

[dealmaster00]

Whenever I get a laptop, the very first thing I do is format it and install Windows from scratch. They (HP) get paid to put crapware on your computer, and sometimes there's just too much of it to get rid of by just uninstalling over and over again. Your computer will be so much faster if you do this.

With that said...if this is truly a hardware problem, then you should be able to put in an Ubuntu Live CD and while you are in Ubuntu you should see the same 10sec lags. If you don't...it's most likely a Windows issue.

 

[aviwil]

Re reinstalling Vista - I received no Vista CD's with the PC . How would I go about it then ?

 

[montag451]

Have you got a vista serial code?

If yes, you would probably have to get MS to send you the software, or ask a friend... IF you have your own serial no.

If you haven't got a Vista serial code, then you should be able to find the one that was installed on your machine. BUT it might be a Reseller code and you wouldn't be able to get a copy from MS without paying for it, but you could try the laptop vendor.

 

[aviwil]

More input on this :
I was told by the retailer , that if I plan to use the laptop connected to the electricity for an extended period , then I should remove the battery , as it keeps on charging , even after being full , and this is not good . Is this in fact so ?
As a result of this , I run the laptop without the battery and plugged into the electricity . Actually have not even charged the battery yet . Could this be causing some of my problems ?

 

[montag451]

Well,
The battery will be a source of 'clean' power, whereas the mains power should theoretically be clean but depends on where you live.

If you aren't sure, run it off battery for a few hours and see what happens.

 

[oynaz]

Firstly:
"I was told by the retailer , that if I plan to use the laptop connected to the electricity for an extended period , then I should remove the battery , as it keeps on charging , even after being full , and this is not good . Is this in fact so ?"
No it isn't.

Your problem is probably faulty RAM. But the computer is brand new, right? And still under warranty? If so, RMA it and let HP sort it out.

Last:
"Re reinstalling Vista - I received no Vista CD's with the PC . How would I go about it then ?"
Download a Vista image off BitTorrent, and use your serial code.

 

[aviwil]

Thanks oynaz . I ran the MicroSoft Memory diagnostic from HP Recovery Manager for my Vista here . I believe it runs this from the BIOS with a reboot . It gave no errors . Does this mean memory is OK or is that test not sufficient . If not , does there exist a test which can check reliably for this ?

 

[montag451]

Try running memtest - at least overnight.
If it throws up any errors, then take the machine back to the shop.

 

[LiLithTecH]

HP no longer supplies Recovery Discs.
It does provide the Restore software via their HP Recovery Manager.

You need to create the disks yourself (you should have created them before using).
Either CDR's (up to 10+ required) or DVD+-R's (1 -3 required) can be used.

To use the Recovery Manager:
1 - Click <Start> and type Recovery in the Search field.
2 - Select 'Recovery Manager' when the wizard opens,
then click the 'Advanced options' button (if it is available).
3 - Select 'Recovery disk Creation', and follow the directions provided in the wizard.
(make sure to mark the disks correctly)


What apps are you trying to install (specifically)?