Solved Laptop freezes and have to power down

SaggyMaggyPoo

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Power User
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341
Location
Greece
This problem is happening on both our Dell laptops (both same model, same OS, just different programs now), more often on one than the other.

There are a range of scenarios so I will try to give a general summary without being too confusing:

On some occasions the freeze occurs immediately after the AC power supply is plugged in or unplugged. This is NOT when the laptops have prompted the action (which they do when battery power falls to 10%) but if the AC supply is plugged in/unplugged when the battery still has some juice in it. We've noted this on both laptops so I can't imagine it's actually related to the power packs as the coincidence of 2 having problems at the same time seems a bit much to believe.

On one laptop the Dell Quickset program gives an error message (that it has stopped working) and this seems to prompt the freeze. We tried to update this program (which had an option to repair it, so we gave that a go) but it made no difference. Not sure if the program can be reinstalled as I've read threads on the Dell site suggesting this is challenging.

I'm not convinced Dell Quickset is working on the other laptop but it doesn't seem to generate the same error messages.

When the freeze happens:

Whatever the user is doing stops working. Examples are:

With IE it is sometimes possible to scroll up and down the current page but new pages won't open and IE sometimes will not close.

In a game the game hangs. It isn't possible to close the game using Alt F4 - the game appears to close but the icon remains in the taskbar.

In all cases when a laptop freezes it is not possible to open Task Manager to try and close the hung programs. Both laptops have Task Manager pinned to the taskbar. Clicking on this shows the spinning circle for an instant then nothing. Same applies using Windows key and choosing Task Manager, or Alt Ctrl Del.

At this stage the only option is to reboot. Usually this can be attempted normally (Settings/Power/Shutdown) but occasionally even this can't be accessed. When the 'Shutting down' screen appears, the dots spin, but nothing happens and eventually we have to power down.

We thought a Realtek Family Controller might be an issue and updated this from the Dell site, but the freezing is still happening.

All suggestions appreciated!
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit
Is there an updated ACPI driver on the Dell site? If there is something showing up in Device Manager under Batteries you could try uninstalling it and restart the computer.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
Is there an updated ACPI driver on the Dell site? If there is something showing up in Device Manager under Batteries you could try uninstalling it and restart the computer.

Not sure what's happening but every time I try to add an attachment to this post the screen greys out and I have to close the tab, so will write this long-hand.

I had a look on the Dell site and can't see any ACPI drivers listed for the laptops. I did a search for ACPI and got over 700 results, most of which seemed to be related to XP and earlier OS's, though I did only scan the first 60 or so.

In my Device Manager there are 2 entries under batteries, one of which is Microsoft ACPI-Compliant Control Method Battery. I looked at the properties on this and it says it's working okay, though the driver date is June 2006.

The only driver listed that has an exclamation mark on it is the Intel Management Engine Interface. In properties it says:

This device cannot start (Code 10)
An invalid parameter was passed to a service or function.

When I check on the Dell site, I have the latest version of this driver.

On the other laptop all the drivers seem to be okay (no exclamation marks).

I'm not convinced that the problem is battery related though, though this might be a contributing factor. The laptop definitely froze today after disconnecting the AC lead, but I waited until I got the 'battery low' warning and reconnected, and this didn't cause any problem at all. And I know that not every instance of freezing is related to connecting or disconnecting the AC lead, so I while I appreciate what you're saying, I don't want this to become a red herring.

Problem is that it's an intermittent thing and aside from documenting every action, it can be difficult to remember exactly what was happening just before the freeze. Sometimes the event logs show something that might be relevant (if I could understand it :D) such as an application error or system error, that coincides with the freeze. Other times (like earlier today) there is nothing at all.
 

Attachments

  • batteries.PNG
    batteries.PNG
    14.4 KB · Views: 91
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit
Could boot into safe mode and see how it acts.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 Pro 64-bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Acer V3 771G-6443
    CPU
    i5-3230m
    Motherboard
    Acer VA70_HC (U3E1)
    Memory
    8GB DDR3 PC3-12800 (800 MHz)
    Graphics Card(s)
    HD4000 + GeForce GT 730M
    Sound Card
    Realtek High Definition Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17" Generic PnP Display on Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Screen Resolution
    1600x900 pixels
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 850 EVO 250 GB
    ADATA SSD SP900 128GB
    PSU
    90 watt brick
    Mouse
    Bluetooth
    Antivirus
    Comodo
    Other Info
    Asus RT-AC56R dual-band WRT router (Merlin firmware). Intel 7260.HMWWB.R dual-band ac wireless adapter.
What is your Power Setup ?

Could you give the Parameters of your Power Setup.....
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (355 + Auto-Update)
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Toshiba U500 17E
    CPU
    Intel Core 2 Duo T6600 2.2 Ghz
    Motherboard
    ?
    Memory
    4 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA GeForce G210M
    Internet Speed
    180Mb/s
    Browser
    Internet Explorer 11.0.7 (auto update)
    Antivirus
    Norton Internet Security
Could boot into safe mode and see how it acts.

Sorry Popeye, not been ignoring you, just been away for a few days. My laptop has mostly been behaving itself but will have a look at the safe boot option, especially on the other laptop which is still exhibiting strange behaviour. Will let you know how it goes.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit
Could you give the Parameters of your Power Setup.....

Sorry, the phrase is a bit technical for me :huh:. What exactly is it that you want to know?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit
Could you give the Parameters of your Power Setup.....

Sorry, the phrase is a bit technical for me :huh:. What exactly is it that you want to know?

Is this what you are looking for?

54568-laptop-freezes-have-power-down-kenpower1.jpg


There is a lot more information in the Advanced Settings section, but too much to list until I know whether this is what you want :).

Sorry about double-posting the screenshot. I'm having some problems with posting these.
 

Attachments

  • KenPower1.jpg
    KenPower1.jpg
    40.2 KB · Views: 129

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit
Could boot into safe mode and see how it acts.

I booted one laptop into safe mode with networking (as the problems always seem to occur when internet is being used, and the first sign will often be a web page freezing or similar, so wanting to try and replicate).

Anyway, one thing that I noticed was that, although I WAS connected to the internet, the icon in the taskbar had a red cross on it (see below). Sorry, I didn't think to highlight this when I took the screenshot but you should see it if you enlarge the image I think.

internet.PNG

Does this suggest anything?

I was concerned that I wasn't able to get realtime AV protection in safe mode though (my own AV won't operate and I can't get Windows Security Center to start though I can activate Windows Firewall). I was originally planning to run in safe mode with networking for a while, but I can't say I'm keen on this reduced AV cover.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit
I ran in safe mode for a few hours, using IE, opening files, installed and uninstalled a couple of programs, all with no ill effects.

But I can't replicate everything that has triggered a freeze (such as Store apps, which I couldn't use in safe mode because I was apparently in the built in admin account, despite the fact that I logged in to my own account :huh:).

The following could be a red herring, but in the interests of full disclosure :):

I did a Perfmon report today and found that Intel Management Engine Interface isn't working. In Device Manager there is a flag against this device, but I've checked and I have the recommended driver for it. I went on the Intel site and they don't even list the driver that I have. I wondered whether it would be worth disabling this, or uninstalling and reinstalling it? Any support out there for this idea?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
Could you give the Parameters of your Power Setup.....

Sorry, the phrase is a bit technical for me :huh:. What exactly is it that you want to know?

Is this what you are looking for?

54568-laptop-freezes-have-power-down-kenpower1.jpg


There is a lot more information in the Advanced Settings section, but too much to list until I know whether this is what you want :).

Sorry about double-posting the screenshot. I'm having some problems with posting these.

Just click the picture icon & add picture from computer or URL at the cursor position.

screenshot_194.jpg
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1.1 Pro with Media Center
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Gateway
    CPU
    AMD K140 Cores 2 Threads 2 Name AMD K140 Package Socket FT1 BGA Technology 40nm
    Motherboard
    Manufacturer Gateway Model SX2110G (P0)
    Memory
    Type DDR3 Size 8192 MBytes DRAM Frequency 532.3 MHz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ATI AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics
    Sound Card
    AMD High Definition Audio Device Realtek High Definition Audio USB Audio Device
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Name 1950W on AMD Radeon HD 7310 Graphics Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x76
    Screen Resolution
    Current Resolution 1366x768 pixels Work Resolution 1366x768 pixels
    Hard Drives
    AMD K140
    Cores 2
    Threads 2
    Name AMD K140
    Package Socket FT1 BGA
    Technology 40nm
    Specification AMD E1-1200 APU with Radeon HD Graphics
    Family F
    Extended Family 14
    Model 2
    Extended Model 2
    Stepping 0
    Revision ON-C0
    Instruction
    Browser
    Opera 24.0
    Antivirus
    Avast Internet Security
Sorry about double-posting the screenshot. I'm having some problems with posting these.

Just click the picture icon & add picture from computer or URL at the cursor position.

View attachment 54681

Hi David, thanks for this. I was doing just that but then everything was grey-ing out and I had to close the tab and start the post again. Then when I posted I found that the original attachment was still there even though I thought I had cancelled and re-started the post (and re-attached). Hence sometimes getting 2 attachments. I did post a thread about it, but haven't had any response. Until that particular instance this method had worked fine for me, no idea why things changed.

So now I'm going into Advanced and using Manage Attachments to insert anything. It seems to take a similar number of clicks, and I don't need to worry about resizing the item.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 8.1 (HOME not Pro) 64bit
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    (So not very nice) Lenovo Y410P
    CPU
    i7 quad 2.4Gig
    Memory
    16G ram
    Graphics Card(s)
    nvidia 2gig 755m
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 840 Evo

    supercache2 m2. mini card.
    Antivirus
    Win Defender
Think we have now tracked this down to a problem with the anti-virus. We upgraded to Emsisoft Internet Security a few weeks ago, and when this was unistalled a few days ago, the freezing problems immediately stopped.

@bassfacer22: I did use the Driver Update Utility but it only found an update for a graphics driver, so I will be uninstalling a reinstalling the one for the MEI to see if that solves the problem.

Thanks to all who showed interest in the thread.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Win8.1 64bit, Windows 10 TP on VMWare Player
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    Dell Inspiron 15 3521
    CPU
    1.80 gigahertz Intel Core i5-3337U
    Motherboard
    Dell Inc. 0010T1 A00
    Memory
    8gb
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD Graphics 4000
    Sound Card
    Realtek HD Audio & Intel Display Audio
    Hard Drives
    TOSHIBA MQ01ABD050 [Hard drive] (500.11 GB)
    Cooling
    Additional fan
    Mouse
    Kensington Trackball
    Browser
    IE
    Antivirus
    Emsisoft Internet Security, Malwarebytes free & antiexploit
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