# Laptop hangs after a while



## bugster (May 10, 2007)

Hi all, 

For two days now, my laptop hangs a while after start up. This doesn't happen while using any particular hardware. I have been using an external USB modem for accessing the internet for the past six months--the age of the laptop. Only since the past two days am I encountering this problem. I have run AdAware and virus scan. The laptop's specifications are as follows. All help is appreciated. 

*Hewlett-Packard 
System Model: Presario V3000 (RE145PA#ACJ) 
BIOS Version: Phoenix F.11 

Microsoft Windows XP Professional 
Version: 5.1.2600 
Service Pack: 2.0 

Memory (RAM) 
Capacity: 512 MB 

Processor *
*Intel(R) Celeron(R) M CPU 420 @ 1.60GHz 
Version: x86 Family 6 Model 14 Stepping 8 
Speed: 1595 MHz *

I bought the laptop in November 2006. 

Thanks for all help. 

Bugster


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## RevHavoc (May 8, 2007)

Post an Everest report which provides more details on your setup please. 

Many times this will be a software issue, not hardware, but we'll see.

- If software, this is usually cause by malware or some app that is messed up and hogging your cpu.
- If hardware, you could have an overheating problem, fan out, or the like.


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## bugster (May 10, 2007)

Thanks, RevHavoc. I do have the Everest report, but am unable to post it here. The reply window says there are too many "characters" in the post. When I try to attach it as a Word document, I end up getting an error report that says the upload is invalid. 

Any ideas? 

Thanks again, 

bugster


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## mattlock (Dec 28, 2005)

bugster said:


> Thanks, RevHavoc. I do have the Everest report, but am unable to post it here. The reply window says there are too many "characters" in the post. When I try to attach it as a Word document, I end up getting an error report that says the upload is invalid.
> 
> Any ideas?
> 
> ...


You must choose "Plain text" as your save option in Everest. Then attach the text file.


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## bugster (May 10, 2007)

Thanks, mattlock! I am attaching the text file here. 

The problem is bugging me since the laptop is relatively new. I really appreciate all help and suggestions.


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## RevHavoc (May 8, 2007)

I didn't see any real issues from the everest report. From that I don't foresee it a hardware issue, probably is software. The celeron 1.6 isn't the fastest.

Some things you could try off the bat:
- On startup, open task manager [ctrl+shift+esc] > processes tab > what is the cpu at and is any one app hogging the cpu?
- Start > run > msconfig > startup tab > disable everything except for what needs to startup, which is pretty much just your internet security apps > apply > close > restart.
- Defrag your hard drive. My computer > right click hdd > properties > tools > defragment > restart after done.

Could you please explain your 'startup hang' in detail please?


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## bugster (May 10, 2007)

Thanks, RevHavoc. What typically happens is: The laptop works fine a few minutes after I turn it on; then it starts acting up. Applications clicked on don't open, the machine hangs. Then, nothing works. Not even the task manager opens. I give a shut down command by pressing on alt+ctrl+del, and the shut down happens in 10-15 minutes. 

When I tried to defrag yesterday, the analysis told me none of the drives needed to be defgragged. I will look at the task manager processes and see what application is hogging the CPU. 



> The celeron 1.6 isn't the fastest.


You could be right, but the laptop never behaved in this erratic fashion. A slow machine is understandable, but here it just freezes, rendering it non-functional. 

Thanks for taking the time to go through the report.


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## mattlock (Dec 28, 2005)

Hello again Bugster, you may want to consider going to the HJT forum and follow the 5 steps in the 2nd sticky. There is a link at the bottom of each page in the sticky to move to the next step. It sounds as if you may have some nasties.
If they HJT team says your system is clean then post back hear.

http://www.techsupportforum.com/security-center/hijackthis-log-help/

Matt


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## bugster (May 10, 2007)

Thank you, Matt. I followed the five steps as you recommended. However, the problem persists. This evening, after the machine hung, I let it be to see what happens (usually I would go into panic mode and shut down the machine). The hourglass left the screen after 10 minutes and that's when the applications responded. 10 minutes is the usual time the laptop now takes for a shutdown, too, when the machine hangs. 

Think this could be a hardware issue after all?

Also, I checked the processes tab in task manager and found these two applications to be consuming most of the CPU:

SVCHOST. EXE = 35,228K

EXPLORER. EXE = 27,600K

Like always, I appreciate your help. 

Bugster


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## bugster (May 10, 2007)

Update:

I checked Event Viewer for error mssgs. It shows quite a few over the last 2-3 days in the Application tab. The source is LoadPerf. This is the description I get:

"The performance counter name string value in the registry is incorrectly formatted. The bogus string is niport, the bogus index value is the first DWORD in Data section while the last valid index values are the second and third DWORD in Data section.

For more information, see Help and Support Center at http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/events.asp."

These errors correspond to the times the machine hangs. Could the resolution to this solve my problem? And how do I resolve this? I visited the Help and Support center, but couldn't understand the instructions. 

All help is appreciated. 

Bugster


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## hwm54112 (Oct 10, 2005)

The obvious is system restore to three days ago. Don't really like that approach as it seems like a crutch rather than a fix. 

I'd check the dates of recent updates. System Info> history may be an aid as well. Could be a corrupt update that should be uninstalled

Enter msconfig, click on the boot.ini tab. under boot options check the following parameters:

noguiboot - disables the progress bar/windows splash screen so you can see the drivers listed as they load

/bootlog - creates a log (c:\bootlog.txt) of the boot process - you may be able to read the log to find out which driver is causing the serious error

/sos - displays the drivers as they are loaded

with these options, you might be able to see where the hangs are occurring. 

Run chkdsk /r

Run manufacturer's drive diagnostics if the above does not produce results

Download UPHclean and run in diagnostic mode. It's really doing things backward but what is hanging at shut down is likely what is hanging at startup.

In event viewer, when viewing the properties of an error, if you click the button that has the two pages symbol in it, it will copy all of the relevant details of the error to be pasted in your post.


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## Ash2008 (Jan 3, 2008)

Hello. This post is very much relevant to me as well. I have a Compaq Presario 4125 with Ahlon64 3200+, 1GB Ram, XP Home.
I am having exactly the same problem albeit the system never recovers. I have reformatted the hard disk, reinstalled fresh copy of Windows, checked for spyware/malware etc.
I hear fan noises when the PC starts but quickly afterwards the fans stop and the PC hangs thereafter in 10 minutes. This laptop has two fans - one on CPU and the other at the centre bottom of the casing. Is it a fan issue?
I have updated the BIOS as well.
Thanks for your help!!!


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