A computer components & hardware forum. HardwareBanter

If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below.

Go Back   Home » HardwareBanter forum » System Manufacturers & Vendors » Compaq Computers
Site Map Home Register Authors List Search Today's Posts Mark Forums Read Web Partners

Compaq Presario 700 laptop overheating (Problem Solved?)



 
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old July 11th 03, 08:39 AM
John Edward Scott
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default Compaq Presario 700 laptop overheating (Problem Solved?)

Hi all,

Like many others I bought a compaq presario laptop 700 series (729EA) and
after a while I discovered it was prone to overheating (an understatement if
ever I heard one!). I trawled through the newsgroups and google applying
various patches etc, looking on the compaq website and applied the Softpaqs
it mentioned and the keyboard and mousepad updates that were suggested.

In short nothing really fixed the problem, the lockups seemed to happen
*slightly* less but then that could have just been my imagination. However
being the persistent (i.e. bone headed) person I am I dug around a bit
deeper, hopefully this might help some other people in the same
situation.....

I was "advised" by Compaq to twiddle with power settings (Control Panel -
Power Options) and set them to Laptop, this made no different whatsoever,
however it got me thinking. Apparently the point of doing that is so the
Athlon chip inside these machines will run cooler, but it doesn't. The
machine heated up just as much, the fan was *constantly* on.

Anyway to cut a long story short, I found out that AMD chips use something
called PowerNow! to control the speed the chip is running at, and guess
what....if you install Windows 2000 or Windows XP, the PowerNow! software IS
NOT installed. That's right, you have a nice new OS but your chip also runs
flat out all the time, probably thinking its in a nice big Desktop case with
huge fan when really its in a dinky little laptop with a small pixie gently
blowing on it. The PowerNow! software/drivers should be installed at the
factory, but if you're anything like me you rarely stick with a factory
setup (in my case they'd managed to "lose" about 10Gig of disk space because
of the way they'd partitioned it), so you reinstall the OS in the way that
you like it.

I installed the PowerNow! software and using the PowerNow dashboard software
(also from AMD) I can see that my chip drops down from running at 1.3Ghz to
about 500Mhz (obviously it zooms back up to full speed when it needs it),
the end result is that the chip runs a LOT cooler. My fan noise is barely
noticeable now and I no longer have the equivalent of an F16 Afterburner
exhaust shooting out of the side of my laptop.....oh and not a single lockup
*yet* (not conclusive I know, but I could consistently get one or two
lockups a day before).

Hope this helps others in the same (infuriating) situation,

John.



  #2  
Old July 11th 03, 01:09 PM
Rob King
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"John Edward Scott" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Like many others I bought a compaq presario laptop 700 series (729EA) and
after a while I discovered it was prone to overheating (an understatement

if
ever I heard one!). I trawled through the newsgroups and google applying
various patches etc, looking on the compaq website and applied the

Softpaqs
it mentioned and the keyboard and mousepad updates that were suggested.

In short nothing really fixed the problem, the lockups seemed to happen
*slightly* less but then that could have just been my imagination. However
being the persistent (i.e. bone headed) person I am I dug around a bit
deeper, hopefully this might help some other people in the same
situation.....

I was "advised" by Compaq to twiddle with power settings (Control Panel -
Power Options) and set them to Laptop, this made no different whatsoever,
however it got me thinking. Apparently the point of doing that is so the
Athlon chip inside these machines will run cooler, but it doesn't. The
machine heated up just as much, the fan was *constantly* on.

Anyway to cut a long story short, I found out that AMD chips use something
called PowerNow! to control the speed the chip is running at, and guess
what....if you install Windows 2000 or Windows XP, the PowerNow! software

IS
NOT installed. That's right, you have a nice new OS but your chip also

runs
flat out all the time, probably thinking its in a nice big Desktop case

with
huge fan when really its in a dinky little laptop with a small pixie

gently
blowing on it. The PowerNow! software/drivers should be installed at the
factory, but if you're anything like me you rarely stick with a factory
setup (in my case they'd managed to "lose" about 10Gig of disk space

because
of the way they'd partitioned it), so you reinstall the OS in the way that
you like it.

I installed the PowerNow! software and using the PowerNow dashboard

software
(also from AMD) I can see that my chip drops down from running at 1.3Ghz

to
about 500Mhz (obviously it zooms back up to full speed when it needs it),
the end result is that the chip runs a LOT cooler. My fan noise is barely
noticeable now and I no longer have the equivalent of an F16 Afterburner
exhaust shooting out of the side of my laptop.....oh and not a single

lockup
*yet* (not conclusive I know, but I could consistently get one or two
lockups a day before).


Dude! That's a pretty big find. Well done! :-)

Maybe that's the fault with all these 700s..... the hardware is fine, it's
just the software image that's screwed on these machines?

Now, I just have to get my 700 back from the service centre so I can fix it
myself.

BTW, got a URL for the software?


  #3  
Old July 11th 03, 07:21 PM
John Edward Scott
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Rob King" wrote in message
...

"John Edward Scott" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

SNIP

Dude! That's a pretty big find. Well done! :-)

Maybe that's the fault with all these 700s..... the hardware is fine, it's
just the software image that's screwed on these machines?

Now, I just have to get my 700 back from the service centre so I can fix

it
myself.

BTW, got a URL for the software?



Hi Rob,

Yeah hopefully it's going to be a big help, I'm on day 3 now without any
major lockups and the machine is DEFINITELY running a lot cooler. Ok, the
"official channels" say that to get the AMD PowerNow! stuff you're supposed
to go to AMD or the retailer (Compaq) to get it. Despite searching for AGES
on both of those sites I couldn't find it.

I have however managed to get it, so unless someone tells me otherwise I can
point you in the right direction. Remember of course that this is AMD's
software not mine, as far as I can tell it's not under any restrictions (I
looked and looked on AMD's site). Oh and I didn't have any problems
installing it, but remember BACKUP if you're in any doubts.

Feel free to get in touch if you need a hand, I'm very curious to see if
other people get the same results as me.

John.


  #4  
Old July 11th 03, 11:24 PM
John Edward Scott
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Rob King" wrote in message
...

"John Edward Scott" wrote in message
...

"Rob King" wrote in message
...

"John Edward Scott" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

SNIP

Dude! That's a pretty big find. Well done! :-)

Maybe that's the fault with all these 700s..... the hardware is fine,

it's
just the software image that's screwed on these machines?

Now, I just have to get my 700 back from the service centre so I can

fix
it
myself.

BTW, got a URL for the software?



Hi Rob,

Yeah hopefully it's going to be a big help, I'm on day 3 now without any
major lockups and the machine is DEFINITELY running a lot cooler. Ok,

the
"official channels" say that to get the AMD PowerNow! stuff you're

supposed
to go to AMD or the retailer (Compaq) to get it. Despite searching for

AGES
on both of those sites I couldn't find it.

I have however managed to get it, so unless someone tells me otherwise I

can
point you in the right direction. Remember of course that this is AMD's
software not mine, as far as I can tell it's not under any restrictions

(I
looked and looked on AMD's site). Oh and I didn't have any problems
installing it, but remember BACKUP if you're in any doubts.

Feel free to get in touch if you need a hand, I'm very curious to see if
other people get the same results as me.


I read on the AMD web site that you don't need the software in WinXP

beacuse
it already includes it.
I found this in the release notes at:

http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/SellAMDProducts/0,,30_177_3472_1353^3841^9079^964^4396,00.html



Rob,

I've just checked and the software I have has installs for XP and for
Win2K/98/ME. The Win2K/98/ME is quite a large install (about 1.5 Mb), the XP
install looks like it just installs the AMDK7.SYS driver, which *should* be
installed by Windows Update, however it would be interesting to know how
many AMD/XP owners out there don't have this already installed.

John.


  #5  
Old July 12th 03, 01:58 AM
Rob King
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I read on the AMD web site that you don't need the software in WinXP
beacuse
it already includes it.
I found this in the release notes at:


http://www.amd.com/us-en/Processors/SellAMDProducts/0,,30_177_3472_1353^3841^9079^964^4396,00.html



Interesting, are you running XP or 2000? (I'm using 2000 which definitely
doesn't include it by default).


It's currently running the default install of XP Home but I'll be nuking the
drives and putting XP Pro on it instead when I get it back.


  #6  
Old July 15th 03, 11:58 AM
John Edward Scott
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"John Edward Scott" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Like many others I bought a compaq presario laptop 700 series (729EA) and
after a while I discovered it was prone to overheating (an understatement

if
ever I heard one!). I trawled through the newsgroups and google applying
various patches etc, looking on the compaq website and applied the

Softpaqs
it mentioned and the keyboard and mousepad updates that were suggested.

SNIP

Just as a follow-up to myself ....it's currently a hot summers day here (for
England anyway!) and my fan is running far less and quieter than it did in
mid-winter. The PowerNow software has DEFINITELY made a difference.

5 days without a crash now...and counting..

John.


  #7  
Old July 15th 03, 12:31 PM
Rob King
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"John Edward Scott" wrote in message
...

"John Edward Scott" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Like many others I bought a compaq presario laptop 700 series (729EA)

and
after a while I discovered it was prone to overheating (an

understatement
if
ever I heard one!). I trawled through the newsgroups and google applying
various patches etc, looking on the compaq website and applied the

Softpaqs
it mentioned and the keyboard and mousepad updates that were suggested.

SNIP

Just as a follow-up to myself ....it's currently a hot summers day here

(for
England anyway!) and my fan is running far less and quieter than it did in
mid-winter. The PowerNow software has DEFINITELY made a difference.

5 days without a crash now...and counting..


Well I wish the service people would hurry up and return mine so I can try
this....... apparently work has been authorised to fix it.

And I bet the dude never once looked at this newsgroup :-)


  #8  
Old July 15th 03, 01:30 PM
John Edward Scott
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default


"Rob King" wrote in message
...

"John Edward Scott" wrote in message
...

"John Edward Scott" wrote in message
...
Hi all,

Like many others I bought a compaq presario laptop 700 series (729EA)

and
after a while I discovered it was prone to overheating (an

understatement
if
ever I heard one!). I trawled through the newsgroups and google

applying
various patches etc, looking on the compaq website and applied the

Softpaqs
it mentioned and the keyboard and mousepad updates that were

suggested.

SNIP

Just as a follow-up to myself ....it's currently a hot summers day here

(for
England anyway!) and my fan is running far less and quieter than it did

in
mid-winter. The PowerNow software has DEFINITELY made a difference.

5 days without a crash now...and counting..


Well I wish the service people would hurry up and return mine so I can try
this....... apparently work has been authorised to fix it.

And I bet the dude never once looked at this newsgroup :-)



Following my own experiences with Compaq...I don't even think they look at
their Intranet...let alone the Internet.

John.


  #9  
Old July 15th 03, 07:45 PM
Dillon Family
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

Can the PowerNow software be installed on a machine with XP? I thought an
earlier post mentioned XP had it built in. I can't see it in control panel
or power settings.

My 710US is freeze-free for the moment (even with 384 MB of ram) and seems
to be cooler after running a Softpaq that had to do with updating the
controller (or something). But would like to know about the PowerNow thing.
Thanks and good luck.





Just as a follow-up to myself ....it's currently a hot summers day

here
(for
England anyway!) and my fan is running far less and quieter than it

did
in
mid-winter. The PowerNow software has DEFINITELY made a difference.

5 days without a crash now...and counting..





---
Outgoing mail is certified pretty darn clean.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.488 / Virus Database: 287 - Release Date: 6/5/2003


  #10  
Old July 17th 03, 01:39 AM
Dillon Family
external usenet poster
 
Posts: n/a
Default

I did a search on that amdk7.sys file, and I seem to have it in several
locations on my XP laptop, including in C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM32\DRIVERS and
C:\WINDOWS\ServicePackFiles\i386 as well as C:\I386 and some file folders
with long numerical strings. So, I guess I have the software (all the files
in question have the Date Modified as 8/29/2002. It just doesn't show up as
a separate function in the power section of Control Panel.

Thanks.


"John Edward Scott" wrote in message
...

"Dillon Family" wrote in message
...
Can the PowerNow software be installed on a machine with XP? I thought

an
earlier post mentioned XP had it built in. I can't see it in control

panel
or power settings.

My 710US is freeze-free for the moment (even with 384 MB of ram) and

seems
to be cooler after running a Softpaq that had to do with updating the
controller (or something). But would like to know about the PowerNow

thing.
Thanks and good luck.



SNIP

Hi Dillon,

Yes the PowerNow has an install for XP, it's a LOT more minimal than the
2000/ME/98 install, infact looking at it all it installs is the AMDK7.SYS
file, so you could just look to see if that's already installed on your
machine.

On Win2000, the PowerNow tab appears in Power Options (Start - Control
Panel - Power Options), I assuming something similar will happen in XP if
it's installed properly.

John.




---
Outgoing mail is certified pretty darn clean.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.488 / Virus Database: 287 - Release Date: 6/5/2003


 




Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

vB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off
Forum Jump

Similar Threads
Thread Thread Starter Forum Replies Last Post
Athlon CPU Upgrade in Compaq Laptop Karl North Overclocking AMD Processors 3 June 16th 04 07:52 AM
Problem: Compaq EVO D310 vs Nvidia Graphics Card. Tomas General 5 November 1st 03 06:39 PM
Problem with Connecting my LCD Monitor with my Laptop ... HELP!!! Emmanuel Paul General 0 September 28th 03 07:01 PM
Laptop TV Out Problem - Help! Chris Helps Nvidia Videocards 0 August 29th 03 01:06 AM
Presario 5000 Picture suddenly died completely (Compaq had no idea what casued it) Licensed to Quill Compaq Computers 1 July 6th 03 07:26 PM


All times are GMT +1. The time now is 09:11 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.6.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Copyright ©2004-2024 HardwareBanter.
The comments are property of their posters.