Vista SP1 Horror Story - Sudden Freezes with BEEP of death

[LL]

I do wish to thank Microsoft for their efforts in putting out SP1 RTM and
wish to say good things about them.

However I must say I felt shock to see the behaviour of my 2 weeks old HP
DV2522tx Notebook yesterday after having SP1 installed on Genuine Vista Home
Premium English.
The Notebook has 4Gb RAM and 250Gb SATA Harddisk. I left it on running for
several days on top of a cooling pad fan to avoid any overheating. There was
basically no activity or nothing running except BitTorrent downloading some
files over wireless LAN. I have Avast antivirus installed. All possible
drivers updates/service packs were downloaded and installed. The notebook
runs on the latest BIOS version from HP.

Suddenly, the computer beeped loudly a few times and the screen showed white
colour patches everywhere that covered up a large portion of the screen, then
got frozen completely. The only thing I could do was to switch it off by
pressing the power button 6 seconds. After booting it up again, I couldn't
see much information in the event viewer that tells me what went wrong.

Another horror story: I had a few tabs opened on IE7. I went to a website
with java applet for chat room. Once I clicked the Java applet, IE7 suddenly
crashed/disappeared. No error reporting or anything - it just took place so
suddenly. I could not repeat this problem as it seems intermittent.

It does make me feel that after a year's wait, I still have no faith in
Windows' reliability. I wonder how many more centuries will they take to
create a rock solid high performing computer for home/business?

 

[Frank]

I do wish to thank Microsoft for their efforts in putting out SP1 RTM and
wish to say good things about them.

However I must say I felt shock to see the behaviour of my 2 weeks old HP
DV2522tx Notebook yesterday after having SP1 installed on Genuine Vista Home
Premium English.
The Notebook has 4Gb RAM and 250Gb SATA Harddisk. I left it on running for
several days on top of a cooling pad fan to avoid any overheating. There was
basically no activity or nothing running except BitTorrent downloading some
files over wireless LAN. I have Avast antivirus installed. All possible
drivers updates/service packs were downloaded and installed. The notebook
runs on the latest BIOS version from HP.

Suddenly, the computer beeped loudly a few times and the screen showed white
colour patches everywhere that covered up a large portion of the screen, then
got frozen completely. The only thing I could do was to switch it off by
pressing the power button 6 seconds. After booting it up again, I couldn't
see much information in the event viewer that tells me what went wrong.

\
BIOS beep's? Sounds just like a hardware failure. Overheating possibly?

Another horror story: I had a few tabs opened on IE7. I went to a website
with java applet for chat room. Once I clicked the Java applet, IE7 suddenly
crashed/disappeared.

So the java applet crashed IE...hummm.

No error reporting or anything - it just took place so

suddenly. I could not repeat this problem as it seems intermittent.

It does make me feel that after a year's wait, I still have no faith in
Windows' reliability. I wonder how many more centuries will they take to
create a rock solid high performing computer for home/business?

I've got 17 of them. Of course, other than my laptop, which is 5 yrs old
and I flattened the HDD the min I got it, we've built all of them ourselves.

You have contacted HP about your two problems right?
Frank

 

[LL]

I hope it is not due to overheating as I already have invested in a cooling
pad with 3 fans underneath to help. I don't feel the computer was hot. I
called HP and they just gave me some usual answers that aren't extraordinary.
They told me to run the BIOS diagnostic to check harddisk and RAM. I believe
I have done these tests before. I can do them again just in case. 13 years
after Java's launch, I still feel paranoid to use any websites that uses it.
All these are just undependable toys.
Just think how let down I felt when I purchased another new HP desktop
preloaded with Vista and Norton Security - it BSOD just after a few hours of
me playing around with it. Has Vista SP1 made it rock solid? I don't think
so. Maybe wait another 7 years to get SP4 to see a bit more trust established.

 

[Frank]

I hope it is not due to overheating as I already have invested in a cooling
pad with 3 fans underneath to help. I don't feel the computer was hot. I
called HP and they just gave me some usual answers that aren't extraordinary.
They told me to run the BIOS diagnostic to check harddisk and RAM. I believe
I have done these tests before. I can do them again just in case. 13 years
after Java's launch, I still feel paranoid to use any websites that uses it.
All these are just undependable toys.
Just think how let down I felt when I purchased another new HP desktop
preloaded with Vista and Norton Security - it BSOD just after a few hours of
me playing around with it. Has Vista SP1 made it rock solid? I don't think
so. Maybe wait another 7 years to get SP4 to see a bit more trust established.

Well, as I said in my original post, BIOS beeps usually indicate a
hardware problem and no amount of SP's will fix any hardware problem. If
you intend to leave your laptop on and unattended for long periods of
time, like overnight, you may want to try closing the lid to create a
"V" shape and then set it on it's side edge, if possible, so that the
back is in open air.
I have done this...but be sure it's stable.
Also I'm not at all in favor purchasing anything pre-installed. The
combo you mentioned...Vista & Norton can be lethal. Norton and anything
can be lethal...LOL! Vista SP1 certainly isn't going to fix Norton.
Symantec needs to fix Norton.
If you want something done right, do it yourself...at least that how I
operate.
As to "trust", you're putting most of your trust in HP.
Good luck in solving your problems.
Frank

 

[PotsOn]

\
BIOS beep's? Sounds just like a hardware failure. Overheating possibly?

So the java applet crashed IE...hummm.

No error reporting or anything - it just took place so

I've got 17 of them. Of course, other than my laptop, which is 5 yrs old
and I flattened the HDD the min I got it, we've built all of them
ourselves.

You have contacted HP about your two problems right?
Frank

The truth...fista is just a piece of crap.
Simple huh?
NoStop

--
What does Bill Gates use?
http://tinyurl.com/2zxhdl

Proprietary Software: a 20th Century software business model.

Microsoft Is Watching YOU: http://tinyurl.com/2ptclh

 

[PotsOn]

Well, as I said in my original post, BIOS beeps usually indicate a
hardware problem and no amount of SP's will fix any hardware problem. If
you intend to leave your laptop on and unattended for long periods of
time, like overnight, you may want to try closing the lid to create a
"V" shape and then set it on it's side edge, if possible, so that the
back is in open air.
I have done this...but be sure it's stable.
Also I'm not at all in favor purchasing anything pre-installed. The
combo you mentioned...Vista & Norton can be lethal. Norton and anything
can be lethal...LOL! Vista SP1 certainly isn't going to fix Norton.
Symantec needs to fix Norton.
If you want something done right, do it yourself...at least that how I
operate.
As to "trust", you're putting most of your trust in HP.
Good luck in solving your problems.
Frank

The truth...fista is just a piece of crap.
Simple huh?
NoStop

--
What does Bill Gates use?
http://tinyurl.com/2zxhdl

Proprietary Software: a 20th Century software business model.

Microsoft Is Watching YOU: http://tinyurl.com/2ptclh

 

[Bill Yanaire]

The truth...fista is just a piece of crap.
Simple huh?
NoStop

Well now, if Vista such a piece of crap, why not go to the Ubuntu forum and
help out those folks instead of just posting "vista is crap" all over the
place? Unless you have nothing better to do

 

[LL]

I have run the Vista Memory Diagnostic test and it passed all 2 phases
Does it show that my sudden freeze + beeps do not relate to RAM? The
notebook was also placed on a 3 fan cooling pad so I dont believe it relates
to overheating.