Netbook freezes randomly

I'll try that -- write on here asap if it does start freezing though, as I live in Cambodia and RAM is stupid expensive over here. What brand did you get?

And by the way, my system was manufactured on 06/18/2009 -- when was yours? This is an open question to everyone to see if we can work some patterns out.

 

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Here on Brazil is very rare to find a memory module of 2 GB with 533mhz. All is 667mhz and 800mhz. Even 1GB 533mhz is difficulty to find. =/

My 751h was manufactured on 29/06/09, model n. 1145.

 

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I did exatcly like that, and the bad one still freezes when using Webcam, while the good one is still OK.
Both of them has the same Samsung 2GB RAM 667Mhz, same BIOS version 3208, all drivers have same version.
However the non-freezing, unlike the bad one, has built-in bluetooth, and a Toshiba 250GB HD instead of a Seagate 250GB HD

I totally agree, I guess that the difference between 533MHz and 667MHz RAM is how the motherboard handles Memory Divider Ratio, and I think this could be fixed with a BIOS update

 

I purchased this netbook about two weeks ago, wish I would have known about this issue before hand. bios is updated to 3210, intel gma 500 updated and latest realtek drivers, running the pre-insall xp home for now. webcam is disabled (do not use). tried taking the plastic ram cover off for a few days there seems to be no difference, ethernet is disabled, I use wireless which is on all day, is it not the wireless adapter causing this for me. system restore, automatic updates disabled and all power saving options set to never. sav running in background, utorrent runs for a good part of the day usually and well as ie8 is constant running. The netbook is also almost always plugged in, 95% of the time, even in saying that its never froze runnig on the battery. I still get atleast one freeze a day. I find that the system freezes most often just after the system has been turned on, after being off for a period of time within an hour or so, I find that if it has been running all day that I don't notice any problems, execpt I find that when I'm trying to burning something with a usb dvd burner using nero 9, I've tried making the restore dvds several times, every time it freezes in the middle, I've given up making those all together. hope this info helps. waiting for a newer bios update

 

If you can get a stick of ram that will fit and run for a day or 3 and test it...

 

This makes me believe that the problem is still in the hard disks as discussed earlier. I'll send mine to acer and hope they can fix this very annoying problem. I will stop waiting for a software solution, cause I don't think there is any.

 

I put my 320GB Hitachi drive in when I first got the 751 along with the Corsair Value ram 2gb stick (both form my eeePC) and have had no freezes. This coudl point to the hard drive I guess as it was very reliable in my eee as well, although so was the memory! Eee's are notorious at rejecting memory modules and the Corsair I got was instantly recognised by that too.

 

Im into IT. Recently purchased AO751h-1273 .It came with 2 gb samsung 667 mhz ram and 250 gb hitachi hdd . like all i get random freezes but its once or twice a day irrespective of the load or temprature or OS . Ran prime95 for few hrs it didnt freeze .once it was idlling no load at all it froze. like all its totally random plus i purchased it frm US ,currently in india warranty is not applicable to me so i myself need to find a solution. currently running Windows 7 rtm . as it is random its not easy to replicate the freeze intentionally . but with my model im able to replicate the freeze each time by:-

(scenario 1)
running on battery (loaded with win 7 and drivers). plugged in any usb pendrive or portable 2.5" hdd which has image of any dvd greater then 2gb in ISO format (i used autocad dvd iso 3.37gb or autocad 3dmax iso 2.5gb + windows 7 iso 3 gb. started a file transfer by copying from pendrive to netbook hdd (i simulatanoeusly selected 2 iso file to be more precise which summed to more then 5 gb) and the netbook freezes sometime halfway of the copy or sometime at the end of transfer (100% at least with my netbook).note :-this scenario only work s when on battery . if tried the same with plugged in transfer gets completed.there are other senario where the freeze can be replicated but its not always.

well wats the use of this . there is! to test ram modules .now y have i jumped to this conclusion that ram is the culprit. well it is not the culprit !!!! use the same ram from the freezing model and inany other laptop it wil work perfectly.

the theory is wat "fauxpas" says that this netbook is fussy with ram modules and not able to underclock.

The issue is with the main board or processor check the errata of z520 atom one of them is

AAE45 Processor May Contain Incorrect Data and Hang Upon a Snoop when
Combined with Specific Other Internal Conditions
Problem: In a specific corner case, a snoop to a processor may cause incorrect data that will be
followed by a hang.
Implication: Due to this erratum, the processor may contain incorrect data and hang in this specific
circumstance.
Workaround: It is possible for the BIOS to contain a workaround for this erratum.

there are more in the errata. http://download.intel.com/design/proces ... 319536.pdf

well this one or may be other got addressed in bios 3206 or later but still there are chances it didnt completely.
so some ram are running fine some are not .
now internal conditions also include other hardware components . so our proccessor and chipset along with the chipset of lan(realtek) ,wireless(artheros ) , sound(realtek) and of the course the ram is making a perfect recipe to trigger the freeze.

this may explain as to y with same proccessor and chipset other manufacturers of netbook not experiencing the same issue as they either be using different or may be using same lan, wireless and sound chipset but with slight variation of model no. which is not triggering the freeze .

well if any of the hardware is actually faulty then it will give bsod or NMI party error or etc......
i have reparied quite a few of laptops and have experirenced this freezing issue twice wherin the the ram slot of the laptop was faulty due to which i had to press and hold the ram of the laptop for it to detect and when the laptop boots up at any given time i use to release the press it would freeze same like our netbook(now this dosent mean that our slots are faulty and plz do not press the ram to test if it freezes or not u wil damage the slot .ours has to do with the architecture and design of the netbook hardware).

so we narrow our conclusion to ram as none of the other hardware component or ram is giving and error or bsod while runnig a OS . it is exhibiting ram compatibility wherin the laptop losses communication with ram and freezes like in my above given example.

so chances are that another bios update might solve it but the probablity is less .
its beter to hunt for ram like other have said .
till now i have tested few ram modules reults are:-
(working)
1 gb qimonda 667 mhz
1 gb promos 800 mhz

(not working )
2 gb samsung 667mhz
2 gb qimonda 667mhz (supprising 1 gb worked of same company)
1 gb hynix 667 mhz
1 gb transcend 667mhz

Well i ran the above ram for an hr or so and used the above described "scenario 1" a few times on each ram module to trigger the freeze and came to conclusion of working and not working ram modules.

well dont have any 2gb ram modules to test on if i get ill update the working and not working list .
any ways on other peoples posting i have come to a conclusion that 2gb corsair value select either 667 or 800 mhz should work . mostly thinking of buyin one for my netbook will update .

hey fauxpas u replaced ur ram with wat model and spec and after replacing did u r netbook freeze even once plz can u update on this.

 

Don't buy! My model has this memory - 2gb DDR2 Corsair 667mhz - and it freezes when using webcam and scrolling at word or pdf.

 

I've had frequent lockups AGAIN so I finally decided to send it for repair AGAIN because I still have the warranty of (60 days) from the previous
service repair they have done to my netbook and of course they paid for the shipping.

I wonder what they will change this time in my system.
3 freezing netbooks, Twice sent for repair... This is so WRONG.

Anyways, I will update here once I get my netbook.
I'm really hoping the 2nd time around they will resolve this issue plus the WEBCAM that dosn't even work.

 

Yet another user with freezes. Scrolling pages in Word or browsing the web in Google Chrome, calls on Skype over 60 minutes, or once in awhile just for no reason I get freezes. I bought my Acer right before an overseas trip and had everything prepared before I left. Now that I'm here in China I started to notice the problems. Sending the unit out for a useless repair won't fit in my schedule. At this point I think the only thing that will get the ball rolling is a class action lawsuit. We all need a replacement unit of a different model or a refund. It's pathetic when the only people that care about a products problem is the people who've been burned by it. The company is dead silent.

 

I totally agree! The Acer is total careless of the consumer rights. And they continue to sell this netbook as it have no problem at all.

 

From Acer online live support:

******: May I confirm that you change the operating system factory installed in your system to Windows 7?
Me: Yes
******: Please let me know whether the issue happened after changing the operating system?
Me: The problem started before I changed the operating system, and persisted after I changed it.
******: Tyler, your system is not elligible for windows 7 upgrade. So if you install Windows 7 the issue will be more worse. Also we are not able to support you because you change the operating system.

Moral of the story: Don't tell them you installed Windows 7.

 

Which answers another question I've been meaning to start a new thread on: does changing the OS void the warranty? My guess was, absolutely it would, and this seems to be confirmed.

Can anyone else chime in?

 

This probably depends on the individual legal situation in a country, whereas I think installing a new / different OS can not be considered an action that renders the warranty void. Of course, software related issues (e.g. driver problems) would most likely no longer be covered by warranty if the pre-installed OS has been tempered with, while hardware related issues (e.g. malfunction of certain components) should remain covered by warranty.

 

I was curious, so I looked this up.

Acer is running a Windows 7 Upgrade Offer: http://www.acer.com/windows7upgrade/

This offer continues through January 31st, 2010.

Click on the "Eligible Models" link under Step 1. Look at the very first model.

 

Ha ha ha ha ha! That's hilarious! They don't have a leg to stand on when they say that your warranty is void for changing operating systems. Not that they had a leg to stand on before - they can't tell you what software to run on your computer!

 

Yes, but the way the whole upgrade thing works is that you have to have a comparable OS - I dunno about you, but my 751 came with Home BASIC.

Vista Home BASIC doesn't generally qualify for a free/reduced upgrade to Win7 from any manufacturer I've seen, and that includes Acer; look under the dark blue box where it says "Upgrade Option Offer Paths to Windows 7"; under that box, it says "Note; MS Vista Home Basic, starter, and XP (all editions) do not qualify for upgrades to Win7 under this program"

Sorry guys......