Netbook freezes randomly

For those with the freezing problem, what revision mainboard do you have? The latest I have seen is E3H and those models seem to be stable. I have heard of an E3I.

Typically, when a customer brings their unit in and it is freezing it has E3C or E3E.

look at the sticker on the dimm slot on the bottom, should have your revision.

 

Didn't find nothing, except the "Model NO. ZA3". Don't know if this is the motherboard model number.
My model freezes. =/

 

My one is also "Model NO. ZA3", but I found it is "REV. 3A". Couldn't find any of those revision numbers "techiediva" talked about.
Usually I have freezings only when trying to test those games Acer sent preinstalled.

 

Mine says E3H on the DIMM slot and it was a freezer until I put in the Asus OC-approved Hynix RAM.

 

Good that the Hynix RAM worked for you. However, it's doesn't seem to be available. Did several intensive searches, and it's "out of stock" or "we don't carry that anymore" at 11 different identified vendors.

So - where to buy? Thanks.

 

Well, I am not aware of many sources either, it seemed the Asus people were overly happy when they found this guy:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...19109&_sacat=See-All-Categories&_fvi=1&_rdc=1

His sale suddenly went sky-high and he was pretty quick to follow up with his price. I did also after intensive search manage to find someone locally with a very few in its inventory so I managed to save tax and shipping. I had to contact the shop first to make sure it was the very same part number on the module.

Wish I could be more helpful.

Dont give up

 

So I take it that compatible memory - 2GB 800MHz PC2 6400 DDR2 Non-ECC CL5 200Pin SODIMM - made by manufacturers like Samsung, Micron, Transcend, or Kingston - won't work, or won't work as well? Or is the Acer recommendation just "this is the only brand we took the time to test?"

Because Hynix is often used as a "cheap house brand" by outfits like MemoryStock, etc.

Again, thanks for your responses.

 

Well I dont know why Asus (not Acer) only accept the Hynix (and one more apparently).
I got this tip here on the forum so I started going through the Asus forums to find out which memory all the talk was about.
That is how I made my decision.

It would be nice if more people would test different modules and post reports with exact results and information, so we would have more to choose from.

I expect they would fall into 3 categories; Those that always freeze, those that freeze on some and not on others, and those that dont freeze.
Specially the 2nd category will vary depending on what software the user has installed/running when testing.

People seem to conclude very quickly that its not the memory because it freeze on some and not on others.
We need exact facts to draw conclusions.

There is a pretty cheap Hynix on Ebay, but its a 667MHz 5-5-5 (Hence the Y5). Dont know if this will work or not though.
http://cgi.ebay.com/Hynix-PC2-5300S...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item5d271dc059

Edit: My guess is it would work, looking at the specs. Would be nice to know exactly what makes the the difference.
Somebody willing to try?
If it works, it has to do with the features. If it dont, it has to do with the speed (which i think is more unlikely).
http://www.hynix.com/datasheet/eng/...p?menu1=01&menu2=01&menu3=02&menuNo=1&m=1&s=2

 

mine is also as above za3 rev 3A under te mem. door it has hynix 2 gig stick in it was made 06/09 just bought it at radio shack blcaak friday

 

For what it is worth I had tried to find cmeide's memory (Hynix HYMP125S64CP8-S6 AB) and thought I had but the memory ended up being the S5 version when it arrived instead of the S6 that cmeide used.

It did improve my initial freeze situation which usually happened during a scrolling operation or just moving the mouse over the vertical scroll bars to only freezing when the system was idle. So I never experienced a freeze when using the system but if I left it idle it would freeze almost every day at some point. That is certainly much better than before but still irritating.

Also, although the memory chips themselves were Hynix the memory card did not have a Hynix label on it like I have seen on other Hynix memory cards. It had a sticker:

2GB 256x64 PC2-6400 CL5
ICRD322/800HY 128X8
Warranty Void If Removed 090936

It also had a bar code sticker with: 376339

After looking at the Hynix memory specs documents it seems to me this PC2-6400 CL5 memory is the "HYMP125S64CP8-S5" memory even though it is not specifically labeled as such.

The following memory was even better than the S5 mentioned above but is only 1GB. It is from Add-On Computer's 1GB memory module running at 533Mhz and it almost never freezes. Maybe once a week or maybe once in 2-weeks it will freeze when idle. Again, it has never frozen when in active use with this memory. This memory info is:

AA533D2S3/1GB
1GB DDR2 PC2-4200 200Pin
SKU: F72389; 89878E, 20602

Bar code of: 8-21455-00495-1

My original memory that froze a lot was a Hynix labeled memory card:

Hynix 1GB 2Rx16 PC2-5300S-555-12
HYMP112S64CP6-Y5 AB-C 0913

At this point I am tempted to try the S6 memory and would be happy to spend the $80 or so if I knew it would totally fix my freeze problem. It would be a bummer to waste even more money though if that did not work. I'm not sure what I am going to do yet...

 

@LanaiLizard - Very good info.

For those looking for the motherboard revision code that Techiediva is talking about, dont look on the back of the cover. The code is on the sticker on the memory slot itself, just right of the bar code

 

Sorry, but where is this code we are looking for? Are you saying that we have to remove the memory chip to see the motherboard version?

If we do that, what effect will this have on the netbook's warranty? I can just imagine a scenario where some Acer repair person claims that the problem was due to the customer mucking about with the computer's innards.

Plus, if there are known "bad" motherboards, can anyone explain why isn't Acer recalling these particular netbooks and fixing them at their expense? Why isn't the company doing the right thing here? Why do we have to buy memory to fix their problem?

 

No, you do not need to remove or loosen anything but the cover.
I tried putting a pic but the limit is reached long ago.

 

Many thanks, cmeide, for your reply.

However, this still doesn't answer my question about why Acer isn't recalling these netbooks with the flawed motherboard/memory.

 

Ok, after much experimentation I've come to the following conclusions:
There are two main factors for which this machine freezes:

- The first one is the display driver, problem which is fixed in newer intel display drivers.

- The second is than once that you've installed the newer drivers, even the machine will work better, it will still freeze do of reason 2: FOCUSED HIGH TEMPERATURE.

So the problem is not whether it is in a hot or cold envirment but rather the lack of good ventilation, and the normal consequences of bad compurer ventilation design.
Work around??. Well, in my case, I use AA1FanControl v1.5 which can be downloaded for free (google it).
I've set mine to start movng the fan when it's 50 C degree and not to stop until it's 40.
Since I installed it I've had no more crashes.

So, either Acer has been running all of their prototype tests in winter or some lousy-netbook-ventilation-designers should get fired.
This issue should certainly be fixed by Acer on next BIOS version (maybe adding underclocking capabiilities, of fan control user options), because this is absolutely a consequence of lousy-desing and bad-cooling components/desing problem.

hope this info is helpfull for all of you guys

Martin

 

I use an "elevation device" under back edge of my laptops, especially if the laptop is being used on a table with a table cloth. Doing that seems to improve air flow thru the vents on the bottom of many, perhaps most, but not all laptops. Currently, my elevation devices are a piece of 1" by 2" - appx 3 inches long. Not too thick books work too. Ergonomically, having the laptops' keyboard at a slant is more comfortable for me. Don't know if this would help 751 computers that overheat.

 

I put a 2gb PC2 6400 Crucial ram stick in mine. I've never had any problems, knock on wood.

 

I believe that a previous entry by techiediva said that the E3H boards were stable. Of course, whoever they were might be misinformed. I assume that they work for Acer if they have that kind of information.

 

If you actually read his/her post you will see "seems to be stable"

This thread is about identifying the causes and symptoms of this freezing issue and helping those who still have that problem.

IMHO Techiediva came with a very useful bit of information to fit into the puzzle and to that at least I am very grateful.
I hope your sour remarks will not keep this person from contributing more with his/her knowledge.

 

What on earth is "sour" about my post? Someone appears to have replaced memory on what was said to be a stable motherboard (E3H). Then either the previous comment about the board's stability from techiediva is in error or gadzooks64 has a different issue with their system. Where is that being critical???????????????????