Netbook freezes randomly

I was referring to item B and I thought your message was ironic. If your message was serious, I'm sorry. Item A is written by myself and can be easily seen by the quotes.

 

Hello guys, I'm from Hong Kong, I have the same freezing problem.

I can make it freeze every time within 1 hour, using 3dmark 2001, or other direct3d programs that can stress the gpu. (A opengl program won't work, because the gma500 drivers don't support it, except the embedded drivers) It happens no matter whether I'm using xp, or windows 7, with acer's drivers or intel's.

I've got it back the day before yesterday, and they've replaced the motherboard(to e3h) and the ram.

Still having freezes, so I've sent it back to them today.

edit:i set 3dmark to run in loop mode

 

A friend of mine says that the 751h netbooks (& some hp netbooks) freezes because intel's gma500 overheats.
He knows a guy that can fix it (make it cooler) for about $14 U.S. ("Scrape off some stuff & slap on thermal grease & new heat-sink." I think he said...maybe)

Martin's AA1FanControl tip seems to be working well for me for a week now, so i don't see myself trying that.......until summer.

 

I bought the 751 in August and was able to use it for hours over a pillow, without any freeze if you didn't do certain actions: I doubt it's a heat related problem, at least for me. From my experience, I think it's an hardware fault of the GMA500, specifically in the 3d acceleration part. Brief explanation: if it was something else, you wouldn't be able to start Windows or install a new OS without any problem (until you use it). IMHO, freezes are triggered by the graphics driver when it calls for specific 3d funcions, activating some specific (and somehow broken) circuitry and thus sending the machine in an infinite loop. Maybe it's just a badly soldered pin.

I did finally send mine to Acer, packed in a 10-centimeter thick PU foam envelope, hoping that this way I won't get scratches or other damages. At least it was free of charge. I bundled a short description of the problems (freezes + faulty USB), a little bit exaggerated in order to prompt them to change the MoBo immediately: I don't want to send it back three times for that. The package will be delivered to Acer Support Center today: I'll post updates as the situation evolves.

EDIT: 751 was delivered to Acer today at 10:25 CET.

 

I padded my machine with a ton of bubble-wrap, unfortunately, the scratches happened in their repair facility. As if it was turned upside down on a metal surface and roughly handled.

Also, they don't pad the notebook when they ship it back to you. They have a cardboard "slot" on each end of the notebook so it sits in the middle of the box. But if it gets loose from it's slots or anything heavy crushes the mostly empty box, you are looking at some damage. It's generally infuriating. Good luck and hopefully they've gotten enough complaints to start packing computers better before they ship them back.

 

FWIW, I disabled the graphics acceleration a week ago and haven't seen the computer freeze since then. That might not work for everyone, but it has worked for me.

 

@ TrackSmart: I don't think I will accept scratches caused by Acer over my 751. If I cause them, that's my fault and my money, but if they damage my property, I want repair. They'll have to behave, or I'll bother them to death.

@ samcat: Yes, maybe disabling hardware acceleration is a way, but I paid for 3d acceleration and I want it to work. Actually, I spent money also for Intel Virtualization Technology and OpenGL 2.0, which are supported by the 751 hardware but not by software and drivers.

Today I was notified by Acer that my 751 has arrived and is awaiting for repair. The email was sent from Acer Computer UK Repair Centre, but I live 2000 km away from UK. There are many strange things. On Acer Support site, it's said you have to send your packages via TNT courier, but they sent me a UPS shipping sheet. On the UPS sheet, the destination was the Acer support Center in my country, and now I get this mail. Let's hope they do things as I expec them to, otherwise THEY won't be happy. Consumer groups do have their power here.

 

I have not had any random lockup since I received my repair netbook on October 31 -- well I did have one but my daughter connected her phone to the USB port to download photos and walked away so I don't know I can blame that isolate incident on the netbook.

In my professional opinion as a software/hardware engineer, the motherboard is the most likely cause. Technically it could be the graphics card or some other hardwired component, but the only way to correct those problems is to replace the MB. Everything else is a waste of time (and money) -- unless you enjoy that kind of thing and don't want to rely on your netbook for "real" work.

I will probably never buy and Acer, but my AO751H is running as I would expect it to run.

 

Good luck with that. I hope that the repair works out for you. My experience with Acer support has been a poor one. They seem to have a we-don't-care-we-don't-have-to attitude. Maybe I've just been unlucky with the people that I've spoken with, but based on what is posted in this forum, I think that my experience is fairly typical.

They don't need to worry about public pressure. As long as they lo-ball the competition, people are going to buy their product whether it is well-designed or adequately supported. I certainly would never consider an Acer product again. There's a reason why their computers are so cheap.

 

Yep, and your problem will be solved by the time your netbook is antique

 

Sure, but that's no problem: since I wasted some money, it would be just for the sake of revenge. Acer will pay all the money I gave them, in negative advertising, shipping and repairing costs, etc.
I own three Acer computers: one doesn't support standby (BIOS fault), one is dramatically slow (an AOA110), and one hangs with no reason. I also own a Packard Bell laptop that works flawlessly (PB was still part of the NEC group). At present time, PB is part of Acer, so I won't buy it. If I'll have to buy, I'll go for an Asus, or a Samsung.

 

Replacing the motherboard is not a guarantee of solving the problem. I've now seen six E3H mb's with the same freeze issues, including two returned from Acer service with new E3H boards.

The problem is thermal. On all six E3H's, running AA1FC on maximum eliminated most freezes - in several cases, from once or twice an hour to once or twice every 8-10 hours of operation. Running AA1FC and placing the netbook on a fan-equipped laptop platform completely eliminated the issue in all but one unit, which continued to freeze about once a day.

I think the different results on this thread are due to different brands and builds of components being used by Acer - some of which are more thermal-resistant than others - likely mostly memory. (The brand and quality of the memory across all six E3H's varies radically - all are original equipment.) The overall problem is that Acer simply designed the unit very poorly in regards to cooling and then manufactured it badly in terms of the quality and consistency of key components. Failing to acknowledge the problem and provide fixes simply confirms the Acer record.

I'm with others on this - I won't buy another Acer product.

 

Wouldn't it be nice if just once Acer would acknowledge their design mistake with this netbook and recalled these units? Surely, someone from Acer is following this forum and has seen the 48 pages of discussion about this intermittent freezing problem.

I guess it is cheaper to alienate customers and eliminate the possibility of future sales. Seems like a poor business plan to me.

It's a shame, too. When this netbook works, it is really a nice little machine. The size is right; the screen is good. It's not fast, but no one expects a netbook to be so. IF this netbook were reliable, it would be ideal for travel.

 

I wonder what they will replace this time, last time they've replaced the MB and ram for me.

I think we should gather together in a chat room or create a facebook group, and think of an organized action to get our voice heard.

 

Acer Aspire One 0751h

Don't get one. I have been trying to get this thing straightened out for three or four months. It locked up when I got it.”Freezes” is the term the the Aspire Users group uses on 48 pages of comments and questions (viewtopic.php?f=87&t=16164&p=109149&hilit=freeze#p109149).

I have updated every bit of software and BIOS listed at its web site. I have cleaned out every bit of bloatware it came with – including the 90 day Microsoft trial. I even changed the dummy SD card that came in the SD Slot to a real card – because that was a suggestion from one of the elves that wrote me on the user group. I also dumbed down the touch-pad to reduce the load. I followed every stupid or clever suggestion offered – and reduced the frequency by a factor of 10 but I did not eliminate it. It still happens once a day.

Yesterday was the last straw when it froze again while I was using it for a Skype Video call. It always locks up on SKYPE audio or video calls. So I don't use it for that anymore. It also locks up on any Internet Explorer session. And Firefox. And Google Chrome. Everything else is a crap shoot.

It is a Netbook. I use it on the Net. That is all. I don't calculate orbital velocities of asteroids or the gravitational interaction of subatomic particles. I use it to look up things on the Internet while I watch TV.

By freeze I mean: the monitor is on, no keys work, the mouse does not move, the clock does not change, the wireless and hard drive lights do not flicker, alt-ctrl-del does not work. I wait five, ten, twenty minutes, and when nothing changes I hold down the on/off button until it goes off. Then I restart and go hunting for the issue.

Not one word from Acer acknowledging they have a serious problem. ACER “You have a problem!”

 

New Intel® Graphics Media Accelerator 500 drivers came out on 12/18/2009.

http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Sea...l®+Graphics+Media+Accelerator+500&ProdId=3180

or

http://www.intel.com/support/internetdevices/netbook/atom/sb/CS-030864.htm


Did anybody try em yet?.....you go first.

 

Installed them and everything seems fine so far. Wish I knew what was changed/fixed in these though.

 

The change log shows what was fixed (and all known issues). Here is the link to the Windows 7 change log.
http://downloadmirror.intel.com/18470/eng/relnotes_7_gfx.htm

I ended up swapping my unit for another one at RadioShack, and so far everything looks good. I've stress tested the graphics with no problems (previous unit died within a few minutes doing this). I haven't cracked it open to see if there is different hardware inside yet (MB revision/RAM). I put this latest graphics driver on my new machine and its been working with no problems.

 

When I looked at the Intel link, the updated Intel drivers are for Win 7 and XP only. No joy for Vista, which is the OS that came with my machine.

I wonder why Vista didn't receive new drivers. The freezing problem certainly occurs with Vista and I'm not about to purchase a new OS just to test out these updated drivers.

As I mentioned, I can disable the graphics acceleration to make the machine more stable. It doesn't entirely eliminate the problem, but it does reduce the freezing problem somewhat. Of course, in doing this, I am potentially downgrading the performance.

I suspect that the problem is STILL hardware based. These software fixes are just a band-aid on a serious design flaw.

C'mon, Acer. Do the right thing. Recall these netbooks. Stand behind your product line.

BTW, there has been a new LAN driver posted for Vista on the Acer website.

Don't know what it fixes, of course, since Acer doesn't seem to disclose that type of information. I guess that we are supposed to install these fixes blindly.

 

Installed them, and NOK! Steel freezing sometimes in google earth and while scrolling in some web sites.