Boot Cycle gets stuck

[aarpri972]

Hello All,

I need some debugging for my defiance III brought back in 2016.

Following Specs:

Chassis & Display
Defiance Series: 17.3" Matte Full HD IPS LED Widescreen (1920x1080)

Processor (CPU)
Intel® Core™ i7 Quad Core Processor 6700HQ (2.6GHz, 3.5GHz Turbo)

Memory (RAM)
16GB HyperX IMPACT 2133MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)

Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® GTX 1060 - 6.0GB GDDR5 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1, G-SYNC

1st Hard Disk
750GB WD BLACK 2.5" WD7500BPKX, SATA 6 Gb/s, 16MB CACHE (7200 rpm)
Partitions: 500GB, 250GB

1st M.2 SSD Drive
240GB KINGSTON SSDNow M.2 2280 G2, SATA 6Gb/s (550MB/R, 330MB/W)
Partitions: 100GB, 140GB


I have several issues that I can't for the life of me work out what the root cause is:


1) excessive heat build up noticeable through the keyboard. I've clocked temps around the 75-90 range when under heavy load. which eventually result in a heat crash. I've tried to clean the fans but no change (took a compressed air can to it and spray around the fans and electronics).


2) random shutdowns that do not cause an error when plugged into a mains supply.


3) The laptop gets what I can only describe as stuck in a boot cycle. It will power on every shot, but windows for whatever reason will get stuck at the various stages of booting up. This could be just a black screen, or the starting up screen or it could complete those and get stuck at a blank screen before the log in screen.


I am running windows 10 for reference.

My gut tells me for option 1 I probably need to get it repasted, for option 2 I've no idea what to do and lastly for option 3 I'm thinking I need to do a back up and then a clean install of windows/factory reset.

Anyone else have any thoughts or suggestions for all three?

 

[ubuysa]

I have several issues that I can't for the life of me work out what the root cause is:


1) excessive heat build up noticeable through the keyboard. I've clocked temps around the 75-90 range when under heavy load. which eventually result in a heat crash. I've tried to clean the fans but no change (took a compressed air can to it and spray around the fans and electronics).

The most important bit to clean is the finned heat exchanger right next to the fans - it's where the heat pipes go to. All the cooling is done in these heat exchangers and you need a very good airflow through them but they get blocked by dust and fluff very easily. After two years I'd expect them to be well clogged up, so I suggest you check and clean there first.

If cleaning the heat exchangers doesn't help then a repaste may be your best next option.

2) random shutdowns that do not cause an error when plugged into a mains supply.

You mean you only get the shutdowns on battery alone? After two years that's most likely to be a flaky battery I would think. The Windows power options are set by default to shutdown when the battery level gets to 7% and the older the battery gets the faster you reach this low level. If it's fine on mains power then the battery is almost certainly the problem here I think.

3) The laptop gets what I can only describe as stuck in a boot cycle. It will power on every shot, but windows for whatever reason will get stuck at the various stages of booting up. This could be just a black screen, or the starting up screen or it could complete those and get stuck at a blank screen before the log in screen.

Does this also happen only on battery? If it happens when the charger is plugged in as well, try removing the battery and running just on mains power alone. It could be that a flaky battery is drawing too much power from the charger to properly run the laptop. One way to test this is to remove the battery and run on just the mains, feel the charger to see how hot it is. Now reconnect the battery and run on both battery and mains, after a few minutes feel the charger again. If it's noticeably hotter than before it likely is a flaky battery.

 

[aarpri972]

The most important bit to clean is the finned heat exchanger right next to the fans - it's where the heat pipes go to. All the cooling is done in these heat exchangers and you need a very good airflow through them but they get blocked by dust and fluff very easily. After two years I'd expect them to be well clogged up, so I suggest you check and clean there first.

If cleaning the heat exchangers doesn't help then a repaste may be your best next option.




You mean you only get the shutdowns on battery alone? After two years that's most likely to be a flaky battery I would think. The Windows power options are set by default to shutdown when the battery level gets to 7% and the older the battery gets the faster you reach this low level. If it's fine on mains power then the battery is almost certainly the problem here I think.




Does this also happen only on battery? If it happens when the charger is plugged in as well, try removing the battery and running just on mains power alone. It could be that a flaky battery is drawing too much power from the charger to properly run the laptop. One way to test this is to remove the battery and run on just the mains, feel the charger to see how hot it is. Now reconnect the battery and run on both battery and mains, after a few minutes feel the charger again. If it's noticeably hotter than before it likely is a flaky battery.

for simplicity 1 to 3 top down to your answers ubuysa


1) I'll have another crack at that area when I take the battery out on the weekend.

2) No sorry I should have made clearer, I have noticed the random shutdowns occurring currently on mains power only. ordinarily I would expect some form of power interruption error but I've never seen one. Not even a "your computer shutdown unexpectedly" error.

3) It's both, I typically have the battery out and run off just mains power alone which is where the error was, I went on holiday this last week and put the battery back in for it and was still getting the same start up stuck issue.

It kinda feels like Windows isn't actually registering that the laptop is in a power on state despite the fact its all lit up and I can hear the fans going.


Couple of examples :

1) it will turn on, lit up, fans running and only show a black screen.

2) other time it will make it to the first loading screen but get stuck on that

3) it can hit the loading screen and then go black and then not progress further.


I have my SSD partition so one part is purely for windows and the other for regularly used games.