Nova 15,6 - Keyboard freezing

[LucCas]

Hi All,

I have a strange issue with my Nova 15,6 with Ryzen 3700X and 2070.
Sometimes (not often but let's say twice per week) I got my keyboard completely freezed.
The laptop is still running (i.e. muse works and I can interact with it with applications) but any key, power button included, is not working.
Even restarting the PC will not solve the issue, I have to disconnect power supply and the battery.
After this, the keyboard works again.
This issue, I had since the beginning (Late August) and even upgrading the BIOS to a new version did not change anything.
Anyone had the same issue?

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hi All,

I have a strange issue with my Nova 15,6 with Ryzen 3700X and 2070.
Sometimes (not often but let's say twice per week) I got my keyboard completely freezed.
The laptop is still running (i.e. muse works and I can interact with it with applications) but any key, power button included, is not working.
Even restarting the PC will not solve the issue, I have to disconnect power supply and the battery.
After this, the keyboard works again.
This issue, I had since the beginning (Late August) and even upgrading the BIOS to a new version did not change anything.
Anyone had the same issue?

it's worth monitoring thermals when idle and under load just to make sure it's operating within range:

HWMONITOR | Softwares | CPUID

HWMonitor for Windows® x86/x64 is a hardware monitoring program that reads PC systems main health sensors : voltages, temperatures, powers, currents, fans speed, utilizations, clock speeds ... The program handles : CPU and GPU-level hardware monitoring...

www.cpuid.com

 

[LucCas]

I tried already to monitor temperatures, but at idle we are well below 70°C (with occasional spikes around 72°C). Under load (gaming) temperatures are never exceeding 88°C.

 

[SpyderTracks]

I tried already to monitor temperatures, but at idle we are well below 70°C (with occasional spikes around 72°C). Under load (gaming) temperatures are never exceeding 88°C.

Is that CPU or GPU?

We need to know the actual figures when idle and under stress?

72c on idle is WAAAAAY too high and would suggest it's thermal throttling heavily.

 

[LucCas]

That is CPU, but "normal" temperature in idle is around 60°C. These are only spikes that happen on a second or two and when the fan raises the speed they rapidly disappear (and I found in forums this is a typical behavior of Ryzen 3000 series CPU). GPU never exceeds 80°C. Keyboard at touch is barely warm.

 

[lauwai]

Have you tried using the laptop with an external keyboard to see if that freezes too? Just to emliminate if the keyboard is faulty or it's the machine itself.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Have you tried using the laptop with an external keyboard to see if that freezes too? Just to emliminate if the keyboard is faulty or it's the machine itself.

Very good point

 

[LucCas]

Hmm.. I could try, but at the moment I have no keyboard at disposal. I will try to get one and connect it when the problem occurs. By the way mouse works and the laptop does not freeze, so I think maybe an external keyboard may work.

 

[SpyderTracks]

Hmm.. I could try, but at the moment I have no keyboard at disposal. I will try to get one and connect it when the problem occurs. By the way mouse works and the laptop does not freeze, so I think maybe an external keyboard may work.

If it is just the internal keyboard, then it suggests either a problem with the keyboard connector to the motherboard, or just a flaky keyboard.

If that's the case, you can log an RMA with PCS through your online account that you made the order on, no need to phone or anything. Just explain you need to try a replacement keyboard, they should be able to send one through the post next day delivery for you to fit (I have a tear down manual I can give you to help fit it).

 

[demon28]

That is CPU, but "normal" temperature in idle is around 60°C. These are only spikes that happen on a second or two and when the fan raises the speed they rapidly disappear (and I found in forums this is a typical behavior of Ryzen 3000 series CPU). GPU never exceeds 80°C. Keyboard at touch is barely warm.

Yes indeed, temperature spikes up to the middle 70 while idle/light use is actually quite common with the Nova, especially when running in performance mode as the boost behavior is quite aggressive It happens on my Nova as well. Also,next time it happens take note of the time and check event viewer straight up after restarting to see for any error/driver crashes?

 

[FerrariVie]

No similar problems with my Nova. I had issues with Bluetooth in the past (mouse disconnecting), but found that to be a windows bug that started after an update. All sorted now, though.

Regarding the temps on idle/low, I do have some spikes when running CPU at stock, but on the 3100 those spikes only go to 64° max on low load. Found out that it actually behaves better if using manual mode in Ryzen Master, even when locking the clocks to the max boost (3.9Ghz) it spikes a lot less than at stock. Maybe it's due to the voltage also being manual? I think at stock the voltages could go quite high, so manual mode works like a charm for me.

 

[LucCas]

It seems the problem is more widespread than just me

There are other users reporting the same issue and everyone seems to think about a software issue other than a hardware one.

 

[SpyderTracks]

It seems the problem is more widespread than just me

There are other users reporting the same issue and everyone seems to think about a software issue other than a hardware one.

The issue you had at the outset here suggested windows corruption, I would try a clean install.

Problems with control panel and search bar with a Nova with 3700x

Hi, my Nova with Ryzen 3700x just arrived, I started to install updates and some software (Icue for my Corsair mouse, Steelseries suite for my headphones) but suddendly my control panel ceased to work. I can try to start the application, but it crashes immediately. At the same time, the Windows...

www.pcspecialist.co.uk

 

[ubuysa]

It seems the problem is more widespread than just me

There are other users reporting the same issue and everyone seems to think about a software issue other than a hardware one.

It's generally wise to suspect software first.

One way to prove whether it's a software or hardware issue would be to run a different OS. Download a Linux distro of your choice to a USB stick, most of them let you run the OS off the USB stick without installing anything. Performance is less than ideal of course and you won;t be gaming with it, but emails, web browsing, and even basic office work should be fine. If you can, run that for a day or even longer, if the keyboard doesn't freeze then it's pretty certain to be a Windows issue.

Alternatively, clean install Windows (deleting existing partitions) and then run Windows Update repeatedly until no more updates are found. Don't make any configuration changes nor install any software or hardware (even USB devices). Run it for a day or even two in that state and if the keyboard doesn't freeze in that pristine state then it's not hardware - nor base Windows.

 

[LucCas]

That would explain MY issue but not the issue all the other people is having - even with clean installs and such. And these issues are the exact same issues I have. Other than that, I never experienced Windows freezing, BSOD or such. I am more inclined to view it as a software issue, or as a software issue tied to some specific hardware mix...

 

[LucCas]

It's generally wise to suspect software first.

One way to prove whether it's a software or hardware issue would be to run a different OS. Download a Linux distro of your choice to a USB stick, most of them let you run the OS off the USB stick without installing anything. Performance is less than ideal of course and you won;t be gaming with it, but emails, web browsing, and even basic office work should be fine. If you can, run that for a day or even longer, if the keyboard doesn't freeze then it's pretty certain to be a Windows issue.

Alternatively, clean install Windows (deleting existing partitions) and then run Windows Update repeatedly until no more updates are found. Don't make any configuration changes nor install any software or hardware (even USB devices). Run it for a day or even two in that state and if the keyboard doesn't freeze in that pristine state then it's not hardware - nor base Windows.

OK, I want to explain: the issue is not appearing everyday. It happens once/twice every two weeks. What was annoying is that I had to power down, remove the battery and put it back again, then it worked. At the moment I "solved" it by removing the battery entirely, so I cut down restart times. And, it seems that after I did that, the frequency of this issue happening has drastically been reduced (it happened only once since then but it can be a coincidence). I wanted only to signal that the issue is not peculiar to me, but it is known to happen on several units of different brands.

 

[SpyderTracks]

OK, I want to explain: the issue is not appearing everyday. It happens once/twice every two weeks. What was annoying is that I had to power down, remove the battery and put it back again, then it worked. At the moment I "solved" it by removing the battery entirely, so I cut down restart times. And, it seems that after I did that, the frequency of this issue happening has drastically been reduced (it happened only once since then but it can be a coincidence). I wanted only to signal that the issue is not peculiar to me, but it is known to happen on several units of different brands.

Can you post your full specs from the order page?

 

[SpyderTracks]

That would explain MY issue but not the issue all the other people is having - even with clean installs and such. And these issues are the exact same issues I have. Other than that, I never experienced Windows freezing, BSOD or such. I am more inclined to view it as a software issue, or as a software issue tied to some specific hardware mix...

The only others experiencing this are from different SI’s, there are zero reports of this with a PCS BIOS, hence why I asked for your specs.

 

[LucCas]

Here they are

Chassis & Display
Nova Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
2 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre European Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Nova Series Detachable 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 M.2 GAMING + BLUETOOTH 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.2 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
15" NOVA SERIES ITALIAN KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
Italy/Italia - Italian Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
3 - 4 DAY DELIVERY TO ITALY
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - Italy

 

[SpyderTracks]

Here they are

Chassis & Display
Nova Series: 15.6" Matte Full HD 144Hz 72% NTSC LED Widescreen (1920x1080)
Processor (CPU)
AMD Ryzen 7 3700X Eight Core CPU (3.6GHz-4.4GHz/36MB CACHE/AM4)
Memory (RAM)
16GB Corsair 2666MHz SODIMM DDR4 (2 x 8GB)
Graphics Card
NVIDIA® GeForce® RTX 2070 - 8.0GB GDDR6 Video RAM - DirectX® 12.1
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB SAMSUNG 970 EVO PLUS M.2, PCIe NVMe (up to 3500MB/R, 3300MB/W)
1st M.2 SSD Drive
1TB PCS PCIe M.2 SSD (2000 MB/R, 1100 MB/W)
Memory Card Reader
Integrated Micro-SD Memory Card Reader
AC Adaptor
2 x 230W AC Adaptor
Power Cable
2 x 1 Metre European Power Cable (Kettle Lead)
Battery
Nova Series Detachable 4 Cell Lithium Ion Battery
Thermal Paste
STANDARD THERMAL PASTE FOR SUFFICIENT COOLING
Sound Card
2 Channel High Def. Audio + SoundBlaster™ Cinema
Wireless/Wired Networking
GIGABIT LAN & KILLER™ Wi-Fi 6 AX1650 M.2 GAMING + BLUETOOTH 5.0
USB/Thunderbolt Options
1 x USB 3.2 PORT (Type C) + 2 x USB 3.2 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT
Keyboard Language
15" NOVA SERIES ITALIAN KEYBOARD
Operating System
Windows 10 Home 64 Bit - inc. Single Licence [KUK-00001]
Operating System Language
Italy/Italia - Italian Language
Windows Recovery Media
Windows 10 Multi-Language Recovery Image - Supplied on USB Drive
Office Software
FREE 30 Day Trial of Microsoft 365® (Operating System Required)
Anti-Virus
NO ANTI-VIRUS SOFTWARE
Browser
Firefox™
Keyboard & Mouse
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
Webcam
INTEGRATED 1MP HD WEBCAM
Warranty
3 Year Gold Warranty (2 Year Collect & Return, 2 Year Parts, 3 Year Labour)
Delivery
3 - 4 DAY DELIVERY TO ITALY
Build Time
Standard Build - Approximately 8 to 10 working days
Welcome Book
PCSpecialist Welcome Book - Italy

That's not from the order page? That's from the configurator?