[Cherick]

I need help with a problem with video playback on my laptop, here is a description of my problem. Thanks in advance for any help.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ok, I've tried too many things already, I'll try to see if I can find a solution here.

I have a Dell XPS M140 laptop. Few weeks ago, for some reason the cooling fan turned on, and never stopped and it was making the computer extremely slow. Downloaded Speedfan to check temps, CPU was 85C, HDD 38C, googled and found that those temps are ok for it.
So I did a "PC Restore" the Dell utility to bring the PC to the status in which it was shipped. Didn't fix it. Fan still going full speed. Cleaned the fan, nothing. Replaced it with a "new/refurbished" one, still nothing. So then I got a cheap cooling pad, and that is keeping the temps low, but even though the whole browsing is normal speed, anytime I wanna watch a YouTube video, or use Windows Media Player for a video or song, it is just painfully slow.
I got the updated video and chipset drivers from the Dell website, and installed "K-lite Codec Pack". Still super-slow.
I ran out of ideas and google is not giving me anything else.
Also ran Antivirus on boot, and found nothing.

Any help here?

P.S.: I forgot to mention that the CPU is definitely overheating, but the cooling pad keeps the temp ok, the browsing is fine, just the video playback.

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Whoever said 85C is ok surely needs to learn something! Your laptop is overheating and the cooling pad is just a bandaid.
If you look at task manager, are there any processes utilizing a lot of CPU cycles while you're running a video? What's the CPU usage of explorer.exe? What are the exact specs of your laptop? CPU speed, etc.

[makai]

Whoever said 85C is ok surely needs to learn something! Your laptop is overheating and the cooling pad is just a bandaid.
If you look at task manager, are there any processes utilizing a lot of CPU cycles while you're running a video? What's the CPU usage of explorer.exe? What are the exact specs of your laptop? CPU speed, etc.

[karbo]

How much RAM do you have? How many processes are running in the background?


DO NOT ask for HJT Logs to be posted

[Cherick]

HERE'S THE HJT LOG:

[Cherick]

Whoever said 85C is ok surely needs to learn something! Your laptop is overheating and the cooling pad is just a bandaid.
If you look at task manager, are there any processes utilizing a lot of CPU cycles while you're running a video? What's the CPU usage of explorer.exe? What are the exact specs of your laptop? CPU speed, etc.

I have Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express Chipset Family and I found somewhere that 85C was normal for that. And that temp doesn't change at all with the help of the pad, just the HD0 temp.
explorer.exe mem usage is around 24k but cpu usage varies a lot from 00 to up to 23
504RAM, 40GB hd free space, Intel Pentium M 1.86 GHZ processor.
i don't know what else do you want me to post.

[karbo]

First, you can go to Start / Run / type msconfig

Go to the Startup tab and uncheck Java and Adobe. You have to restart your computer for changes to take effect.

504 Mb of RAM is not enough for Windows XP. 512 Mb is a minimum but not optimal. I personaly recommend 1 Gb.

Edited by karbo, 28 January 2009 - 07:09 PM.

[makai]

Whoever said 85C is ok surely needs to learn something! Your laptop is overheating and the cooling pad is just a bandaid.
If you look at task manager, are there any processes utilizing a lot of CPU cycles while you're running a video? What's the CPU usage of explorer.exe? What are the exact specs of your laptop? CPU speed, etc.

I have Intel 915GM/GMS, 910GML Express Chipset Family and I found somewhere that 85C was normal for that. And that temp doesn't change at all with the help of the pad, just the HD0 temp.
explorer.exe mem usage is around 24k but cpu usage varies a lot from 00 to up to 23
504RAM, 40GB hd free space, Intel Pentium M 1.86 GHZ processor.
i don't know what else do you want me to post.

The 915 is your video card. It shouldn't affect the CPU temp. This is a Pentium M processor and at 1.86Ghz should probably run around 44-46C during normal usage... Word processing, Internet browsing. However, temps can rise if you're watching some youtube videos as some of them will run your CPU at full speed. Nonetheless, I would think your high speed temps should still be around mid-high 60's if running the processor at high speeds (1.86ghz constant). One of my IBM laptops running at 2Ghz never exeeds the temps I indicated for both "normal" and "high" usage.

This seems to be a hardware problem with your laptop, and one you should fix right away. When you changed the CPU heatsink/fan, did you reapply good thermal grease?

EDITED... I gotta hit the hay, so rather than wait for your answer about the thermal grease, I'm going to recommend you pull the heatsink/fan assy again, reapply thermal grease, and when you reinstall the heatsink/fan, be sure to tighten the screws evenly across the device. What i mean is, don't tighten one screw all the way down, then move to the next screw... instead, tighten them each a little at a time so all of them will eventually go down together giving even pressure for contact between the heatsink and CPU.

Edited by makai, 28 January 2009 - 07:59 PM.

[Cherick]

The 915 is your video card. It shouldn't affect the CPU temp. This is a Pentium M processor and at 1.86Ghz should probably run around 44-46C during normal usage... Word processing, Internet browsing. However, temps can rise if you're watching some youtube videos as some of them will run your CPU at full speed. Nonetheless, I would think your high speed temps should still be around mid-high 60's if running the processor at high speeds (1.86ghz constant). One of my IBM laptops running at 2Ghz never exeeds the temps I indicated for both "normal" and "high" usage.

This seems to be a hardware problem with your laptop, and one you should fix right away. When you changed the CPU heatsink/fan, did you reapply good thermal grease?

EDITED... I gotta hit the hay, so rather than wait for your answer about the thermal grease, I'm going to recommend you pull the heatsink/fan assy again, reapply thermal grease, and when you reinstall the heatsink/fan, be sure to tighten the screws evenly across the device. What i mean is, don't tighten one screw all the way down, then move to the next screw... instead, tighten them each a little at a time so all of them will eventually go down together giving even pressure for contact between the heatsink and CPU.

I didn't apply any grease, i just cleaned the fan at the front of the laptop, and cleaned the grill of the heatsink piece(edit: the fan is at front, and the heatsink is on the back), I didn't have any grease, i bought some online, I just got it today, I'll try that in a few minutes.

Edited by Cherick, 28 January 2009 - 08:20 PM.

[Cherick]

I applied the heatsink grease, and nothing has changed.

[makai]

THIS is page from your maintenance manual regarding removing the heatsink. Did you remove the heatsink as shown and apply the grease to the processor itself? If you did, and your fan is blowing, it should have dropped the temp... unless it's a bad temp sensor giving you a false reading.

In my signature, there's a link to Mobile Meter. Download/install it. It will read your laptop's CPU temp. Can you post what it reads please?

[Cherick]

THIS is page from your maintenance manual regarding removing the heatsink. Did you remove the heatsink as shown and apply the grease to the processor itself? If you did, and your fan is blowing, it should have dropped the temp... unless it's a bad temp sensor giving you a false reading.

In my signature, there's a link to Mobile Meter. Download/install it. It will read your laptop's CPU temp. Can you post what it reads please?

Yes I followed those directions. Im gonna do it again, and I will install MobileMeter.

I just wanted to add, just in case it matters. I replaced the cooling fan at the front of the pc, but the heatsink is the same, I haven't replace it for a new or refurbished one. Also the battery of the computer is dead, it has been for quite a while now (months), I always use it with A/C power. Again I don't know if those two things matter at all, but just wanted to add to the info.

[karbo]

I'm really not sure your video problem is hardware related... You probably have issues with the hardware that need to be addressed but you may be barking at the wrong tree for the lagging problem.

[Cherick]

Ok I did everything again, checked the cooling fan, is clean. Check the heatsink grill, clean. Cleaned and re-applied thin coat of grease and put the heatsink back tightening the screws in order and a little bit at a time. Turn the computer on and still the cooling fan is full speed, stopped for half a second and is still on full speed.
Here are the readings from MobileMeter:
Frequency: 266Mhz
Temperature: 85.5C
Charge Rate: 0.00w
HDD #0: 28C
The HDD started at 24C and keeps going up, Im not using the cooling pad right now.
Frequency changes to 200Mhz, 233Mhz and 266Mhz.

Here are temps from Speedfan, just in case they can show something:

HD0: 28C
Temp1: 86C
DIMM: 255C
CPU: 85C
GPU: 255C

EDIT: updating as the HDD #0 temp in MobileMeter is at 30C now, again the fan is still full speed and I'm not using the cooling pad.

Edited by Cherick, 29 January 2009 - 01:35 PM.

[Cherick]

I'm really not sure your video problem is hardware related... You probably have issues with the hardware that need to be addressed but you may be barking at the wrong tree for the lagging problem.

You think so?
Do you have any suggestions? Because I have tried many things already, I have done PC Restore several times, ran Avast on boot, and Malwarebytes, both came clean. Updated video drivers from Dell site. Installed K-Lite Codec pack. And still, nothing has worked. I can browse Internet at decent speed using Firefox (IE is a lot slower than before the fan went on too), but when I try Youtube is just ridiculously slow, as well as when using Windows Media Player especially with .wmv and .mpeg, and mp3's.

[karbo]

Since everything else works good, why are you only having problems with videos?

Perhaps you should ask to be moved or post your problem in the Malware removal section.