[jabulani_jonny]

ohmy.gif Ack! Tell me the computer's NOT on the same circuit as the A/C!! Having electronics share a line with any kind of motor (mixers, vacuum cleaners) is bad, but compressors (A/C, 'fridge, etc.) are about the worst! (Well, I've heard arc welders are pretty bad, too... smile.gif ) Not only do they cause the voltage to dip and surge when they're starting, they make really nasty spikes when they shut off.

No It's not on the same circuit, atleast as far as I know. My desktop never has any problems.

Well, it's come down to calling it quits. I'm going to sell it for parts rather than fix it. The nice thing is that it takes desktop components so if somebody has some spare parts laying around, they could put together a pretty mean laptop for cheap.

Thanks a ton for all of ya'lls help. It really did provide a lot of guidance. I'm just sad that I didn't really resolve it other than to sell it. But hey, I'll be getting a new one from a manufacturer with a 3 yr warranty. Hopefully that'll help in the future. Thanks again!

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Jonny

Sometimes it best to to put them out of their misery.

Just a couple of points.

1) the fact that your desktop works ok on that same circuit doesnt mean that much. Many desktops have much better filtering built into them than a laptop. When the laptop is running on batteries, it doesnt really need any filtering or surge supression.

2) When you had it open and were making repairs, ESD damage may have occured to the unit. Many underestimate the damage that ESD can do while making repairs.

Sorry we couldnt fix it.

Best regards

EMCGuy

[EMCguy]

Jonny

Sometimes it best to to put them out of their misery.

Just a couple of points.

1) the fact that your desktop works ok on that same circuit doesnt mean that much. Many desktops have much better filtering built into them than a laptop. When the laptop is running on batteries, it doesnt really need any filtering or surge supression.

2) When you had it open and were making repairs, ESD damage may have occured to the unit. Many underestimate the damage that ESD can do while making repairs.

Sorry we couldnt fix it.

Best regards

EMCGuy

[gtippery]

Jonny

Sometimes it best to to put them out of their misery.

Just a couple of points. 

1) the fact that your desktop works ok on that same circuit doesnt mean that much.  Many desktops have much better filtering built into them than a laptop.  When the laptop is running on batteries, it doesnt really need any filtering or surge supression.

2) When you had it open and were making repairs, ESD damage may have occured to the unit.  Many underestimate the damage that ESD can do while making repairs.

Sorry we couldnt fix it.

Best regards

EMCGuy

All good points, EMCGuy. I'm inclined to go along with the ESD theory.

Jonny - The easy way to tell if they're on the same line is to turn off the circuit breaker (or remove the fuse) that the A/C is on and see if the outlet for the computer goes dead.

Is there any way to get a service manual, with schematic, for this machine? I'm thinking of modifying a nonworking laptop into a terminal (monitor + keyboard), which would probably involve some motherboard surgery. Idea is to have a powerful (but large) computer on the floor, and the "laptop" as a minimal-space/weight terminal. Maybe add a KVM switch and use with multiple computers - currently I've got 3 on one table, but it's awfully crowded.

[Jack123]

One question (well maybe 2 + 2 comments)

Did it ever "freeze" while on just "Battery Power??
or have you tried it in other locations with cleaner "AC"?

UPS is a good idea . . .I have used one for several months now

PS
On Temp monitoring . . . .I had a utility on my Motherboard CD -
ASUSPROBE that I did not realize I had . . .Have installed & using

Your comments on utility program made me think - Thanks
Jack123

[jabulani_jonny]

Hey Gtippery, you've got a PM.

Jack, I moved my whole recording rig to another room last night to try different power. It froze several times while being the only thing plugged in in the room. I'm gonna try it with the battery. I don't know if I've tried that yet.

[EMCguy]

Jonny

Have you tried running the computer without all of your audio stuff hooked up?

Try running it with all the other cables disconnected except for the power cord.

Is it more stable then?

Paul

(Glad you havent killed it yet )

[jabulani_jonny]

Hey Paul, yeah I've tried running it as naked as it will get and still get the freezes. No luck on that. I'm gonna have to keep it limping along until I save up for my new laptop which looks like it will be a Sager NP3880. Oh well, time to start saving. This time I'll definitely be springing for the extended warranty!

[EMCguy]

Jonny:

Try a UPS. It cant hurt, and youll be able to move it to a newer computer when you upgrade.



It sure seems like a hardware problem, but maybe you should post an HJT log to the malware forum. Just a thought.


Paul

[jabulani_jonny]

Hey Paul,
I may just do that. Remember, all this was happening right after I reformatted the HD, ran all my scans and installed Adaware, Spybot, AVG & Spyware blaster, and well before I reconnected to the internet. It really has to be hardware, but I just can't pinpoint it.

Here's something else to chew on....it locks up when I hotplug or unplug either of my firewire devices. However, it will sometimes lockup when no firewire device is plugged in.

It has to be hardware, but I can't figure out how to figure out what it is and I just don't have the parts around to try different configurations.

[jabulani_jonny]

Okay, tapping back in the ring...

Here's a thought for those that followed this at all. All the problems seem to involve my wireless, firewire and ethernet. So...I'm wondering if it's not my Broadcomm adapter. I need a way to test this out. I'm gonna check with some folks in town tomorrow to see who can help. I'll let you know what I find. If anybody has ideas on how to run diagnostics on the adapter let me know. Thx!