LPMiller

do me a favor, download the ultimate boot disc http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/, boot up the laptop to memtest.

Those temps aren't actually that high for a laptop. Besides, a DVD movie shouldn't overheat the graphics chipset that much at all. MPEG video is just not that big a strain on modern graphics. Also, laptops will always read higher on things like speed fan, because they are designed as big giant heatpipes.

Run memtest for at least half an hour. If it comes up with any errors at all, then memory is your problem.

HP consumer laptops really aren't that bad - they use fairly common parts, the same boards in the HP's are in the Dells. However, the MEMORY used in those laptops is ****e.

It is also possible one of the memory slots is bad too. If you have two sticks of ram, pull one and try to make it crash again.

You're real problem is that before you contact warranty (and in the first year, you should just be dealing with HP directly, preferably via Email) you need to have a pretty good idea of exactly what the problem is. This is mostly due to the fact that Customer Service tends to deal with people that screw up their own machines and don't have a real problem, so they suck at diagnostics. If you can narrow down the problem to either memory or the mainboard itself, you can then get them to actually replace the faulty part.

I would go to HP's site and update the graphic drivers and the firmware, and I'd run memory test to rule out the ram. The guys at Frys, Best Buy, etc, do not do diagnostics. They refomat.

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lpmiller
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uncledaddy

Thanks for the tips, all.

LPM, I'm a little technically behind the times here. That link sends me to a site with an AVS Audio Editor download. I'm assuming that isn't the download that you speak of. How do I get to the download. You actually have me interested here.

I am reluctant to break into this thing because it is only four months old and I don't want to affect my warranty. That is why I am so bummed about the whole thing. I got this thing because it was a good "deal". It was supposed to retail at like $1200 but I paid $749 and got a $50 rebate making it $699. I thought not bad for an entertainment laptop with a 17". I actually do like my HP. I love my HP desktop and that's why I thought the laptop would be great. My other HP laptop works like a charm. Also, this dv9910 laptop is the only one I've used, so far, that the damn mouse pad doesn't get in my way when I type. My palms have a tendency to hit the pad on other laptops, causing the screen to scroll.

Sucks when I'm typing up a paper for class.

BTW, Is there a way to turn that feature off?

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Jeffbx

You can usually turn the touchpad off in BIOS - I have the same problem with my wife's Dell laptop, and there's an option in BIOS to disable the touhpad when an external mouse is plugged in.

LPM makes some excellent points - if you can narrow down the issue yourself you'll be way ahead of the game.

The AVS Audio editor is just an ad on that page. Here's a direct link to the download page - http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html

Personally, I prefer the Windows version, but you have to build that one yourself using your Windows CD, since they can't distribute the Windows install files:
http://www.ubcd4win.com/howto.htm

*Edit - that LPM is a quick one!

LPMiller

no, that AVS Audio download is an ad.

http://www.ultimatebootcd.com/download.html

You will not violate your warranty by accessing your RAM. It's a user upgradable part.

Yes, you can turn off the scrolling feature of the touchpad in the control panel, or turn off the touch pad altogether.

uncledaddy

Okay, at the risk of sounding stupid, I still don't see the UBCD download button. But I will study the site to try to find it. I had to take the laptop back to Fry's. They want to send it back to HP to check it again, and they are going to replace the speaker grill that was damaged.

Man this situation is getting old.