Laptop problem

AliceBanned

Hi

Being not very techie and having a seeingly messed up laptop I can't really understand the post about how to speed up my laptop.

I phoned a local pc service place which has good reviews but they will need my laptop for about 3 or 4 days as they are very busy, so I thought I'd try to fix it myself. Sorry but the most I could get from quickly reading the post on how to fix it, was physical memory is 1982. When I am on the internet and have several windows open the screen will flash back to a previous screen without me doing anything; basically it is opening and closing screens on its own. It is also overheating and a couple of times has switched itself off when I've been in the middle of something.

Is there any hope, or should I just take it to the local techie guys? It is HP Pavilion dv9000. I've installed spyware but I seem to have installed so many things in trying to fix it that I just feel annoyed with it as it is so slow and overloaded and I just want to strip it back down to the way it was when I bought it. I bought it refurbished so it could be about 7 years old - bought 5.5 years ago. Thanks for any advice, not sure whether to get a new one if repairs are going to cost me anyway.

Oh yes - occasionally it does a massive loud beep and I also sometimes now have to press F9 just to get logged on.

TadleyBaggie

AliceBanned wrote: »

I've installed spyware...

I hope not, anti-spyware would be better.

AliceBanned

I doubt I'd know how to install spyware, so obviously..;)

googler

For the overheating, get a can of compressed air and blow all the dust out of it, as it's probably overheating because it can't get enough air.

Video guides on YouTube and all over the web on how to do this.

Don't use it on soft surfaces which will mould themselves around the vents and block the flow of air.

AliceBanned

Very helpful, thanks.

It took me so long to type that that I'm going to log off lol. I might need to take it somewhere for repair as I seem to get in more of a mess when I try! And it's getting ridiculously slow.

NiftyDigits

Copy your stuff off it and run a Factory Restore.

scheming_gypsy

HP laptops have annoying fans with channels down the sides of them where they clog with dust and cause them to overheat.

As Googler said; arm yourself with a can of compressed air, and the internet on another machine or print outs of how to swap the fan / dismantle the laptop. You'll also need a paint brush (new one or you're just causing more problems when you get paint all over the place) and mini hoover if you can get one.

The overheating could be due to it being old and possibly still running as it came out of the box. Sometimes a software rebuild can sort it but at that age, the fan will have sucked in a lot of dust that stops the cooling.
I did my HP9420 at around the same age as yours and there was a lot of dust build up that you couldn't see.

AliceBanned

Thanks. I took it in to a local repair place last Weds and they still have it - in a "queue". They said I should have it back by this Weds..

I doubt they will sort out the dust problem so I'll do that when I get it back. I just lost patience with it and decided sometimes it's better to ask the professionals. They said £80 for a service - I think it must have several viruses and other problems.

Thanks for your advice - I can probably manage to do this part but just not the techie part in the state it is in at the moment. I'm also about to move house so didn't want to sit around working it out as it will take me hours.

closed

a factory restore which would rule out software issues, would have taken you about 10 minutes, and cost nothing - that's probably what they will do, make sure you've asked them to save your data first if there is anything important on there.

http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?docname=c00809678&lc=en&cc=us&dlc=en&product=3552675&rule=46565&lang=en

that model often has nvidia problems http://news.cnet.com/8301-13924_3-10000910-64.html which is a solder problem

NiftyDigits

AliceBanned wrote: »

Thanks. I took it in to a local repair place last Weds and they still have it - in a "queue". They said I should have it back by this Weds..

I doubt they will sort out the dust problem so I'll do that when I get it back. I just lost patience with it and decided sometimes it's better to ask the professionals. They said £80 for a service - I think it must have several viruses and other problems.

Thanks for your advice - I can probably manage to do this part but just not the techie part in the state it is in at the moment. I'm also about to move house so didn't want to sit around working it out as it will take me hours.

If that doesn't include the cleaning of the innards.... best I not say anything, as it won't be nice.

I just wonder why people ask here, but then just hand it over to a 'repairman' before they have even attempted the first step.

AliceBanned

No, best not say anything then. Closed has said something helpful and didn't need to add unhelpful comments - that would just be silly. I don't know why people even need to hint at adding insults to someone's thread, without even knowing the person.

You don't know people's circumstances when they post on here, and if I got frustrated with trying that is due to difficulties in other areas of my life, including having a serious health problem, so you are certainly not in a position to judge me on that.