HP Compaq 6710b running at 100MHz instead of 2400MHz?!

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Pada

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Hi,

So my colleague seems to have a very big problem with his HP Compaq 6710b, which started recently, where his laptop is EXTREMELY slow!
I'm not sure if this happened before/after/during when his hard drive starting acting up. He has now replaced his old 160GB HDD with a 320GB HDD and the problem still persists.

The Windows XP SP3's System Properties shows that the T8300 CPU is running at 790MHz, instead of the usual 2.4GHz.

I opened CPU-z and it shows a multiplier of 0.5x (instead of 12x), which means that the CPU is running at 100MHz!!!
I also ran Process Explorer and HWMonitor, and every thing seemed in order, except of course the CPU multiplier.

Unfortunately the BIOS is very limited and it doesn't give the option to turn on/off EIST (Intel Speed Step).

Ideas/help would be much appreciated!
 
see if thorttlestop can change the multi, i think its paid app though :(

throttlestop can change multi of cpu's, used mostly on extreme cpus to oc it.

crystal cpu should be able to change it maybe.
 
Thanks hereticangel.

With RightMark CPU we've managed to set it's P-state to P7 (12x multiplier) and now the CPU is running at 2.4GHz like it should.

Unfortunately the change isn't permanent, so when he reboots his laptop, it takes like 6 minutes to start a clean copy of Windows XP!
We're guessing that it's a BIOS fault, or perhaps a hardware sensor fault.
 
Reflash the Bios?
CPU Genie is another program you can use - free month trial from memory - will at least tell you what the default P states are set at.
No heat issues causing it to throttle back?
I'm away to sea tonight back home in +/- 3 weeks - have a P7450 that i pulled out of this HP if you get stuck.
 
There are no heat issues. The CPU is running at like 35-50'C, depending on the CPU speed (800MHz-2.4GHz) & voltage of course.

We have already updated the BIOS, and reset to defaults AFAIK, and it didn't fix anything.
We'll try to update/downgrade the BIOS again.

If all of these temporary solutions fail, then my colleague should just get a utility to force the CPU multiplier, like RightMark CPU for instance, and then his laptop should be in a usable state again.
 
Check your power supply.

I had the same issue with my mom's laptop, and a generic power supply. Went away as soon as I replaced the PSU, or unplugged it (running direct off battery).
 
It gave the exact same issue when running from only the battery.

I know that my brother's Lenovo laptop doesn't run at full speed due to his laptop PSU being only 90W and not 125W, but when he's running on batteries alone it can run at max speed.
 
Pada, boot off a Linux livecd and see if it does the same.
 
Ponder, that was one of the first things we did.

It took about 15 minutes (if not more) to boot into Ubuntu 11.04, where it should usually be in like under 3 minutes.

We've updated & downgraded the BIOS and nothing changed.
 
Pada said:
Ponder, that was one of the first things we did.

It took about 15 minutes (if not more) to boot into Ubuntu 11.04, where it should usually be in like under 3 minutes.

We've updated & downgraded the BIOS and nothing changed.
Click to expand...

In that case my vote goes toward a hardware issue, is it still under warranty?

Have you tried windows in safe mode?

Did a bit of googling and it looks like the PSU could also cause this so maybe try a different PSU. If you have a spare with the same voltage and wattage (or higher) it will be fine to test.
 
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Nope, it's not under warranty any more. The laptop is like 4-5 years old already.
 
What happens if you run it from battery only with AC disconnected?
Also try with AC only and the battery removed.
I would try another PSU.

Also try:
Control Processor Throttling
To control the processor throttling through Power Options in the Control Panel, follow the steps below.
Click Start and then Control Panel .
When the Control Panel window appears, select Hardware and Sound .
When the Hardware and sound window opens, select Power Options .
Alternately, right-click the power icon in the system tray beside the clock and select Power Options .
After the Power Options window appears, there are three plans from which you can choose:
HP Recommended
Provides a balance between power conservation and performance.
Power saver
Use Power saver mode when a wall outlet for DC power is unavailable.
High performance
Use High performance mode for the best processor responsiveness while plugged into a wall outlet (AC power).
To customize any of these power plans, click Change plan settings .
 
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a few months later ...
and now even the forced P-states cannot prevent the laptop from down-clocking to 100MHz!

An interesting thing is that when my colleague removes the battery and run off Eskom, it would speed up to 2.4GHz again.
I think it does the same when he leaves in the battery and removes the Eskom power.

I'll ask him later on today if it was just all due to a faulty battery, since he has a spare at his home ;)
 
I still got that P7450 if you end up wanting to try that - sounding like more of a failure of power getting to the CPU tho huh.
Also have a mobo but i doubt its the same(dv6 mobo)
 
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