HP Compaq nx7400 Power Problem

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Sparky_za

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Hi Guys

I have the above mentioned laptop running Windows Vista Exterprise Edition.

Just last night a really strange thing started happening. When I plug the external power source into the laptop to charge the battery, CPU cycles hit 100% and stay there, making the laptop pretty unusable. I have not loaded any patches or any software of any kind since I installed the OS about a week ago.

Any ideas? Everyone here is stumped.

And yes, I know the usual "Don't use Vista comments... lol... but I don't have a choice as we are testing software for a client :D
 
Hi Sparky_za

I had a similar thing with an HP nw8510 and Windows 7 for a while...

I managed to "work around" this by changing the CPU settings in the power scheme to around 90% on AC.

picture.php


Voila... problem stopped. As soon as I set it back to 100%, the CPU hits 100% again.

Perhaps try this for your Vista issue??
Also, I disabled DNS service as I was using a filtering HOSTS file and this too added to a crazy 100% CPU usage if DNS was enabled.
 
kilobitsperyear said:
Hi Sparky_za

I had a similar thing with an HP nw8510 and Windows 7 for a while...

I managed to "work around" this by changing the CPU settings in the power scheme to around 90% on AC.

picture.php


Voila... problem stopped. As soon as I set it back to 100%, the CPU hits 100% again.

Perhaps try this for your Vista issue??
Also, I disabled DNS service as I was using a filtering HOSTS file and this too added to a crazy 100% CPU usage if DNS was enabled.
Click to expand...

I'll give this a shot and let you know. Thanks.
 
Yup

Tell me about it!

Cannot explain it either... seems as if something "Visterish" lingers in 7 :)
 
Alrighty... it WAS sorted, but today its doing the same thing. Changing the max processor usage isn't working anymore...

This is seriously weird. How can plugging something into power make the CPU go crazy???

Any other ideas guys?
 
Hey

Sounds terribly frustrating.

Have you tried disable power management altogether?

See if that helps... for at least a day!
 
Ok, I've been looking around for somewhere to disable power management, but can't find anything. I am pretty slow today, been working 18 hour days for a few in a row now :)
 
Hey Sparky_za

In Vista to disable power management you have to select "High Performance" in the power schemes!

Sorry, My Bad !
 
Ok, I have 100% found the cause... it's a faulty power cord... wtf??? When moving the power cord around the CPU usage drops back to normal. Put it back in it's original position, CPU stays at 100%. I'm seriously confused, but it's definitely the cause. Change cords and all is well. Anyone have any ideas why though? Could it be a wire only partially making connection and confusing the BIOS as to whether it's actually plugged into power or not??
 
Good evening,

I realise this is an oldish thread but reading through your post reminds me of an issue I had with my HP NX7300. I would have to wiggle my power connector around until it realised it was plugged into AC (this can get quite frustrating when the battery is dead). After being told by HP to replace the motherboard and not getting much help from anyone else here in CT i did some digging.

It turns out that because the cable from the power adapter to your laptop is a coaxial cable, it has two sets of braiding imbedded in it. From moving and being bent this braiding starts to fray. So I cut the power connector off about 10cm shorter, removed the power connector (the one that goes into the laptop) and resoldered it. Works like a charm now. A 30min fix that would have cost me over R5000 at HP and the motherboard wasnt the problem.

Hope its all sorted.
 
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