To Anyone With an HP Laptop Who May Suffer Performance Problems

[TKzip]

I have an HP ENVY Touchsmart laptop, with a Core i7 and 8GB RAM (about a year old). It's not a gaming laptop, but I've been playing FTD with it for over 6 months and I'd been getting about 50 fps on Medium quality, V-Sync on. So, I freaked out when yesterday I was getting ~ 10 fps, making it virtually unplayable. I did a cold reboot - problem persisted.

It turns out that if HP thinks you have a non-HP power adapter connected that may not be rated for your laptop (and I DO have the original), it will automatically "adjust performance" to compensate. I simply disconnected the power adapter on both the laptop and wall socket, and reconnected it. The performance problem immediately cleared up.

[TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace]

I also have a HP laptop (much older though) and FtD worked with the default settings for a long time. But one day the game gave my laptop fatal memory problems which often gave me a bluescreen (video driver messed up). D:

I tried everything to stop it. Eventually the power supply could be the only cause. So I moved the power adapter (I hate using batteries) away from a nearby heat source (why didnt realise this after years...) and I closed many programs before opening the game. This did solve the problem for FtD, but not for a few other heavy games (although those issues aren't fatal anymore). So I still look for THE solution and I think your advice might be it. :)

Thanks for the advice. When any of my games will show screen issues, I will apply it (if it isn't too late) :D

EDIT: I take it back. Just got fatal FtD crash after downloading a new adventure (just after spending time in ACK). I knew something would happen, but I forgot your advice. :S

EDIT 2: I came to the conclusion TKzip is a genius. FtD was at the edge of collapsing when I followed his advice and the symptons were gone! thank you very much!
Question: do you know how to prevent HP from doing that? That would make life easier for some of us.

EDIT 3: Okay, I just crashed again. But maybe that was because I was also downloading something else. It seems they have a ''crash'' on me. xD

[ddiablo67]

Good Info, thanks

[TKzip]

Originally posted by TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace:

,,,
EDIT 2: I came to the conclusion TKzip is a genius. FtD was at the edge of collapsing when I followed his advice and the symptons were gone! thank you very much! :wizorblaugh:
Question: do you know how to prevent HP from doing that? That would make life easier for some of us. :ccknight:

I appreciate that conclusion, but I'm not sure I can agree. :-) However, I'll do my best to perpetuate the "myth of my genius". First, I don't think you can simply disable the HP "feature" of reducing performance. It's there to protect your adapter from overheating and potentially causing a fire. If too much current is drawn through an adapter rated for less power, it will overheat.

Having said that, there are a few ways I can think of to prevent the warning/reduction in performance.

• Make sure your power adapter is rated for the power requirements of your laptop. Ex: don't use a 65W adapter for a laptop that requires 90W. Here are a copule of HP articles on the subject:
  http://support.hp.com/us-en/document/c01727443
  http://h20564.www2.hp.com/hpsc/doc/public/display?docId=emr_na-c00363266
  
• Ensure you have a good, secure connection with your power adapter on both ends...especially in the AC wall socket. (This seemed to be the issue for me, as I have a newer, original power adapter, but the wall socket I used has been known to give me intermittent problems....i.e., if my speakers were plugged in, sometimes I'd have to re-secure the plug to get them to turn on again)
  
• If you've already ensured you have a good connection with the proper voltage, and you are using the adapter that came with the laptop, then your power adapter may simply have reached its end of useful life. Consider replacing it with an original OEM replacement but if you need to save money, make sure the compatible replacement is properly rated for your laptop's power requirements. Again, see the links to the HP website above.

EDIT: Here's another link I found that suggests the problem may be with the HP software itself which generates this warning and reduces performance:
http://h30434.www3.hp.com/t5/Other-Notebook-PC-Questions/How-do-I-get-rid-of-the-quot-HP-Smart-Adapter-quot-prompt/td-p/652041

I'll highlight one suggestion (but use this with caution, as you may have a legitimate issue with the power/adapter):
HP Tech Support solution is to Disable the Alarm reporting feature.
Go to Task Manager (control alt del)
Select Task Manager
Select Startup Tab
Select HP Message Sevices and Disable it
Restart Computer (reboot)
To test, plug in charge and unplug charger the Nag Screen will not appear again and disppear when unplugged.
The reverse enable the services
This also disables the HP Message serve, a bad idea. other problem will not showup when they happen.

[TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace]

Oh, I should have expected it was something from deep inside my PC. I don't think I dare to touch that.

And it crashed again. Maybe that was because of downloading league of legends and playing FtD, but I will have a look at my power adapter. Maybe a need a new one (again).

EDIT: I guess I need a new one because it started to crash just a few minutes ago with only downloading LoL...

EDIT 2: EVIL COMPUTER OF.... It just crashed only with steam, LoL download, internet and music player! The infamous HP Pavilion dv6 is really infamous after all, especially when it's old. It is totally the adapter's problem. I need a new one. :(

EDIT 3: It's getting worse. BBT is also crashing and the only thing to stop this madness is by using the battery. That sucks! I just researched and it turns out another adapter seems to work fine/better than mine. I really need a new adapter. T_T

[TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace]

I just bought an adapter and CPU still crashes after closing FtD. However the screen bugging mid game is stopped for now. So I guess some energy settings are ruining my life. Any ideas what could help this?

[TKzip]

Not sure...I have my power settings on "High Performance". The default is "HP Recommended". You may want to see if the defaults are still in place. I'd rather have performance over power savings any day (sorry to any "green" people who may read this).

[TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace]

It is so strange that the battery has no problems while adapter only crashes my CPU when its working intensively (games or not). I slowly get the feeling it is something with the hardware, but I will try the heavy performance settings for adapter.

[PROXY]

Originally posted by TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace:

It is so strange that the battery has no problems while adapter only crashes my CPU when its working intensively (games or not). I slowly get the feeling it is something with the hardware, but I will try the heavy performance settings for adapter.

May I can ask you what OS/ Chipset (Intel/AMD) which CPU and if available (I dont think so), which dedicated GPU you have?

Also, when you get BSODs, which Stop-code is given? (thats the number "0x0000000XY" (replace XY which the chars.. normally there should be only 2, like "7D" or something). And: what says the system eventlog when a crash occurs? Is there a record of the event or is there nothing logged? (right click on computer in start menu/explorer > manage > eventlog > windows-logs > system).

May this isn't (only) an AC/battery issue.

Also: do you installed your OS by yourself or is it the preinstalled when you bought it?

Regards,
Proxy

[TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace]

I have Windows 7 Home Premium (preinstalled) with
GPU: 2 ATI Radeon HD 4650
CPU: AMD Turion II Dual-Core Mobile M520

It is 99% the bluescreen ''attempt to recover display driver from timeout failed''. I have no more information because I am never fast enough to write down the number in time and I can't find any windows dumpfiles.

But it can be either hardware or software and I'm sick of trying to fix because it makes me frustated and poor (bought a new adapter to fix the problem with no succeed). I will have a professional look at it. Even when they can't fix it, I will be a step closer to victory.

But now I am forced to run games with battery only (or as Hatty says: forcily forced).

[PROXY]

Originally posted by TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace:

I have Windows 7 Home Premium (preinstalled) with
GPU: 2 ATI Radeon HD 4650
CPU: AMD Turion II Dual-Core Mobile M520

It is 99% the bluescreen ''attempt to recover display driver from timeout failed''. I have no more information because I am never fast enough to write down the number in time and I can't find any windows dumpfiles.

But it can be either hardware or software and I'm sick of trying to fix because it makes me frustated and poor (bought a new adapter to fix the problem with no succeed). I will have a professional look at it. Even when they can't fix it, I will be a step closer to victory.

But now I am forced to run games with battery only (or as Hatty says: forcily forced).

Personally I dont have a HP device, but I worked for a company which was a HP Gold certified partner, means, we mostly sold, installed and configured HP stuff, workstations, servers, desktops, etc.. (into company networks and private households)

Personally (again :D) I would strongly recommend: when you buy/get a device from nearly any manufacturer (including hp) do a fresh clean install... most of errors (not only Bluescreens, also framework-errors, software, etc.) comes from the preinstalled bulk-software.. especially with workstations and servers... but the thing is, not everyone knows how to do that.

The error you got is normally linked to a driver-error (corrupted file/something went wrong with translation from hardware to software - a driver is a dictionary for the OS (windows), it tells windows how to "speak" to each hardware-part to know how to use it).

Before doing any system-related stuff better make a backup of your system or at least of all important files - if you do not exactly know what you are doing. Normally an error shouldnt be the case, but if it is, its better you have a backup ;)
A solution could be reinstalling the gfx driver. First of all you should download the ATI driver installation tool ( http://support.amd.com/ ) - AMD has one installer, other than nvidia with many lots - so you only need 1 file. If you have downloaded it, goto control panel > software and deinstall the amd ati radeon gpu driver, restart your device and then re-install the file you've downloaded - and restarting again.

This fixes gpu-issues in most cases.

The better option could be (but for that you need a bit of knowledge - but its not *that* hard at all and there are many thousand guides @ google), backing up all your data and reinstalling the whole system. And do not install the HP bulk, install drivers manually (it isnt also that hard) from the original vendors website and not from HP! If you want to I can look for a tutorial or something or can write down some lines of text - but without at least a little knowledge it could be a bit spicy.
That may not only fasten up your system when it runs again, it will wipe out *all* problems you have encountered since you have that device.

It can be possible that the hardware is failing, but in most cases it's a software issue. But first I would recommend you to reinstall the gpu driver.

[TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace]

I remember I updated my driver from a not AMD website to solve this problem. But it still persists as today. I think it is a good idea to reinstall the driver. But I fear I will break my laptop as a child breaks its toy. I might like computers, but I don´t like fixing them. ;)

So that's why I would like to see every step from a tutorial. I found info on AMD website, but I still have that one question what always bothered me:

1. If I deinstall driver, will the screen go black? Because I don't want to kill my laptop or make it completely useless because I resisted to give up. I would cry if I broke it myself rather than anybody else. D:

So any idea what would happen after I destroy my display driver and how to find a new one? It is good to ask before jumping into the unknown (or the black void of mystery rather than the bluescreen of doom) (just as making a backup).

[TKzip]

When you say it "crashes", what is the symptom exactly? Does it shut shut off, lock up (become unresponsive), give you an error message (if so, what message?), or "Blue Screen Of Death" (BSOD)? If it just completely shuts down like it's not running at all...no fan, black screen...nothing, then my best guess would be heat-related. Computers will do an automatic (and immediate) shutdown if it gets too hot in order to protect the hardware.

[PROXY]

Originally posted by TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace:

I might like computers, but I don´t like fixing them. ;)

Dito ;D solving software problems is in many cases a pain in the dragon ;)

Originally posted by TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace:

1. If I deinstall driver, will the screen go black?

For the graphics driver: when you - or better your device dont have a graphic driver it will switch to VGA mode - there is a "native driver" in every OS. This driver isnt full featured but able to display 800x600 pixels. So when you deinstall your graphic driver the screen will flash black for a second and then a very crappy resolution will be setted. If the screen would go completly black on a laptop you would have a very big problem.. not only you, me too :D I'm glad, thats not the case ;) (same with desktop computers, btw).

You may take a look here for uninstalling (official guide): http://support.amd.com/de-de/kb-articles/Pages/GPU57RemoveOldGraphicsDrivers.aspx

and here for reinstalling (also official): http://support.amd.com/en-us/kb-articles/Pages/737-20870HowtoInstallYourATIProduct.aspx

The scenarios "Resolve display issues, performance issues or error messages that occur after graphics card installation" and "Resolve display issues, performance issues or error messages that occur during/after graphics card installation" are also given there. AND you will have the latest driver installed, this may improoves performance in games.

When Ive spoken of recent drivers.. if you want to update your drivers (and you want to go a bit more in deopth), take a look at the HP SoftPaq Download Manager (this might also update your gpu driver): http://www8.hp.com/us/en/ads/clientmanagement/drivers-bios.html?jumpid=va_r11260_go_clientmanagement_sdm (direct download of setup: ftp:/ftp.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/HP_SDM_Setup.exe ) and an official "how to use" (sounds more complicated than it really is :D): http://ftp.hp.com/pub/caps-softpaq/cmit/whitepapers/SDM_SSM.pdf ) but I would recommend backuping your system before downloading drivers. I never had a problem with it, but if something goes wrong, especially with chipset/wlan drivers, your system might brick.

Regards,
Proxy

[PROXY]

Originally posted by TKzip:

Computers will do an automatic (and immediate) shutdown if it gets too hot in order to protect the hardware.

Thats right, you can observe that when your fps drop down to a minimum (mostly the fps will descend, like 5fps per second to a minimum) and then the device shuts down. If thats the case try something like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=74agkgZdzkI (dont use a vacuum cleaner or compressed air spray because this can and mostly will impact hard on the ball-bearing of the fan reducing its lifetime).

[TheHeroOfTimeAndSpace]

Originally posted by TKzip:

When you say it "crashes", what is the symptom exactly? Does it shut shut off, lock up (become unresponsive), give you an error message (if so, what message?), or "Blue Screen Of Death" (BSOD)? If it just completely shuts down like it's not running at all...no fan, black screen...nothing, then my best guess would be heat-related. Computers will do an automatic (and immediate) shutdown if it gets too hot in order to protect the hardware.

The problem:
1. I do something heavy on my computer while adapter is connected, like playing GW2 or making my imagination reality in FtD
2. Pixels start to turning black/blue (happens sometimes)
3. Entire laptop becomes unresponsive
4. Screen is destablelised, entire screen gets messed up or turns black. Sometimes a few attempts to recover itself (you see a small flash).
5. Laptop crashes, BSOD occurs with message ''attempt to reset display driver and recover from timeout failed''.
6. After memory dump, laptop restarts. Sometimes the screen still has visual issues after restart. Once it even crashed at startup (and as usual, with battery it all worked fine!).

As far as I know, the laptop doesn't heat up that much. My fan is not at its max speed when this happens. And trust me, my laptop has been hotter before this issue (when it crashed by overheating, but not by drivers).