HP 255 G6 4GB 256GB Laptop problems
Discussion
Just a bit of a cathartic ramble really or to see if anyone else has bought this model and had the same issues, am I missing something or going mad? Not really bashing as such as it's hardly a rage of one person against another, also I know very little about computers and suchlike.
The only question I have is 256 GB SSD better than 500 HD? I thinks so, I hope so!
It looked like the right one for what I needed and at £330 - £350 seemed good value, I would have bought another Lenovo as my last one was great, but they had nothing anywhere near the price at a similar spec.
I bought one online as they had the cheapest price and It developed a fault pretty quickly; it shut itself down randomly and for seemingly no reason, it would do it at all different times, often when just sitting there not doing much, sometimes after a few days use, sometimes within minutes of switching on. It always restarted again afterwards back to the password in stage.
So I contacted the vendor, their services were a bit sloppy, but it ended up going back eventually after we'd gone through the motions. Another arrived pretty quick and it did exactly the same!
I was pondering if they'd just sent the same one back thinking I was trying it on, but have no proof and it didn't seem like it. This is where dealing with someone hundreds of miles away becomes more difficult and time consuming, so I asked for my money back and they said yes.
As it stands now I haven't been refunded yet, but it's only been 5 working days since they picked it up.
In the meantime as I really needed one I purchased the same model locally, I figured it would be easier to deal with someone just a mile away, given the time scale and its now post Christmas they were within £10 of the original one anyhow.
So guess what? Oh yeah, within a few hours of use it's developed exactly the same fault as the other two and has now done it twice within the first 8hrs of usage
I'm away at the moment, so it'll be going back as soon as I get home. I've done a bit of a Google search and can't find anyone else reporting any issues, although It has to be said I don't really know where to look for that.
The only question I have is 256 GB SSD better than 500 HD? I thinks so, I hope so!
It looked like the right one for what I needed and at £330 - £350 seemed good value, I would have bought another Lenovo as my last one was great, but they had nothing anywhere near the price at a similar spec.
I bought one online as they had the cheapest price and It developed a fault pretty quickly; it shut itself down randomly and for seemingly no reason, it would do it at all different times, often when just sitting there not doing much, sometimes after a few days use, sometimes within minutes of switching on. It always restarted again afterwards back to the password in stage.
So I contacted the vendor, their services were a bit sloppy, but it ended up going back eventually after we'd gone through the motions. Another arrived pretty quick and it did exactly the same!
I was pondering if they'd just sent the same one back thinking I was trying it on, but have no proof and it didn't seem like it. This is where dealing with someone hundreds of miles away becomes more difficult and time consuming, so I asked for my money back and they said yes.
As it stands now I haven't been refunded yet, but it's only been 5 working days since they picked it up.
In the meantime as I really needed one I purchased the same model locally, I figured it would be easier to deal with someone just a mile away, given the time scale and its now post Christmas they were within £10 of the original one anyhow.
So guess what? Oh yeah, within a few hours of use it's developed exactly the same fault as the other two and has now done it twice within the first 8hrs of usage
I'm away at the moment, so it'll be going back as soon as I get home. I've done a bit of a Google search and can't find anyone else reporting any issues, although It has to be said I don't really know where to look for that.
What software have you personally installed on all three machines?
I'd be surprised if all three suffered the same issue "direct from HP".
Got to ask ... there's no way the ventilation slots are being blocked is there?
Might be worth installing some temperature monitoring software, for example:
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/
I'd be surprised if all three suffered the same issue "direct from HP".
Got to ask ... there's no way the ventilation slots are being blocked is there?
Might be worth installing some temperature monitoring software, for example:
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/
Apologies for slow reply and thanks for your responses.
I've been away so haven't been able to take the latest one back yet, when I do at least i'll be able to talk to some boffins face to face and see what they say as the place is not just a retail outlet.
Do you really think a software problem or virus could cause an intermediate shut down like this? I'm thinking more hardware, the actual physical gubbins inside the thing, but admittedly my knowledge of computers is practically zero. It has Mcafee Livesafe installed as part of the package, so wouldn't that be stopping viruses?
It would be really good to speak to someone a bit higher up at HP and ask if there is a widespread problem with this, maybe i'll try that.
JPJPJP said:
Is windows fully up to date?
Yes it updates automatically and also they updated as soon as they were switched on.sgrimshaw said:
What software have you personally installed on all three machines?
I'd be surprised if all three suffered the same issue "direct from HP".
Got to ask ... there's no way the ventilation slots are being blocked is there?
Might be worth installing some temperature monitoring software, for example:
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/
One of them did it about 3 minutes after it was switched on, so that possibly rules any of your ideas out? I did wipe one completely (twice) and start again as I was told it had a virus (from the vendor, not HP who said it wasn't), but it made no difference.I'd be surprised if all three suffered the same issue "direct from HP".
Got to ask ... there's no way the ventilation slots are being blocked is there?
Might be worth installing some temperature monitoring software, for example:
http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/
Jinx said:
Is it really restarting or is it slipping into hibernation mode? Check your power/battery settings?
CzechItOut said:
Are you sure it isn't going into hibernation mode?
I have a Levono with an SSD and it has very over-eager hibernation settings.
No it definitely switches completely off as per my description above.I have a Levono with an SSD and it has very over-eager hibernation settings.
Penelope Stopit said:
Do you have anything plugged into the USB Port/Ports when this happens?
No. I've looked for a pattern, but haven't found one yet, it just seems very random.I've been away so haven't been able to take the latest one back yet, when I do at least i'll be able to talk to some boffins face to face and see what they say as the place is not just a retail outlet.
Do you really think a software problem or virus could cause an intermediate shut down like this? I'm thinking more hardware, the actual physical gubbins inside the thing, but admittedly my knowledge of computers is practically zero. It has Mcafee Livesafe installed as part of the package, so wouldn't that be stopping viruses?
It would be really good to speak to someone a bit higher up at HP and ask if there is a widespread problem with this, maybe i'll try that.
Something very strange going on, you dont often find 'bad' laptops these days, and to find 3 with the same fault suggests something you're doing or installing rather than a problem across the range, especially when it gets an 8.5/10 on Reevo. If there were wider issues it would be reflected in the review score.
So;
Are you installing any software on them?
Have you tried a return to factory settings, or a complete re-install of Windows?
Does it throw any errors when it reboots after crashing?
Can you start it in safe mode and see if it does the same thing?
So;
Are you installing any software on them?
Have you tried a return to factory settings, or a complete re-install of Windows?
Does it throw any errors when it reboots after crashing?
Can you start it in safe mode and see if it does the same thing?
Condi said:
Something very strange going on, you dont often find 'bad' laptops these days, and to find 3 with the same fault suggests something you're doing or installing rather than a problem across the range, especially when it gets an 8.5/10 on Reevo. If there were wider issues it would be reflected in the review score.
So;
1. Are you installing any software on them?
2. Have you tried a return to factory settings, or a complete re-install of Windows?
3. Does it throw any errors when it reboots after crashing?
4. Can you start it in safe mode and see if it does the same thing?
Yes I agree with your first paragraph.So;
1. Are you installing any software on them?
2. Have you tried a return to factory settings, or a complete re-install of Windows?
3. Does it throw any errors when it reboots after crashing?
4. Can you start it in safe mode and see if it does the same thing?
1. Software, yes, should I try uninstalling some and see how it goes? I think maybe so. Software comes from a disc right? A password saver or Adblock is a program, yes?
2. Yes, as per above explanation.
3.No, just Chrome asks to reinstate open tabs as it was shut down incorrectly
4. I don't understand this one sorry.
I think actually i'm going to install myself - onto a local computer course evening class, as you can see i'm a bit lacking in that dept.
The problem is whilst I'm always using one, I have zero interest in it. It would be a bit like putting a woman on a mechanics or driving course
Software is any program which you install. So yes, password savers, adblockers, PC games, etc etc are all what would be described as software. 'Hardware' by contrast is the physical bits of the machine, ie things you can touch, such as keyboards, screens, etc but also includes the processor, memory and hard drive on the inside of the case.
I would do a restore, which will basically wipe everything and give you a clean version of Windows with nothing else. You can do this by typing 'settings' into the box next the start button and going; Settings > Update & security > Reset this PC > Get started. Then select remove everything when it asks. Obviously this will delete any of your files, so make sure you save any work to a USB stick or email it to yourself.
Then once you've done that, see if it has the same issue. Personally I dont bother with any anti-virus. Windows Defender (built into Windows) is good enough these days, although some may disagree. Let the machine run all its updates which might take a while, before you start re-installing any bits of software. If you create a 'restore point' on your machine before each piece of software (type 'restore point' into the box next to the start button, and click Create Restore Point to do this), then if suddenly the machine starts crashing again you can go back a bit without having to do a clean restore. I would just work through your bits of software because it sounds like one program is not working on the new hardware and causing it to crash. Its simply a case of identifying which program.
'Safe mode' is a mode you can put your computer in which disables a lot of 'non core' drivers and features and is useful to try and isolate a problem with something you may have installed, but in your case doing a clean reinstall is probably easier.
I would do a restore, which will basically wipe everything and give you a clean version of Windows with nothing else. You can do this by typing 'settings' into the box next the start button and going; Settings > Update & security > Reset this PC > Get started. Then select remove everything when it asks. Obviously this will delete any of your files, so make sure you save any work to a USB stick or email it to yourself.
Then once you've done that, see if it has the same issue. Personally I dont bother with any anti-virus. Windows Defender (built into Windows) is good enough these days, although some may disagree. Let the machine run all its updates which might take a while, before you start re-installing any bits of software. If you create a 'restore point' on your machine before each piece of software (type 'restore point' into the box next to the start button, and click Create Restore Point to do this), then if suddenly the machine starts crashing again you can go back a bit without having to do a clean restore. I would just work through your bits of software because it sounds like one program is not working on the new hardware and causing it to crash. Its simply a case of identifying which program.
'Safe mode' is a mode you can put your computer in which disables a lot of 'non core' drivers and features and is useful to try and isolate a problem with something you may have installed, but in your case doing a clean reinstall is probably easier.
We have same model- works fine.
To check if it's a hardware or software issue, boot into the BIOS, then just leave it there. If it shows the same behaviour (i.e. turning off) then you probably have a hardware issue.
I assume you've already run the BIOS self-tests...?
(If you're not familiar with the BIOS, google it- you probably press F1 or F12 on bootup).
To check if it's a hardware or software issue, boot into the BIOS, then just leave it there. If it shows the same behaviour (i.e. turning off) then you probably have a hardware issue.
I assume you've already run the BIOS self-tests...?
(If you're not familiar with the BIOS, google it- you probably press F1 or F12 on bootup).
biggiles said:
We have same model- works fine.
To check if it's a hardware or software issue, boot into the BIOS, then just leave it there. If it shows the same behaviour (i.e. turning off) then you probably have a hardware issue.
I assume you've already run the BIOS self-tests...?
(If you're not familiar with the BIOS, google it- you probably press F1 or F12 on bootup).
I have no idea what BIOS is, but I can look it up.To check if it's a hardware or software issue, boot into the BIOS, then just leave it there. If it shows the same behaviour (i.e. turning off) then you probably have a hardware issue.
I assume you've already run the BIOS self-tests...?
(If you're not familiar with the BIOS, google it- you probably press F1 or F12 on bootup).
Condi said:
Software is any program which you install. So yes, password savers, adblockers, PC games, etc etc are all what would be described as software. 'Hardware' by contrast is the physical bits of the machine, ie things you can touch, such as keyboards, screens, etc but also includes the processor, memory and hard drive on the inside of the case.
I would do a restore, which will basically wipe everything and give you a clean version of Windows with nothing else. You can do this by typing 'settings' into the box next the start button and going; Settings > Update & security > Reset this PC > Get started. Then select remove everything when it asks. Obviously this will delete any of your files, so make sure you save any work to a USB stick or email it to yourself.
Then once you've done that, see if it has the same issue. Personally I dont bother with any anti-virus. Windows Defender (built into Windows) is good enough these days, although some may disagree. Let the machine run all its updates which might take a while, before you start re-installing any bits of software. If you create a 'restore point' on your machine before each piece of software (type 'restore point' into the box next to the start button, and click Create Restore Point to do this), then if suddenly the machine starts crashing again you can go back a bit without having to do a clean restore. I would just work through your bits of software because it sounds like one program is not working on the new hardware and causing it to crash. Its simply a case of identifying which program.
'Safe mode' is a mode you can put your computer in which disables a lot of 'non core' drivers and features and is useful to try and isolate a problem with something you may have installed, but in your case doing a clean reinstall is probably easier.
Thanks for taking the time to post.I would do a restore, which will basically wipe everything and give you a clean version of Windows with nothing else. You can do this by typing 'settings' into the box next the start button and going; Settings > Update & security > Reset this PC > Get started. Then select remove everything when it asks. Obviously this will delete any of your files, so make sure you save any work to a USB stick or email it to yourself.
Then once you've done that, see if it has the same issue. Personally I dont bother with any anti-virus. Windows Defender (built into Windows) is good enough these days, although some may disagree. Let the machine run all its updates which might take a while, before you start re-installing any bits of software. If you create a 'restore point' on your machine before each piece of software (type 'restore point' into the box next to the start button, and click Create Restore Point to do this), then if suddenly the machine starts crashing again you can go back a bit without having to do a clean restore. I would just work through your bits of software because it sounds like one program is not working on the new hardware and causing it to crash. Its simply a case of identifying which program.
'Safe mode' is a mode you can put your computer in which disables a lot of 'non core' drivers and features and is useful to try and isolate a problem with something you may have installed, but in your case doing a clean reinstall is probably easier.
One of them was wiped clean and started again from scratch - twice.
I have a sneaky suspicion that it's one of two programs i've loaded up from disc (one is very new on the market), if it isn't that one then it's the other. What I have done is uninstalled it and i'll see if it behaves now. That seems like a good start to me?
I can also contact the producers of it to see if they have had any other reported problems.
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