Unexpected System Freeze Followed by BSOD on Restart on New Laptop!

[trentgalow]

About 3 weeks ago I bought a new Vortex III LE customised laptop. Please check out specs below if you wish. Everything was proceeding fine after I installed all the relevant software.

After spending several hours transferring a bunch of media files from my NAS I went to pick up the laptop from my sofa onto my lap. It was during this time that my new laptop had frozen - not even the mouse was moving. It semed that the system had locked up for some reason and all I could do was turn off the power button to restart it.

The first time I tried to restart it normally it crashed badly (BSOD!) when starting up. I was starting to get a little worried. The second time I turned on the laptop it suggested that I use a system disc, which I used (windows 7). I assume to this was to repair system files. I am not sure if the laptop used this to fix any files, but following this I was offered to perform a system restore which I chose.

Thankfully I was able to get my system up and running again! It may be just coincidence, but my latop seemed to crash when I picked it up and put it on my lap. Because I use my laptop often for many reasons, I was wondering if anyone else had this problem? I need too ensure I do no have have to worry about the laptop's robustness.

Thanks for reading this !!


Laptop Vortex III LE Specs:

Vortex Series III: 15.6" Matte 95% Gamut LED Widescreen (1920x1080).
Intel Core i7 Quad Core Mobile Processor i7-3720QM (2.60GHz) 6MB
16GB SAMSUNG 1600MHz SODIMM DDR3 MEMORY (4 x 4GB)
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 675M - 2.0GB DDR5 Video RAM - DirectX 11
240GB INTEL 520 SERIES SSD, SATA 6 Gb/s (upto 550MB/sR | 520MB/sW)
SONY BC-5550H 4x BLURAY COMBO DRIVE.
Internal 9 in 1 Card Reader (MMC/RSMMC/SD: Mini, XC & HC/MS: Pro & Duo)
ARCTIC MX-4 EXTREME THERMAL CONDUCTIVITY COMPOUND
Intel 2 Channel High Definition Audio + MIC/Headphone Jack
GIGABIT LAN & WIRELESS INTEL® ADVANCED-N 6235 (300Mbps) + BLUETOOTH
3 x USB 3.0 PORTS + 1 x USB 2.0 PORT AS STANDARD
1 X 1394a FIREWIRE PORT
Vortex Series 8 Cell Lithium Ion Battery (5,200 mAh/76.96WH)
Windows 7 - 64bit OS
INTEGRATED BACKLIT UK KEYBOARD WITH NUMBER PAD
INTEGRATED 2 BUTTON TOUCHPAD MOUSE
INTEGRATED 2.0 MEGAPIXEL WEBCAM

 

[Angelmaker30]

Whether or not its the cause I don't know but putting a laptop directly on your sofa/bed or lap can cause overheating and subsequent failures with components. I know this from experience as my sofa killed my last laptop. Consider a cooling tray, they don't cost the earth and keep airflow free and cool. In the long run using one can extend the life of your machine considerably. You have a great piece of kit it would be a nightmare if something so simple killed it.

 

[trentgalow]

Thanks for the response! Thanks to those who read posting!

I have been thinking about what you said. I know in this case the nature of this particular crash does not correspond to overheating. I will explain why I believe this not to be the cause.

First, I have been using desktop and laptop PCs since the days when computers first came out. This means I am extremely familiar with problems of all kinds.

Second, for well over a decade I have been buying deskop PCs to play demanding games. Every few years, I would have to upgrade my components to keep up with more demdanding games. I would always rebuild my desktop myself. I am pretty good at recognising problems and fixing them.

Third, about 2 years ago, I went through the experience of a cpu overheating on a desktop - because the wrong fan was fitted. After letting the cpu cool down overnight I was able to get it get it working again with no problems. The system did not crash/no BSODs - no system repairs were required as seen with my new laptop.

Fourth, my old laptop which I bought 5 years ago, would always get hot after about 3 hours of use to the point you have take it off your lap. Despite this the fans always kept the cpu cool enough and never overheated once. One thing I bought for my previous laptop was a laptop bag. In addition to acting as thermal barrier (increasing the time it took before it got too hot to take off my lap), it also added extra comfort because its one of these plastic, flattish, spongey type bags.

Finally, I have been using my new laptop on/off now for about 3 weeks. One of the things I noticed first was how cool it feels compared to my old laptop. For normal use it seems to stay pretty cool, even when you sit it on top of the laptop bag and leave it running all day. Since it crashed, and I am almost certain it was not due to overheating, I have had no problems at all with the laptop. The laptop does seem stable at this moment in time. I have to test it with a long gaming session with Civ 5- I have a feeling everything will work just fine from now on.

Overall, it just seems to be one those quirks that you get from time to time! I was just a bit concerned when it crashed when I picked it up and sat it on my lap.

Thanks again!

 

[Angelmaker30]

that is strange. Maybe it was just complete coincidence that it happened as you moved it. The other option maybe the power supply. If it had a spike caused by you moving it, it may have crashed. Very unlikely but cant think of anything else. Anyway I really hope all is well now.