GPU Overheating And Screen Freeze

[psymushroom]

I'm having some serious problems with my laptop.Recently a friend gave me an Lg Flatron w2243s so i desided to connect it. I use it as default screen, not dual or expand, at 1920 x 1080 (its recommended by windows settings)
My problem is that everytime i open the laptop, after 2 hours of working the screen crash and i can't do anything(the mouse is moving, the sounds still sounds but the screen is showing the same thing)the ONLY thing i can do to save my progress of everything i do, is to press ctrl+alt+delete and then Change User and Log In again, save everything and then a reboot because the system doesn't run properly..It happens every 2-3 hours.
At most of the times the crash happens
1) If i'm on a web browser (firefox or chrome) and the site i'm watching contains adds with sort videos and i scroling up and down with mouse quickly.

2) When i use visualizer for music in media players

3) When i do many things together and have 4-8 apps open(the crash happens when something is moving on the screen)

4) and finally when i don't do anything at all and it just wait!! (about 10-15 minutes then crash..)

Until now i NEVER get this crash while playing any video of any size or time(usually i use VLC and .mkv containers with hd video) and while working on windows explorer.
Also i NEVER had any known problems before with graphics or something else.

The reason that i believe the temp is the problem is simple... i use 2 softwares to check the temp sensors, the one is from this site! My laptop temp is all the time about 68c - 74c and reach 82c so easily.
I use a cooler stand with a 20cm fan but its a crap!!! I think all those coolers in the market for the laptops are complete waste of money since all the laptops is full covered with plastic all around!

So what do you think i sould do to fix the thngs?!!

Vaio specs

sony vaio VGN-NR11Z/S 4,5 years old
CPU Intel Core 2 Duo T7250 2.00GHz
GPU Mobile Intel GMA X3100
ram 4GB DDR2 (667MHz)
HDD 500GB
screen of 15.4" WXGA (1280 x 800)
win 7 ultimate

Thanks in advance!!

 

[D007]

Uhm the laptop is "fully" covered with plastic? then take it off....
If the cooling fins are covered by some kind of rubber/plastic you need to remove it. Unless you mean something else.. 82 is high imo, if there is a way to dust out the inside of the laptop I'd try. If you had it a while it might be ugly inside. More dust = more heat.
That's all I got, sry.. ; ;
gl.

 

[Doc41]

Might be a silly question but is the fan working?
with temps this high all the time means either the heatsink is blocked with dust or the fan failed, might want to check this first

 

[psymushroom]

Uhm the laptop is "fully" covered with plastic? then take it off....
If the cooling fins are covered by some kind of rubber/plastic you need to remove it. Unless you mean something else.. 82 is high imo, if there is a way to dust out the inside of the laptop I'd try. If you had it a while it might be ugly inside. More dust = more heat.
That's all I got, sry.. ; ;
gl.

I mean "fully" because the only true exit for the air from inside the laptop is the place where the small factory fan is..there are some thin lines also under the laptop but they are useless because 1)they are small 2)the air doesnt get in or out because the plastic has a thin metal stuck from inside(you can see it when you remove the plastic) and 3)they are under the rams and not the CPU or GPU!!! wtf sony???!(for what reason did you pay your designers??)
I open it one time every year and clean it with a little brush! Its more clean than when i get it from the store!!
Well i'm thinking to make some new big fat lines cuts at the plastic under the cooling system..since i cant find the reason for those high temps!
Also yesterday i tried something that i thought it wouldnt change anything but after almost 2 days i think its working!!! Until now i didnt had any crash..I change the res to 1280x720

Might be a silly question but is the fan working?
with temps this high all the time means either the heatsink is blocked with dust or the fan failed, might want to check this first

hahaha yes this is a silly question! both of them working dude, one small factory fan inside and one 20cm extra in a stand.
the heatsink was one of the first things i checked.

 

[Peter1986C]

I think that after 4.5 years, the thermal paste on the cpu and North Bridge may be dried out too much. Did you replace that?

 

[psymushroom]

I was thinking that too @Chevalr1c but because i never get it of i thought it was fine..
probably i was making a big misktake! it worth a try for sure! but do you really think that this is the problem?! thanks for the info m8!!

 

[phanbuey]

I can tell you right now that those temperatures are not causing your crash. Laptops with that chip can hit 90C and run stably. Not only that but the thermal throttling should kick in and you will remain stable.

You are having a software issue of some kind. Driver issues with GPU, or (worst case) GPU is failing.

Not only that, but the crash does not seem to be correlated with use, so it happens when you aren't doing anything and when you are doing stuff - so there is no correlation with CPU temps.

My recommendation is to save your files, and then do a windows wipe/reinstall.

Replacing the tim might not be a bad idea for the long haul tho.

 

[Doc41]

After more thinking it could be a driver problem? VGA driver most likely as it happens when you do something that utilizes the GPU, both "Chevalr1c" and "phanbuey" have a point,
you should change the TIM and as phanbuey suggested is to reinstall a fresh copy of windows and get the latest drivers for everything. Good luck fixing the problem.

 

[psymushroom]

sorry for my late answer... thank you both for the usefull info!!

@phanbuey i have 2 questions!
1)is anything i can do if i am in (worst case) and GPU is failing?! as i know you can't upgrade the GPU on laptops..you can only send it back (to sony for me) and they will replace it with the same chip...the price for that is like you buing a new laptop!! so its stupid solution!!
2) what is TIM sorry if its an idiot question!! im not expert in pc english language!!

@Doc41 i use the latest drivers and updates for every hardware or software...
i use this GPU drivers http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Det...sion=Windows 7 (32-bit)*&DownloadType=Drivers

ok.. so i have only the solution of a windows wipe/reinstall right? and if this doesnt fix it then i have for sure GPU fail and i cant do anything.....
NO MONEY for new one...

 

[Doc41]

TIM stands for "Thermal Interface Material" which is located between the heatsink and the chip being cooled i.e CPU, it can be in a paste or pad form.
i'm still concerned about the temps, if 68c was the idle temp its not normal.

IF it was a worst case scenario of a failing GPU, if i remember correctly for older laptops they replace the whole motherboard which can be costly
" which happened to my sister's dell xps m1330" so a new one would be better and cheaper maybe.

All i can tell you now is to reinstall windows and see what happens, if that doesn't work i have no idea.
Good luck

 

[psymushroom]

Thanks for the info about the TIM. Yes, i'm still concerned for temps too...its just not so good for the chips and for electronics to work on those temps... i mean i can bake an egg if i put it inside the laptop with those temps!!(when it reach 82c++)
I will change the TIM and hope to have some changes to the temps...
I will reinstall also the windows when i finish saving the files and hope again to solve the freezes and not to have a GPU failing...
its hard these days to find 1000euro for new laptop or pc...(you can find with 300-400euro laptop but the specs aren't good enough, consider that its new one)
Thanks m8 i think i will need a lot of luck!!

 

[D007]

I just think it's getting too hot..