Member Avatar for Zupnik

Hi,

I've been looking on various forums on how to fix this issue but with no luck. I can't seem to find anything which refers to this specific problem. It is not a Windows 7 software issue as far as I'm aware.

The screen on my computer will sometimes go black, music will cut off (sometimes it jolts and plays the same small clip over and over agan) and be completely unresponsive. This usually happens when I'm playing games and it happened many times when I was trying to transfer several hundred gigabytes of data from one USB Hard drive to another. But it can also happen when I just leave it for a day or so on.

I've reformatted a Hard Drive and reinstalled windows, and that hasn't helped exactly....it seems to only have happened once in the last 3-4 days when it used to happen once a day or so. I've got 2*2gb of ram and have switched the two and that hasn't helped.

I have no way currently of switching components around to identify which part is causing the problem.

Does anyone have any ideas?

Many thanks,

Anthony

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by victor1244

Dani AI

Generated

Summary and a focused troubleshooting plan for the intermittent black screen / audio-loop hang described by . Several replies already point at the GPU ( , ) and at model-specific Nvidia failures on some HP laptops ( , ). The behaviour—freezes during heavy GPU or I/O load, audio looping, and intermittent recovery—fits a small set of causes: graphics driver / GPU failure, overheating/power instability, storage or USB controller faults, or stubborn driver/kernel hangs. Below are prioritized, verifiable steps to isolate the fault without blindly swapping parts.

  1. Collect evidence first
  • Enable small memory dumps and check Event Viewer (Windows Logs -> System) after a crash for TDR/driver-reset messages, Kernel-Power (Event 41), or nvlddmkm/timing errors. See Microsoft TDR docs for what those events mean: Timeout Detection and Recovery.
  1. Reproduce safely and monitor
  • Run a GPU stress test (short runs) while watching temps with HWMonitor. Overheat or GPU failure under load points to graphics hardware or cooling.
  • Run Memtest86 from USB to rule out RAM problems: Memtest86.
  1. Check storage/USB side
  • Run SMART and vendor diagnostics on both USB drives (manufacturer tools / CrystalDiskInfo) and try transfers in smaller batches, different ports, and different cables. A failing drive or bad USB controller can hang the system during large copies.
  1. Drivers and power
  • Do a clean GPU driver reinstall (use Device Manager uninstall or a removal utility), test with integrated graphics if available, and check PSU voltages on a desktop. Intermittent hangs under load often implicate the GPU or the PSU.
  1. If this is a laptop with known vendor GPU failures
  • Model-specific failures can require board-level repair. If hardware tests suggest GPU fault, contact the vendor or a qualified repair service rather than attempting risky reflows.

Order tests to preserve data (backup first) and to gather logs before changing hardware. If logs point to a driver, start with a clean driver install; if stress tests reproduce the hang, treat it as hardware.

Recommended Answers

All 6 Replies

Member Avatar for BlackFetus

..check your video card...

Member Avatar for memo1313

Hi everyone I am having almost the same problem:
My Laptop (4year old toshiba) only boots the first stage where it says toshiba and the scrillbar on the bottom appears...
Then it goes black with a cursor on the top left. no keys will work and it will reboot if I press CTRL ALT DEL
1. I have tried to start it on safe mode and it does not let me
2. I have pressed f12 and go into HDD and it will go to black screen with a small cursor line on top left.
3. Ive pressed f 10 and it does not help either...
Is there a way I can fix this problem? thanks

Member Avatar for victor1244

I am having the same problem or one very similar. I have been able to get to windows vista on occasion. I would like to reset the bios via CMOS battery removal. I have gotten into the bios and tested the memory and hard drive, they both passed. The laptop is a H.P. Pavilion dv6000 and I would like to know where the CMOS battery is located on this machine. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Member Avatar for wondering_ed

It could be a video card problem my friend.

Member Avatar for Mocha67

I am having the same problem or one very similar. I have been able to get to windows vista on occasion. I would like to reset the bios via CMOS battery removal. I have gotten into the bios and tested the memory and hard drive, they both passed. The laptop is a H.P. Pavilion dv6000 and I would like to know where the CMOS battery is located on this machine. Any help would be appreciated. Thank you.

Hi Victor,
Your problem is (probably) a nvidia problem that affects some models of HP laptops.
See hplies.com for info if your model is on the affected list.

Member Avatar for victor1244

Thank you, Mocha. I was not aware of that web site, as I am trying to get a friends computer up and running again. I got it going last week via a hard reset, but it only worked for a little while after returning it to it's owner. Back to square one with the same problem. Thanks again, victor

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