Unfortunately I have purchased an LG A520 laptop seven months ago, exclusively to boost my FSX experience, for a relatively low price (nearly $ 1000). The laptop has i7 processor, 8 GB RAM, 2G Nvidia GPU, and Windows 7 64 bit OS.

 

After two months from purchase, it started showing blue screen of physical memory dump, followed by automatic restart. The event was happening intermittently not related to any specific activities. I took it to the horrible service center and they delivered it back after "updating some outdated drivers" according to them. Two months later, same problem occurred again. I took it to the service center, along with printed screen shots from Event Viewer that show the list of CRITICAL events that show that windows has been rebooting without cleanly shutting down. After a week at the service center, they delivered it back after "format and reinstalling the OS". This did not make any sense to me because I got a strong impression that the problem is related to hardware, as I have been using my software for years, and I know how to manage. After painful arguments I had to take it back. Several days later, and after I spent those days reinstalling my applications, and doing the FSX painful tweaks, same problem occurred again.

 

Now the laptop has been with the service center for a complete month, because I don't want to receive it back and keep asking for a refund or replacement. They keep saying that they have checked the hardware and it is perfectly fine. They also say that my problem might have been happening because I was using the "Hotspot Shield" software which "might put my computer at internet risks", or the problem maybe related to my external hardware (joystick, wireless keyboard and mouse... etc). They say they have not seen the problem while they were testing the laptop during that period. So they have taken absolutely no maintenance actions at this repair visit, and they want me to receive it back. Looks like they also have been manipulating the registry because the event log does not have the critical events any more. I have escalated this to every person I could manage to reach within LG and outside LG, and they all did not show any help. The problem is that if I take it back again, after several days or weeks, the problem is going to happen again and there will be no different scenario than the current.

 

I need your help with the following:

 

1. Is there any kind of a quick test or check that I can perform before them at the service center, that confirms there is a problem with a hardware component? Is there any ERROR in the event viewer log that proves there is a hardware problem? I have lots of KERNEL POWER error events still existing in the log (but not the critical ones).

 

2. Is there a possibility that my software is causing this problem, although I have been using same software for years with other computers? Can Hotspot Shield cause this really?!!!

 

3. If I take it back, would there be any pust-to-the-limits test to let me reproduce the problem, and confirm if it is related to software or hardware issue?

 

4. Do you have any tips on how can I deal with this unhappy situation?

 

Thanks for your help.

This really could be caused by your software or your hardware or even a virus, but if it was a virus I would think that the service center would have found one and told you. If your software and/or hardware is old and was developed for XP then running it on Win7 may cause problems. If the problem is your software or hardware it can be difficult to track down what exactly is causing the problem. It will be time consuming, but you can take the laptop back, but first I would ask them to do a clean install of Win7 and make sure all drivers installed are the latest version. Once you get the laptop back there are stress test that you can do. Since I am only familar with Intel CPU's / hardware and yours is AMD I will refer you to overclock.net's AMD's forum. Ask over there what stress tests you can do. Before you post make sure you fill out your hardware profile as you did here so anyone who responds can see what hardware your laptop has. Do the stress tests before you install any of your hardware and software. When you post over at overclock.net list your software and hardware that you want to install. When you start installing your software make sure that you install any updates available, same thing for your hardware and make sure that you install the latest drivers for your hardware. Once you get the laptop back before you do anything else make sure that Windows 7 is completed updated.

 

http://www.overclock.net/f/10/amd-cpus

Thanks for help.

 

First, sorry for the confusion, as the specs written in my signature are those of my desktop not the new laptop subject of this problem. My laptop has i7 processor (intel).

 

Second, as I mentioned above, they have already tried updating the drivers in the first repair visit. They have also installed a new clean W7 after format in the second repair visit. None of this has helped, and the problem re-occurred after the two visits.

 

I have never done an overclock and actually do not know what it is.

Go post in the Intel General section at overclock.net and request guidance on what stress tests to do when your get your laptop back. When you join OCN make sure that you fill out the specs of your laptop in your profile so anyone who is responding to your post knows what you have. I just do not have the time to list all the tests with instructions on how to use them.

 

When you get your laptop back make sure that Win7 is completely updated before you do any stress testing.

 

Do the stress tests before you install any of your software and hardware. After you do the first stress tests install one thing and retest, install the next thing and retest. After you install software and hardware go to the manufacture's site and make sure that you have all of the latest software updates installed and all of the latest hardware drivers installed before you stress test.

I need your help with the following:

 

1. Is there any kind of a quick test or check that I can perform before them at the service center, that confirms there is a problem with a hardware component? Is there any ERROR in the event viewer log that proves there is a hardware problem? I have lots of KERNEL POWER error events still existing in the log (but not the critical ones).

 

I use IntelBurnTest software to make sure my system is stable - http://www.softpedia.com/get/System/Benchmarks/IntelBurnTest.shtml. There's also Prime95 which a lot of people here on AVSIM use to stress test their system to see if any component has a problem. Usually a hardware failure will cause a BSOD or Blue Screen of Death and, if you ever get one of those, you would want to download a free program called Blue Screen Viewer (Google it). I see you did have a BSOD with a memory dump. The Blue Screen Viewer will identify exactly what files or modules caused the crash. You can then Google that information to see what might have caused the problem. The Event Viewer will generally not identify a hardware problem but may supplement a BSOD. The Event Viewer was developed so that you can investigate the cause of a crash or Event such as the computer freezing up. In most cases, Microsoft will have a link to the Internet that shows you more info about your problem and maybe suggestions to fix it. Usually, if you Google the faulting module, say Kernel32.dll, it will provide several reports of this error and how to fix it yourself. Some fixes are easy. Some may require a professional but 98% can usually be fixed by the User.

 

2. Is there a possibility that my software is causing this problem, although I have been using same software for years with other computers? Can Hotspot Shield cause this really?!!!

 

It is doubtful Hotspot Shield is causing the error. A lot of people use this software and have no problem. Personally, I see no reason for the software. Microsoft has the freeware called Microsoft Essentials which provides adequate security for most users. The most important security element I know of when surfing the Internet is making sure your Firewall is turned on at all times. Just click on the little white flag icon on the lower righthand corner (Action Center) and click on Security.

 

3. If I take it back, would there be any pust-to-the-limits test to let me reproduce the problem, and confirm if it is related to software or hardware issue?

 

Answer is in 1 above. Yes.

 

4. Do you have any tips on how can I deal with this unhappy situation?

 

Use the Internet search engines like Google or Bing. In their search bar you can type anything you want. Just ask it a question you would ask a service repair person. For instance, Google the sentence in your original post - "After two months from purchase, it started showing blue screen of physical memory dump, followed by automatic restart. The event was happening intermittently not related to any specific activities." In this case, someone like me will have an item you can click on that suggests you download Blue Screen Viewer and identify what caused the crash. That's what these repair people do. You can save yourself a lot of money by asking the question on an Internet search engine and do the investigating yourself.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Best regards,

Jim