My x100e freezes fairly frequently

[UnclGhost]

I have an x100e that I've had for about four months and don't use very often (although more so recently) and I've been noticing that it tends to freeze up and needs to be restarted each time. Specifically, the picture on the screen stops moving and you can tell by listening that nothing's being processed. I can't say quantitatively how often it freezes up, but it's basically guaranteed if you use it for more than an hour. I tried doing a Windows System Restore (this is 32-bit windows 7 pro, incidentally) but it froze during the Restore and I'd rather not go through that whole process all day again.

I've noticed that it freezes more often with certain actions, like running Steam or downloading driver updates, but I doubt it has anything to do with available memory or overheating. I've run the memory checker from Lenovo's startup recovery menu (3GB of RAM, incidentally) and it didn't turn up any problems. I can't run memtest86 right now because I don't have any blank CDs (I do have an external DVD burner/reader though). One thing to note is that it doesn't seem to freeze in Safe Mode, which to me suggests some kind of software conflict.

I'm not especially knowledgeable about these types of issues aside from generally being able to fix my older relatives' problems, but I do realize that "help my computer keeps freezing" is about as generic and difficult to diagnose as a computer problem can get, so I really appreciate any help anyone has to offer.

[morkli]

Do you have you X100e connected to a wired LAN? There were initial problems on the X100e when running on a wired LAN. Download and install the latest BIOS and Ethernet drivers from here: http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... 74463.html. Or run the Lenovo update utility.

Hopefully that should fix it.

Cheers,

[UnclGhost]

Thanks, I was connected to a wired LAN. Unfortunately, it froze as I was installing drivers and updates, then it froze during a System Restore. Thankfully, I had thought to make a hard drive backup. I also apparently had a bit of spyware, so once I used System Restore from Safe Mode and updated my antivirus and spyware applications, it hasn't frozen since. Thanks for your help!

[UnclGhost]

Also, if anyone is having the same problem, it really helped to clean up my registry. WinUtilities is a good program for this.

[morkli]

Also, if anyone is having the same problem, it really helped to clean up my registry. WinUtilities is a good program for this.

I'm glad you solved your problem. While tools like WinUtilities have their uses, they should not be necessary and are unlikely to solve the issue of a freezing X100e using a wired LAN connection. As has been documented in this and the Lenovo forum, the way to fix this particular issue is the latest BIOS update and ethernet drivers.

Cheers,

[UnclGhost]

I'm glad you solved your problem. While tools like WinUtilities have their uses, they should not be necessary and are unlikely to solve the issue of a freezing X100e using a wired LAN connection.

Right, except I'm not sure that the wired LAN was actually the problem (it also froze sometimes when using a wireless connection). Attempting to update the BIOS when your computer freezes during simple driver updates might also be ill-advised. Anyway, all's well that ends well.

[random]

I don't know which sort of freeze you're talking about. Is it like either of the sorts I've seen on mine?

- Windows will freeze occasionally, from anywhere around 30 seconds to a minute or two, before it comes back. For me, it seems like it's something graphics related. Either a game, or aero. Sometimes the trackpoint pointer freezes too, sometimes I can switch between apps and use them (PuTTY usually), sometimes I can't. THis one happens at least every couple days or so.

- after a resume from sleep or hibernate, I have enough time to log in (maybe 30 seconds after system comes up) before the screen goes blank, and the backlight on. This one is locked up and never recovers (at least not in 30 minutes, which I've let it sit a few times). This one happens maybe 1-2 times a week, depending on how often I'm putting it to sleep.

[ellipse]

Hello,

Try this hotfix from Microsoft, it seems to work for me and others with the same problem:

KB2265716

You need to "order" it by email.

Good luck.

[UnclGhost]

Back, and having the same problem again. It will unexpectedly and without warning completely freeze, with no way to get out of it but restarting, and judging by sound, no sign of actually processing anything. I haven't used it with a wired LAN in a while and this still happens. If it helps at all, I always use the trackpoint and its associated buttons, including the center button to scroll.

[control]

Have you tried the newest bios? It has this in the changelog:
BIOS: 1.29 / ECP: 1.22
(Fix) Fixed an issue a system will hang up while Intel Wireless LAN is used.

I haven't had a chance to test it thoroughly, maybe you'll have some luck.

[UnclGhost]

Have you tried the newest bios? It has this in the changelog:
BIOS: 1.29 / ECP: 1.22
(Fix) Fixed an issue a system will hang up while Intel Wireless LAN is used.

I haven't had a chance to test it thoroughly, maybe you'll have some luck.

That might do it. Windows System Information and ThinkVantage Toolbox both say I have "LENOVO 6XET45WW (1.28), 9/17/2010", which is odd, because I'm positive I've updated the BIOS at least twice since September 17, and in fact Update and Drivers says I have as well, but either way, I'm on 1.28 now

1.29 doesn't seem to be on Update and Drivers, so I'll download it from the site and install it later (while offline, of course).

[ThinkRob]

This is pretty obvious, and you've probably already tried it, but if not it might be worth checking to see if you've got bad RAM.

[UnclGhost]

This is pretty obvious, and you've probably already tried it, but if not it might be worth checking to see if you've got bad RAM.

I did, thanks. The startup memory tester didn't find any problems.

After updating the BIOS to 1.29, I used it for around 2 hours in a row with no freezing. So far, so good...

[ThinkRob]

I did, thanks. The startup memory tester didn't find any problems.

Come again? Do you mean the "extended memory test" BIOS setting? Because that's not what I'm referring to -- I'm thinking of something more like memtest86+. I've run into a number of machines with faulty RAM that will POST just fine.

[UnclGhost]

Come again? Do you mean the "extended memory test" BIOS setting? Because that's not what I'm referring to -- I'm thinking of something more like memtest86+. I've run into a number of machines with faulty RAM that will POST just fine.

I mean Lenovo's "Rescue and Recovery" hardware diagnostic utility that comes with the system. I'd use memtest, if I had access to any recordable media right now, but under the advanced view of Rescue and Recovery (Enter then F11 on startup) there's a memory checker in with the hardware diagnostics. It does 11 different tests and I just did 10 passes on each and all passed...

[ThinkRob]

I mean Lenovo's "Rescue and Recovery" hardware diagnostic utility that comes with the system. I'd use memtest, if I had access to any recordable media right now, but under the advanced view of Rescue and Recovery (Enter then F11 on startup) there's a memory checker in with the hardware diagnostics. It does 11 different tests and I just did 10 passes on each and all passed...

Ah. Fair enough.

Just a heads-up though: I've also seen systems with bad RAM pass Lenovo's test but fail a multi-run test with memtest86+. Now it's true that I've only seen one such system (my X200s) but it's still something to keep in mind. Bad RAM can be a pain to track down, and can plague a machine for months without the cause being obvious -- so when troubleshooting I always try to rule that out first. My X200s had odd instability issues for about three months before I realized that the RAM was faulty!

[UnclGhost]

I tried memtest86+ and it didn't say there were any problems on that front. I'll keep trying...

[yhp2009]

Hi everyone. A new member here.
I had freezing issues with my x100e (1 month old) in the first few weeks. It was freezing in the welcome page during boot up, and also during wake up after sleep mode.
I tried updating everything and nothing seemed to work.

Finally I tried uninstalling some of the ThinkVantage tools and I immediately saw results.
I uninstalled the Power Manager, and the Access Connections apps from ThinkV. Since then I've had absolutely no problems whatsoever, and my battery life has increased by 30min to an hour!

I am very skeptical of the ThinkV apps, and I advise you all to explore this approach in solving your problems.

Good luck