Samsung Power Problem

Hello all,
I have a Samsung R50-CV05 notebook and since I purchased it in 2006 , I have had problems.
When using battery power alone it works fine for all programs and applications.
However when using mains power (and especially when charging the battery at the same time) and running more intensive programs such as virus scans or playing a DVD, the notebook loses all power, the screen goes black and I lose any unsaved data. This all happens much quicker in warm climates than in cool. I've also tried the notebook without the battery attached and although it takes longer for the problem to occur, it still happens. If someone could please help out with a little technical advice as to what the problem is, I'd really appreciate it. I also have a problem with the wifi. When connected to a 54.0 Mbps, eventhough I get an "excellent" signal strength, the connection constantly fluctuates..... 48.0, 24.0, 11.0, 1.0Mbps and then nothing at all. I've placed my notebook next to Dell and IBM machines in 3 different locations, and whilst mine was fluctating, they showed constant 54.0 Mbps connections.
Any help would be appreciated.
Thanks
David

 

Hi,
I forgot to add that I have tried 2 different ac adaptors and the problem remains the same. Not sure how honest I can be about Samsung on this website, but their customer service in Japan, the UK and now Malaysia has, shall we say, "not been great". Samsung say it's a software problem (not their problem), "a virus maybe in Windows" I was told. But that surely wouldn't explain the fact that it works better in cooler environments or that it works perfectly when on battery power alone. In any case my Norton Antivirus etc are all perfectly upto date and scan very regularly. Overheating was my original thought but the unit itself doesnt seem to be excessively hot. Any thoughts would be really appreciated.
Thanks a million
David

 

The nearest I have had to a similar problem is a display backlight going off after some time (but with progressively shorter periods of operation). It went back and the inverter unit got replaced. In your case I would strongly suspect the hardware, in particular whatever converts the power coming from mains or battery to the various voltages used by the system. A component which becomes defective as it warms up (not necessarily noticeably hot) would have the right characteristics to cause the problem. Either when it is in a cool place or running on battery (with less power draw than running on mains) would result in failure taking longer than if running on the mains in somewhere hot.

Such an unusual fault would challenge most technical support staff (and the problem is to get through to someone who understands the hardware), but they should be willing to take the computer in and fix it rather than continue to try to blame software.

John

 

Hi John,
Thanks for your comments. Samsung returned the notebook and advised I back up the data before they do anymore tests, as I said I couldn't believe that it was a software problem. It wasn't usually operational long enough enough to back up the data to disc, but unfortuately it's no longer so important as, what Samsung didn't tell me when they gave the unit back to me, was that they had already "toasted" all 36 Gigabytes of my data! Gone!

 

Your experience reminds me of another of my perpetual gripes: Hard disks should be partitioned by default so that the operating system and the data can be segregated. Then, if you keep all your personal files on D:, they aren't wiped by a clean re-install of Windows. If my memory is correct, Asus do partition HDDs by default, but they are in the minority.

Another weapon in my backup armoury is an external USB 2.5" HDD caddy (one will need the SATA version for the X60plus). A couple of minutes with a screwdriver and I can have the HDD out of the X60, into the caddy and then plug it into another computer.

OK. You have lost some data, but I hope there is successful resolution of the hardware problem. If you are lucky, Samsung might say what the problem was once they have fixed it. It would be useful to close this thread with that information in case the same issue arises in the future.

John

 

Hi John,
Will be updating this thread soon with a little "interesting" info on the subject from Samsung
Thanks

 

do post soon. I have a Samsong R50-CV06 myself, and I'd like to hear what Samsung have to say.

 

It sounds like the CPU is overheating to me...

 

Well the latest is that Samsung "say" they have replaced the hard disc....... However when I got back home, I used a neat little program called Belarc that gives a listing on the serial numbers of components etc. just to make sure that they are being honest with me....... but the serial number of my new hard drive is exactly the same as the serial number on my old hard drive...... Sounds a little fishy? Samsung say that the replacement really is a brand new hard drive, and that the serial number on the new motherboard that they are now fitting, will also be the same as the old motherboard..... They transfer the serial numbers.......... Maybe I'm too skeptical but I'm finding this very hard to believe. Surely serial numbers are there to provide tracability of a product? Any comments would be very greatly appreciated.
Many Thanks
David

 

Does the serial stored electronically match the one on the HDD's label?

Personally, I don't think that HDD would have caused the problems you described. Were any other components changed and, most important, is the computer working properly.

I think it is quite likely that you have still got the original HDD (there is no reason to think it was defective) and you have been given erroneous information.

John

 

......re: Does the serial stored electronically match the one on the HDD's label?


The electronically stored serial and label on the "new" HDD are both exactly as per the original drive. I suppose I just find it hard to believe that a company as big as Samsung can behave in such a way.
Thanks
David

 

It may just be a case of "the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing", as is common in large companies. The person you speak with is not the person that performs the work, and he/she probably knows nothing about the service end whatsoever. They simply tell you that they replaced this and that to appease the customer.

As for the system board/hard drive, I thought each one manufactured had it's own unique identification number, reguardless of whether it is used as a replacement part or an OEM assembly-line one. It sounds odd to be able to "swap" serial numbers on any given piece of hardware.

 

Unfortunately I have to say that I am dealing with the "engineer" and his manager....... and I can't say I believe anything that they have told me until this point. The unit is back with Samsung for the "new" motherboard to be fitted, but I had use of the notebook whilst they were "waiting for the new motherboard to arrive". The problems still exists with the "new" hard disc and looking into the vents on the base of the unit, there seems to be enough dust to suggest that even if they have opened it up to look inside they certainly didn't give it a blast of air.

Thanks for all of your responses

 

Where in the world is this happening? I recall from one of your previous posts that you have been moving around.

Your priority needs to be to get the problem fixed. Then it may be appropriate to try to get the message through to someone in Samsung who should be sufficiently concerned about lapses in their backup system to take action.

I've always found the Dell support and repair people to be efficient, but they do get plenty of practice.

John

 

Hi,
This is all currently happening at Samsung in Penang, Malaysia. However the main problem has existed ever since I purchased the computer almost a year ago but found both Samsung Japan and Samsung UK to be less than helpful. The warranty is almost up and I've been here for over 3 weeks now just trying to get things sorted. It's really costing time and money, so much that it may be cheaper just to forget the whole thing........but in principle feel I should persist.
Thanks
David