new laptop goes through windows update and bricks.

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dfs
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new laptop goes through windows update and bricks.

Post by dfs »

yeah.....It's a lenovo ideapad 510. The first one arrived and my wife hooked it up to our wireless and it went through a windows update cycle and....became a brick. I RMA'd it and the second one arrived today and again.....I'm kind of at a loss here.
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Punisher
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Re: new laptop goes through windows update and bricks.

Post by Punisher »

Can you define bricked?
Is it completely dead? IE: no power?
Does it go into a Windows boot loop?
describe how far in the boot process it gets.
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LordMortis
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Re: new laptop goes through windows update and bricks.

Post by LordMortis »

I know a bunch of thinkpads get stuck on a round of updates but they don't "brick" they lock on reboot at "press some key or another to enter set up" and it takes the hard shut off to boot and then run more updates.

OtOH, others find worse problems that I've not yet encountered.
Here they strongly suggest if Windows 10 locks on updates the Internet (including wifi you have established) must be turned off or Window will continue to be stuck trying update.

I cannot attest to the solution (except for the safemode kickstart. I use safemode and logging as a different user as a regular troubleshooting step with startup problems )
Did you make sure to make it impossible to access the internet before trying it? That is really important. Why? Well if anything was trying to update when the original problem occurred (Windows 10 updates no matter if you agree or not), the the computer will continue to try to access and install that update until it has no way to do so. Hence no internet access.

If there is WiFi in the area, turn it off, or move to another area. Then try just restarting (no other things). If an update was part of the problem, that should resolve it. Then you can access the internet (connect again) once it is running.


Should that not work. Next try starting up in "Safe Mode". If it loads in "Safe Mode" then there may well be something on the computer that shouldn't be. Bad program, virus, malware, etc. If that is the case, you will need to find and remove the problem before you can start correctly.

How to enter "Safe Mode" when booting the computer.

In Windows 8 and 10...

As your computer restarts, press F8 (possibly a few times) to enter "Safe Mode"

a. Press the "F4" key to Enable "Safe Mode".
(The computer will then start in "Safe Mode" with a minimal set of drivers and services.)

b. Press the "F5" key to Enable "Safe Mode" with Networking.
( Once "Safe Mode" with Networking starts, Windows is in Safe Mode, with additional network and services for accessing the Internet and other computers on your network.)

c. Press the "F6" key to Enable "Safe Mode" with Command Prompt.
(In "Safe Mode" with "Command Prompt" starts Windows in Safe Mode, with a Command Prompt window instead of the Windows interface. This option is mostly only used by IT professionals.)

Now sign in to the computer with your account name and password. (If you have one set.) When you are finished troubleshooting, you can exit "Safe Mode" restarting your computer.


In Windows 7/Vista/XP...

1. Immediately after turning on the computer, or restarting it (usually after you hear your computer beep), tap the F8 key, repeatedly, in 1 second intervals.

2. The computer will then display hardware information and run a memory test.

3. Next the "Advanced Boot Options" menu will appear.

4. In the "Advanced Boot Options" menu use the arrow keys to select "Safe Mode" or "Safe Mode with Networking" and press ENTER.


If neither of the above help, and it is giving you this much trouble when it is new, then I would contact the manufacturer. They will either have a quick solution for you, or be able to repair/replace it.
dfs
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Re: new laptop goes through windows update and bricks.

Post by dfs »

Punisher wrote: Wed Apr 04, 2018 2:17 pm Can you define bricked?
Is it completely dead? IE: no power?
Does it go into a Windows boot loop?
describe how far in the boot process it gets.
sorry. Yes there is power.
There is a no bios splash screen.
The only thing the screen shows is a rough checkerboard pattern.
Using the reset pin on the m/board changes nothing.

To complicate matters. I came home today and turned it on and it worked fine....for about 10 minutes. Then the checkerboard pattern returned.

I can believe that one system had a problem with the video card. But I find it hard to believe that it happened twice.
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LordMortis
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Re: new laptop goes through windows update and bricks.

Post by LordMortis »

dfs wrote: Wed Apr 04, 2018 7:49 pm
There is a no bios splash screen.
The only thing the screen shows is a rough checkerboard pattern.
Using the reset pin on the m/board changes nothing.

To complicate matters. I came home today and turned it on and it worked fine....for about 10 minutes. Then the checkerboard pattern returned.

I can believe that one system had a problem with the video card. But I find it hard to believe that it happened twice.

That's hardware. No question about it. No Lenovo splash screen from a cold boot and freaked out display means you're never getting to windows. I don't find it hard to believe that two of the same model machine have the same hardware defect whatever it is. I'd say pull the battery as the next test but my memory of the ideapads is that you have to unseat the covering to to pull the battery and quite frankly, fuck that noise on a brand new machine.

I've generally had a great experience with Lenovos, but I generally get thinkpads. Sorry to hear what you have going on.
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Daehawk
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Re: new laptop goes through windows update and bricks.

Post by Daehawk »

That checkerboard pattern is usually a video driver issue. But I have no idea how to get around it.
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LordMortis
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Re: new laptop goes through windows update and bricks.

Post by LordMortis »

Daehawk wrote: Thu Apr 05, 2018 9:18 am That checkerboard pattern is usually a video driver issue. But I have no idea how to get around it.
If the it's checker board on boot, that's not a driver, that's a GPU (likely) and on an Ideapad, that's likely built into the Mobo. I'd say you can boot to a diagnostics screen to verify but of there's no Lenovo splash screen, that's right out.

No wait.... I haven't tried it but Lenovo have a bookable USB diagnostics

https://pcsupport.lenovo.com/us/en/leno ... tablediags

though again, I'd be hard pressed to pursue that avenue if this a new machine out of the box. I'm too angry for that. :D
dfs
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Re: new laptop goes through windows update and bricks.

Post by dfs »

And to muddy the water more.....After I arrange with the vendor for a refund and a return.....Last night I turned it on and....yup. It came right up. Since that time the goram thing has worked like a champ. Got the return label today and I'll ship it out on Saturday. I think it has to be a heating issue near the gpu, but I'm not going to spend my time tracking down an issue like this. Weird stuff.
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