Is my CPU FRIED?

Hi all...So I've let my laptop overheat several times, and all of a sudden, I found it to be slow! As molasses. I ran some utilities (PC Doctor 5 which ships with all IBM/Lenovo Thinkpads), and that gave it a passing grade!

So I run my trust tool "PC Wizard ", and even when I have it plugged in, turn the battery scheme to "Maximum Performance ", PC Wizard only ever displays 997.45MHz anymore. No more 2.33GHz, which is what my T7600 runs at. I turned OFF the Enhanced SpeedStep in the BIOS, and also attempted a few other workarounds but it won't budge.

Is it normal for a CPU to still work at a MUCH lower speed after it overheats a few times??? I'm typing on it now, and everything works great, except (or so I think) the CPU...Hmmm...

Is it possible I just need to reinstall Vista, which I've been wanting to do for about a month now, but haven't had the time to deal with it!??

Is there a way to determine the speed of the CPU, and do you guys have any advice for me for any and/or all of the above??

Thanks guys!!!!!!! I need to get a new T7600 ASAP! *IF* it really IS the CPU, that is!

Thanks for your help!

 

cpu-z is your processor's bestfriend. http://www.cpuid.com/download/cpuz_148.zip

that's the program to know all your CPU and your RAM and your motherboard.

sorry, im no technician

 

I have not used CPU-Z. Is that as good as, or better than, Belarc or Everest for hardware identification?

 

it only detects your cpu - what brand, speed, specification, etc. it is used by pc reviewers. it's also has live update on the cpu speed you have. that's all i know about it. hoavent used your mentioned programs

 

I had occasion to use this a few weeks ago - very nice program. Installed it quite some time ago but had never spent much time looking at it - now its hard to understand why not - Great suggestion, Pete.

 

Done - thanks for the heads up. Of note however - updating through the program itself (help, about & update) which connects to Author's site, I got an AVG trojan warning which I let AVG clean. AVG subsequently killed the program so I removed all remnants and the folder and then downloaded same from Major Geeks. On the second go around, all went smooth with no AVG warnings and now have an 2008_09_09 version running just fine.

Crunch Dude - is this the same machine you upgraded graphics and CPU on? I've had trouble following your ongoing activities during the last few months and am too lazy to go back and look them up.

 

Not likely, a CPU typically works or it doesnt work. I recently upgraded a CPU from a single core to a dual core and I got all the technical info from
http://forum.notebookreview.com/

They might even be able to help with the overheating problem.

 

Continuing the off-topic, unfortunately. I took the suggestion to try SIW, but I could not find voltages and temperatures.

 

I'm wondering, my Toshiba has a Power saver utility that turns the Processor Speed down when its speed is not needed. For example right now it reading 0.98Ghz. When I open Photoshop and CloneDVD, its now reading 1.73GHz. The Power Saver Utility is set to Auto, but it has a selection for Fixed processor speed

Any chance your computer has a similar utility??

 

I agree with Ranger. If your CPU was fried, it wouldn't slow down. It would not work.

Did you used to get higher readings with PC Wizard than you are getting now? Or did you not check the CPU speed before the overheating?

If your CPU still runs hot, that might explain the slowness. Or as Ranger says, it may be some power-saving utility. On my laptop, it will run slower on battery than when plugged in, to save on power. (I just noticed that you said that you turned the battery scheme to "maximum performance," and get the low CPU speed even when plugged in. So the battery management system is probably not causing the problem.)

 

Thanks, Pete. I see the temperatures now. I don't see voltages, but maybe they are elsewhere, or not enabled on my system.

Looks like the latest build is now 2008-10-28. That's what I got.

 

That 10-28 build on the author's site is where I got hit by the attempted trojan.

 

Is my CPU fried??? Part II

http://www.windowsbbs.com/hardware/78253-my-cpu-fried.html

I just wrong a lot response to the thread above, only for vBulletin to tell me I couldn't post because the thread hadn't been responded to. lol...

At any rate, thank you all for the great information! It's good to know that my CPU is ok.

However, I still cannot watch Bluray movies, and even DVD's are only "ok ", so something's up. Should I maybe buy a cooling pad, and/or re-do the thermal paste on the CPU? I did do a fresh installation of Vista Ultimate x64, and PC Wizard (1.86 is the latest and the greatest for that baby for those of you who are interested), along with CPUID, both show that everything is fine. At least, that's how I'm reading it. Hmm...Shall I post some screen shots maybe??

@Rockster2U: Yes, that is the same machine that I upgraded quite a bit, including the CPU, since you had asked.

I recently upgraded to Vista SP2, which is in beta, of course, about 5 days ago. So far so good, but the issue remains. I didn't install SP2 in an attempt to resolve my CPU issue. It's just an FYI.

So...thermal paste? Force it to go at higher speeds consistently??

Thanks again everyone!

Again, this is in reference to this thread.

 

what is the temperature of your CPU ?

if you can`t see in SIW, try everest made by Lavalys, use the latest Everest Ultimate in trial version for 30 days ... Computer - Sensors

also, would be interesting if Everest can show other temperatures from Chipset or vga chipset also

if there is a software program that is maximizing your battery i suggest a fresh reinstall ... if there are strange temperatures, the cooler might not work ..but it should work fine at least first 2-3 minutes ...

 

The HEAT...my God, the HEAT!

Whoever suggested it was possibly due to poor ventilation and overheating...was absolutely right!!!

My CPU is fine, and when I took out the removable Ultrabay caddy (currently occupied with another hard drive), removed the battery, so that more heat could dissipate, and I let it kind of hang over the table, so as not to block the bottom vents, everything works juuuuust fine!

PC Wizard 1.86 is great for monitoring temps, when you minimize it. It puts a small list of the CPU temp, along with them temps for both cores of my Core 2 Duo in the top right corner, but it can be moved around the screen.

Once I put Maximum Performance for both the "Attached to power" and "When running on Battery" in the BIOS, and then let the Thinkpad Power Manager do its thing as far as SpeedStepping, everything is as it should be! And Bluray's once again play perfectly.

Obviously, this is not the perfect solution, so I need to clean out the fan, and do whatever you guys might be able to suggest. I am also aware that there are "cooling pads" that are wrapped around the bottom and the back of the laptop. Can any of you suggest what else I can do, or instead of what I'm thinking of doing?

Thanks again, folks!