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Laptop Shutting Down Question

Darth Tater

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I have an HP laptop (Windows 8). Barely a month old. Anyhow, this has started the past 2-3 times I've shut it down...never had any issue prior.

I go to Settings...Power...Shutdown, just like everyone on Windows 8. The screen shuts down, turns off, etc...yet a light next to the power button stays on, and I can feel the fan still running. It stays like this indefinitely, until I have to do a cold(force) shutdown. Last night it stayed like this for a good 5-7 minutes after I had shutdown, and I had to do the cold shutdown by pressing & holding the power button.

Does anyone know what this could mean? Perhaps it is just installing updates or something, but usually it alerts me when that is going on.

Also, occasionally, lines flash across the top of my screen. This hasn't happened in a week or so, but it has happened. Did I just happen to get a dud computer, or are these normal kinks since it is so new?

Thanks for any info.
 

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I had this issue when I first got my HP laptop. It's a bios issue. You need to contact HP support online (chat support) and get them to give you the bios update. They'll talk you through it.

EDIT: After I contacted support and they gave me the update, I have not had one issue since. This was six months ago. Mine is an HP Envy

EDIT 2: Contact them on the issue computer, not a different one. This may seem odd, but this is how they give you the file to update the bios.
 

wdwstateofmind

Well-Known Member
HP and Windows 8...two words that wouldn't be used together...in-fact, one should be cautious to use either...

You didn't jump on the chance to roll back to Windows 7?
 

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
HP and Windows 8...two words that wouldn't be used together...in-fact, one should be cautious to use either...

You didn't jump on the chance to roll back to Windows 7?

My old Windows 7 crashed all the time, as did the ones at school.

Windows 8, on the other hand, has never crashed on me. Other than the bios issue when I first got the computer, I've had minimal trouble with it
 

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
I absolutely HATE Windows 8.

I do not find it intuitive at all.

In fact it's counter intuitive to everything that I try to do.

There are new third party extensions that make it work like Windows 7, without the crashing part. I've got one that @englanddg showed me that works wonderfully. Gives you back the start menu and such
 

StarWarsGirl

Well-Known Member
In the Parks
No
Why would MS get rid of something that everybody has to go to a third party to get back?

Don't ask me that; I'm not MS:p

I think because they wanted to make it more intuitive for tablets and such. It works well for the surface tablets...just not for the regular computers. I have a Surface RT and the lack of the Start menu is fine. But I'm glad to have it back on my laptop.
 

Master Yoda

Pro Star Wars geek.
Premium Member
Why would MS get rid of something that everybody has to go to a third party to get back?
Windows 8.1, which should be out in September to October, will give you the option to boot into Metro or Desktop as well as adding the start menu back. However, once I learned how to use Windows 8, I found it much easier than Windows 7 which I use at work all day.


I have an HP laptop (Windows 8). Barely a month old. Anyhow, this has started the past 2-3 times I've shut it down...never had any issue prior.

I go to Settings...Power...Shutdown, just like everyone on Windows 8. The screen shuts down, turns off, etc...yet a light next to the power button stays on, and I can feel the fan still running. It stays like this indefinitely, until I have to do a cold(force) shutdown. Last night it stayed like this for a good 5-7 minutes after I had shutdown, and I had to do the cold shutdown by pressing & holding the power button.

Does anyone know what this could mean? Perhaps it is just installing updates or something, but usually it alerts me when that is going on.

Also, occasionally, lines flash across the top of my screen. This hasn't happened in a week or so, but it has happened. Did I just happen to get a dud computer, or are these normal kinks since it is so new?

Thanks for any info.

As reported it is a BIOS issue. HP support will guide you through flashing the BIOS. It is pretty simple and not uncommon on a new machine.
 

englanddg

One Little Spark...
Windows 8.1, which should be out in September to October, will give you the option to boot into Metro or Desktop as well as adding the start menu back. However, once I learned how to use Windows 8, I found it much easier than Windows 7 which I use at work all day.




As reported it is a BIOS issue. HP support will guide you through flashing the BIOS. It is pretty simple and not uncommon on a new machine.
I've got the 8.1 beta running on a surface pro at work. It's pretty slick.
 

Darth Tater

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I had this issue when I first got my HP laptop. It's a bios issue. You need to contact HP support online (chat support) and get them to give you the bios update. They'll talk you through it.
I think they were closed (or asleep) for the night. ;)
I did as you said, had a message on chat which said my submission was in queue, please wait momentarily while we connect you to next available technician. Nothing happened for approx. 17 minutes, so I sent a message stating the problem again (thinking maybe I should start conversation). Nothing for another 23 minutes...so I exited out of that. I'll try again Monday during a regular business week.
 

englanddg

One Little Spark...
I think they were closed (or asleep) for the night. ;)
I did as you said, had a message on chat which said my submission was in queue, please wait momentarily while we connect you to next available technician. Nothing happened for approx. 17 minutes, so I sent a message stating the problem again (thinking maybe I should start conversation). Nothing for another 23 minutes...so I exited out of that. I'll try again Monday during a regular business week.

You can get your bios download from your model number on the HP website.
 

Darth Tater

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
You can get your bios download from your model number on the HP website.
I know this will sound stupid, but what exactly is bios? I am as illiterate as they come when it comes to computers (hence the reason searching Google for my problem was no help...plenty of answers...none I could understand). Yes, I'm that sad at knowing this stuff.

Thanks thought, I'll check the HP website.
 

englanddg

One Little Spark...
The BIOS is what comes up before windows (or other OS)...overly simplified, it's what you see when the computer first turns on (when you see the HP logo, for example) before the higher level OS (Windows) takes over.
 

Darth Tater

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
^Thanks. I did discover something that helped with the flashing horizontal lines. If it starts happening, I just close laptop (put it to sleep mode) for about a minute, re-open and resume session...presto, they're gone!
 

englanddg

One Little Spark...
^Thanks. I did discover something that helped with the flashing horizontal lines. If it starts happening, I just close laptop (put it to sleep mode) for about a minute, re-open and resume session...presto, they're gone!

Still, for a relatively new laptop, shouldn't be doing that. I'd complain to HP about that issue, before your 12 month warranty expires.
 

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