[SOLVED] Inspiron 3542 stuck at 0.76ghz (Very detailed question)

Oct 4, 2020
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Hello everybody, I have a dell inspiron 15 3542 (i7 4510U, 8gb ram, 1tb HDD w/ ssd cache, 2gb nvidia gpu) the problem is that a few months ago its battery died and it doesn't detected it anymore which in itself is not a problem for me since I use it as a pc.
But I've noticed that a few months ago it slowed down a lot, opening up task manager showed that the cpu was stuck at 0. 76Ghz and no matter what task i ran it would stay at that speed and lag. I tried updating the bios (currently on the latest version) and changing the processor state in power settings to 100% too but there's been no difference, I know that the cpu is locked so I can't manually change the clock rate. Also after the battery died everytime I switch on my laptop before booting up, the laptop gives me this message on a black background saying
"AC power adapter wattage and type cannot be determined. The battery may not charge. The system will adjust the performance to match the power available. Please connect a Dell 65W ac adapter or greater for the best system performance"
I've only ever used the charger that came in the box with the laptop so I don't get it. I know this laptop is pretty outdated by recent standards but I just used to play war thunder on low on it and do homework I can't figure out what is wrong with it. I can't buy a new laptop or battery/charger because I had to save a lot to get this in the first place. Please do help.
 
Solution
I had a similar issue but running with HP laptops. I spent some time looking into it but couldn't quite figure out the issue. The throttling happened in Windows but not in my Hackingtosh OS so it was quite strange. Could be a OS thing (where the OS throttles the CPU but not outside of the OS) but I was too lazy and tried an easy workaround that seemed to do the job. I also went through my power settings/BIOS/thermal/temps and AC adapter seemed fine to me.

Not the best solution but if you need something in a quick pinch and you are comfortable with tinkering the voltage/clock speeds.... you can use Throttlestop on locked processors (very nice to adjust clock speeds/voltages on locked processors for those pesky locked...
Oct 4, 2020
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I ran intel xtu for 5 minutes and it went to 74° but the clock remained the same. Wouldn't it throttle after heating up? It stays stuck at 0.76ghz even after a cold start (room thermostat says 24°C)
 
Oct 4, 2020
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I don't see what the point of stress testing is when the cpu speed is stuck to 0. 76ghz no matter what I do and no matter how hot it gets or how cold it remains . Please explain what it is that stress testing is going to do.
 
Oct 4, 2020
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No there's no such program from dell for devices that are not high end. I don't think there's anything wrong with the motherboard. I will update this after buying a new ac adapter.
 

Cats869

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Aug 16, 2014
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I had a similar issue but running with HP laptops. I spent some time looking into it but couldn't quite figure out the issue. The throttling happened in Windows but not in my Hackingtosh OS so it was quite strange. Could be a OS thing (where the OS throttles the CPU but not outside of the OS) but I was too lazy and tried an easy workaround that seemed to do the job. I also went through my power settings/BIOS/thermal/temps and AC adapter seemed fine to me.

Not the best solution but if you need something in a quick pinch and you are comfortable with tinkering the voltage/clock speeds.... you can use Throttlestop on locked processors (very nice to adjust clock speeds/voltages on locked processors for those pesky locked BIOS)(https://www.techpowerup.com/download/techpowerup-throttlestop/)

I just use it only to modify the clock speeds for certain profiles and it seems to be a nice workaround to my issue. Again, may not be the best solution but it is a solution. Proceed with caution though as you definitely do not want to mess with the settings too much or risk damaging your CPU.

Make sure to watch some videos/read up on it before using. And again, I recommend just adjusting the clock speeds to your normal clock speeds for that processor (voltages should adjust automatically)
 
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