Question So far impossible to recover overheating laptop with corrupt windows 10

[Howcho]

I am in a real pickle. My daughters laptop Model: HP Beats 15, sku: g6r14ua, serial : 5cd5111rnt, has an overheating problem. I thought this would be a relatively easy fix for me. I disassembled the laptop. Blew out the fan and fins. I also removed the heatsink and repasted with ArcticSilver. The computer showed little improvement with the cpu hovering around 92C. I then went into power options>advanced settings and reduced the maximum processor state to 70%. This showed remarkable improvement. Reducing cpu temp to the mid 70'sC . I thought I had it licked and started doing some maintenance. I ran Ccleaner to get rid of garbage files, then ran the registry cleaner. Next was malwarebytes to clear any malware. All this time I was running speedfan or Hwinfo64 to monitor the cpu temp. It was steady at about 84C. Next I thought to run Windows update. Not really keeping an eye on things now, the laptop was updating for near an hour when it shut down. I think now that the settings I changed regarding the processor have returned to default as the laptop now shuts down within minutes as previous. With the failed update, Windows has become unrecoverable for me. My attempt at booting with USB or DVD have proved futile as I only get minutes to try anything. To help keep the laptop cool while trying to recover it, I filled a baking dish with ice and placed the laptop over the dish resting on the dishes edges, assuring that there was plenty of airflow. I also used a fan to keep the air moving. This seemed to buy me time as the laptop does not readily shut off, but I have had no luck in any recover attempt, be it 'reset' 'restore' 'reinstall' etc. All seem to produce errors of one sort or another.

Additional information:

Win 10 64bit, version 1703
AMD A8-5545M apu w/ RadeonHD 1.7 ghz graphic.


More info on request If I can find it

Help or suggestions please?
PS I have no need to retain any data, a clean install is preferable.

 

[Darkbreeze]

These boards used on the A series laptops are cheap, with very low quality power delivery and VRM components, as are the CPUs themselves. Pretty much all of the A series laptops, A8, A10 etc., are prone to overheating problems and rarely are there any remedies. I have five A series laptops sitting on a shelf above my workbench that have all been torn down, cleaned, repasted, new fans, and they still overheat. Replacement of the motherboard itself has proven successful on one unit, but the cost generally cannot be justified when compared to a new unit.

Unfortunately your experience is not unique, and I'm afraid your best option is probably going to be replacement.

 

[Howcho]

This is not the response I was hoping for.
Alas, thank you for the bad news none the less.

I think I will persevere as this laptop worked fine previously and I don't see why it should not again.
Do the components age, or deteriorate over time? I suppose the CPU could due to heat, but the heat sink?

 

[Darkbreeze]

I'll tell you why it may not again. Thermal damage, once done, is done. There is NO way to revert thermal damage to the CPU or motherboard. It's like shorting a piece of wire out. Yes, once the insulation gets melted off and the smoke clears, the wire is still there, but it's not the same and you can't put the insulation back on. It is useless to be used in the manner in which it was intended to be used after that. This is the same. Not always, to be sure, but usually. These systems don't start overheating for no reason, and once they do, if blowing them out and repasting doesn't stop the issue of high core temps, I don't know what you think will correct the problem unless you have a fan that is not functioning correctly AND I have often seen the fan controllers on these motherboards burn out and either not work at all, only work at full speed or work sporadically. None of which is acceptable.

Reducing the maximum core clock speed is only a band aid, which seriously reduces system performance and will eventually stop working anyhow because once the thermal fatigue damage has happened, it just gets worse and worse until the system is unable to even power on without instantly having to power off due to it's own thermal protections.

Also, you can't just look at "temps" on these older AMD platforms. You need to look at distance to TJmax (Also known as AMD thermal margin) and you can mostly only do that by using AMD Overdrive, HWinfo or Core Temp with the "show Distance to TJmax" setting enabled in the advanced options. Temps should never be less than about 10°C distance to TJmax under a full load. If they are, there is a thermal problem. You cannot look at core or package temps on the Bulldozer, Piledriver or Richland architectures, they will NEVER be even remotely accurate and should monitored differently than those on Intel or newer AMD Ryzen platforms.

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You can certainly try to find another solution to your thermal issues, and I hope you find one, but having seen so many of these simply crap the bed, I'm not particularly hopeful although I do realize that not every situation is exactly the same.

 

[Howcho]

Darkbreeze I certainly appreciate your sharing your knowledge with me.

Let's forget the overheating problem for a moment. Is it possible to install windows onto a hard-drive that is only mounted in an external drive carriage? Meaning that it is not in a computer at all and only has the sata and power cables attached. I am thinking NO, as you would have no way of answering any prompts that might arise.

 

[Darkbreeze]

No. You need to be connected to the hardware that will be in use so that the system knows what drivers need to be installed and can configure the system accordingly. Not really feasible.

However, if you can find or have a similar system, or just another laptop, you can probably install the OS onto the drive with it connected to that (NOT externally, connected via the normal SATA or M.2 connections) and then swap it into the other laptop afterwards. Not the best or recommended way to do it, but sometimes it works. On a system that already has issues, I have doubts, but it may be worth trying. Most important is that it is a system that uses the same type chipset. So basically same or similar generation AMD for AMD installation. You wouldn't want to use an Intel based system to do the install on and then swap it into an AMD machine. Too many differences in regard to the CPU chipset, storage controllers and other drivers.