Laptop freezes completely when printing on battery (Acer Predator Helios Neo 16-72, i9-14900HX, 4060

Hi everyone,

I’m having a weird issue with my Acer Predator Helios Neo 16-72 (i9-14900HX, RTX 4060, Windows 11 24H2).

When plugged in, everything works perfectly. But when running on battery, after a while my laptop completely freezes — screen stuck (slightly wavy pattern), mouse lag, then total freeze. I can’t even shut it down normally, the only way is to hold the power button for 10 seconds.

This happens most often in the following situation:

I’m using the laptop while plugged in.
I unplug it to go print something.
I plug in the printer’s USB cable and start printing.
Immediately or shortly after, the laptop freezes completely.

Things I’ve already tried:

Set Maximum processor state on battery to 30–50%.
Reinstalled printer driver, GPU driver, and chipset driver.
Updated Windows to the latest version.

Still no luck. Has anyone else experienced this? Any ideas on what might cause it or how to fix it?

Accepted answers

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/728059/laptop-freezes-completely-when-printing-on-battery-acer-predator-helios-neo-16-72-i9-14900hx-4060

If your PHN16-72 Neo is still under the Acer 12 months or extended warranty, send your laptop to Acer tech Support in your country and do not open or try and do anything to fix this laptop. If its not, then then do a Hard Reset as your laptop could be having a symptom of its BQ and EC chips that are freezing causing the laptop functions and the print function to freeze.

Do a Hard Reset of the laptop first by opening the back cover and take the main battery out, then press the power key for 10 seconds to release all power from the laptop, then disconnect the RTC/BIOS battery and short this batteries mainboard plugs at the + & - pins to reset CMOS, then take the ram out.

Leave the laptop like that for 30-60 minutes so that the laptop reset properly and then replace everything, but with the ram only inset 1x ram module and see if the freezing still happens and then alternate to the next ram module.

If the above reset doesn't work then your PHN16-72 Neo has either faulty power rail or an EC chip that needs either reprograming or changing or it has a faulty BQ chip, all these faults need a technician to analyse and pinpoint the exact problem. Good luck and hope this helps you out to fix this problem.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

All comments

StevenGen

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/728059/laptop-freezes-completely-when-printing-on-battery-acer-predator-helios-neo-16-72-i9-14900hx-4060

If your PHN16-72 Neo is still under the Acer 12 months or extended warranty, send your laptop to Acer tech Support in your country and do not open or try and do anything to fix this laptop. If its not, then then do a Hard Reset as your laptop could be having a symptom of its BQ and EC chips that are freezing causing the laptop functions and the print function to freeze.

Do a Hard Reset of the laptop first by opening the back cover and take the main battery out, then press the power key for 10 seconds to release all power from the laptop, then disconnect the RTC/BIOS battery and short this batteries mainboard plugs at the + & - pins to reset CMOS, then take the ram out.

Leave the laptop like that for 30-60 minutes so that the laptop reset properly and then replace everything, but with the ram only inset 1x ram module and see if the freezing still happens and then alternate to the next ram module.

If the above reset doesn't work then your PHN16-72 Neo has either faulty power rail or an EC chip that needs either reprograming or changing or it has a faulty BQ chip, all these faults need a technician to analyse and pinpoint the exact problem. Good luck and hope this helps you out to fix this problem.

If this answers your question and solved your query please "Click on Yes" or "Click on Like" if you find my answer useful👍

Puraw

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/728059/laptop-freezes-completely-when-printing-on-battery-acer-predator-helios-neo-16-72-i9-14900hx-4060

Hi thebao1111

Likely Cause: When you connect the printer via USB while running on battery, the port draws a sudden spike in power. Windows’ power management then throttles the USB to conserve battery life, which in turn freezes the printer driver.

Recommended Solution:

Keep the AC adapter connected at all times when printing.
Let the battery remain at 100% while plugged in — this prevents USB power throttling.

Model: Predator Helios Neo PHN16‑72, i9‑14900HX

thebao1111

https://community.acer.com/en/discussion/comment/1351310#Comment_1351310

Thank you so much for the clear explanation and helpful advice. I’ll keep the AC adapter connected when printing to avoid the USB power throttling issue. Really appreciate your help!