Old hotpoint upright freezer only has 1 temp artic blast....

7 would be the coldest setting no matter the brand or model

Have you put a thermometer in the freezer? Leave it for half an hour to get a stable reading.

you may check the internal fan, ran into that same problem tried cleaning the coils and ended up being the fan

my freezer defrosted it self and the red tryangle light stays on what is it

red light flashing means temp. is too high (not freezing) just an indicator to let you know that there is a problem
let me know: the freezer temp. (use a temp. reader)
any unusal ice build up on the back freezer panel?
is the freezer fan running?
compressor running?
parital frozen foods?

need to know so i can help you

Get a hold of CAMCO, they are the authorized parts/repair depot for Hotpoint

disconnect from mains. take cover off compressor electrics. check starting device - easy to replace

Use a freezer thermometer and tell me the actual temperature. Or at least store some ice cream and see if it stays brick hard. Unless I have some idea of the actual temp I can't tell if defective freezer or alarm

you could try a 3 in one hard start kit... comes with a copacitor to help start compressors with age and having trouble starting

I have an upright freezer which temp was unstable. The coils were frosted up, and the circulating fan was unable to pull air across the cooling fins.I defrosted the unit, cleaned it up, and turned it back on. Worked fine until it frosted up again. The unit was a no frost model. I had to have it serviced, and one of the defrost sensors was bad. No problems since this was fixed.