IT Help Required.. My laptop died

[Drunken Monkey]

EDIT: brain wave after post (bwap): just before it normally comes up with the "windows loading screen" tap the F8 key a couple of times and let it sit in whats knowen as the "boot menu" - just let it sit, if it resets its not a windows issue

Best advice yet. Although, to all these helpful techs who suspect overheating, system lock up or freezing is a much, much more common symptom of overheating. A system is unlikely to overheat quickly, especially if the fans are still operating (you'll be able to hear them). I'm not ruling it out, but let's not over analyse here!

Get a new laptop me thinks.....

Probably the next best piece of advice.

[Wasp]

wow thanks drunken monkey, tommorow i shall ask for a pay rise and get my job title changed from "junior technician" (i made that up and it stuck) to something more suitable like "Not so junior tech"..... pass me a tui.

i also agree 100% with your theory on how overheating is not the problem...

[Cibby]

allirghtly everyone..

i talked to my sister who is a bit of a techie and also her boyfriend who is a bit of a techie...

and they think it is either

a. a trojan using to much memory consitantly and causing the CPU to over heat and shut down.. this would explain why my laptop has been slow the last month. It would also explain the differences in time it takes to shut down.

b. an issue with the internal power supply box thingie...


so.. tonight i'm backing everything up, and then sunday they are going to have a lil looksie...

if that doesnt work.. I think wasp is looking at getting the next go at it...

Or smashing it with a hamer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! that is my next option..

Wish me luck everyone.. thanks for your help again

[Shaun]

.

and i did have it on teh carpet the other day but i vacumed

That sounds like something Mrs Poos would be doing

[Cibby]

.

and i did have it on teh carpet the other day but i vacumed

That sounds like something Mrs Poos would be doing

*shudders*

thanks for that Shaun!!!!! you shouldnt encourage him or give him ideas!

[The_Dover]

smash it!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Beemer]

well who had to come and spoil the party.. geeze beemer.. incase you havnt read, everyone so far seems more than happy to help me, in the interest of getting me back on kb in the eveningss so i can make enlightening and worthwhile contributions to Kb!!!

besides.. how can "general biker ravings" not be the right forum. I'm a biker and i'm raving...

so

You obviously wouldn't recognise irony if if jumped up and bit you in the arse! I hope your laptop is up and running again soon - I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to these "enlightening and worthwhile contributions".

[Drunken Monkey]

Your sister and her boyfriend are well meaning, but their first guess is just leading you astray.

Nothing thrashes your CPU, RAM and I/O like startup. If CPU load alone could overheat your computer, rebooting an already warm PC would crash it, every time.
Also, the NT HAL will stop any win16 or win32 trojan from ever having enough access to the hardware to hit it that hard.
A trojan can effect Windows performance, but will not cause system rebooting or lock up unless you have another (typically hardware) problem.

[Cibby]

Your sister and her boyfriend are well meaning, but their first guess is just leading you astray.

Nothing thrashes your CPU, RAM and I/O like startup. If CPU load alone could overheat your computer, rebooting an already warm PC would crash it, every time.
Also, the NT HAL will stop any win16 or win32 trojan from ever having enough access to the hardware to hit it that hard.
A trojan can effect Windows performance, but will not cause system rebooting or lock up unless you have another (typically hardware) problem.

ug!

this is confusing.. my darlin sis and her bf have about 40 years of it experience between them,

if they cant fix it then

i'm going to smash it with a hammer!

UG!

Thanks DM....... might ask you for any other ideas once they have seen it.

[Qkkid]

welll atually...

IT JUST FUCKEN DIED AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



so its not the ram.... but the new ram has helped!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ANY OTHER IDEAS??? ANYONE??????????????

Blondes there all the same

[The_Dover]

I have a hammer.

It's a very nice hammer.

Very good for smashing things.

[Drunken Monkey]

ug!

this is confusing.. my darlin sis and her bf have about 40 years of it experience between them,

if they cant fix it then

i'm going to smash it with a hammer!

UG!

Thanks DM....... might ask you for any other ideas once they have seen it.

IT experience can mean anything these days. Someone can be a perfectly competant software developer, IT Project manager, or even the local office MS Access guru => but they wouldn't know how to assemble a PC or diagnose a laptop hardware issue to save themselves.

The best advice as already been given to you - weigh up how much the laptop is worth to you, how much it may cost to fix (another member's previous estimate of $1k - $1.5k does not sound unreasonable), and how much a new one is (entry level laptops, good for most day to day tasks, start from around $1000).

If repair is still your favoured option, the best people to look at your machine are the service agent, probably Portables Plus on Great South rd. This will cost you $$$, but they will sort you out for sure. They also do a quote first service, if you go ahead with the job there is no charge for the quote. If you decide not to proceed, it will probably cost you an hourly rate, anywhere up to a couple hundy I imagine.

[WRT]

Just to add another 2c into the mix . . . when I had the laptop the other day (with the old memory), it was a definate hardware problem. The thing would power off even when in the BIOS setup. So Wasp was on the right track, but I'd already gone back one step futher, and removed any chance of a prob with the HDD. Also note that the BIOS is already running the latest release for that laptop.

IF the symptoms are still the same with the new memory, then I doubt that it is software that is causing this trouble. I'm not saying that there isnt any virus or spyware in there (as the laptop wouldnt run long enough to check this), I'm just saying that its not responsible for these shutdowns.

I also doubt its overheating, the fans working fine and the laptop would shut off at random times, at least once when it had been off for a while it still only ran for a few seconds (and note that the fan turns on as part of the POST so its not going to be overheating in that time).

My gut feeling is that if the symptoms are still the same, that its mb or something to do with the internal charging circuits, tending towards the mb option.

If the symptoms have changed, the obviously all bets are off as I havent seen the laptop since having the new memory installed. Also note that if it is hardware, and we have already ruled out memory (assuming that the replacement memory was good), then any further diagnosis is going to require parts replacement which will only be able to be done by an specialist laptop repair center. In which case, DM's recommendation of Portables Plus is a good one, I have dealt with them quite a bit in the past and they have always come across as professional and thorough.

Either way tho Cibby, if there's anything else I can do to help with it just sing out.

[The_Dover]

HAMMER TIME?
Please......

[Cibby]

You obviously wouldn't recognise irony if if jumped up and bit you in the arse! I hope your laptop is up and running again soon - I'm sure I'm not the only one looking forward to these "enlightening and worthwhile contributions".

oh beemer.. was there really any need to give me red rep over this??

Incase my cheeky teasing was also missed on you..

i'm sure the should have given the intent of my post away shortly..

I'm truely sorry that you were offended enough to give me red rep but was it really necessary..