PC World Community: laptop troubles ...

Up to Discussions in Laptops

This Question is Possibly Answered

1 "correct" answer available (4 pts)

20 Replies Last post: Oct 24, 2007 11:06 AM by rgreen4 1 2 Previous Next

makavelidon04

17 posts since
Oct 22, 2007

Oct 22, 2007 3:30 PM

laptop troubles

okay...this might be a long post,but if you bare with me,kudos to you

i bought my laptop back in march...it was my dream to buy my own laptop since my family couldnt really afford it,i had to save up with my own money...me being under-aged for a job, i did a lot of odd jobs(not prostitution or drug sales if your wondering) and i finally saved up 750 bucks for a laptop...i got a laptop on vista launch day(how stupid right?) and yeah...

for the first month it was okay i suppose,no biggie,i didnt mind vista...but after a while,i learned my first lesson:never get drivers from windows update...i had to reformat

(around a month ago)my older brother had upgraded his ram on his old laptop,but was gonna sell it and told me that hed be willing to trade his 2GB RAM for my 1GB...we checked to make sure that the models will fit in correctly,and he helped me put it in...

for the past last week, ive been getting nothing but BSOD every 15 minutes...on my laptop..i was typing a paper, which took at least 5 hours since it had to be at least 12 pages for the whole study of economics in the US..i was on my 10th page, and BSOD! no auto recovery...pure waste of 4 hours of writting...then tried starting up my laptop over and over again,just BSOD everytime....due to rage,i smacked my laptop kind of hard, and it shut off,and turned back on after 4 hours

here is where i need help

i used the windows diagnostic tool to find out whats going on,it detected hardware problems, but when the test gets finished,it gives me 0d errors,i forgot their whole numbers,and idk...i was trying to shrink my HD,because i wanted to try dual booting,since i cant take vista anymore...but since i get BSOD every 15min,i cant do it...so my 2 questions are:

1.)how/what is the cause of the problems...faulty RAM? because i dont want to spend money giving it to a technichian to fix it..

2.)would anyone help me find drivers for my laptop for XP?because my cousin tried looking,but it dosent seem like he tried hard,cause the technichian said hed do it for 150 dollars...thats alot,thats like paying 75 dollars for a cheeseburger...

my laptop is:

gateway mt3705

intel core duo 1.6 ghz

2GB RAM

ATI radeon xpress 200m

vista home premium

sorry for bad puncuation/grammar but i was in a hurry because i have a few arronds to run...anyone that read this,thanks..i just want some help cause i dont want to sell my laptop to buy a dell(you can customize it with XP :D)

edit:so i took out 1 stick of RAM,so now im down to 1GB...and its fine i suppose,i also updated my graphics,runs normal now..but i want to install XP on this thing though...would anyone mind helping me find drivers/ xp...well,my cousin said hed download it for me,but id have to make it into a bootable cd..

RastaMon

393 posts since
Sep 10, 2007

1. Oct 22, 2007 4:09 PM

in response to: makavelidon04

Re: laptop troubles

If removing one stick of RAM fixed the issues, try replacing the stick you left in with the stick you removed. If the problems return, then you know the RAM module is bad. Also, are you certain that when you installed the 2 GiB of RAM you seated both modules properly? If one of the modules was not seated completely, that could also cause problems.

Rather than trying to find and install a pirated copy of Windows XP, I would suggest upgrading to Ubuntu Linux, a free, legal alternative. You can download it and run it from a CD before you install, so that you can try it out before you commit to erasing your Vista installation. The Ubuntu team is committed to upgrading their OS every six months, so you can always have the latest, greatest OS. Many people have found that they like Ubuntu better than Windows.

makavelidon04

17 posts since
Oct 22, 2007

2. Oct 22, 2007 4:12 PM

in response to: RastaMon

Re: laptop troubles

would i have to install the drivers still for linux? i never even thought about using linux..and would games work on it(maplestory in particular)...and would anyone mind dropping more info on it...i never even thought of using it(compatibility issues,performance ect ect)

RastaMon

393 posts since
Sep 10, 2007

3. Oct 22, 2007 5:10 PM

in response to: makavelidon04

Re: laptop troubles

I think you will have to install new drivers for Linux. I was able to find a driver for your video card. I'm certainly no expert on Linux or Ubuntu. Perhaps asking your question in the Linux forum here, and/or the Ubuntu forums would yield more knowledgeable answers. Sorry I'm not more help.

makavelidon04

17 posts since
Oct 22, 2007

4. Oct 22, 2007 5:28 PM

in response to: RastaMon

Re: laptop troubles

was the graphics driver for XP or linux?

RastaMon

393 posts since
Sep 10, 2007

5. Oct 22, 2007 6:17 PM

in response to: makavelidon04

Re: laptop troubles

Linux

rgreen4

3,644 posts since
Oct 22, 2006

6. Oct 22, 2007 6:29 PM

in response to: makavelidon04

Re: laptop troubles

You have been running Vista for 7 months, until you changed out the memory, you apparently did not have a lot of problems. I have been running Vista for 5 months and have had very few problems. There is something else going on, and I don't think changing OS's is going to solve your problem.

We need a few more facts. When you get a chance, please open the memory bay and remove and reinsert both memory modules. Please verify that both modules match and are PC2-4200/DDR2-533 1GB modules. Contrary to some misconceptions, not all memory is equal. If your brother still has his laptop with your original memory, you might also try swapping back to see if your problem goes away.

What other programs are you running on this laptop, and are there any that you have added in the last month?

What anti-virus/anti-spyware programs are you running?

The next time you get a Blue Screen, please write down the code displayed, for it will tell what the cause is.

In the meantime, there are a few simple checks you can make. Click on Start -> Control Panel -> System & Maintenance -> System. This will display a a window listing the CPU specs and the amount of installed memory. Verify the amount of installed memory. Next on the left side of this window at or near the top is the option of Device Manager. Click on this. This will list installed hardware on the machine. See if there are any yellow circles with an explanation mark in it indicating a problem with that device.

Let me know what you find.

makavelidon04

17 posts since
Oct 22, 2007

7. Oct 22, 2007 6:37 PM

in response to: rgreen4

Re: laptop troubles

i cannot really check my laptop right now,well the memory since i have to write papers on it...well i removed one of the sitcks,and it runs normal again, over 4 hours of run time with games on running to see if there will be a BSOD...i updated my drivers also...now im running with 1GB ram,but on the stick that i took out,there is really no info on it on what model or anything it is...just manufactuer and thats it...

well,what my real hope is to get XP on this laptop..dual boot at least...but is there any way to get an XP disc,or would i have to either buy it,download it or such...

i havent installed any programs latley, and i run Nod32,which im pretty sure causes no problems...and my brother sold his laptop already

rgreen4

3,644 posts since
Oct 22, 2006

8. Oct 22, 2007 7:11 PM

in response to: makavelidon04

Re: laptop troubles

By all means, finish your work first. Especially since the problems have thrown you behind a bit.

When you get a chance, please examine the 1GB module you removed and see if in additon to the brand name if there may be a model or part no.

You obviously can run on one module, just not as efficient as on two.

In order to install XP if you want to, here is a document that discusses the orderly installation of XP on a Vista machine.

As I said in the document, I'm not sure what you would gain. If there is a hardware problem on the laptop, changing OS's will not cure it. It appears from your experience that you have either a memory module that was not fully insterted (it does happen, even to the most experienced of us), or a module that has gone bad after you installed it (that also does happen).

When you get ready to work on this some more, come back and post, the members of the community are ready to help you.

makavelidon04

17 posts since
Oct 22, 2007

9. Oct 22, 2007 7:23 PM

in response to: rgreen4

Re: laptop troubles

http://apcmag.com/5485/dualbooting_vista_and_xp

this is the guide that i was using..i shrunk my HD already, i have around 3X HD space on my other partion...so how do i know if the ram sticks are good...cause it mightve been not placed in correctly,ill check into it in the morning,im in the process of writting that paper that i lost..and its oodles of fun when its due tommorrow :-X

http://ati.amd.com/support/driver.html

would the drivers work for my laptop...with the professional>indegrated/motherboard>radeon xpress 200m work...since its my graphics card and its for xp...and what other drivers would be necessary for me to find for my laptop?

and is there any way to get my hands on a legit win xp disc without having to pirate it..

mphenterprises

9,032 posts since
Feb 19, 2007

10. Oct 22, 2007 7:50 PM

in response to: makavelidon04

Re: laptop troubles

Hi Makavelidon. We already have a full Document dedicated to Dual and Multi Boot Systems

http://forums.pcworld.com/docs/DOC-1226

It jumps to the same APCMag tutorials but they are all in one centralized place.

To answer your XP question, there are only three ways to get a legitimate Windows XP Operating System CD:

Buy from a retailer

Buy from Microsoft and have them send you the CD

Buy from Microsoft and download it directly from the Microsoft Marketplace

This is my personal Dream PC: http://forums.pcworld.com/blogs/mphenterprises/2007/12/21/my-gift-to-myself

RastaMon

393 posts since
Sep 10, 2007

11. Oct 22, 2007 9:51 PM

in response to: makavelidon04

Re: laptop troubles

how do i know if the ram sticks are good...cause it mightve been not placed in correctly

Use them one at a time. The one in there now is probably good, since it hasn't caused any issues installed by itself. Try the other one for a few hours tomorrow in the same slot. If the problems return, it is probably due to bad RAM. If it doesn't give you any problems, try installing them both together again. If the problem goes away, then that would indicate the problem was probably unseated RAM. If the problems return with both installed, start over with only one, but install it in the other slot, the one that is empty now. Does the problem remain? If so, the RAM is probably good, and a RAM slot is probably bad.

I suspect one bad module or an improperly seated module. It would serve you well to make sure you have two modules. 2 x 512 MiB is generally better than 1 x 1 GiB for system performance. So if the problem is a bad module, it would be advantageous to replace it. Especially if you are going to run Vista.

The only ways I know to get a legitimate copy of WinXP is to buy it or receive it as a gift. Why do you want XP? Is Vista causing problems?

makavelidon04

17 posts since
Oct 22, 2007

12. Oct 23, 2007 4:42 AM

in response to: RastaMon

Re: laptop troubles

vista is just causing me all kinds of trouble...some people have no problems with it , and some people have a lot of problems with it...im the person with a lot of problems with it..i hate the performance hogging , imcompatibility issuses, lack of updates to try to fix this stuff..i cant even install my MICROSOFT software for my wireless mouse....incompatible, pathetic right? plus, my laptop would perform much better on XP on it since it doesnt require as much of a heavy computer

rgreen4

3,644 posts since
Oct 22, 2006

13. Oct 23, 2007 8:58 AM

in response to: makavelidon04

Re: laptop troubles

I'm not sure what software you are speaking of. The Microsoft wireless mouse does not need any drivers to operate perfectly well on XP or Vista. I have a wireless mouse connected to a KVM switch, and it switches between an XP machine and a Vista machine. I also have a notebook wireless mouse (they are much smaller) and I have plugged it into a Windows 2000 Pro machine, an XP machine and a Vista machine with no driver installations. The full size mouse comes with a disc to allow you to do things to the cursor, but those items are already in XP and Vista. Just plug it in and use it.

As for resource hog, you have proven it runs in 1GB. When we get the problem with the other solved, you may be amazed at the difference.

The performance of your machine may also be adversely affected by all of the little goodies that like to attach themselves to your system tray and run in the "background". Well, they may run in the background, but they take up space in memory as well. When you get ready, we can research what is loaded into memory when you have an empty desktop. Any Icon sitting in you system tray near the clock other than your anti-virus and anti-spyware needs to be looked at.

RastaMon

393 posts since
Sep 10, 2007

14. Oct 23, 2007 10:18 AM

in response to: makavelidon04

Re: laptop troubles

Vista has developed a reputation for being problematic for many users. It is also very resource intensive compared to XP (or *nix operating systems). That is one of the primary reasons I would recommend Linux for someone in your position. (Security is another.) However, if you want to stay with Windows, XP is certainly a more mature operating system that has had many of its bugs worked out.

I am confused about the software for your wireless mouse. Exactly what kind of wireless mouse is it? Does it have a wireless receiver that plugs into a USB port, for example, or is it Bluetooth? I'm not sure what software you are referring to.

Also, what kinds of software do you have installed? Do you download and install lots of different software, or is your system pretty clean, with mostly only the software that came with it (or do you fit in somewhere in the middle)?

Have you tried swapping out your memory modules yet to test the second RAM stick?

Go to original post 1 2 Previous Next

Go to original post

Magazine

This Question is Possibly Answered

Oct 22, 2007 3:30 PM

laptop troubles

Actions

More Like This