[wotdefcuk]

Hi,
Few days back my Toshiba M40 notebook started freezing up. When i boot it, for sometime everything seems to work fine, but it surely freezes up and that too in a random fashion. Sometimes i am able to make a full virus scan ( with no positive) and sometimes it just freezes at the logon screen. In addition to this, after i try to reboot the frozen machine, it doesnt boot up, it doesnt even show the post screen. So i leave it for a while and then try the reboot, which works. Can the problem be RAM, how can i know this for sure?
Kindly Help

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If this were a PC, I would say to open the case and clean out all the heat trapping dust because you describe classic heat related problems. But notebooks are not made to make normal, routine maintenance a user-friendly task, so you are stuck just making sure all the openings, cavities, and bays are clean, and that all fans are spinning. After cleaning, try blasting a desk fan across it. Also consider getting a Notebook Cooling Pad w/ext. power supply.

I would also consider taking it to a shop for a professional cleaning.

You can test RAM using one of the following programs. Both require you to create and boot to a bootable floppy disk or CD to run the diagnostics. Using the floppy method is generally easier (and another reason to include floppy drives in new builds). However, the CD method is just as effective at detecting RAM problems. Allow the diagnostics to run for several passes or even overnight. You should have no reported errors.

Windows Memory Diagnostic - see the easy to follow instructions under Quick Start Information.
or
MemTest86+ (for more advanced users) - an excellent how-to guide is available here.

Alternatively, you could install a single RAM module and try running with that to see if it fails. Repeat process with remaining modules, hopefully identifying the bad stick through a process of elimination.

[Digerati]

If this were a PC, I would say to open the case and clean out all the heat trapping dust because you describe classic heat related problems. But notebooks are not made to make normal, routine maintenance a user-friendly task, so you are stuck just making sure all the openings, cavities, and bays are clean, and that all fans are spinning. After cleaning, try blasting a desk fan across it. Also consider getting a Notebook Cooling Pad w/ext. power supply.

I would also consider taking it to a shop for a professional cleaning.

You can test RAM using one of the following programs. Both require you to create and boot to a bootable floppy disk or CD to run the diagnostics. Using the floppy method is generally easier (and another reason to include floppy drives in new builds). However, the CD method is just as effective at detecting RAM problems. Allow the diagnostics to run for several passes or even overnight. You should have no reported errors.

Windows Memory Diagnostic - see the easy to follow instructions under Quick Start Information.
or
MemTest86+ (for more advanced users) - an excellent how-to guide is available here.

Alternatively, you could install a single RAM module and try running with that to see if it fails. Repeat process with remaining modules, hopefully identifying the bad stick through a process of elimination.