[speechie]

I have Windows XP on a 4 year old Dell Laptop. One day I was on it and the BSoD came on and said there was a major system error and needed to restart. Every few days I'll come back to my computer and it will have shut off the screen but the computer will still be running and I can't get the screen back.

I tried doing a system restore but there was no backup so I had to create one (which seemed pointless to me since I was backing it up with the problem still there, but I am desperate) and that did not work.

I have recently gotten a newer antivirus program and deleted the old one, not sure if that is causing the problem or not. I don't know what to do at this point. Thanks!

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Hi speechie ...welcome to Geeks To Go...
did you uninstall the old AV or just delete the folder...

Every few days I'll come back to my computer and it will have shut off the screen but the computer will still be running

if you use the computer for awhile and shut it down when your through how does it act when you start up...

[happyrock]

Hi speechie ...welcome to Geeks To Go...
did you uninstall the old AV or just delete the folder...

Every few days I'll come back to my computer and it will have shut off the screen but the computer will still be running

if you use the computer for awhile and shut it down when your through how does it act when you start up...

[speechie]

I uninstalled the old antivirus.

When I shut it down and turn it on, it still acts up. It has been doing this for about 2 weeks now and nothing has really changed.

[happyrock]

what do you mean it acts up...
we may be able to help BUT you need to explain in more detail exactly what is happening...

tell us everything you tried to fix the problem and what the results were...

did you add any new hardware or software recently...
get any updates for xp or any software just prior to the problem...
what is the make and model of your computer...
what are your system specs...

can you boot into safe mode with networking and run without the problem...

[speechie]

It runs fine (sometimes a little slow) but when I come back to use it, every once in awhile it has shut off, about every 2-3 days. The computer is still running but the screen is off and the only way to get it back is to shut it down using the power button and then turn it on again.

I haven't really done much to fix it because I don't really know what to do. I backed it up and restored it but I think I did that wrong, but nothing has gotten worse, or better, since then.

The only thing I added recently was a new antivirus and I deleted the old one. My computer updates itself so I am sure it there were updates but I don't know what they are.

I have a Dell Inspiron 9300. I don't know what system specs are...sorry. But if you tell me where to find them, I can get back to you on that!

I have not tried to run it in safe mode. Thank you for helping me!

[happyrock]

Bad computer memory is one of the three main reasons for random system failures.. the other two are heat (usually
caused by fans or heatsinks being blocked with dust) or power issues...

first...lets make sure its not your memory going bad...get memtest + here....
the lowdown is here..
get the 2nd one down and burn the ISO file to a cd and then boot it from the cd drive...

if you don't have a burning program that will burn .ISO files go here and get burncdcc ..a small FAST no frills iso
burning program...

NOTE...do not put a blank cd in until burncdcc opens the tray for you
1. Start by clicking on BurnCDCC.exe
2. Browse to the ISO file you want to burn on cd/dvd ....in this case its memtest86.iso
3. Select the ISO file
4. click on Start

make sure in the bios the cd drive is the first boot device....put the cd in the cd drive..boot your computer....
let memtest run for at least 2 hours...if it starts showing any errors during that time then you will have
to replace the RAM...no errors after 2 hours just press Esc to end the tests and we will try some other
tests..

go here and get everest home...install and
launch it...click the + by computer...click on sensor...get a screenshot and post it so I can check your temps and voltages...

[TheWhiteRose000]

I had the same problem before screen locks up after a couple days of use.
If your computers constanly going never turning off.

I'd say its a overuse of memory.
But then again xD.
I could be wrong I normally left my computer going for a week at a time and I restart every week.

When I was running 32x I'd have your problem.
Whats your old virus software and your new virus software?

[speechie]

Okay, not sure if I am doing something wrong, but I burned it to a cd and opened it but when I clicked on boot it brought me to another folder and I clicked on boot.cat and it said "the file is invalid for use as the following: Security Catalog" So I could not run the test. I don't know what the 'bios' is so I might have missed a step.

I took a screen shot of the temperature though. Hope that helps!

I installed the CA virus software and deleted one called Systematic Antivirus, or something like that.

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[happyrock]

you have to burn memtest as a image...use burncdcc...thats all it does is burn .iso images...
your temps are fine but it didn't show any voltage like mine so lets try speedfan...don't think it will do any better but it won't hurt to try...get it here
how to boot from cd here..

[trentdw]

i agree with happyrock on all three of his points. but in some rare cases
hard drive failure could be the problem.
some times you can remove the screws on the underside and take a eraser

and clean it good luck

[speechie]

Alright, I ran the test for over 2 hours and there were no errors.

I used the speedfan program and it didn't show voltage either, but I attached it anyway.

Thank you all for all your help so far! The how-to's were very helpful, I couldn't have figured it out on my own!

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[happyrock]

speedfan report shows your hard drive temps to high...thats what those little fires mean..
you need to get a can of compressed air and try cleaning out the dust and debris from you laptop...
SHORT bursts of air into the intake and exhaust vents...general laptop cleaning guide here
more here