[mickyjtwin]

I have a Compaq Presario Laptop, and today when I started it up, the first thing that happens is it asks to pick the start mode, either safe, safe with networking, or normal. No matter which i select, a blue screen quickly flashes, and the computer resets, and it just does it all over again. If I turn it off for 5 mintues, it starts XP, but just before it loads the desktop, blue screen and restarts. I'm not sure what to do, or why it's doing this? The last thing I was doing was going through all the Malware removal from this site. It's not even giving me the option to go into the BIOS.
Any help right now would be greatly appreciated, cause this is a major problem!!

Mick

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Sounds like it may be a memory problem. Download memtest86 from here :
http://www.memtest.org/ (floppy disk version).

Extract the zip file, insert a blank floppy disk & run the extracted install.bat file. This will create a bootable floppy disk with memtest on.
Stick this in the laptop & boot from it. Run memtest & see if there are any RAM errors.

[Samm]

Sounds like it may be a memory problem. Download memtest86 from here :
http://www.memtest.org/ (floppy disk version).

Extract the zip file, insert a blank floppy disk & run the extracted install.bat file. This will create a bootable floppy disk with memtest on.
Stick this in the laptop & boot from it. Run memtest & see if there are any RAM errors.

[mickyjtwin]

Thanks Samm, going to try that today.

Mick

[mickyjtwin]

Samm,

tried to run the memtest program, have done it now 5 times. first time system just froze, second time got about 5 mins in, and screen went black, last time went for about 15 mins, got to about 80%, then computer just shut down, went black.

I'm at a loss, this is ridiculous??????

[hudihoo]

maybe windows isn't installed properly put in the windows cd and boot with cd rom support. When the computer loads you can download the latest bios drivers then completely reinstall windows. this will delete all data so you should burn all important stuff to cds

[Samm]

maybe windows isn't installed properly put in the windows cd and boot with cd rom support. When the computer loads you can download the latest bios drivers then completely reinstall windows. this will delete all data so you should burn all important stuff to cds

memtest is being run from a bootable floppy disk. The windows installation shouldn't have any impact on this because memtest is completely independent of the OS and even of the hard drive.

mickyjtwin - does your bios offer any temperature monitoring facilities? This is starting to sound like it could be an overheating issue, or possibly a power issue.
Is the laptop running from the battery or the mains?

[hudihoo]

i don't care about memtest i think windows should be reinstalled and it should take of the major issues. since one do presario laptops come with floppy drives anyway. if windows can't boot then usb detection won't beat so it can't be an external anyway.

[mickyjtwin]

Samm,

You might have a point there. I was running the laptop off the mains, however I think you might be onto something with the overheating. It's actually my girlfriends laptop, and a friend of hers a couple of years ago over clocked the CPU. Since then, it does run noticeably hot.
What are my options, or does it seem like it's too late?
Will returning the CPU to it's original speed fix the heat issues?
Thanks,
Mick

[Samm]

Hi Mick
Returning the cpu to original clock speed should fix the heat issue provided that there's no other problems.

The other things to also check for are :
- the vents/grills around the laptop aren't blocked up with fluff or dirt blocking the airflow
- The fans are still functioning (cpu fan & system/psu fans)
- Also where you place the laptop can have an affect on the temperature. Obviously near heat sources is bad, but also using the laptop on the bed for example, can impair the air flow in & out and cause it to run hot.

I would advise that you don't use the laptop at all until you have fixed the over clocking issue & checked the fans/vents etc. Overheating the system to this degree on a regular basis is going to take its toll eventually so don't power it on unless its to fix the problem!

i don't care about memtest i think windows should be reinstalled and it should take of the major issues. since one do presario laptops come with floppy drives anyway. if windows can't boot then usb detection won't beat so it can't be an external anyway.

Hudihoo
The fact that the laptop can't even complete memtest when loaded from a boot disk, means that this is a hardware fault, not a software one. So how is reinstalling windows gonna solve that? Whats more, reinstalling windows whilst theres a hardware problem, is likely to fail half way through, leaving system in a bigger mess than it is already.
And quite a few presarios come with Internal floppy drives, but even if it was a USB one, you could still boot from it provided the bios provides support for bootable USB floppy.

Edited by Samm, 24 May 2005 - 12:16 PM.

[mickyjtwin]

Samm,

Thanks for all your advice, it has been extremely helpful. I'm not entirely new to computers, however underclocking a CPU is going to require some study. Do you know of any links to tutorials or the like on getting the CPU back to it's original state?
Also, hudihoo, the laptop did ship with an internal Floppy Drive.
There is no temperature monitors in the bios either, so I've lucked out on that one. I'll keep you informed of my progress and what the general outcome is. I don't particularly want to take it to a 'payed' computer expert until I've exhausted all my avenues and joint "Samm" + myself knowledge!!!
Mick

[mickyjtwin]

I found a post on another website that talked about my problem in specific. Seems the Compaq Presario 700 series have alot of problems.
The AC LED light keeps on blinking, which apparently means it's shorting.
I found a guy who says he can fix it, I am not electronically inclined at all, and he quoted me $169 to fix the issue. He did detail the problem exactly as it's happening, so I think he might be right.
"If your Adapter is shorting out.. Blinking.. Trust me buying a new one will aggrivate matters and make it happen sooner. These have a bad hot-spot in the primary input circuit that will eventually render it inop"
What are your thoughts?
Mick

[Samm]

Hi

I found the source of that quote re. the blinking ac adapter etc. The guy who originally said that in daniweb-talktech forum is banned as a member & is clearly touting for business. I would be very dubious about believing him. He said : the adapter is shorting out - blinking- replacing it will only aggrevate matters. If its the adapter thats shorting (not the mobo) then how is replacing the adapter going to make matters worse?

I've had a rummage round the internet for presario 700 series, and although though there do appear to be some issues regarding power, theres far more issues with overheating.

That said, is your adapter blinking, as you've not mentioned this before. And if so, does it do this the entire time?

[Supergeek.dcse]

the blinking prob means ac adap has trip out how could is the battrey there is a fine balence between ac power and and the battrey its not that easy to over clockmost lap tops so if getting hot could be sign that its over charging or cpu heat sink is not working as well as it should

[mickyjtwin]

Last night I left the computer plugged into the AC all night. There are two lights regarding pwer. One is a small round green LED that is on when you plug in the AC(which for the record, doesn't blink), the other is a rectangular orange LED that's on when the battery is charging, or when you run the computer off the battery.
This morning, I unplugged the adapter, and turned on the computer. It loaded up windows perfectly normal, did a whole lot of hard drive work, then gave me the message that windows recovered from a serious error, which is good. The battery meter came up as being dead, and then the led light started blinking, but it was blinking cause the battery was out. So, I plugged the laptop into the AC again, and at that point, the screen went black. The other times it's gone black, is wehn I've always had it plugged into the adapter. I don't think it's the battery being faulty, because I have two, and they both would not charge.
The fact that Windows loaded and recognized it's fault, but then just blacked out, would suggest to me it's a hardware fault, but would the CPU overheat in as little as 2 mins? If the battery isn't charging, it might be possible that this guy is right. I really don't want to spend money on this laptop, cause it's not worth it, however if I can fix it myself, all the power to me!!!

[Samm]

It's quite possible it is a power issue, yes. I said several posts ago that I believed this was either an overheating or power issue. It is also quite possible that this guy is right. It just seems to me that $169 is a bit steep.

Try and find out a bit more about what this guy reckons the problem is & EXACTLY what it is he does to rectify it.

In the meantime, I do a bit of research on this as well.

cheers
Samm