[j123jam]

Does Dell just really suck at making computers or something? It seems that their laptops break like no other. I recently posted another question about my sister's laptop, and now I have more problems (although the previous problem was never resolved):

#1) The Windows 2000 Dell Insipiron Notebook will not startup without freezing unless you repeat it 2-3 times. It has no problem reaching the login screen. After entering the username and password, the computer simply hangs. I can press Ctrl-Alt-Del and choose "log out" to return to the login screen. Then I try again and it may or may not work. So it seems to hang on loading a specific program. How do I determine what program is causing the hang and remove it?

#2) A while back the CD burner in this latop also stopped working. We have tried burning with Easy CD Creator and iTunes. With either program we encounter errors and can't finish the CD. Assuming the problem is not hardware related, what's the best course of action? I am planning to re-install easy CD creator first, unless there's a better solution.

#3) My sister's 15in. screen is really messed up. Sometimes is is just black (the backlight works, but no signal), and other times is goes fuzzy or the colors are off. Seems like a bad cable connection or video card connection to me. The only way to solve the problem is shaking the computer or tilting it so the connection fall into place. Anybody know how to go about opening it up so I can take a peak? I know it will void the warranty, but it's already out of warranty. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks so much everyone!

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if you can get in,

1.
start > run
eventvwr.msc
<enter>

Look under systems and applications for items with red Xs that happened at the SAME time as your problem...list them here.

2. burn at a slower speed with better media (no more 100 cds for $3.99)

3. No. Each monitor is different and you are asking for trouble. If it is a CRT, no no no--you can kill yourself...since you said backlight, I assume LCD, so you won't kill yourself, but you likely won't fix it either without a service manual or some knowldge of LCDs--and getting parts? Forget it. Been looking for a LCD part for months. Pain in the fanny.

[gerryf]

if you can get in,

1.
start > run
eventvwr.msc
<enter>

Look under systems and applications for items with red Xs that happened at the SAME time as your problem...list them here.

2. burn at a slower speed with better media (no more 100 cds for $3.99)

3. No. Each monitor is different and you are asking for trouble. If it is a CRT, no no no--you can kill yourself...since you said backlight, I assume LCD, so you won't kill yourself, but you likely won't fix it either without a service manual or some knowldge of LCDs--and getting parts? Forget it. Been looking for a LCD part for months. Pain in the fanny.

[j123jam]

Sorry it's taken so long for me to get back to you. Here's what I've found:

#1) I did find the problem in "eventvwr.msc." Here's the only item with a red X, which appears at each failed login: Source: Service Control Manager, Event: 7000, Error. When you double-click, it reveals that "The Windows Messenger Service failed to start due to the following error: The filename, directory name, or volume label syntax is incorrect." This related to an earlier problem I was trying to solve: getting rid of the Windows Messenger Service altogether. That has not yet been resolved, see here:
http://www.geekstogo...=ST&f=5&t=30092
Now, I believe I can get rid of the messenger service using the startup tab in Spybot S&D. There are multiple items there for messenger, so I plan to try deactivating them all and seeing if that takes care of it. Any other suggestions?

#2) I'll try burning slower later today, but I don't really think that's the problem. And it's high quality media (Memorex). This problem didn't happen before. I'll post more info about the errors that occur later, or I'll let you know if it works.

#3) About that monitor: I am aware of the shock risk with CRTs, but it's an LCD, so no worries there. It's not the screen itself I want to open, it's the laptop case. I want to make sure the video card is seated properly and the cables aren't snagged on anything. I have taken a little class on hardware repair, and we were taught that problems like this are often due to the video card becoming dislodged.
Thanks Again!

[j123jam]

All problems have been fixed from the help I received in this forum as well as in responses to other posts I made. Thanks to everyone who helped!