Everything Crashing - Blue Screen - Help!

Have you done a chkdsk?

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265

You can try defragging your hard drive and doing a check disk.

I ran disc check etc. right off the bat. No problems. I normally defrag every 2 weeks.

I am in really bad shape. The computer is just about unusable. It takes almost 1/2 hour to load windows - just to get to desktop. The programs either just stop running or just disappear. You can't really use them anyway, as they crash or hang immediately. Even task manager crashes. Then the blue screen. Whatever it says flashes so fast, I can't write it down.

Originally, I was able to at least read the blue screen and it said that I had a software problem from the new software I had installed. This last time, I realized that when the machine re-started, a window came up to report to Microsoft because of a serious failure. I clicked on technical information and it gave all sorts of numbers with a warnng that it contained personal identifibiable info. So I don't know what numbers to put in here. It also said it was a hard disk drive error of general nature.

I realized today that firefox had been crashing once in a while on me for a couple of months. I figured it was a bug and another update would come along to fix it. It was once in a while. And I am a heavy user.


Safe mode is working for the most part right now. After the other, it is heaven!!! That is what I am in now.

Windows is updated. My cache is emptied. I have run AVG Anti-spy, Spybot, Adaware and Super-spy programs. I have also run Panda online, TrendMicro Housecall online & AVG.
I don't even have a slightly malicious cookie!! It comes up squeaky clean.

If there is a report I can run or something to check in order to give the right info for diagnosis, please let me know. I'm not even sure I am in the right forum.

Thanks again for assistance.

Go to control panel==>admin. tools--> event viewer. Try to look at some of the logs and see if there are any major warnings that it gives. And if so, try to copy and paste it here.

Also, is there any hardware or software you recently installed that may be causing this problem?

Edited by Compnoobie, 26 June 2007 - 03:02 PM.

Thank you so much. I didn't know how to go to event viewer. I am barely hanging in there in safe mode and haven't had to use the library.....yet!!

I think it probably is the disk. I posted to the Hardware Forum right before your reply.
http://www.geekstogo...ng-t162284.html

I am attaching c & ps of some events. It looks to me like it is the disk. So the big question is....what do I do now??? Does reformatting help? Do I need a new Hard Drive??? Can I put a new hard drive in a laptop using husband's mechanical expertise with a screwdriver???

Thanks again!
Manners

http://www.hitachigs...htm#Diskmanager go to that link, and download the drive fitness test. Follow the instructions on the website.

that tests to see if ur hard drive is bad. Also, just one quick question, the D drive on your computer is your hard drive?

Edited by Compnoobie, 26 June 2007 - 04:29 PM.

No. C is the hard Drive. D is CD and DVD. I have an Nspire laptop. I cannot use a bootable diskette as required by the test drive.

From what it looks like from your logs, then, is that the problem might be of the dvd drive. I would try this. Right click on my computer and click properties. Click on the hardware tab and click device manager. Go down to your DVD/CD drive and right click on that. Then click disable. Try restarting the computer now, and see if the problem persists. If not, we can at least know that the problem lies in your dvd drive.

Edited by Compnoobie, 26 June 2007 - 08:04 PM.

It is not CD/DVD.
If you read down event log (word doc) it shows hard disk.
I just need to know if it is fixable. If not, do I reformat or get a new hard drive.
It has taken me 3 crashes just to write this message and post.

I realize that it says hard disk. But Drive D and the event source atapi are both usually signs of a cd drive failure. However, it is still possible that it is a hard disk problem. It's hard to determine if it is fixable, as its still hard to figure out what the problem is. For a laptop, it is much more difficult to exchange the hard drive. It is still possible, though. Depending on the model of your Nspire laptop, it may or may not be easy. However, I'm sure if you had the time, there are a lot of tutorials online you can find. I am going to recommend two downloads: http://support.wdc.c...?...=999&swid=3 -download Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows. Once installed, run a quick test. Do not click "write 0s" as it erases everything.
http://www.passmark....diskcheckup.htm -after installation, install it and click on the smart tab, and check the statuses of each.
*If, however, you are weary that the computer will shut off again soon, just install the latter link. I'm sorry that it's taking this long to solve this problem. Before taking on the task of replacing your hard drive, it's better to just double check that its the HDs fault in the first place. But Most IMportantly, back up any important files just in case. As for reformatting your hard drive, if it is indeed a hardware problem, reformmating will not help. Also, from the research i have done online, the problem could be something with the pagefile and cache. Microsoft recommended that you use this hot fix here

The Reallocted Sector count failed. I can no longer check disk. I was hoping it might try to fix. I crash.

Back to same question. How hard is it to put new hard drive in laptop?????

Ok. Well the failure indicates that your hard drive is definitely failing. About the hard drive installatation, I, myself, have never upgraded an harddisk on a laptop before, only on desktops. I've been recommended by many people to not try to upgrade too much on a laptop. Some manufacturer, however, design it so that it is easier to upgrade. I need to know what your model number is, and I'll try to look it up. If your laptop is 5 years or older, I would suggest buying a new laptop. If not, I would try upgrading then. It can get quite difficult. However, if you have the time and right mindset to do so, it is do-able. There is one more option to fix your disk. If it were me, I wouldnt give up just yet. I'd run a scan disk again, except off your XP CD. To do so, stick in your XP CD, and restart the computer and it should tell you to press a key to boot from CD. Next, press "R" to enter the recovery console. Then press "1" to log into you admin account. If there is no password, then just click enter. Then type in "chkdsk /r", and then enter. Be aware that this scan disk may take a few hours. However, if you'd like to upgrade your hard drive. There should be user information in your manual. If you have lost it, there is probably an online one and I can check for you. Keep in mind that a new hard drive is about $70-$100, depending on how much space you want.

Edited by Compnoobie, 27 June 2007 - 05:46 PM.

Some things work in safe mode, some crash. I will try the Scan disk the way you suggested.

This is an NSpire laptop CL51. It was custom built. It is 2 1/2 years old. We live in a remote town and the closest computer repair wanted $250 to put in new drive. This is only a 40 GB HD. That is why I use external to store. Hasn't been a problem.

New laptop hard drives run $100 - $150. In looking online, it doesn't seem that difficult to replace. You just have to be careful not to damage it in any way. My main concern is what to do after installation. How do I get Windows installed again when I don't have a floppy????

If I could get step by steps on that, I am willing to try.

I would also like to know if I can transfer programs onto external for easy re-loading. I have all of the disks, but it would simplify.

Manners

There is another way. But first, do you have your XP CD Installation Disk? You do not need a floppy if you do. The disk should have come with your computer. The alternate thing you can do is make your external drive the main one. To do so, you would need to install XP on your external drive. If you chose this method, it might be easier. But first, we need to check the BIOS settings. Im assuming your external drive is connected by a USB cable. To check if you can boot from your external drive, restart the computer, and click on the DELete button right when it starts up, or whatever it says on the screen to enter the blue BIOS set up screen. Browse around, I think go to advanced settings?, and look for a place where it says what drive to boot from, and check if you can boot from a USB device. Do not set anything yet tho. If you choose this method, just say so in your next post.

Also.. some bad news is that NSpire isnt really a big company, and do not have much support for there products. It's a bit difficult for me to find your model. If you still have your manual, check it and see if it has anything on upgrading.

Edited by Compnoobie, 27 June 2007 - 07:44 PM.