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dell m1530 laptop freezing at random points


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#1
nates28

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my wifes laptop which is a dell m1500 i do believe, is starting to freeze up at random points. she got it back in december and hasnt had a problem till now. she has been playing the sims 3 on it but it has been working fine till today. was wanting to see if u guys had any ideas what might be causing this and what i could try to do to fix it ?
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#2
Ectech

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Hi Nates, Welcome to G2G.

Most random freezes are generated due to either failing hardware or faulty drivers.

Please run memory diagnostics using the Dell Diagnostics Utility.


Starting the Dell Diagnostics


1. Shut down the computer.

2. If the computer is connected to a docking device (docked), undock it.

3. Connect the computer to an electrical outlet.

4. Turn on the computer. When the DELL™ logo appears, press <F12> immediately. If you wait too long and the Microsoft® Windows® logo appears, continue to wait until you see the Windows desktop. Then shut down your computer and try again.

5. When the boot device list appears, highlight Diagnostics and press <Enter>.

The computer begins to run the Pre-boot System Assessment, a series of embedded diagnostics that perform initial testing on your system board, keyboard, hard drive, and display.

o During the assessment, answer any questions that appear.

o If a component failure is detected, the computer stops and beeps. To stop the assessment and reboot to the operating system, press <N>; to continue to the next test, press <Y>; to retest the component that failed, press <R>.

o If failures are detected during the Pre-boot System Assessment, write down the error code(s) and contact Dell before continuing on to the Dell Diagnostics.

o If you receive a message stating that no Diagnostics utility partition has been found, follow the instructions on the screen to run the Dell Diagnostics from your Drivers and Utilities CD.

If the Pre-boot System Assessment completes successfully, you receive the message Booting Dell Diagnostic Utility Partition. Press any key to continue.

6. Press any key to start the Dell Diagnostics from the Diagnostics utility partition on your hard drive.

7. After the Dell Diagnostics loads and the Main Menu screen appears, click the button for the option you want.



Let us know how you make out.
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#3
nates28

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ran the diagnostic and came up with error 0142. msg: error code 2000-0142. msg: hard drive 1 self test unsuccessful status:79. my laptop is not under warrenty anymore, do you think my hard drive is shot? could i try chkdsk to see if that would work? do you think if i did a factory restore that might work?
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#4
Ectech

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Yes, give Chkdsk a shot an see how it turns out.

If chkdsk is not able to recover (if any) bad sectors, then i'd recommend HDD Regenerator.
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#5
nates28

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will the trial of hdd regenerator fix anything or will it only scan and tell me i have bad sectors? i know the full version is 59.99 but i dont have that kind of money right now. what is your opinion on doing a factory restore? or should i just go buy new hdd and vista since vista was preinstalled and no discs came with computer.
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#6
Ectech

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First run chkdsk and see what it finds.

Let me know the outcome.
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#7
nates28

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it ran, it fixed some files i think, my wife said it deleted bad files, i was at the store when it ran earlier, i run it now and says no bad files on sectors. windows keeps locking up though. in real mode after it starts up, looks like its fine then when try to do anything the mouse becomes a circle like its loading something up and does nothing. i am going to try to backup files and do factory restore i guess tmorrow. dont want to have to replace the hard drive though but if it comes to that dont have much of a choice.
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#8
Ectech

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i am going to try to backup files and do factory restore i guess tmorrow.


Sounds good, If you have any other questions feel free. :)
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#9
JorgiePorgie

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Hi

My mom's laptop (XPS1530) is also having the same harddrive fail 79 error.

I wonder if you could tell me how I run the check disk?

Unfortunately we were discussing a back up drive just a few days a go - seems we jinxed ourselves...

Thanks in advance of your help...

George

Edited by JorgiePorgie, 21 June 2009 - 10:19 AM.

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#10
ipods619

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Hi

My mom's laptop (XPS1530) is also having the same harddrive fail 79 error.

I wonder if you could tell me how I run the check disk?

Unfortunately we were discussing a back up drive just a few days a go - seems we jinxed ourselves...

Thanks in advance of your help...

George

Although you should have started a new thread, heres how to open up CheckDisk:

1) Start
2) My Computer
3) Right click on your primary HD (Generally, C:\)
4) Properties
5) Click the TOOLS tab
6) "Check Now"
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