Need Help

[jasonb]

Alright seeing as this is one of the more tech oriented shows on Rev 3 this seems the place to post, though i guess i should post this in the Systm thread.

I have a laptop, oddly enough the one im using right now, that has a bit of a problem. When i try to do certain things, specifically try to enter the control panel, the system goes blue screen on me and restarts. I wish i could tell you exactly what it says but it fills up the whole screen and bascially gives me a second to try and comprehend it all.

Personally I believe it is a memory problem but cant prove it at the moment. I only want to fix it because my mom wants this laptop when im done with it for her own personal use. Id rather NOT make her go spend money on a newer laptop when this one can fulfill the needs she has if i can just get it working properly again. Any advice from the mods, show hosts, or anybody would be greatly appreciated.

Something I forgot to mention was the make and model of this computer. Its an HP Pavillion zv5000, its about 5 years old now (which is over the hill for a laptop i know) but i've tried my best to keep it in the best condition i could.

[chuckles]

Alright seeing as this is one of the more tech oriented shows on Rev 3 this seems the place to post, though i guess i should post this in the Systm thread.

I have a laptop, oddly enough the one im using right now, that has a bit of a problem. When i try to do certain things, specifically try to enter the control panel, the system goes blue screen on me and restarts. I wish i could tell you exactly what it says but it fills up the whole screen and bascially gives me a second to try and comprehend it all.

Personally I believe it is a memory problem but cant prove it at the moment. I only want to fix it because my mom wants this laptop when im done with it for her own personal use. Id rather NOT make her go spend money on a newer laptop when this one can fulfill the needs she has if i can just get it working properly again. Any advice from the mods, show hosts, or anybody would be greatly appreciated.

Something I forgot to mention was the make and model of this computer. Its an HP Pavillion zv5000, its about 5 years old now (which is over the hill for a laptop i know) but i've tried my best to keep it in the best condition i could.

If you suspect that it is a memory problem, then download memtest86 (http://www.memtest.org/) and check to see if that is really the case.

-chuckles-

[jasonb]

Thanks for the hand chuckles but I've never been good at burning Iso files so ill have to do a little research on how to do it properly.

[kopp]

You could also go get any decent copy of a linux/knoppix hacks/bible. All the good books come with a bootable linux distro of some nature seared into plastic and full instructions covering what you're asking about (most include memtest86). Also, most BIOS have a memory test in the options. Best of luck and Happy New Year all.

[zomgorly]

Try this, restart the computer, start pressing F8, if you have Windows XP SP2 you should see an option that says "Disable Automatic restart on system failure". Select that option, then go ahead and cause that blue screen message again. You can write that down and then goto http://www.aumha.org/a/stop.htm to find your particular Windows Stop message. Feel free to post it here if you have trouble understanding it.

[jasonb]

Try this, restart the computer, start pressing F8, if you have Windows XP SP2 you should see an option that says "Disable Automatic restart on system failure". Select that option, then go ahead and cause that blue screen message again. You can write that down and then goto http://www.aumha.org/a/stop.htm to find your particular Windows Stop message. Feel free to post it here if you have trouble understanding it.

Thanks, ill be sure to do that. Why i didnt think of that sooner i dont know. I use to be considerably more techy than this. Im a bit ashamed I had to ask for help.

And now im gonna feel ever worse. The code i found was as follows 0x000008e, 0xc0000005, 0x80506a01, 0xb54dd794, 0x00000000. As far as i can tell this means its a memory error. well the exact phrasing as i could find it on the website is "STATUS_ACCESS_VIOLATION A memory access violation occurred."

It also says "For a complete list of exception codes, see the ntstatus.h file located in the inc directory of the Windows Driver Kit" does this mean that I have to download the windows driver kit in order to fix the problem or that i need to just go find this driver. I'm sorta out of the loop on what exactly this driver kit is. As far as i can tell its just a kit to help up and coming techies who know how to program in various languages create new drivers for stuff. So I'm sorta at an impasse as to what to do.

Though before you respond I want to really thank everyone who has responded to this thread. You've all been a great help and i probably be literally and figuratively standing still right now on this subject.

[zomgorly]

Well first off sorry I typed link and not url but you can copy and paste.

Second, does you laptop have more than one memory stick. If so try to take out one and see if you get the error again, if not switch it with the other one.

[md2389]

Well first off sorry I typed link and not url but you can copy and paste.

Second, does you laptop have more than one memory stick. If so try to take out one and see if you get the error again, if not switch it with the other one.

Here you go (http://www.aumha.org/a/stop.htm)

btw, you can always click the edit button and fix your post. :) Its kinda hard to read the text given the rather poor contrast, but this http://revision3.com/forum/greenfox/images/buttons/edit.gif is what it looks like. :)

[zomgorly]

btw, you can always click the edit button and fix your post. Its kinda hard to read the text given the rather poor contrast, but this is what it looks like.


I was watching a movie at the time and waited to long to edit. But thanks for hyperlink. :)

[chuckles]

Thanks for the hand chuckles but I've never been good at burning Iso files so ill have to do a little research on how to do it properly.

If your laptop has a floppy drive, you can always download the floppy version (http://www.memtest.org/download/1.70/memtest86+-1.70.floppy.zip). If not there is always infrarecorder (http://infrarecorder.sourceforge.net/) to do it for you by following the simple instructions (http://dai-videotutes.blogspot.com/2007/07/ifrarecorder-burning-iso.html).

-chuckles-

[spartec]

I have a laptop, oddly enough the one im using right now, that has a bit of a problem. When i try to do certain things, specifically try to enter the control panel, the system goes blue screen on me and restarts. ...

Do you BSOD only when accessing the control panel or does it happen when you do more CPU instensive tasks like playing a game, watching a movie, etc.?

Have you tried booting into Safe Mode (hitting F8 at start-up) and trying to access the control panel?

[jasonb]

Do you BSOD only when accessing the control panel or does it happen when you do more CPU instensive tasks like playing a game, watching a movie, etc.?

Have you tried booting into Safe Mode (hitting F8 at start-up) and trying to access the control panel?

The CPU does sound, at the very least, louder when certain actions were taken. Like watching a movie, wmv, quicktime, you get get the idea. Also when i do certain things that dont seem like they should tax the CPU at all.

But it BSODs me when i try to do certain things, some of which i don't know what they are. Also the computer seems to freeze up more than it should when certain actions are happening. Its not overtaxing it to any extent just sometimes it refuses any commands.

Also i still havent really had much luck with ISO's. I think the computer knows what im doing and is trying to stop me just to make me mad.

[md2389]

Are you able to run "eventvwr.msc" (w/o the "")? (Just click the start menu, click on "run" and type that in. Then hit the enter key.)

Looking at the stop messages you provided, this could be anything from a corrupted system file to a hardware failure. Have you done anything to the system before this started to happen?

[jasonb]

Sadly the only thing i've ever done is own it. I try to take good care of it. I mean it has had the occasional power down due to power outages and battery running out when im not around.

Other than that I've not done anything to it. Granted there is a backstory which ill give you guys the short version. Crappy roommate + destruction of a DIFFERENT computer + mild vague threats of destroying anything i bring into my room = worry that something had been done while i wasnt around. Of course this was well over 3 years ago.

[md2389]

Can you run a chkdsk (http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315265) on it without it blue screening on you? (to eliminate your hard drive from the equation)

If that checks out, you can always try installing another installation of windows XP onto it (make sure you use a different directory, like Windows2). Then you can simply dual-boot between the two.